diff --git a/scripts/wall-entry.mjs b/scripts/wall-entry.mjs
index d4ec7ba5..5079cf86 100644
--- a/scripts/wall-entry.mjs
+++ b/scripts/wall-entry.mjs
@@ -337,6 +337,36 @@ function git(args, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Resolve the git identity for the wall commit from the repository the rail
+ * is actually running in — the developer's own checkout (`process.cwd()`;
+ * `release.sh` invokes this script from the repo root with no `cd`), via
+ * git's normal config precedence (repo-local, then global, then system).
+ * Never guessed and never left to git's own "who are you?" prompt: a host
+ * with no configured identity anywhere (a bare CI box, say) must refuse
+ * loudly rather than have git manufacture a placeholder identity or hang.
+ * @returns {{name: string, email: string}}
+ */
+function resolveWallCommitIdentity() {
+  const repo = process.cwd()
+  let name = ''
+  let email = ''
+  try {
+    name = git(['config', 'user.name'], repo)
+  } catch {
+    name = ''
+  }
+  try {
+    email = git(['config', 'user.email'], repo)
+  } catch {
+    email = ''
+  }
+  if (!name || !email) {
+    fail('no git identity for the wall commit — set user.name/user.email')
+  }
+  return { name, email }
+}
+
 /**
  * Ensure a clean, up-to-date local clone of the releases repo at
  * `cacheDir`, checked out on `main` — cloning fresh if `cacheDir` has no
@@ -423,9 +453,14 @@ function publishEntry(entry, product, remote, cacheDir) {
     return
   }
 
+  const identity = resolveWallCommitIdentity()
+
   try {
     git(['add', `${product}.json`], cacheDir)
-    git(['commit', '-m', `chore(wall): ${product} ${entry.version}`], cacheDir)
+    git(
+      ['-c', `user.name=${identity.name}`, '-c', `user.email=${identity.email}`, 'commit', '-m', `chore(wall): ${product} ${entry.version}`],
+      cacheDir,
+    )
   } catch (err) {
     fail(`cannot commit the wall entry in "${cacheDir}" — ${/** @type {Error} */ (err).message}\n  cure: inspect "${cacheDir}" by hand and re-run once its git state is clean`)
   }
diff --git a/tests/unit/release/wall-entry.test.ts b/tests/unit/release/wall-entry.test.ts
index 8bf9d357..b29ae326 100644
--- a/tests/unit/release/wall-entry.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/release/wall-entry.test.ts
@@ -104,6 +104,14 @@ let cacheDir: string
 
 beforeEach(() => {
   dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'wall-entry-test-'))
+  // wall-entry.mjs is run with this dir as its cwd, standing in for the real
+  // developer checkout it reads its commit identity from (process.cwd()) —
+  // give it a repo-local identity the same way seedRemote gives one to the
+  // seed clone, so the suite is deterministic on a host with no global git
+  // config (a bare CI box) as much as one with a developer's own.
+  execFileSync('git', ['init', '-q', dir])
+  git(['config', 'user.name', 'Wall Entry Test'], dir)
+  git(['config', 'user.email', 'wall-entry-test@example.com'], dir)
   remoteDir = initBareRemote()
   cacheDir = join(mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'wall-cache-')), 'soulcraft-releases')
 })