diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-please.yml b/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
index e87c7ec..fe008f5 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
@@ -3,6 +3,19 @@ name: Release
 on:
   push:
     branches: [main]
+  # Recovery path. release-please only ever emits `release_created` once per
+  # release, so once a tag exists there is no way to re-run build and sign for
+  # it: "Re-run all jobs" makes release-please report nothing to do and every
+  # downstream job skip, while the run goes green. That is how v0.10.0 ended up
+  # tagged with an empty draft release and no way to finish it.
+  #
+  # Dispatch with the tag to build, sign and publish an existing release.
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      tag:
+        description: 'Existing release tag to build, sign and publish (e.g. v0.10.0)'
+        required: true
+        type: string
 
 permissions:
   contents: write
@@ -13,6 +26,7 @@ env:
 
 jobs:
   release-please:
+    if: github.event_name == 'push'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     outputs:
       release_created: ${{ steps.release.outputs.release_created }}
@@ -40,12 +54,61 @@ jobs:
         if: ${{ steps.release.outputs.release_created }}
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
-        run: gh release edit "${{ steps.release.outputs.tag_name }}" --draft=true
+        # `-R` is not optional: this job has no `actions/checkout`, so `gh`
+        # has no git remote to infer the repository from and dies with
+        # "fatal: not a git repository". aur-publish.yml already carries this
+        # exact warning; this call was added without heeding it, and the cost
+        # was a published, empty v0.10.0 sitting at /releases/latest.
+        run: gh release edit "${{ steps.release.outputs.tag_name }}" -R "${{ github.repository }}" --draft=true
+
+  # One place that answers "which tag are we building?", so the jobs below do
+  # not each have to know whether this run came from a merge or a dispatch.
+  target:
+    name: Resolve the target release
+    needs: release-please
+    # NOT `always()`: that would also run this - and everything after it - when
+    # release-please FAILED, which is the brake that stopped the v0.10.0
+    # incident from going further than an empty draft. `!cancelled() &&
+    # !failure()` still lets the job run when release-please is SKIPPED, which
+    # is what a workflow_dispatch does.
+    if: ${{ !cancelled() && !failure() && (needs.release-please.outputs.release_created || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch') }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      tag: ${{ steps.pick.outputs.tag }}
+    steps:
+      - id: pick
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          # release-please's tag on a merge; the dispatch input on a recovery.
+          # On a dispatch release-please is skipped and its outputs are empty,
+          # so the fallback resolves in exactly one direction each time.
+          FROM_RELEASE: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.tag_name }}
+          FROM_DISPATCH: ${{ inputs.tag }}
+        run: |
+          tag="${FROM_RELEASE:-$FROM_DISPATCH}"
+          [ -n "$tag" ] || { echo "::error::no tag to build"; exit 1; }
+
+          # Refuse to touch a release that is already visible to users. The
+          # uploader has overwrite_files on by default, so a dispatch against a
+          # published tag would DELETE and replace its live binaries and only
+          # then hit the draft assertion - leaving published assets whose .sig
+          # and .meta describe bytes that no longer exist. Self-update is
+          # fail-closed, so that breaks every install of that version.
+          if ! gh release view "$tag" -R "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --json isDraft --jq .isDraft > /tmp/state 2>/dev/null; then
+            echo "::error::no release found for $tag"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          if [ "$(cat /tmp/state)" != "true" ]; then
+            echo "::error::$tag is already published. Re-running would overwrite its live assets and leave their signatures stale. Draft it first if you really mean to replace it: gh release edit $tag --draft=true"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          echo "tag=$tag" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "building $tag (draft)"
 
   build:
     name: Build ${{ matrix.asset }}
-    needs: release-please
-    if: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.release_created }}
+    needs: target
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
@@ -65,7 +128,13 @@ jobs:
             asset: colony-macos-x86
 
     steps:
+      # Check out the TAG, not the branch. On a recovery dispatch the default
+      # ref is the branch the workflow was dispatched from, so without this the
+      # rebuild would produce binaries from a different commit than the one the
+      # tag names - and the .meta sidecar binds those bytes to that version.
       - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ needs.target.outputs.tag }}
 
       - uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@4cda84d5c5c54efe2404f9d843567869ab1699d4 # stable branch
         with:
@@ -132,7 +201,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Upload binary to GitHub Release
         uses: softprops/action-gh-release@3d0d9888cb7fd7b750713d6e236d1fcb99157228 # v3.0.2
         with:
-          tag_name: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.tag_name }}
+          tag_name: ${{ needs.target.outputs.tag }}
           files: ${{ matrix.asset }}
           draft: true
 
@@ -143,9 +212,9 @@ jobs:
         shell: bash
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
-          TAG: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.tag_name }}
+          TAG: ${{ needs.target.outputs.tag }}
         run: |
-          state=$(gh release view "$TAG" --json isDraft --jq .isDraft)
+          state=$(gh release view "$TAG" -R "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --json isDraft --jq .isDraft)
           [ "$state" = "true" ] || {
             echo "::error::$TAG is no longer a draft after upload - it is public without signatures. Re-draft it NOW: gh release edit $TAG --draft=true"
             exit 1
@@ -159,8 +228,7 @@ jobs:
   # silently again.
   sign:
     name: Sign release assets
-    needs: [release-please, build]
-    if: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.release_created }}
+    needs: [target, build]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     env:
       # Single source of truth for the four launcher assets. Declared once so the
@@ -169,15 +237,19 @@ jobs:
       # which is exactly how v0.7.0 shipped.
       ASSETS: colony-linux colony-windows.exe colony-macos colony-macos-x86
       GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
-      TAG: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.tag_name }}
+      TAG: ${{ needs.target.outputs.tag }}
     steps:
+      # Same tag as the build, so the signing script that runs is the one this
+      # release actually shipped with.
       - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ needs.target.outputs.tag }}
 
       - name: Download release binaries
         run: |
           mkdir dist
           for a in $ASSETS; do PATTERNS="$PATTERNS --pattern $a"; done
-          gh release download "$TAG" --dir dist $PATTERNS
+          gh release download "$TAG" -R "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --dir dist $PATTERNS
           for a in $ASSETS; do
             [ -s "dist/$a" ] || { echo "::error::release asset $a is missing or empty"; exit 1; }
           done
@@ -219,13 +291,13 @@ jobs:
           echo "all assets carry .sig + .meta + .meta.sig, correctly bound"
 
       - name: Upload signatures and metadata
-        run: gh release upload "$TAG" dist/*.sig dist/*.meta --clobber
+        run: gh release upload "$TAG" -R "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" dist/*.sig dist/*.meta --clobber
 
       # ...and again against the PUBLISHED release, because a local file proves
       # nothing about what users can actually download.
       - name: Verify the published release carries every asset
         run: |
-          gh release view "$TAG" --json assets --jq '.assets[].name' | sort > /tmp/published
+          gh release view "$TAG" -R "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --json assets --jq '.assets[].name' | sort > /tmp/published
           for a in $ASSETS; do
             for required in "$a" "$a.sig" "$a.meta" "$a.meta.sig"; do
               grep -qx "$required" /tmp/published \
@@ -239,7 +311,7 @@ jobs:
       # update it cannot apply, and the README's download link never points at
       # an empty release.
       - name: Publish the release
-        run: gh release edit "$TAG" --draft=false
+        run: gh release edit "$TAG" -R "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --draft=false
 
   # Chained here (not on `release: published`) because release-please creates
   # the release with the default GITHUB_TOKEN, whose events do not trigger
@@ -248,11 +320,10 @@ jobs:
   # the AUR job hashes them.
   aur:
     name: Publish colony-bin to AUR
-    needs: [release-please, sign]
-    if: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.release_created }}
+    needs: [target, sign]
     uses: ./.github/workflows/aur-publish.yml
     with:
-      tag: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.tag_name }}
+      tag: ${{ needs.target.outputs.tag }}
     # NOT `inherit`: the AUR job needs one secret, and inheriting handed it
     # the release signing key as well.
     secrets: