diff --git a/.github/scripts/build_publish_payload.py b/.github/scripts/build_publish_payload.py
index d9023573..bd91cce0 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/build_publish_payload.py
+++ b/.github/scripts/build_publish_payload.py
@@ -26,6 +26,24 @@ def normalize_dependencies(raw_deps: Any) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
     raise ValueError(f"`dependencies` must be a map or list, got {type(raw_deps).__name__}")
 
 
+def normalize_tags(raw_tags: Any) -> list[str]:
+    if raw_tags is None:
+        return []
+    if not isinstance(raw_tags, list):
+        raise ValueError(f"`tags` must be a list, got {type(raw_tags).__name__}")
+
+    normalized: list[str] = []
+    seen: set[str] = set()
+    for tag in raw_tags:
+        if not isinstance(tag, str):
+            raise ValueError("tags entries must be strings")
+        value = tag.strip().lower()
+        if value and value not in seen:
+            normalized.append(value)
+            seen.add(value)
+    return normalized
+
+
 def derive_registry_function_name(function_id: str, metadata: dict[str, Any] | None) -> str:
     metadata = metadata or {}
     for key in ("registry_name", "name"):
@@ -348,6 +366,10 @@ def build_payload(
         ],
     }
 
+    tags = normalize_tags(meta.get("tags"))
+    if tags:
+        payload["tags"] = tags
+
     if deploy == "binary":
         if not binaries:
             raise ValueError("deploy=binary requires non-empty binaries")
diff --git a/.github/scripts/tests/test_build_publish_payload.py b/.github/scripts/tests/test_build_publish_payload.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c0b78589
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/tests/test_build_publish_payload.py
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+"""Tests for registry payload metadata assembled from iii.worker.yaml."""
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+from build_publish_payload import build_payload
+
+
+def build_binary_payload(tmp_path: Path, manifest: str) -> dict[str, object]:
+    worker_dir = tmp_path / "smoke"
+    worker_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+    (worker_dir / "iii.worker.yaml").write_text(manifest)
+    (worker_dir / "README.md").write_text("# smoke\n")
+    return build_payload(
+        repo_root=tmp_path,
+        worker="smoke",
+        version="1.0.0",
+        registry_tag="latest",
+        deploy="binary",
+        repo_url="https://github.com/iii-hq/workers",
+        interface={"functions": [], "triggers": []},
+        binaries={"x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu": {"url": "https://example.test/smoke.tgz"}},
+        image_tag="",
+    )
+
+
+def test_manifest_tags_are_normalized_validated_and_optional(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    payload = build_binary_payload(
+        tmp_path,
+        "name: smoke\ntags:\n  - ' SQL '\n  - postgres\n  - sql\n  - ' '\n",
+    )
+    assert payload["tags"] == ["sql", "postgres"]
+
+    without_tags = tmp_path / "without-tags"
+    payload = build_binary_payload(without_tags, "name: smoke\n")
+    assert "tags" not in payload
+
+    empty_tags = tmp_path / "empty-tags"
+    payload = build_binary_payload(empty_tags, "name: smoke\ntags: []\n")
+    assert "tags" not in payload
+
+    whitespace_tags = tmp_path / "whitespace-tags"
+    payload = build_binary_payload(whitespace_tags, "name: smoke\ntags:\n  - ' '\n")
+    assert "tags" not in payload
+
+    scalar = tmp_path / "scalar"
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="`tags` must be a list"):
+        build_binary_payload(scalar, "name: smoke\ntags: sql\n")
+
+    empty_scalar = tmp_path / "empty-scalar"
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="`tags` must be a list"):
+        build_binary_payload(empty_scalar, "name: smoke\ntags: ''\n")
+
+    invalid = tmp_path / "invalid"
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="tags entries must be strings"):
+        build_binary_payload(invalid, "name: smoke\ntags:\n  - sql\n  - 7\n")
diff --git a/.github/scripts/tests/test_validate_worker.py b/.github/scripts/tests/test_validate_worker.py
index 75bfd505..900646a5 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/tests/test_validate_worker.py
+++ b/.github/scripts/tests/test_validate_worker.py
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 
-import pytest
-
 from _test_helpers import GIT_HERMETIC_ENV
 
 SCRIPT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1] / "validate_worker.py"
@@ -101,6 +99,23 @@ def test_wrong_deploy_value_fails(self, tmp_path):
         assert r.returncode != 0
         assert "deploy" in r.stdout + r.stderr
 
+    def test_invalid_tags_fail(self, tmp_path):
+        for case, tags_yaml, expected in [
+            ("scalar", "tags: sql\n", "must be a list"),
+            ("entry", "tags:\n  - sql\n  - 7\n", "entries must be strings"),
+        ]:
+            case_root = tmp_path / case
+            case_root.mkdir()
+            repo = make_worker(case_root, "smoke")
+            meta = repo / "smoke" / "iii.worker.yaml"
+            meta.write_text(meta.read_text() + tags_yaml)
+            init_git(repo)
+
+            r = run_script(repo, "smoke", source_changed=["smoke"])
+
+            assert r.returncode != 0
+            assert expected in r.stdout + r.stderr
+
     def test_binary_bin_name_mismatch_fails(self, tmp_path):
         # A binary worker whose `bin` differs from the worker name ships a
         # release archive the resolver can't find (web/v1.1.x regression).
diff --git a/.github/scripts/validate_worker.py b/.github/scripts/validate_worker.py
index 9d8b9ddd..24ab1cb2 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/validate_worker.py
+++ b/.github/scripts/validate_worker.py
@@ -118,6 +118,12 @@ def soft(msg: str) -> None:
             hard(
                 f"{worker}/iii.worker.yaml language must be 'rust' | 'node' | 'python' | 'javascript'"
             )
+        tags = m.raw.get("tags")
+        if tags is not None:
+            if not isinstance(tags, list):
+                hard(f"{worker}/iii.worker.yaml tags must be a list")
+            elif any(not isinstance(tag, str) for tag in tags):
+                hard(f"{worker}/iii.worker.yaml tags entries must be strings")
         # The release archive's binary is named after `bin` (defaulting to the
         # worker name); the resolver looks it up by worker name. They must match
         # or `iii worker add {worker}` fails with "Binary not found in archive".
diff --git a/approval-gate/iii.worker.yaml b/approval-gate/iii.worker.yaml
index 360c5d44..727ac729 100644
--- a/approval-gate/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/approval-gate/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: approval-gate
+tags: [approval, human-in-the-loop, permissions, policy, security]
 description: Policy and decision surface for human-held function calls — pre_trigger gate, pending inbox, per-session permission settings, and two notification trigger types.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/bridge/iii.worker.yaml b/bridge/iii.worker.yaml
index 7ed6b5e1..dc07938e 100644
--- a/bridge/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/bridge/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: bridge
+tags: [bridge, remote, websocket, federation, engine]
 description: Bridge two iii engines — expose local functions on a remote engine and invoke/forward remote functions locally.
 config:
   url: ws://0.0.0.0:49134
diff --git a/browser/iii.worker.yaml b/browser/iii.worker.yaml
index 0e105864..76a762c9 100644
--- a/browser/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/browser/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,4 +4,5 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: browser
+tags: [browser, chromium, automation, web, cdp]
 description: Interactive Chromium sessions on the iii bus. Navigate, act, read the page console, pick elements.
diff --git a/claude-code/iii.worker.yaml b/claude-code/iii.worker.yaml
index 3002f8f9..c67b1baf 100644
--- a/claude-code/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/claude-code/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ name: claude-code
 language: javascript
 deploy: bundle
 manifest: package.json
+tags: [coding-agent, claude, anthropic, cli, headless]
 description: Claude Code as an iii worker — claude::* functions run headless Claude Code turns, mirror raw messages onto claude::events, and stream AgentEvent frames onto agent::events.
 
 runtime:
diff --git a/codex/iii.worker.yaml b/codex/iii.worker.yaml
index 02e0d962..4265038f 100644
--- a/codex/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/codex/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,4 +4,5 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: codex
+tags: [coding-agent, openai, codex-cli, headless, agent]
 description: OpenAI Codex as an iii worker; codex::run/start/stop/status/sessions::list spawn the codex CLI for headless turns, mirror raw thread events onto codex::events, and stream AgentEvent frames onto agent::events.
diff --git a/console/iii.worker.yaml b/console/iii.worker.yaml
index fbd38b21..44e58457 100644
--- a/console/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/console/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,4 +4,5 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: console
+tags: [console, dashboard, ui, web, admin]
 description: Web console for iii — bundles the React UI and proxies the engine WebSocket on a single port.
diff --git a/context-manager/iii.worker.yaml b/context-manager/iii.worker.yaml
index 36c8fa1e..dba96c90 100644
--- a/context-manager/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/context-manager/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: context-manager
+tags: [context, tokens, compaction, pruning, llm]
 description: Turns a raw conversation history plus a target model into a model-ready context — token counting, function-result pruning, and history compaction.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/cron/iii.worker.yaml b/cron/iii.worker.yaml
index 92e65828..6c8e1b3a 100644
--- a/cron/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/cron/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: cron
+tags: [cron, schedule, timer, job]
 description: Schedule functions with cron expressions - registers the `cron` trigger type.
 config:
   adapter:
diff --git a/database/iii.worker.yaml b/database/iii.worker.yaml
index 2698d88d..10c01bcb 100644
--- a/database/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/database/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,4 +4,5 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: database
+tags: [sql, sqlite, postgres, mysql, db]
 description: Talk to PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite from iii — query, execute, transactions, prepared statements, and change feeds.
diff --git a/devin/iii.worker.yaml b/devin/iii.worker.yaml
index 3539eff6..b80e41f7 100644
--- a/devin/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/devin/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,4 +4,5 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: devin
+tags: [coding-agent, devin, cloud, pr-review, agent]
 description: Devin CLI + API as an iii worker; devin::run/start/stop/status/sessions::list follow the agent-worker family and stream AgentEvent frames onto agent::events, devin::session::* wrap the Devin cloud session lifecycle, devin::pr-review::* exposes Devin's review surface, and devin::api reaches any Devin v1/v3 endpoint.
diff --git a/docs/architecture/iii-worker-yaml.md b/docs/architecture/iii-worker-yaml.md
index 83f0c2f7..0211d6b6 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/iii-worker-yaml.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/iii-worker-yaml.md
@@ -33,6 +33,19 @@ aarch64 gnu, and armv7 gnueabihf (the matrix lives in
 | `interface_smoke: false` | Skip interface boot smoke + registry publish | `ci.yml`, `release.yml` |
 | `runtime` / `scripts.start` | Local boot definition; presence routes publish boot to `iii-add` for non-binary/bundle deploys | `manifest_version.py deploy-mode`, `iii worker add` |
 | `scripts.install` | Build command for local install | `iii worker add` (local source) |
+| `tags` | Optional discovery aliases included in `POST /publish` | `build_publish_payload.py` |
+
+`tags` must be a list of strings. The publish pipeline trims values, converts them to lowercase,
+removes duplicates, and omits the field when no non-empty tags remain.
+Workers with `interface_smoke: false` skip registry publishing entirely, so their manifests do not
+declare tags.
+
+```yaml
+tags:
+  - http
+  - rest
+  - api
+```
 
 ## Bundle-specific
 
diff --git a/docs/sops/release.md b/docs/sops/release.md
index 7335875b..cd28d44f 100644
--- a/docs/sops/release.md
+++ b/docs/sops/release.md
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ flowchart LR
    - `cargo-run` — `cargo run` from source (remaining Rust workers)
 3. Uses `config.collect.yaml` when present (sidecar-free boot).
 4. Collects function + trigger interface (120 s timeout); asserts non-empty.
-5. Resolves release assets into `payload.json`.
+5. Resolves release assets and normalized manifest `tags` into `payload.json`.
 6. `POST /publish` to `https://api.workers.iii.dev`.
 7. `POST /w/<worker>/skills` when `skills/*.md` exist (skipped when absent).
 
diff --git a/email/iii.worker.yaml b/email/iii.worker.yaml
index 4046bfb1..0b7cd3a9 100644
--- a/email/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/email/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: email
+tags: [email, smtp, imap, inbox, messaging]
 description: Email worker — SMTP send and real-time IMAP read with IDLE push (email::*).
 
 runtime:
diff --git a/fp/iii.worker.yaml b/fp/iii.worker.yaml
index bf6cca6c..41402272 100644
--- a/fp/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/fp/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,4 +4,5 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: fp
+tags: [fp, functional, pipeline, transform, lodash]
 description: Lodash-style value transforms (fp::get/pick/take/…) and fp::pipe — worker-side pipelines that move big values function→function without routing them through the model.
diff --git a/grok/iii.worker.yaml b/grok/iii.worker.yaml
index f377a7bf..bd1b34a7 100644
--- a/grok/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/grok/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,4 +4,5 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: grok
+tags: [coding-agent, grok, xai, cli, headless]
 description: xAI Grok CLI as an iii worker; grok::run/start/stop/status/sessions::list spawn the grok CLI for headless turns, mirror raw streaming-json events onto grok::events, and stream AgentEvent frames onto agent::events.
diff --git a/harness/iii.worker.yaml b/harness/iii.worker.yaml
index b374dc08..e1d06c6a 100644
--- a/harness/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/harness/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: harness
+tags: [agent, harness, loop, autonomous]
 description: Thin durable turn loop that wires session-manager, context-manager, and llm-router into an agent loop; spawns sub-agents as child sessions.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/hermes/iii.worker.yaml b/hermes/iii.worker.yaml
index 1e389755..8e45b464 100644
--- a/hermes/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/hermes/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ name: hermes
 language: python
 deploy: image
 manifest: pyproject.toml
+tags: [agent, messaging, chat, webhook, multi-channel]
 description: Hermes agent as an iii worker — hermes::run runs headless Hermes turns with the iii runtime context, hermes::send delivers to 27+ messaging platforms, and inbound platform/webhook deliveries are republished onto hermes::events for iii workers to react to.
 
 env:
diff --git a/http/iii.worker.yaml b/http/iii.worker.yaml
index b6809a4d..35deed30 100644
--- a/http/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/http/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: http
+tags: [http, rest, api, endpoint]
 description: Expose functions as HTTP endpoints — registers the `http` trigger type and serves matched routes.
 config:
   port: 3111
diff --git a/iii-directory/iii.worker.yaml b/iii-directory/iii.worker.yaml
index 9ac44132..5809d66c 100644
--- a/iii-directory/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/iii-directory/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: iii-directory
+tags: [introspect, registry, skills, directory]
 description: Engine introspection (functions / triggers / workers), workers registry proxy, and filesystem-backed skill + prompt reader.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/image-resize/iii.worker.yaml b/image-resize/iii.worker.yaml
index 6f921b4c..af7f364f 100644
--- a/image-resize/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/image-resize/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,4 +4,5 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: image-resize
+tags: [image, resize, jpeg, png, webp, media]
 description: III engine image resize worker (JPEG/PNG/WebP, EXIF orient, scale-to-fit / crop-to-fit)
diff --git a/llm-router/iii.worker.yaml b/llm-router/iii.worker.yaml
index 66a9a480..c7664c1c 100644
--- a/llm-router/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/llm-router/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: llm-router
+tags: [llm, router, models, providers]
 description: One front door + provider protocol in front of every LLM provider.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/mcp/iii.worker.yaml b/mcp/iii.worker.yaml
index 81c09013..4392f974 100644
--- a/mcp/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/mcp/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: mcp
+tags: [mcp, model-context-protocol, bridge, http, agents]
 description: MCP 2025-06-18 Streamable HTTP bridge for the iii engine.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/memory-consolidate/iii.worker.yaml b/memory-consolidate/iii.worker.yaml
index 208d749c..afec79fd 100644
--- a/memory-consolidate/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/memory-consolidate/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: memory-consolidate
+tags: [memory, deduplication, cleanup, schedule, maintenance]
 description: Scheduled hygiene for the memory worker — deterministic dedup of near-duplicate memories, applied supersede-only through the public memory functions, pinned untouchable, with catch-up-on-boot scheduling. Install, stop, or remove it without touching stored memory.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/memory/iii.worker.yaml b/memory/iii.worker.yaml
index 70c6bbf0..789b12b7 100644
--- a/memory/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/memory/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: memory
+tags: [memory, rag, bm25, recall, agent, context]
 description: Durable cross-session agent memory — named banks of always-injected markdown rules and auto-extracted memories, hybrid BM25 + entity recall, pinning, and supersede-never-delete history. Plain files on disk; every operation is a traced function.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/opencode/iii.worker.yaml b/opencode/iii.worker.yaml
index 0f68ad27..a7eb76d0 100644
--- a/opencode/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/opencode/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ name: opencode
 language: javascript
 deploy: bundle
 manifest: package.json
+tags: [coding-agent, opencode, cli, headless, agent]
 description: OpenCode as an iii worker — opencode::* functions run headless OpenCode turns, mirror raw JSON events onto opencode::events, and stream AgentEvent frames onto agent::events.
 
 runtime:
diff --git a/pi/iii.worker.yaml b/pi/iii.worker.yaml
index 8aa9537e..139f6249 100644
--- a/pi/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/pi/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ name: pi
 language: javascript
 deploy: bundle
 manifest: package.json
+tags: [coding-agent, pi, cli, headless, agent]
 description: Pi coding agent as an iii worker — pi::* functions run headless Pi turns, mirror raw events onto pi::events, and stream AgentEvent frames onto agent::events.
 
 runtime:
diff --git a/provider-anthropic/iii.worker.yaml b/provider-anthropic/iii.worker.yaml
index 7895f34e..b0de2887 100644
--- a/provider-anthropic/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/provider-anthropic/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: provider-anthropic
+tags: [llm, anthropic, claude, messages, provider]
 description: Anthropic Messages API provider worker; implements provider::anthropic::stream and provider::anthropic::refresh_models behind llm-router.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/provider-kimi/iii.worker.yaml b/provider-kimi/iii.worker.yaml
index 54f0d8f5..58e7d4c7 100644
--- a/provider-kimi/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/provider-kimi/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: provider-kimi
+tags: [llm, kimi, moonshot, chat-completions, provider]
 description: Moonshot (Kimi) Chat Completions provider worker; implements provider::kimi::stream and provider::kimi::refresh_models behind llm-router.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/provider-llamacpp/iii.worker.yaml b/provider-llamacpp/iii.worker.yaml
index e479a3bf..29282c03 100644
--- a/provider-llamacpp/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/provider-llamacpp/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: provider-llamacpp
+tags: [llm, llama.cpp, local, open-source, provider]
 description: llama.cpp server (llama-server) Chat Completions provider worker; implements provider::llamacpp::stream and provider::llamacpp::refresh_models behind llm-router.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/provider-openai-codex/iii.worker.yaml b/provider-openai-codex/iii.worker.yaml
index 2556a894..6c167a63 100644
--- a/provider-openai-codex/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/provider-openai-codex/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: provider-openai-codex
+tags: [llm, openai, codex, chatgpt, subscription, provider]
 description: OpenAI Codex (ChatGPT subscription) provider; implements provider::openai-codex::stream and provider::openai-codex::refresh_models behind llm-router, sourcing credentials from the auth-credentials vault.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/provider-openai/iii.worker.yaml b/provider-openai/iii.worker.yaml
index 48e81aed..346bc297 100644
--- a/provider-openai/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/provider-openai/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: provider-openai
+tags: [llm, openai, responses, chat-completions, provider]
 description: OpenAI Responses provider worker with Chat Completions compatibility; implements provider::openai::stream and provider::openai::refresh_models behind llm-router.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/provider-xai/iii.worker.yaml b/provider-xai/iii.worker.yaml
index 09861531..a4c22914 100644
--- a/provider-xai/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/provider-xai/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: provider-xai
+tags: [llm, xai, grok, chat-completions, provider]
 description: xAI Chat Completions provider worker; implements provider::xai::stream and provider::xai::refresh_models behind llm-router.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/provider-zai/iii.worker.yaml b/provider-zai/iii.worker.yaml
index 518defbe..d497bf50 100644
--- a/provider-zai/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/provider-zai/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: provider-zai
+tags: [llm, zai, glm, chat-completions, provider]
 description: Z.AI Chat Completions provider worker; implements provider::zai::stream and provider::zai::refresh_models behind llm-router.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/pubsub/iii.worker.yaml b/pubsub/iii.worker.yaml
index 307bad48..54bcfc02 100644
--- a/pubsub/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/pubsub/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: pubsub
+tags: [pubsub, messaging, events, topics]
 description: Topic-based publish/subscribe messaging — registers the `subscribe` trigger type and the `publish` function.
 config:
   adapter:
diff --git a/queue/iii.worker.yaml b/queue/iii.worker.yaml
index be73d09b..63e5e3c3 100644
--- a/queue/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/queue/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: queue
+tags: [queue, async, jobs, retry, rabbitmq, redis]
 description: Durable function queues - registers the `durable:subscriber` trigger type and the queue/DLQ service functions.
 # `config` seeds the `configuration` worker's `queue` entry on first boot;
 # runtime edits after that go through the configuration worker, not this
diff --git a/rbac-proxy/iii.worker.yaml b/rbac-proxy/iii.worker.yaml
index 2155dc3e..3d0e1849 100644
--- a/rbac-proxy/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/rbac-proxy/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: rbac-proxy
+tags: [rbac, authorization, security, proxy, middleware]
 description: "RBAC boundary proxy for the iii worker protocol — auth, gating, namespacing, middleware, and engine:: result filtering on its own port."
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/scrapling/iii.worker.yaml b/scrapling/iii.worker.yaml
index 341e0f46..faee7330 100644
--- a/scrapling/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/scrapling/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ name: scrapling
 language: python
 deploy: bundle
 manifest: pyproject.toml
+tags: [scraping, browser, crawler, anti-bot, extraction, http]
 description: >-
   Scrapling as an iii worker — scrapling::* functions run HTTP / anti-bot /
   browser fetches, CSS/XPath/regex/adaptive extraction, persistent sessions,
diff --git a/session-manager/iii.worker.yaml b/session-manager/iii.worker.yaml
index 062635e0..287fe5b5 100644
--- a/session-manager/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/session-manager/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: session-manager
+tags: [session, conversation, chat, history]
 description: Durable, reactive, branching store of typed conversation entries with six emitted trigger types.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/shell/iii.worker.yaml b/shell/iii.worker.yaml
index 57e72233..e4575e11 100644
--- a/shell/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/shell/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: shell
+tags: [shell, exec, filesystem, bash, terminal]
 description: Unix shell + filesystem worker — exec with denylist/timeout/output caps and background jobs; fs::ls|stat|mkdir|rm|chmod|mv|grep|sed|read|write with host jail, denylist, size caps, and sandbox-target forwarding
 
 # POSIX-only: src/fs/host.rs uses std::os::unix::fs::PermissionsExt / chown /
diff --git a/slack/iii.worker.yaml b/slack/iii.worker.yaml
index f3fc0d3c..f6db057a 100644
--- a/slack/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/slack/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: slack
+tags: [slack, messaging, chat, bot, approvals]
 description: Slack as an iii worker — exposes the Slack Web API as slack::* functions, plus a harness bridge (inbound events → harness::send, native streaming, approvals). Configurable from the console.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/state/iii.worker.yaml b/state/iii.worker.yaml
index 78342972..8a230c34 100644
--- a/state/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/state/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: state
+tags: [key-value, kv, state, distributed, cache]
 description: Distributed key-value state management with reactive change triggers — registers the `state` trigger type and the `state::*` functions.
 config:
   adapter:
diff --git a/storage/iii.worker.yaml b/storage/iii.worker.yaml
index 1ac9bc74..d7cb9dfa 100644
--- a/storage/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/storage/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,4 +4,5 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: storage
+tags: [s3, object-storage, gcs, r2, blob]
 description: S3-compatible object storage across AWS S3, GCS, Cloudflare R2, and a managed local rustfs backend. Streamed uploads, presigned URLs, and object change triggers.
diff --git a/telegram-bot/iii.worker.yaml b/telegram-bot/iii.worker.yaml
index ebdec45a..d301b236 100644
--- a/telegram-bot/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/telegram-bot/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: telegram-bot
+tags: [telegram, bot, messaging, chat, webhook]
 description: Telegram bridge to the harness stack — polling or webhook ingress, live message edits, approvals, and configurable verbosity.
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/web/iii.worker.yaml b/web/iii.worker.yaml
index 518adb83..8d363dca 100644
--- a/web/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/web/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: web
+tags: [http, client, fetch, rest, api]
 description: Outbound HTTP client on the iii bus (web::fetch).
 
 dependencies:
diff --git a/workflow/iii.worker.yaml b/workflow/iii.worker.yaml
index 919f940b..d1b704b6 100644
--- a/workflow/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/workflow/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,4 +4,5 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: workflow
+tags: [workflow, orchestration, multi-agent, durable, automation]
 description: Deterministic, crash-resumable multi-agent workflow orchestrator over harness turns.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/worktree/iii.worker.yaml b/worktree/iii.worker.yaml
index 20a7a597..3e1483bd 100644
--- a/worktree/iii.worker.yaml
+++ b/worktree/iii.worker.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ language: rust
 deploy: binary
 manifest: Cargo.toml
 bin: worktree
+tags: [git, worktree, parallel, agents, branches, ci]
 description: Git worktree lifecycle for parallel agents — mint, claim, and track isolated worktrees per repo, emit lifecycle trigger types, and land branches back through a per-repo FIFO queue (rebase, test gate, ff-only merge).
 
 dependencies: