diff --git a/API-FRICTION.md b/API-FRICTION.md
index 575de2b0..60c6700a 100644
--- a/API-FRICTION.md
+++ b/API-FRICTION.md
@@ -7680,3 +7680,14 @@ Each entry records:
   retention, and passes bare React Native and Expo Metro. The full 1,756-test
   unit matrix, root TypeScript, package artifact, documentation, and bundle-size
   gates pass.
+- Release evidence: release run `31340548562` built every `0.9.0` artifact but
+  the new core-only consumer performed a second unlocked resolution. Its
+  `@types/d3-geo` range selected `3.1.1` while the frozen workspace install had
+  populated `3.1.0`, so the offline gate failed before npm publishing.
+- Release decision: preserve public dependency ranges and the offline boundary.
+  Derive fixture overrides from every packed core dependency, link them to the
+  setup-populated core workspace, and give the fixture an isolated empty pnpm
+  store so a missing override cannot pass from a developer cache.
+- Release verification: the focused contract covers ranged and unscoped
+  dependencies. All 12 `0.9.0` release artifacts pass with the unified fixture
+  installing from its isolated store.
diff --git a/scripts/ci-workflow.test.mjs b/scripts/ci-workflow.test.mjs
index 3d157f96..8c3921a1 100644
--- a/scripts/ci-workflow.test.mjs
+++ b/scripts/ci-workflow.test.mjs
@@ -26,6 +26,10 @@ const packedConsumer = await readFile(
   resolve(import.meta.dirname, './check-packed-consumers.mjs'),
   'utf8',
 )
+const unifiedArtifact = await readFile(
+  resolve(import.meta.dirname, './unified-package-artifact.mjs'),
+  'utf8',
+)
 const nxDistribution = await readFile(
   resolve(import.meta.dirname, '../.nx/workflows/distribution.yaml'),
   'utf8',
@@ -86,6 +90,20 @@ describe('CI workflow contract', () => {
       ).length,
       1,
     )
+    assert.match(unifiedArtifact, /'autoInstallPeers: false'/)
+    assert.match(unifiedArtifact, /linkedUnifiedConsumerDependencies\(/)
+    assert.match(
+      unifiedArtifact,
+      /\[\s*'install',\s*'--offline',\s*'--ignore-scripts',\s*'--frozen-lockfile=false',\s*'--store-dir'/,
+    )
+    for (const directory of [
+      'XDG_CACHE_HOME',
+      'XDG_DATA_HOME',
+      'XDG_STATE_HOME',
+    ]) {
+      assert.match(unifiedArtifact, new RegExp(`${directory}: resolve\\(`))
+    }
+    assert.doesNotMatch(unifiedArtifact, /--prefer-offline/)
   })
 
   test('starts static checks immediately and gates expensive pull request partitions', () => {
diff --git a/scripts/unified-package-artifact.mjs b/scripts/unified-package-artifact.mjs
index 07fc109b..416e6bd6 100644
--- a/scripts/unified-package-artifact.mjs
+++ b/scripts/unified-package-artifact.mjs
@@ -118,6 +118,43 @@ export function mappedUnifiedExportConditions(namespace, conditions) {
   )
 }
 
+export function linkedUnifiedConsumerDependencies({
+  repositoryRoot,
+  packageDirectory,
+  dependencies,
+}) {
+  return Object.fromEntries(
+    Object.keys(dependencies ?? {})
+      .sort()
+      .map((packageName) => [
+        packageName,
+        `link:${resolve(
+          repositoryRoot,
+          'packages',
+          packageDirectory,
+          'node_modules',
+          ...packageName.split('/'),
+        )}`,
+      ]),
+  )
+}
+
+export function unifiedConsumerWorkspace(linkedDependencies) {
+  const overrides = Object.entries(linkedDependencies).map(
+    ([packageName, target]) =>
+      `  ${JSON.stringify(packageName)}: ${JSON.stringify(target)}`,
+  )
+  assert.ok(overrides.length > 0, '@tanstack/charts must declare dependencies')
+  return [
+    'packages:',
+    "  - '.'",
+    'autoInstallPeers: false',
+    'overrides:',
+    ...overrides,
+    '',
+  ].join('\n')
+}
+
 export function validateUnifiedCoreExports(coreExports, sourceManifests) {
   assert.ok(coreExports && typeof coreExports === 'object')
 
@@ -252,6 +289,18 @@ export async function verifyUnifiedCoreArtifact({
     await validateNoNestedPackageManifests(resolve(packedRoot, 'dist'))
     await validateNoLegacyRuntimeImports(resolve(packedRoot, 'dist'))
 
+    const linkedDependencies = linkedUnifiedConsumerDependencies({
+      repositoryRoot,
+      packageDirectory: coreInfo.directory,
+      dependencies: packedManifest.dependencies,
+    })
+    for (const [packageName, target] of Object.entries(linkedDependencies)) {
+      assert.ok(
+        (await stat(target.slice('link:'.length))).isDirectory(),
+        `Workspace install omitted ${packageName}`,
+      )
+    }
+
     await mkdir(fixtureRoot, { recursive: true })
     await writeFile(
       resolve(fixtureRoot, 'package.json'),
@@ -270,13 +319,25 @@ export async function verifyUnifiedCoreArtifact({
     )
     await writeFile(
       resolve(fixtureRoot, 'pnpm-workspace.yaml'),
-      "packages:\n  - '.'\nautoInstallPeers: false\n",
+      unifiedConsumerWorkspace(linkedDependencies),
     )
     await run(
       'pnpm',
-      ['install', '--offline', '--ignore-scripts', '--frozen-lockfile=false'],
+      [
+        'install',
+        '--offline',
+        '--ignore-scripts',
+        '--frozen-lockfile=false',
+        '--store-dir',
+        resolve(temporaryRoot, 'store'),
+      ],
       fixtureRoot,
-      { npm_config_offline: 'true' },
+      {
+        npm_config_offline: 'true',
+        XDG_CACHE_HOME: resolve(temporaryRoot, 'cache'),
+        XDG_DATA_HOME: resolve(temporaryRoot, 'data'),
+        XDG_STATE_HOME: resolve(temporaryRoot, 'state'),
+      },
     )
 
     const installedScope = resolve(fixtureRoot, 'node_modules', '@tanstack')
diff --git a/scripts/unified-package-artifact.test.mjs b/scripts/unified-package-artifact.test.mjs
index c5df689d..d9c82956 100644
--- a/scripts/unified-package-artifact.test.mjs
+++ b/scripts/unified-package-artifact.test.mjs
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 import {
   isUnifiedCoreExport,
+  linkedUnifiedConsumerDependencies,
   mappedUnifiedExportConditions,
   mappedUnifiedExportKey,
+  unifiedConsumerWorkspace,
   unifiedPackageSources,
   validateUnifiedCoreExports,
 } from './unified-package-artifact.mjs'
@@ -75,4 +77,24 @@ describe('unified package export mapping', () => {
       '@tanstack/charts/react exports drifted from @tanstack/react-charts',
     )
   })
+
+  it('links every packed dependency without resolving its published range', () => {
+    const linkedDependencies = linkedUnifiedConsumerDependencies({
+      repositoryRoot: '/workspace',
+      packageDirectory: 'charts-core',
+      dependencies: {
+        tslib: '^2.8.1',
+        '@types/d3-geo': '^3.1.0',
+      },
+    })
+
+    expect(linkedDependencies).toEqual({
+      '@types/d3-geo':
+        'link:/workspace/packages/charts-core/node_modules/@types/d3-geo',
+      tslib: 'link:/workspace/packages/charts-core/node_modules/tslib',
+    })
+    expect(unifiedConsumerWorkspace(linkedDependencies)).toBe(
+      `packages:\n  - '.'\nautoInstallPeers: false\noverrides:\n  "@types/d3-geo": "link:/workspace/packages/charts-core/node_modules/@types/d3-geo"\n  "tslib": "link:/workspace/packages/charts-core/node_modules/tslib"\n`,
+    )
+  })
 })