diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
index f68fe55..54c9a9a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -134,10 +134,18 @@ jobs:
         env:
           EXCLUDE_NEWER: 7 days
         run: uvx --exclude-newer "$EXCLUDE_NEWER" --with tox-uv tox run -e type
+  release:
+    name: 🏷️ Release dry run
+    uses: $/.github/workflows/prepare-release.yaml
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      pull-requests: read
+    with:
+      dry-run: true
   gate:
     name: 🚦 Required checks pass
     if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
-    needs: [check, shell, test, type]
+    needs: [check, shell, test, type, release]
     runs-on: ubuntu-26.04
     permissions: {}
     steps:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/prepare-release-creator.yaml b/.github/workflows/prepare-release-creator.yaml
index 93ca36a..806b9a7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/prepare-release-creator.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/prepare-release-creator.yaml
@@ -50,13 +50,18 @@ on:
         description: Newline-separated name=date cutoffs that override exclude-newer for single packages
         type: string
         default: ""
+      dry-run:
+        description: Assemble the release without pushing, so a pull request fails when merging it would break the release
+        type: boolean
+        default: false
     secrets:
       RELEASE_APP_PRIVATE_KEY:
-        description: Key held by the caller's release-auth environment
-        required: true
+        description: Key held by the caller's release-auth environment, unused in a dry run
+        required: false
 permissions: {}
 concurrency:
-  group: prepare-release-${{ github.repository }}
+  # A dry run must not queue behind, or hold up, a real release of the repository.
+  group: prepare-release-${{ github.repository }}${{ inputs.dry-run && format('-dry-run-{0}', github.ref) || '' }}
   cancel-in-progress: false
 jobs:
   assemble:
@@ -236,6 +241,7 @@ jobs:
   push:
     name: ⬆️ Push release commit and tag
     needs: assemble
+    if: ${{ !inputs.dry-run }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-26.04
     environment:
       name: release-auth
diff --git a/.github/workflows/prepare-release.yaml b/.github/workflows/prepare-release.yaml
index a5d7ab9..ca20a50 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/prepare-release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/prepare-release.yaml
@@ -8,6 +8,12 @@ on:
         type: choice
         options: [auto, major, minor, patch]
         default: auto
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      dry-run:
+        description: Assemble the release without pushing, for the pull request gate
+        type: boolean
+        required: true
 permissions: {}
 jobs:
   prepare:
@@ -17,7 +23,8 @@ jobs:
       contents: read
       pull-requests: read
     with:
-      bump: ${{ inputs.bump }}
+      bump: ${{ inputs.bump || 'auto' }}
+      dry-run: ${{ inputs.dry-run == true }}
       # Temporary: release-creator 4.3.2 is younger than seven days. Delete after 2026-11-06.
       exclude-newer-package: release-creator=2026-10-30T15:13:19Z
     secrets:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/prepare-towncrier-release.yaml b/.github/workflows/prepare-towncrier-release.yaml
index 6404c05..1fdfe4c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/prepare-towncrier-release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/prepare-towncrier-release.yaml
@@ -30,13 +30,18 @@ on:
         description: Newline-separated name=date cutoffs that override exclude-newer for single packages
         type: string
         default: ""
+      dry-run:
+        description: Assemble the release without pushing, so a pull request fails when merging it would break the release
+        type: boolean
+        default: false
     secrets:
       RELEASE_APP_PRIVATE_KEY:
-        description: Key held by the caller's release-auth environment
-        required: true
+        description: Key held by the caller's release-auth environment, unused in a dry run
+        required: false
 permissions: {}
 concurrency:
-  group: prepare-release-${{ github.repository }}
+  # A dry run must not queue behind, or hold up, a real release of the repository.
+  group: prepare-release-${{ github.repository }}${{ inputs.dry-run && format('-dry-run-{0}', github.ref) || '' }}
   cancel-in-progress: false
 jobs:
   assemble:
@@ -99,6 +104,7 @@ jobs:
   push:
     name: ⬆️ Push release commit and tag
     needs: assemble
+    if: ${{ !inputs.dry-run }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-26.04
     environment:
       name: release-auth
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9c029ec..6940a4a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -651,6 +651,63 @@ The `push` job refuses `pull_request`, `pull_request_target`, `workflow_run`, `i
 callers. Its first step fails with an error that names the event, before the patch is downloaded and before the App
 token exists. Trigger the caller on `push`, `schedule`, `workflow_dispatch`, or `release`.
 
+### Dry run on pull requests
+
+A release assembles under rules a pull request's own checks never apply: hooks install with packages from the last seven
+days held back, fragments link to their pull requests, and the changelog builds and formats. A pull request that breaks
+any of these merges green and fails the next release. `dry-run: true` runs `assemble` alone and skips `push`, so the
+pull request fails instead. A dry run needs no App key and uses its own concurrency group per ref, so it never queues
+behind a real release.
+
+Make the caller's prepare workflow callable and run it from the workflow that holds the required gate, so the dry run
+uses the same inputs as the release:
+
+```yaml
+# prepare-release.yaml
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      bump:
+        type: choice
+        options: [auto, major, minor, patch]
+        default: auto
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      dry-run:
+        type: boolean
+        required: true
+jobs:
+  prepare:
+    uses: >-
+      tox-dev/github-workflows/.github/workflows/prepare-towncrier-release.yaml@SHA
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      pull-requests: read
+    with:
+      bump: ${{ inputs.bump || 'auto' }}
+      dry-run: ${{ inputs.dry-run == true }}
+    secrets:
+      RELEASE_APP_PRIVATE_KEY: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_APP_PRIVATE_KEY }}
+```
+
+```yaml
+# check.yaml
+jobs:
+  release:
+    uses: $/.github/workflows/prepare-release.yaml
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      pull-requests: read
+    with:
+      dry-run: true
+  gate:
+    needs: [release, test]
+```
+
+Pass `dry-run` explicitly rather than deriving it from `github.event_name`: a called workflow sees its caller's event,
+so a manually dispatched check workflow would otherwise prepare a real release. `prepare-release-creator.yaml` takes the
+same `dry-run` input.
+
 ## Read Towncrier configuration
 
 `read-towncrier-config` reads `towncrier.toml` or `pyproject.toml` from the checkout's committed `HEAD`, so an untrusted
@@ -816,7 +873,7 @@ Simplint's single-package release uses unprefixed tags and no package scope:
 - `cargo-set-version`: run `cargo set-version` with the number before assembly; default `false`.
   `cargo-set-version-args` holds the arguments before the number, such as `-p {package}`. Cargo and cargo-edit install
   only when this is set.
-- `annotated`, `release-auth-deployment`, `exclude-newer`, and `exclude-newer-package` match
+- `annotated`, `release-auth-deployment`, `exclude-newer`, `exclude-newer-package`, and `dry-run` match
   `prepare-towncrier-release`.
 
 The caller keeps the `release-auth` environment with `RELEASE_APP_PRIVATE_KEY` and the `RELEASE_APP_CLIENT_ID` variable.
diff --git a/changelog.d/+prepare-dry-run.feature.md b/changelog.d/+prepare-dry-run.feature.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..530ae14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/+prepare-dry-run.feature.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+`prepare-towncrier-release` and `prepare-release-creator` take a `dry-run` input that assembles the release and skips
+the push, so a pull request check fails when merging it would break the next release.
diff --git a/tests/prepare_dry_run/test_dry_run.py b/tests/prepare_dry_run/test_dry_run.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4f76a14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/prepare_dry_run/test_dry_run.py
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+import pytest
+from conftest import WORKFLOWS, at, load_yaml, mapping
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("workflow", ["prepare-release-creator.yaml", "prepare-towncrier-release.yaml"])
+def test_dry_run_assembles_without_pushing(workflow: str) -> None:
+    document = load_yaml(WORKFLOWS / workflow)
+
+    assert at(document, "on", "workflow_call", "inputs", "dry-run", "default") == "false"
+    assert at(document, "on", "workflow_call", "secrets", "RELEASE_APP_PRIVATE_KEY", "required") == "false"
+    assert at(document, "jobs", "push", "if") == "${{ !inputs.dry-run }}"
+    assert "if" not in mapping(at(document, "jobs", "assemble"))
+    assert at(document, "concurrency", "group") == (
+        "prepare-release-${{ github.repository }}${{ inputs.dry-run && format('-dry-run-{0}', github.ref) || '' }}"
+    )
diff --git a/tests/required_checks/test_gate.py b/tests/required_checks/test_gate.py
index b5219bf..761f7d2 100644
--- a/tests/required_checks/test_gate.py
+++ b/tests/required_checks/test_gate.py
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ def test_gate_is_used_by_ci_and_needs_its_jobs() -> None:
     ci = load_yaml(WORKFLOWS / "ci.yaml")
     gate = steps(ci, "gate")[-1]
 
-    assert at(ci, "jobs", "gate", "needs") == ["check", "shell", "test", "type"]
+    assert at(ci, "jobs", "gate", "needs") == ["check", "shell", "test", "type", "release"]
     assert at(ci, "jobs", "gate", "if") == "${{ !cancelled() }}"
     assert gate["uses"] == "$/required-checks"
     assert gate["with"] == {"needs": "${{ toJSON(needs) }}"}