diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 473c098..b5c2970 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -409,33 +409,64 @@ jobs:
         id: version
         run: echo "VERSION=${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
-      - name: Validate AUR SSH secret
+      - name: Check AUR publish prerequisites
+        id: aur_prereqs
         env:
           AUR_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY: ${{ secrets.AUR_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           if [ -z "${AUR_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY}" ]; then
-            echo "Missing required secret: AUR_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY"
-            exit 1
+            echo "::warning::Missing AUR_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY; skipping automated AUR publish."
+            echo "skip=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            exit 0
           fi
+          echo "skip=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - name: Configure SSH for AUR
+        id: aur_ssh
+        if: steps.aur_prereqs.outputs.skip != 'true'
         env:
           AUR_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY: ${{ secrets.AUR_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
-          install -dm700 ~/.ssh
-          printf '%s\n' "${AUR_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY}" > ~/.ssh/aur
-          chmod 600 ~/.ssh/aur
-          ssh-keyscan aur.archlinux.org >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts
-          chmod 644 ~/.ssh/known_hosts
+          if install -dm700 ~/.ssh \
+            && printf '%s\n' "${AUR_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY}" > ~/.ssh/aur \
+            && chmod 600 ~/.ssh/aur \
+            && ssh-keyscan aur.archlinux.org >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts \
+            && chmod 644 ~/.ssh/known_hosts; then
+            echo "skip=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          echo "::warning::Unable to configure SSH for AUR; skipping automated AUR publish."
+          echo "skip=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - name: Clone AUR repo
+        id: aur_clone
+        if: steps.aur_prereqs.outputs.skip != 'true' && steps.aur_ssh.outputs.skip != 'true'
         env:
           GIT_SSH_COMMAND: ssh -i ~/.ssh/aur -o IdentitiesOnly=yes
-        run: git clone ssh://aur@aur.archlinux.org/subminer-bin.git aur-subminer-bin
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          attempts=3
+          for attempt in $(seq 1 "$attempts"); do
+            if git clone ssh://aur@aur.archlinux.org/subminer-bin.git aur-subminer-bin; then
+              echo "skip=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+              exit 0
+            fi
+
+            rm -rf aur-subminer-bin
+
+            if [ "$attempt" -lt "$attempts" ]; then
+              sleep $((attempt * 15))
+            fi
+          done
+
+          echo "::warning::Unable to clone subminer-bin from AUR after ${attempts} attempts; skipping automated AUR publish."
+          echo "skip=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - name: Download release assets for AUR
+        if: steps.aur_prereqs.outputs.skip != 'true' && steps.aur_ssh.outputs.skip != 'true' && steps.aur_clone.outputs.skip != 'true'
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         run: |
@@ -449,6 +480,7 @@ jobs:
             --pattern "subminer-assets.tar.gz"
 
       - name: Update AUR packaging metadata
+        if: steps.aur_prereqs.outputs.skip != 'true' && steps.aur_ssh.outputs.skip != 'true' && steps.aur_clone.outputs.skip != 'true'
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           version_no_v="${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}"
@@ -463,6 +495,7 @@ jobs:
             --assets ".tmp/aur-release-assets/subminer-assets.tar.gz"
 
       - name: Commit and push AUR update
+        if: steps.aur_prereqs.outputs.skip != 'true' && steps.aur_ssh.outputs.skip != 'true' && steps.aur_clone.outputs.skip != 'true'
         working-directory: aur-subminer-bin
         env:
           GIT_SSH_COMMAND: ssh -i ~/.ssh/aur -o IdentitiesOnly=yes
@@ -476,4 +509,16 @@ jobs:
           git config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
           git add PKGBUILD .SRCINFO
           git commit -m "Update to ${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}"
-          git push origin HEAD:master
+
+          attempts=3
+          for attempt in $(seq 1 "$attempts"); do
+            if git push origin HEAD:master; then
+              exit 0
+            fi
+
+            if [ "$attempt" -lt "$attempts" ]; then
+              sleep $((attempt * 15))
+            fi
+          done
+
+          echo "::warning::Unable to push the AUR update after ${attempts} attempts; GitHub release is published, but subminer-bin needs manual follow-up."
diff --git a/backlog/tasks/task-252 - Harden-AUR-publish-release-step-against-transient-SSH-failures.md b/backlog/tasks/task-252 - Harden-AUR-publish-release-step-against-transient-SSH-failures.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b2638f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backlog/tasks/task-252 - Harden-AUR-publish-release-step-against-transient-SSH-failures.md	
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+---
+id: TASK-252
+title: Harden AUR publish release step against transient SSH failures
+status: Done
+assignee: []
+created_date: '2026-03-29 23:46'
+updated_date: '2026-03-29 23:49'
+labels:
+  - release
+  - ci
+  - aur
+dependencies: []
+priority: high
+---
+
+## Description
+
+<!-- SECTION:DESCRIPTION:BEGIN -->
+Make tagged releases resilient when the automated AUR update hits transient SSH disconnects from GitHub-hosted runners. The GitHub Release should still complete successfully, while AUR publish should retry a few times and downgrade persistent AUR failures to warnings instead of failing the entire release workflow.
+<!-- SECTION:DESCRIPTION:END -->
+
+## Acceptance Criteria
+<!-- AC:BEGIN -->
+- [x] #1 Tagged release workflow retries the AUR clone/push path with bounded backoff when AUR SSH disconnects transiently.
+- [x] #2 Persistent AUR publish failure does not fail the overall tagged release workflow or block GitHub Release publication.
+- [x] #3 Release documentation notes that AUR publish is best-effort and may need manual follow-up when retries are exhausted.
+<!-- AC:END -->
+
+## Implementation Notes
+
+<!-- SECTION:NOTES:BEGIN -->
+Updated .github/workflows/release.yml so AUR secret/configure/clone/push failures downgrade to warnings, clone/push retry three times with linear backoff, and the GitHub Release path remains green.
+
+Documented AUR publish as best-effort in docs/RELEASING.md and added changes/253-aur-release-best-effort.md for PR changelog compliance.
+<!-- SECTION:NOTES:END -->
diff --git a/changes/253-aur-release-best-effort.md b/changes/253-aur-release-best-effort.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c9f3768
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changes/253-aur-release-best-effort.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+type: internal
+area: release
+
+- Retried AUR clone and push operations in the tagged release workflow.
+- Kept GitHub Releases green when AUR publish flakes and needs manual follow-up.
diff --git a/docs/RELEASING.md b/docs/RELEASING.md
index 80a059d..25d9da8 100644
--- a/docs/RELEASING.md
+++ b/docs/RELEASING.md
@@ -34,4 +34,5 @@ Notes:
 - Do not tag while `changes/*.md` fragments still exist.
 - If you need to repair a published release body (for example, a prior version’s section was omitted), regenerate notes from `CHANGELOG.md` and re-edit the release with `gh release edit --notes-file`.
 - Tagged release workflow now also attempts to update `subminer-bin` on the AUR after GitHub Release publication.
+- AUR publish is best-effort: the workflow retries transient SSH clone/push failures, then warns and leaves the GitHub Release green if AUR still fails. Follow up with a manual `git push aur master` from the AUR checkout when needed.
 - Required GitHub Actions secret: `AUR_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY`. Add the matching public key to your AUR account before relying on the automation.