diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ba10d892..f4f35a1a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Added
 
+- `ISupportDryRun` — an opt-in interface exposing `bool IsDryRun { get; set; }` for
+  ETL stages that support a dry run: the full pipeline is exercised but the external
+  side effect that mutates a destination or source is skipped. Implemented by the
+  stage that honours it (not by the base classes). (#259)
+
 ### Changed
 
 ### Deprecated
diff --git a/src/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions/ISupportDryRun.cs b/src/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions/ISupportDryRun.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..69db54a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions/ISupportDryRun.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+namespace Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Implemented by ETL stages that support a <em>dry run</em> — a mode in which the
+/// full pipeline is exercised but the external side effect that mutates a destination
+/// or source is skipped.
+/// </summary>
+/// <remarks>
+/// A dry run runs the stage exactly as a real run would — enumerating the source,
+/// evaluating <c>SkipItemCount</c> and <c>MaximumItemCount</c>, incrementing the
+/// progress counters, firing the progress-timer callback and logging as usual — but
+/// it does <b>not</b> perform the side effect that mutates external state. This is
+/// useful for validating a newly built pipeline (source feed, mapping, batching,
+/// throttling) against production data without writing, and for estimating how long
+/// a real run would take.
+/// <para>
+/// The interface is opt-in: a stage advertises it <em>only</em> when it genuinely
+/// honours <see cref="IsDryRun"/>. It is therefore the responsibility of the
+/// implementer to gate its side effect on <see cref="IsDryRun"/>; the ETL base
+/// classes deliberately do not implement this interface because the side effect
+/// lives inside the derived stage and the base class has no way to skip it.
+/// </para>
+/// <para>
+/// Dry run applies to any stage with an external side effect — a loader skips its
+/// write, and an extractor that mutates its source as it reads (for example
+/// committing a message-queue offset, deleting a message on receipt, marking mail
+/// read or moving a processed file) skips that acknowledgement. A pure transformer
+/// has no external side effect and would not normally implement this interface.
+/// </para>
+/// </remarks>
+public interface ISupportDryRun
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Gets or sets a value indicating whether the stage runs in dry-run mode.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <value>
+    /// When <see langword="true"/>, the stage runs the full pipeline but skips the
+    /// external side effect that mutates the destination or source. Defaults to
+    /// <see langword="false"/>.
+    /// </value>
+    bool IsDryRun { get; set; }
+}
diff --git a/src/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions/PublicAPI.Unshipped.txt b/src/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions/PublicAPI.Unshipped.txt
index 7dc5c581..31b06ed9 100644
--- a/src/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions/PublicAPI.Unshipped.txt
+++ b/src/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions/PublicAPI.Unshipped.txt
@@ -1 +1,4 @@
 #nullable enable
+Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions.ISupportDryRun
+Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions.ISupportDryRun.IsDryRun.get -> bool
+Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions.ISupportDryRun.IsDryRun.set -> void
diff --git a/src/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions.csproj b/src/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions.csproj
index 0ed4633d..5ced7c1e 100644
--- a/src/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions.csproj
+++ b/src/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions/Wolfgang.Etl.Abstractions.csproj
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   <PropertyGroup>
 	<TargetFrameworks>net462;net472;net48;net481;netstandard2.0;net5.0;net6.0;net7.0;net8.0;net9.0;net10.0</TargetFrameworks>
 	<LangVersion>latest</LangVersion>
-	<Version>0.14.1</Version>
+	<Version>0.15.0</Version>
 	<!-- Pin AssemblyVersion to a fixed binding-stability baseline so consumers
 	     do not need to recompile / add binding redirects on every minor/patch
 	     bump. Bump only on a deliberate breaking API change. FileVersion +