diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index ee36208e47..d46cf1fb59 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -78,6 +78,16 @@ jobs:
           GITHUB_ACTIONS: "true"
         run: ./scripts/release.sh canary --skip-verify
 
+      - name: Dump npm debug logs
+        if: failure()
+        run: |
+          shopt -s nullglob
+          for f in "$HOME"/.npm/_logs/*.log; do
+            echo "===== $f ====="
+            tail -n 300 "$f" | sed -E \
+              -e 's#((authorization|_authToken|_auth|node_auth_token|npm_token)"?[[:space:]]*[:=][[:space:]]*"?)(Bearer[[:space:]]+)?[^",[:space:]]+#\1***REDACTED***#Ig'
+          done
+
       - name: Push canary tag
         run: |
           tag="$(git tag --points-at HEAD | grep '^canary/v' | head -1)"
@@ -184,6 +194,16 @@ jobs:
           fi
           ./scripts/release.sh "${args[@]}"
 
+      - name: Dump npm debug logs
+        if: failure()
+        run: |
+          shopt -s nullglob
+          for f in "$HOME"/.npm/_logs/*.log; do
+            echo "===== $f ====="
+            tail -n 300 "$f" | sed -E \
+              -e 's#((authorization|_authToken|_auth|node_auth_token|npm_token)"?[[:space:]]*[:=][[:space:]]*"?)(Bearer[[:space:]]+)?[^",[:space:]]+#\1***REDACTED***#Ig'
+          done
+
       - name: Push stable tag
         run: |
           tag="$(git tag --points-at HEAD | grep '^v' | head -1)"
diff --git a/scripts/acpx-patch-packaging.test.mjs b/scripts/acpx-patch-packaging.test.mjs
index d51ca8e7ef..8aa45833af 100644
--- a/scripts/acpx-patch-packaging.test.mjs
+++ b/scripts/acpx-patch-packaging.test.mjs
@@ -36,7 +36,8 @@ test("bundled package staging materializes publishConfig entrypoints", () => {
 test("bundled package dry runs preview without querying published versions", () => {
   assert.match(releaseScript, /run_bundled_npm_pack pack --pack-destination "\$publish_dir"/);
   assert.match(releaseLib, /BUNDLED_NPM_PACK_VERSION="10\.9\.7"/);
-  assert.match(releaseLib, /BUNDLED_NPM_PUBLISH_VERSION="11\.16\.0"/);
+  assert.match(releaseLib, /BUNDLED_NPM_PUBLISH_VERSION="11\.18\.0"/);
   assert.match(releaseLib, /npx --yes "npm@\$BUNDLED_NPM_PACK_VERSION"/);
   assert.match(releaseLib, /npx --yes "npm@\$BUNDLED_NPM_PUBLISH_VERSION"/);
+  assert.match(releaseLib, /"\$@" --loglevel verbose/);
 });
diff --git a/scripts/release-lib.sh b/scripts/release-lib.sh
index 927c36a96e..a0e2852d75 100644
--- a/scripts/release-lib.sh
+++ b/scripts/release-lib.sh
@@ -311,14 +311,14 @@ package_publish_tool() {
 }
 
 BUNDLED_NPM_PACK_VERSION="10.9.7"
-BUNDLED_NPM_PUBLISH_VERSION="11.16.0"
+BUNDLED_NPM_PUBLISH_VERSION="11.18.0"
 
 run_bundled_npm_pack() {
   npx --yes "npm@$BUNDLED_NPM_PACK_VERSION" "$@"
 }
 
 run_bundled_npm_publish() {
-  npx --yes "npm@$BUNDLED_NPM_PUBLISH_VERSION" "$@"
+  npx --yes "npm@$BUNDLED_NPM_PUBLISH_VERSION" "$@" --loglevel verbose
 }
 
 run_package_publish() {
diff --git a/scripts/release-lib.test.mjs b/scripts/release-lib.test.mjs
index e98128d8d6..15bf289df4 100644
--- a/scripts/release-lib.test.mjs
+++ b/scripts/release-lib.test.mjs
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ exit 1
 set -euo pipefail
 printf 'npx %s\n' "$*" >> "$FAKE_CALL_LOG"
 [ "$1" = "--yes" ] && shift
-[ "$1" = "npm@11.16.0" ] && shift
+[ "$1" = "npm@11.18.0" ] && shift
 exec npm "$@"
 `,
   );
@@ -145,8 +145,11 @@ test("publish_package_to_npm uses trusted-publishing-capable npm for bundled dep
   const result = runPublishHelper({ pnpmMode: "success", publishTool: "npm" });
 
   assert.equal(result.status, 0);
-  assert.match(result.calls, /^npx --yes npm@11\.16\.0 publish --tag canary --access public$/m);
-  assert.match(result.calls, /^npm publish --tag canary --access public$/m);
+  assert.match(
+    result.calls,
+    /^npx --yes npm@11\.18\.0 publish --tag canary --access public --loglevel verbose$/m,
+  );
+  assert.match(result.calls, /^npm publish --tag canary --access public --loglevel verbose$/m);
   assert.doesNotMatch(result.calls, /^pnpm publish/m);
 });