diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index fec606b..d2e6f19 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -7,19 +7,24 @@ on:
         description: "Version to release, e.g. 0.2.0 (no leading v)"
         required: true
         type: string
+  push:
+    branches: [main]
+    paths:
+      - plugins/trace-codex/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
 
 permissions:
   contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
 
 env:
   PLUGIN_DIR: plugins/trace-codex
   MANIFEST: plugins/trace-codex/.codex-plugin/plugin.json
 
 jobs:
-  release:
+  # Phase 1: open a release PR that bumps the manifest version.
+  prepare:
+    if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
     runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
-    outputs:
-      version: ${{ steps.vars.outputs.version }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@34e114876b0b11c390a56381ad16ebd13914f8d5 # v4
 
@@ -44,19 +49,16 @@ jobs:
           fi
           echo "version=$version" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "tag=trace-codex-v$version" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "branch=release/trace-codex-v$version" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - name: Ensure tag does not already exist
         run: |
+          git fetch --tags --quiet
           if git rev-parse "refs/tags/${{ steps.vars.outputs.tag }}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
             echo "::error::Tag ${{ steps.vars.outputs.tag }} already exists."
             exit 1
           fi
 
-      - name: Install Bun
-        uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@0c5077e51419868618aeaa5fe8019c62421857d6 # v2
-        with:
-          bun-version: latest
-
       - name: Update plugin manifest version
         run: |
           tmp="$(mktemp)"
@@ -67,17 +69,79 @@ jobs:
           # Fail if the bump did not take (e.g. unexpected manifest format).
           grep -q '"version": "${{ steps.vars.outputs.version }}"' "$MANIFEST"
 
-      - name: Commit, tag, and push
+      - name: Create release branch and open PR
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
         run: |
+          branch="${{ steps.vars.outputs.branch }}"
+          version="${{ steps.vars.outputs.version }}"
+
+          if git ls-remote --exit-code --heads origin "$branch" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "::error::Branch $branch already exists on origin. Delete it or pick a new version."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
           git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
           git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+          git switch -c "$branch"
           git add "$MANIFEST"
-          git commit -m "chore(trace-codex): release v${{ steps.vars.outputs.version }}"
-          git tag "${{ steps.vars.outputs.tag }}"
-          git push origin HEAD
-          git push origin "${{ steps.vars.outputs.tag }}"
+          git commit -m "chore(trace-codex): release v$version"
+          git push origin "$branch"
+
+          gh pr create \
+            --base main \
+            --head "$branch" \
+            --title "chore(trace-codex): release v$version" \
+            --body "Automated release PR for trace-codex v$version.
+
+          Merging this PR (squash) updates the manifest version on main and
+          triggers the publish job, which builds binaries, creates the
+          \`${{ steps.vars.outputs.tag }}\` tag + GitHub release, and runs the
+          smoke test.
+
+          Review the manifest bump, then approve and squash-merge."
+
+  # Phase 2: publish once the version bump lands on main via the merged PR.
+  publish:
+    if: github.event_name == 'push'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    outputs:
+      version: ${{ steps.vars.outputs.version }}
+      published: ${{ steps.vars.outputs.published }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@34e114876b0b11c390a56381ad16ebd13914f8d5 # v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Read manifest version and decide whether to publish
+        id: vars
+        run: |
+          version="$(grep '"version"' "$MANIFEST" | head -n1 | sed -E 's/.*"version"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"([^"]+)".*/\1/')"
+          if ! printf '%s' "$version" | grep -Eq '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$'; then
+            echo "::error::Manifest version '$version' is not valid semver."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          tag="trace-codex-v$version"
+          echo "version=$version" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "tag=$tag" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+          git fetch --tags --quiet
+          if git rev-parse "refs/tags/$tag" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "Tag $tag already exists; nothing to publish."
+            echo "published=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "Tag $tag not found; will publish."
+            echo "published=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
+
+      - name: Install Bun
+        if: steps.vars.outputs.published == 'true'
+        uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@0c5077e51419868618aeaa5fe8019c62421857d6 # v2
+        with:
+          bun-version: latest
 
       - name: Build release binaries
+        if: steps.vars.outputs.published == 'true'
         working-directory: ${{ env.PLUGIN_DIR }}
         run: |
           bun install --frozen-lockfile
@@ -85,7 +149,14 @@ jobs:
           bun run build
           ls -la bin/
 
+      - name: Create and push tag
+        if: steps.vars.outputs.published == 'true'
+        run: |
+          git tag "${{ steps.vars.outputs.tag }}"
+          git push origin "${{ steps.vars.outputs.tag }}"
+
       - name: Create GitHub release with autogenerated notes
+        if: steps.vars.outputs.published == 'true'
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
         run: |
@@ -101,9 +172,10 @@ jobs:
   # After a successful publish, run the end-to-end smoke test (macOS + Linux)
   # against the just-released version.
   smoke:
-    needs: release
+    needs: publish
+    if: needs.publish.outputs.published == 'true'
     uses: ./.github/workflows/smoke.yaml
     with:
-      version: ${{ needs.release.outputs.version }}
+      version: ${{ needs.publish.outputs.version }}
     secrets:
       openai_api_key: ${{ secrets.OPENAI_API_KEY }}