diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 822669f..bd099e9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -20,26 +20,13 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
           path: htmltrust-browser-reference
 
-      - uses: actions/checkout@11d5960a326750d5838078e36cf38b85af677262 # v4.4.0
-        with:
-          repository: HTMLTrust/htmltrust-browser-client
-          ref: 09e8c7552c8111a2cedd83fa45f4ffe3811bf5ca
-          persist-credentials: false
-          path: htmltrust-browser-client
-
       - uses: actions/setup-node@49933ea5288caeca8642d1e84afbd3f7d6820020 # v4.4.0
         with:
           node-version: "22"
 
-      - name: Build browser client dependency
-        working-directory: htmltrust-browser-client
-        run: |
-          npm ci --ignore-scripts
-          npm run build
-
       - name: Install dependencies
         working-directory: htmltrust-browser-reference
-        run: npm ci --ignore-scripts
+        run: npm ci --ignore-scripts=false
 
       - name: Lint
         working-directory: htmltrust-browser-reference
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5bb90dd..46b1a8f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -8,10 +8,9 @@ The extension verifies signatures locally, shows a status marker beside each sig
 
 Readers: contributors and implementers. The normal workflow is:
 
-1. Build the sibling browser-client package.
-2. Install this repository.
-3. Run tests and type checking.
-4. Build the extension for the browser you use.
+1. Install this repository.
+2. Run tests and type checking.
+3. Build the extension for the browser you use.
 
 After each page load or same-document navigation, the content script refetches the current HTTPS URL (using the browser HTTP cache when available). It parses that response with the browser's HTML parser and freezes signed-section snapshots. It verifies those snapshots, then compares each one with the current live element. If page code changes a signed element, the extension marks it as stale and re-verifies it. A refetch can differ from the original response on personalized, time-varying, or service-worker-controlled pages. Status markers are siblings of `<signed-section>`, so extension UI cannot become signed content.
 
@@ -23,29 +22,34 @@ After each page load or same-document navigation, the content script refetches t
 - npm
 - Chromium, Firefox, or Safari for loading a built extension
 
-Use this checkout layout. The browser-reference package has a local dependency on the browser-client package during development:
+The published dependency is pinned to browser-client commit `698a6fba7ada94ea1e26348dda0e1c87e8dd8fc9`. A sibling browser-client checkout is optional. Use one when developing both repositories together.
 
-```
-htmltrust-workspace/
-├── htmltrust-browser-client/
-└── htmltrust-browser-reference/
+For a standalone checkout:
+
+```sh
+git clone https://github.com/HTMLTrust/htmltrust-browser-reference.git
+cd htmltrust-browser-reference
+npm ci --ignore-scripts=false
 ```
 
-Create both checkouts and build the client first:
+The explicit flag lets the pinned browser-client dependency build its
+`dist/` directory even when npm is configured globally to skip lifecycle
+scripts.
+
+For coordinated local development, clone the sibling client, build it, then replace the installed package without changing `package.json` or `package-lock.json`:
 
 ```sh
-mkdir htmltrust-workspace
-cd htmltrust-workspace
-git clone https://github.com/HTMLTrust/htmltrust-browser-client.git
-git clone https://github.com/HTMLTrust/htmltrust-browser-reference.git
-cd htmltrust-browser-client
+git clone https://github.com/HTMLTrust/htmltrust-browser-client.git ../htmltrust-browser-client
+cd ../htmltrust-browser-client
 npm ci --ignore-scripts
 npm run build
 cd ../htmltrust-browser-reference
-npm ci --ignore-scripts
+npm ci --ignore-scripts=false
+npm install --no-save --package-lock=false ../htmltrust-browser-client
 ```
 
-The reference repository CI pins the client to commit `09e8c7552c8111a2cedd83fa45f4ffe3811bf5ca`. Check out that revision when reproducing CI exactly.
+The local override is disposable. Run `npm ci --ignore-scripts=false` again to
+restore the pinned commit.
 
 ### Test and type-check
 
@@ -62,10 +66,9 @@ container with:
 ./scripts/test-in-docker.sh
 ```
 
-The script copies both sibling repositories into the container, builds the
-browser client, runs 60 extension tests, checks types and lint, then builds the
-Chromium, Firefox, and Safari packages. Generated files stay outside the
-checkout.
+The script copies this checkout into the container, installs the pinned browser
+client from Git, runs 60 extension tests, checks types and lint, then builds all
+three browser packages. Generated files stay outside the checkout.
 
 ### Build
 
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 23974cf..acb7521 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
       "version": "0.1.0",
       "license": "LicenseRef-PolyForm-Noncommercial-1.0.0",
       "dependencies": {
-        "@htmltrust/browser-client": "file:../htmltrust-browser-client",
+        "@htmltrust/browser-client": "git+https://github.com/HTMLTrust/htmltrust-browser-client.git#698a6fba7ada94ea1e26348dda0e1c87e8dd8fc9",
         "@htmltrust/canonicalization": "https://github.com/HTMLTrust/htmltrust-canonicalization/archive/refs/tags/v0.2.2.tar.gz",
         "@simplewebauthn/typescript-types": "^8.3.4",
         "axios": "^1.9.0",
@@ -46,20 +46,6 @@
         "webpack-cli": "^6.0.1"
       }
     },
-    "../htmltrust-browser-client": {
-      "name": "@htmltrust/browser-client",
-      "version": "0.1.2",
-      "license": "LicenseRef-PolyForm-Noncommercial-1.0.0",
-      "dependencies": {
-        "@htmltrust/canonicalization": "https://github.com/HTMLTrust/htmltrust-canonicalization/archive/refs/tags/v0.2.2.tar.gz"
-      },
-      "devDependencies": {
-        "typescript": "^5.5.0"
-      },
-      "peerDependencies": {
-        "@htmltrust/canonicalization": "^0.2.2"
-      }
-    },
     "node_modules/@babel/code-frame": {
       "version": "7.29.7",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@babel/code-frame/-/code-frame-7.29.7.tgz",
@@ -803,8 +789,16 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/@htmltrust/browser-client": {
-      "resolved": "../htmltrust-browser-client",
-      "link": true
+      "version": "0.1.2",
+      "resolved": "git+ssh://git@github.com/HTMLTrust/htmltrust-browser-client.git#698a6fba7ada94ea1e26348dda0e1c87e8dd8fc9",
+      "integrity": "sha512-ZJQNS/+dV5av/jATwQJuWHCiN7l1k+oRgzwPXWwQ+RCMZDaAnOkRu1ovyFR4nFHaVZaVi0qX/Um7v0lLVYVNvg==",
+      "license": "LicenseRef-PolyForm-Noncommercial-1.0.0",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "@htmltrust/canonicalization": "https://github.com/HTMLTrust/htmltrust-canonicalization/archive/refs/tags/v0.2.2.tar.gz"
+      },
+      "peerDependencies": {
+        "@htmltrust/canonicalization": "^0.2.2"
+      }
     },
     "node_modules/@htmltrust/canonicalization": {
       "version": "0.2.2",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 4d556e1..685f8d2 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@
     "webpack-cli": "^6.0.1"
   },
   "dependencies": {
-    "@htmltrust/browser-client": "file:../htmltrust-browser-client",
+    "@htmltrust/browser-client": "git+https://github.com/HTMLTrust/htmltrust-browser-client.git#698a6fba7ada94ea1e26348dda0e1c87e8dd8fc9",
     "@htmltrust/canonicalization": "https://github.com/HTMLTrust/htmltrust-canonicalization/archive/refs/tags/v0.2.2.tar.gz",
     "@simplewebauthn/typescript-types": "^8.3.4",
     "axios": "^1.9.0",
diff --git a/scripts/test-in-docker.sh b/scripts/test-in-docker.sh
index b4fb96d..95d10a8 100755
--- a/scripts/test-in-docker.sh
+++ b/scripts/test-in-docker.sh
@@ -3,38 +3,25 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
 REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
-CLIENT_ROOT="$(cd "$REPO_ROOT/../htmltrust-browser-client" 2>/dev/null && pwd || true)"
 
 if ! command -v docker >/dev/null 2>&1; then
   echo "Docker is required." >&2
   exit 2
 fi
-if [[ -z "$CLIENT_ROOT" || ! -f "$CLIENT_ROOT/package.json" ]]; then
-  echo "Expected htmltrust-browser-client beside this checkout." >&2
-  echo "Clone it at: $(dirname "$REPO_ROOT")/htmltrust-browser-client" >&2
-  exit 2
-fi
 
-CHECKOUT_ID="$(printf '%s\n%s' "$REPO_ROOT" "$CLIENT_ROOT" | cksum | awk '{print $1}')"
+CHECKOUT_ID="$(printf '%s\n' "$REPO_ROOT" | cksum | awk '{print $1}')"
 NPM_CACHE="htmltrust-browser-${CHECKOUT_ID}-npm"
 
 docker run --rm \
   --volume "$REPO_ROOT:/source/browser-reference:ro" \
-  --volume "$CLIENT_ROOT:/source/browser-client:ro" \
   --volume "$NPM_CACHE:/root/.npm" \
   node:22-bookworm sh -euc '
-    mkdir -p /work/htmltrust-browser-reference /work/htmltrust-browser-client
+    mkdir -p /work/htmltrust-browser-reference
     (cd /source/browser-reference && tar --exclude=node_modules --exclude=build -cf - .) \
       | (cd /work/htmltrust-browser-reference && tar -xf -)
-    (cd /source/browser-client && tar --exclude=node_modules --exclude=build -cf - .) \
-      | (cd /work/htmltrust-browser-client && tar -xf -)
-
-    cd /work/htmltrust-browser-client
-    npm ci --ignore-scripts --no-audit --no-fund
-    npm run build
 
     cd /work/htmltrust-browser-reference
-    npm ci --ignore-scripts --no-audit --no-fund
+    npm ci --ignore-scripts=false --no-audit --no-fund
     npm test -- --runInBand
     npm run typecheck
     npm run lint