diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-docker.yml b/.github/workflows/build-docker.yml
index 543b510153c6e4..c79cb1e1be926d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-docker.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-docker.yml
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ jobs:
     name: Build Docker image (ghcr.io/astral-sh/ruff) for ${{ matrix.platform }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     environment:
-      name: release
+      name: ${{ inputs.plan != '' && !fromJson(inputs.plan).announcement_tag_is_implicit && 'release' || '' }}
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@4d04d5d9486b7bd6fa91e7baf45bbb4f8b9deedd # v4.0.0
 
       - uses: docker/login-action@b45d80f862d83dbcd57f89517bcf500b2ab88fb2 # v4.0.0
+        if: ${{ inputs.plan != '' && !fromJson(inputs.plan).announcement_tag_is_implicit }}
         with:
           registry: ghcr.io
           username: ${{ github.repository_owner }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 878a1ecea9efaa..1e44415f1b7281 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -53,6 +53,22 @@ env:
   CARGO_DIST_CHECKSUM: "cd355dab0b4c02fb59038fef87655550021d07f45f1d82f947a34ef98560abb8"
 
 jobs:
+  release-gate:
+    # N.B. This name should not change, it is used for downstream checks.
+    name: release-gate
+    if: ${{ inputs.tag != 'dry-run' }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    # This environment requires a 2-factor approval, i.e., the workflow must be approved by another
+    # team member. GitHub fires approval events on every job that deploys to an environment, so we
+    # have a dedicated environment for this purpose instead of using the `release` environment.
+    # We use a GitHub App with a deployment protection rule webhook to ensure that the `release`
+    # environment is only approved when the `release-gate` job succeeds.
+    environment:
+      name: release-gate
+      deployment: false
+    steps:
+      - run: echo "Release approved"
+
   # Run 'dist plan' (or host) to determine what tasks we need to do
   plan:
     runs-on: "depot-ubuntu-latest-4"
@@ -109,7 +125,8 @@ jobs:
   custom-build-docker:
     needs:
       - plan
-    if: ${{ needs.plan.outputs.publishing == 'true' || fromJson(needs.plan.outputs.val).ci.github.pr_run_mode == 'upload' || inputs.tag == 'dry-run' }}
+      - release-gate
+    if: ${{ always() && needs.plan.result == 'success' && (needs.release-gate.result == 'success' || needs.release-gate.result == 'skipped') && (needs.plan.outputs.publishing == 'true' || fromJson(needs.plan.outputs.val).ci.github.pr_run_mode == 'upload' || inputs.tag == 'dry-run') }}
     uses: ./.github/workflows/build-docker.yml
     with:
       plan: ${{ needs.plan.outputs.val }}
@@ -229,6 +246,7 @@ jobs:
     needs:
       - plan
       - host
+      - release-gate
     if: ${{ !fromJson(needs.plan.outputs.val).announcement_is_prerelease || fromJson(needs.plan.outputs.val).publish_prereleases }}
     uses: ./.github/workflows/publish-pypi.yml
     with:
@@ -243,6 +261,7 @@ jobs:
     needs:
       - plan
       - host
+      - release-gate
     if: ${{ !fromJson(needs.plan.outputs.val).announcement_is_prerelease || fromJson(needs.plan.outputs.val).publish_prereleases }}
     uses: ./.github/workflows/publish-wasm.yml
     with:
@@ -259,12 +278,13 @@ jobs:
     needs:
       - plan
       - host
+      - release-gate
       - custom-publish-pypi
       - custom-publish-wasm
     # use "always() && ..." to allow us to wait for all publish jobs while
     # still allowing individual publish jobs to skip themselves (for prereleases).
     # "host" however must run to completion, no skipping allowed!
-    if: ${{ always() && needs.host.result == 'success' && (needs.custom-publish-pypi.result == 'skipped' || needs.custom-publish-pypi.result == 'success') && (needs.custom-publish-wasm.result == 'skipped' || needs.custom-publish-wasm.result == 'success') }}
+    if: ${{ always() && needs.host.result == 'success' && needs.release-gate.result == 'success' && (needs.custom-publish-pypi.result == 'skipped' || needs.custom-publish-pypi.result == 'success') && (needs.custom-publish-wasm.result == 'skipped' || needs.custom-publish-wasm.result == 'success') }}
     runs-on: "depot-ubuntu-latest-4"
     permissions:
       "attestations": "write"
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 5bdf9c92d64e98..507de7119d69dd 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -416,12 +416,15 @@ Commit each step of this process separately for easier review.
 
     - The new version number (without starting `v`)
 
+1. Request a deployment approval from another team member
+
 1. The release workflow will do the following:
 
     1. Build all the assets. If this fails (even though we tested in step 4), we haven't tagged or
         uploaded anything, you can restart after pushing a fix. If you just need to rerun the build,
         make sure you're [re-running all the failed
         jobs](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/managing-workflow-runs/re-running-workflows-and-jobs#re-running-failed-jobs-in-a-workflow) and not just a single failed job.
+    1. Wait for aforementioned approval
     1. Upload to PyPI.
     1. Create and push the Git tag (as extracted from `pyproject.toml`). We create the Git tag only
         after building the wheels and uploading to PyPI, since we can't delete or modify the tag ([#4468](https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/issues/4468)).