diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index c66f0da..e789d51 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@ on:
   push:
     tags:
       - "v*"
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      tag:
+        description: "Bare tag name to release (e.g. v0.20.0, not refs/tags/v0.20.0)"
+        required: true
 
 permissions: {}
 
@@ -37,6 +42,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
         with:
+          ref: ${{ github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.tag || github.ref }}
           persist-credentials: false
 
       - name: Build and upload
@@ -49,6 +55,7 @@ jobs:
           tar: unix
           zip: windows
           checksum: sha256
+          ref: ${{ github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && format('refs/tags/{0}', inputs.tag) || github.ref }}
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}