diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 6146d97..814f7a6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,14 @@ are documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and the project follows [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [1.0.3] - 2026-06-18
+
+### Changed
+- The README intro now states up front that this is **not tool-calling**: sekft
+  trains shell operation, not function-calling; the model is given no typed tool
+  API or JSON-schema action list, and writes plain-text commands at a real prompt
+  with the whole system as its action space.
+
 ## [1.0.2] - 2026-06-18
 
 ### Fixed
@@ -62,6 +70,7 @@ trajectories into a fine-tuned shell operator.
   mypy-strict codebase; an optional `[gpu]` extra (torch / transformers / peft);
   and a dependency on `posix-sdc[hub]`. Released under GPL-2.0.
 
+[1.0.3]: https://git.code.tiararodney.com/tiara/sekft/compare/v1.0.2...v1.0.3
 [1.0.2]: https://git.code.tiararodney.com/tiara/sekft/compare/v1.0.1...v1.0.2
 [1.0.1]: https://git.code.tiararodney.com/tiara/sekft/compare/v1.0.0...v1.0.1
 [1.0.0]: https://git.code.tiararodney.com/tiara/sekft/releases/tag/v1.0.0
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 22e2e67..355962f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@ land with **no imperative**, discover where directives live, learn the provider
 from its own self-documentation, do the work, and terminate (`exit` on success,
 `panic` when genuinely blocked).
 
+> **Not tool-calling.** sekft trains shell operation, not function-calling. The
+> model is given no typed tool API and no JSON-schema action list; it writes
+> plain-text commands at a real prompt, with the whole system as its action
+> space, discovered like a person would (`--help`, `man`, `ls`) rather than
+> enumerated up front.
+
 sekft is the **training half**. The dataset and the synthetic-data factory live
 in [`posix-sdc`](../posix-sdc) (`tiararodney.posix-sdc`), which this package
 depends on. Here live the trainer, the behavioural evaluator, and the
diff --git a/TODO b/TODO
index d5020fe..ad3c85e 100644
--- a/TODO
+++ b/TODO
@@ -294,3 +294,33 @@ Description: The same transformers 5.x return-type change that broke
              it in both operators. Add a unit test for _input_ids covering the
              BatchEncoding and bare-sequence cases. This is the sweep I should
              have done at #15.
+
+--ISSUE
+Content-Type: application/issue
+ID: 17
+Type: feature
+Title: docs: state up front that this is not tool-calling
+Status: done
+Priority: medium
+Created: 2026-06-18
+Module: sekft
+Relationships: 
+Description: Add a prominent clarification to the README intro that sekft trains
+             shell operation, not function-calling: the model is given no typed
+             tool API or JSON-schema action list; it writes plain-text commands
+             at a real prompt with the whole system as its action space,
+             discovered like a person does.
+
+--ISSUE
+Content-Type: application/issue
+ID: 18
+Type: feature
+Title: docs: deliver the not-tool-calling intro clarification (1.0.3)
+Status: done
+Priority: medium
+Created: 2026-06-18
+Module: sekft
+Relationships: 
+Description: Deliver the not-tool-calling clarification to the README intro and
+             add the 1.0.3 changelog entry. The prior issue's merge carried only
+             the todo status; the step-4 work commit was skipped.