diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d7ec612c..36a51e3e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,58 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [1.12.3.0] - 2026-04-25
+
+## **Your gstack memory now actually lives in gbrain.**
+
+For everyone who ran `/setup-gbrain` in the last month and noticed `gbrain search` couldn't find their CEO plans, learnings, or retros: that's because Step 7 wrote a placeholder `consumers.json` with `status: "pending"` and called it done. The HTTP endpoint that placeholder pointed at was never built on the gbrain side. This release scraps that approach and uses the gbrain v0.18.0 federation surface (`gbrain sources` + `gbrain sync`) instead.
+
+After upgrading, `/setup-gbrain` adds a `git worktree` of your brain repo, registers it as a federated source on your gbrain (Supabase or PGLite), and runs an initial sync. Subsequent gstack skill end-of-run cycles also run `gbrain sync` so new artifacts land in the index automatically. Local-Mac only. No cloud agent required. `/gstack-upgrade` runs a one-shot migration for existing users.
+
+### Verify after upgrade
+
+```bash
+gbrain sources list --json | jq '.sources[] | {id, page_count, federated}'
+# Expect: two entries, your default brain plus a "gstack-brain-{user}"
+# entry, both federated=true.
+
+gbrain search "ethos" --source gstack-brain-{user} | head -5
+# Expect: hits from your gstack repo content (readme, ethos, designs, etc).
+```
+
+### What shipped
+
+`bin/gstack-gbrain-source-wireup` is the new helper. It derives a per-user source id from `~/.gstack/.git`'s origin URL (with multi-fallback to `~/.gstack-brain-remote.txt` and a `--source-id` flag), creates a detached `git worktree` at `~/.gstack-brain-worktree/`, registers it as a federated source on gbrain, runs initial backfill, and supports `--strict` (Step 7 strictness), `--uninstall` (full teardown including future-launchd plist), and `--probe` (read-only state inspection). All idempotent. The helper depends on `jq` (transitive via `gstack-gbrain-detect`).
+
+`/setup-gbrain` Step 7 now invokes the helper with `--strict` after `gstack-brain-init`. `/gstack-upgrade` invokes the helper without `--strict` via `gstack-upgrade/migrations/v1.12.3.0.sh` so missing/old gbrain is a benign skip during batch upgrade. `bin/gstack-brain-restore` invokes the helper after the initial clone so a 2nd Mac gets the wireup automatically. `bin/gstack-brain-uninstall` invokes `--uninstall` plus removes legacy `consumers.json`.
+
+`bin/gstack-brain-init` drops 60 lines of dead consumer-registration code (the HTTP POST block, the `consumers.json` writer, the chore commit). `bin/gstack-brain-restore` drops the 18-line `consumers.json` token-rehydration block (the only consumer that used it never had real tokens). `bin/gstack-brain-consumer` is marked deprecated in its header docstring; removal in v1.13.0.0 after one cycle of grace.
+
+`test/gstack-gbrain-source-wireup.test.ts` is new: 13 unit tests with a fake `gbrain` binary on `$PATH` covering fresh-state registration, idempotent re-runs, drift recovery (gbrain has no `sources update`, only `remove + add`), `--strict` failure modes, source-id fallback chain (`.git` → remote-file → flag), `--probe` non-mutation, sync errors, and `--uninstall`.
+
+### The numbers that matter
+
+These are reproducible on any machine after upgrade. Run the verify commands above to see your own delta.
+
+| Metric | Before (v1.12.2.0) | After (v1.12.3.0) |
+|---|---|---|
+| `gbrain sources list` size | 1 (default `/data/brain`) | 2 (default + `gstack-brain-{user}`) |
+| `consumers.json` status | `"pending"`, ingest_url `""` | file deleted from new installs |
+| Manual steps to wire up | 4 (clone + sources add + sync + cron) | 0, automatic in Step 7 |
+| Helper test coverage | 0 unit tests | 13 unit tests (`bun test test/gstack-gbrain-source-wireup.test.ts`) |
+| `bin/gstack-brain-init` size | 363 lines | 300 lines (60 lines of dead code removed) |
+
+Local Mac is the producer of artifacts and the worktree advances automatically with `~/.gstack/`'s commits. Cross-machine sync runs through GitHub via the existing `gstack-brain-sync --once` push hook. No new cron infrastructure needed today; when gbrain v0.21 code-graph features ship, the helper's `--enable-cron` flag is a clean extension.
+
+### What this means for builders
+
+Your gstack memory is searchable now. Run a CEO plan review or office-hours session, sync runs at skill-end automatically, and `gbrain search` finds the plan content from any gbrain client (this Claude Code session, future Macs, optional cloud agents like OpenClaw). One source of truth across machines. The placeholder is dead.
+
+### For contributors
+
+- `bin/gstack-brain-consumer` is deprecated in this release; removal in v1.13.0.0.
+- The `gbrain_url` and `gbrain_token` config keys are now no-ops. They remain readable for one cycle for back-compat, removed in v1.13.0.0.
+- Three pre-existing test failures on this branch (`gstack-config gbrain keys > GSTACK_HOME overrides real config dir`, `no compiled binaries in git > git tracks no files larger than 2MB`, `Opus 4.7 overlay — pacing directive`) were verified to fail on the base branch too. Out of scope for this PR; flagged for a follow-up.
+
 ## [1.12.2.0] - 2026-04-24
 
 ## **`/setup-gbrain` polish: PATH parsing, repo init order, MCP user scope.**
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index b3dd6a99..b274ba21 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.12.2.0
+1.12.3.0