diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-rust-python-package.yaml b/.github/workflows/ci-rust-python-package.yaml
index a4f9090..91f27ac 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-rust-python-package.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-rust-python-package.yaml
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ jobs:
       mutation_cargo_packages: ${{ steps.detect.outputs.mutation_cargo_packages }}
       mutation_jobs: ${{ steps.detect.outputs.mutation_jobs }}
       has_mutation_cargo_packages: ${{ steps.detect.outputs.has_mutation_cargo_packages }}
+      release_validation_tags: ${{ steps.detect.outputs.release_validation_tags }}
+      has_release_validation_tags: ${{ steps.detect.outputs.has_release_validation_tags }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd
         with:
@@ -89,6 +91,8 @@ jobs:
           mutation_cargo_packages="$(printf '%s' "${selection}" | python3 -c 'import json, sys; print(json.dumps(json.load(sys.stdin)["mutation_cargo_packages"]))')"
           mutation_jobs="$(printf '%s' "${selection}" | python3 -c 'import json, sys; print(json.dumps(json.load(sys.stdin)["mutation_jobs"]))')"
           has_mutation_cargo_packages="$(printf '%s' "${selection}" | python3 -c 'import json, sys; print(str(json.load(sys.stdin)["has_mutation_cargo_packages"]).lower())')"
+          release_validation_tags="$(printf '%s' "${selection}" | python3 -c 'import json, sys; print(json.dumps(json.load(sys.stdin)["release_validation_tags"]))')"
+          has_release_validation_tags="$(printf '%s' "${selection}" | python3 -c 'import json, sys; print(str(json.load(sys.stdin)["has_release_validation_tags"]).lower())')"
           if [[ "${has_plugins}" == "false" ]]; then
             has_plugins_output="false"
           else
@@ -103,6 +107,8 @@ jobs:
             echo "mutation_cargo_packages=${mutation_cargo_packages}"
             echo "mutation_jobs=${mutation_jobs}"
             echo "has_mutation_cargo_packages=${has_mutation_cargo_packages_output}"
+            echo "release_validation_tags=${release_validation_tags}"
+            echo "has_release_validation_tags=${has_release_validation_tags}"
           } >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
   build-test:
@@ -360,14 +366,18 @@ jobs:
           cargo doc "${cargo_args[@]}" --lib --no-deps --document-private-items
 
   release-validation:
-    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request' && needs.validate-and-detect.outputs.has_release_validation_tags == 'true'
     needs: validate-and-detect
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        tag: ${{ fromJson(needs.validate-and-detect.outputs.release_validation_tags) }}
     permissions:
       contents: read
       pull-requests: read
       id-token: write
     uses: ./.github/workflows/release-rust-python-package.yaml
     with:
-      tag: retry-with-backoff-v0.2.0
+      tag: ${{ matrix.tag }}
       repository: testpypi
       publish_enabled: false
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-rust-python-package.yaml b/.github/workflows/release-rust-python-package.yaml
index 6491a3a..1d2ba16 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-rust-python-package.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-rust-python-package.yaml
@@ -213,7 +213,8 @@ jobs:
           if [[ ! -f "${venv_python}" ]]; then
             venv_python="${tmpdir}/venv/Scripts/python.exe"
           fi
-          "${venv_python}" -m pip install dist/*.whl pytest pytest-asyncio PyYAML
+          uv pip install --python "${venv_python}" --group dev PyYAML
+          "${venv_python}" -m pip install dist/*.whl
           if [[ -d "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/plugins/tests/${{ needs.resolve.outputs.slug }}" ]]; then
             mkdir -p "${tmpdir}/tests"
             cp -R "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/plugins/tests/${{ needs.resolve.outputs.slug }}" "${tmpdir}/tests/${{ needs.resolve.outputs.slug }}"
@@ -265,7 +266,8 @@ jobs:
           if [[ ! -f "${venv_python}" ]]; then
             venv_python="${tmpdir}/venv/Scripts/python.exe"
           fi
-          "${venv_python}" -m pip install dist/*.tar.gz pytest pytest-asyncio PyYAML
+          uv pip install --python "${venv_python}" --group dev PyYAML
+          "${venv_python}" -m pip install dist/*.tar.gz
           if [[ -d "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/plugins/tests/${{ needs.resolve.outputs.slug }}" ]]; then
             mkdir -p "${tmpdir}/tests"
             cp -R "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/plugins/tests/${{ needs.resolve.outputs.slug }}" "${tmpdir}/tests/${{ needs.resolve.outputs.slug }}"
diff --git a/tests/test_plugin_catalog.py b/tests/test_plugin_catalog.py
index 8070af5..56d33f3 100644
--- a/tests/test_plugin_catalog.py
+++ b/tests/test_plugin_catalog.py
@@ -1537,9 +1537,48 @@ def test_ci_selection_returns_has_plugins_contract(self) -> None:
                     "mutation_cargo_packages": [],
                     "has_mutation_cargo_packages": False,
                     "mutation_jobs": [],
+                    "release_validation_tags": [],
+                    "has_release_validation_tags": False,
                 },
             )
 
+    def test_ci_selection_detects_plugin_version_bump_for_release_validation(self) -> None:
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
+            root = Path(tmpdir)
+            git = lambda *args: subprocess.run(  # noqa: E731
+                ["git", *args],
+                cwd=root,
+                text=True,
+                capture_output=True,
+                check=True,
+            )
+            git("init")
+            git("config", "user.name", "Test User")
+            git("config", "user.email", "test@example.com")
+            (root / "Cargo.toml").write_text(
+                '[workspace]\nmembers = ["plugins/rust/python-package/rate_limiter", "plugins/rust/python-package/pii_filter"]\n'
+            )
+            rate_limiter = self._create_plugin(root, "rate_limiter")
+            self._create_plugin(root, "pii_filter")
+            git("add", ".")
+            git("commit", "--no-verify", "-m", "seed layout")
+            base_sha = git("rev-parse", "HEAD").stdout.strip()
+
+            (rate_limiter / "Cargo.toml").write_text(
+                '[package]\nname = "rate_limiter"\nversion = "0.0.2"\nrepository = "https://github.com/IBM/cpex-plugins"\n'
+            )
+            (rate_limiter / "cpex_rate_limiter" / "plugin-manifest.yaml").write_text(
+                'description: "rate_limiter"\nauthor: "ContextForge Team"\nversion: "0.0.2"\nkind: "cpex_rate_limiter.rate_limiter.RateLimiterPlugin"\navailable_hooks:\n  - "tool_pre_invoke"\n'
+            )
+            git("add", ".")
+            git("commit", "--no-verify", "-m", "bump rate limiter")
+
+            result = run_catalog("ci-selection", str(root), "diff", base_sha, "HEAD")
+            self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, result.stderr)
+            payload = json.loads(result.stdout)
+            self.assertEqual(payload["release_validation_tags"], ["rate-limiter-v0.0.2"])
+            self.assertTrue(payload["has_release_validation_tags"])
+
     def test_ci_selection_treats_catalog_test_change_as_not_shared(self) -> None:
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
             root = Path(tmpdir)
@@ -1581,6 +1620,8 @@ def test_ci_selection_treats_catalog_test_change_as_not_shared(self) -> None:
                     "mutation_cargo_packages": [],
                     "has_mutation_cargo_packages": False,
                     "mutation_jobs": [],
+                "release_validation_tags": [],
+                "has_release_validation_tags": False,
                 },
             )
 
@@ -1625,6 +1666,8 @@ def test_ci_selection_treats_shared_tool_changes_as_all_plugins(self) -> None:
                     "mutation_cargo_packages": [],
                     "has_mutation_cargo_packages": False,
                     "mutation_jobs": [],
+                "release_validation_tags": [],
+                "has_release_validation_tags": False,
                 },
             )
 
@@ -1671,6 +1714,8 @@ def test_ci_selection_treats_tooling_config_changes_as_all_plugins(self) -> None
                             "mutation_cargo_packages": [],
                             "has_mutation_cargo_packages": False,
                             "mutation_jobs": [],
+                        "release_validation_tags": [],
+                        "has_release_validation_tags": False,
                         },
                     )
 
@@ -1749,6 +1794,8 @@ def test_ci_selection_treats_cargo_lock_change_as_all_plugins(self) -> None:
                     "mutation_cargo_packages": [],
                     "has_mutation_cargo_packages": False,
                     "mutation_jobs": [],
+                "release_validation_tags": [],
+                "has_release_validation_tags": False,
                 },
             )
 
@@ -1792,6 +1839,8 @@ def test_ci_selection_treats_deny_config_change_as_all_plugins(self) -> None:
                     "mutation_cargo_packages": [],
                     "has_mutation_cargo_packages": False,
                     "mutation_jobs": [],
+                "release_validation_tags": [],
+                "has_release_validation_tags": False,
                 },
             )
 
@@ -1837,6 +1886,8 @@ def test_changed_returns_plugin_for_plugin_integration_test_change(self) -> None
                     "mutation_cargo_packages": [],
                     "has_mutation_cargo_packages": False,
                     "mutation_jobs": [],
+                "release_validation_tags": [],
+                "has_release_validation_tags": False,
                 },
             )
 
@@ -1882,6 +1933,8 @@ def test_ci_selection_treats_shared_plugin_tests_change_as_all_plugins(self) ->
                     "mutation_cargo_packages": [],
                     "has_mutation_cargo_packages": False,
                     "mutation_jobs": [],
+                "release_validation_tags": [],
+                "has_release_validation_tags": False,
                 },
             )
 
@@ -1937,6 +1990,8 @@ def test_ci_selection_treats_shared_crate_changes_as_all_plugins(self) -> None:
                             "test_packages": ["rate_limiter"],
                         }
                     ],
+                    "release_validation_tags": [],
+                    "has_release_validation_tags": False,
                 },
             )
 
@@ -2177,6 +2232,8 @@ def test_ci_selection_reports_cargo_packages_for_single_plugin_diff(self) -> Non
                     "mutation_cargo_packages": [],
                     "has_mutation_cargo_packages": False,
                     "mutation_jobs": [],
+                "release_validation_tags": [],
+                "has_release_validation_tags": False,
                 },
             )
 
@@ -2225,6 +2282,8 @@ def test_ci_selection_reports_mutation_package_for_single_rust_diff(self) -> Non
                     "mutation_jobs": [
                         {"cargo_package": "rate_limiter", "in_diff": True, "test_packages": []}
                     ],
+                    "release_validation_tags": [],
+                    "has_release_validation_tags": False,
                 },
             )
 
@@ -2271,6 +2330,14 @@ def test_ci_selection_field_prints_json_and_bool_scalars(self) -> None:
         self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, result.stderr)
         self.assertEqual(result.stdout.strip(), "true")
 
+        result = run_catalog("ci-selection-field", str(REPO_ROOT), "all", "", "", "release_validation_tags")
+        self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, result.stderr)
+        self.assertEqual(json.loads(result.stdout), [])
+
+        result = run_catalog("ci-selection-field", str(REPO_ROOT), "all", "", "", "has_release_validation_tags")
+        self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, result.stderr)
+        self.assertEqual(result.stdout.strip(), "false")
+
     def test_ci_selection_field_supports_diff_mode(self) -> None:
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
             root = Path(tmpdir)
@@ -2498,7 +2565,7 @@ def test_ci_workflow_uses_make_targets_for_plugin_checks(self) -> None:
         self.assertIn("working-directory: plugins/rust/python-package/${{ matrix.plugin }}", workflow)
         self.assertIn("release-validation:", workflow)
         self.assertIn("uses: ./.github/workflows/release-rust-python-package.yaml", workflow)
-        self.assertIn("tag: retry-with-backoff-v0.2.0", workflow)
+        self.assertIn("tag: ${{ matrix.tag }}", workflow)
         self.assertIn("repository: testpypi", workflow)
         self.assertIn("publish_enabled: false", workflow)
         self.assertNotIn("tools/plugin_catalog.py ci-selection-field", workflow)
@@ -2574,6 +2641,9 @@ def test_ci_workflow_includes_parity_jobs_for_rust_plugin_checks(self) -> None:
         documentation_section = self._extract_workflow_job_section(
             workflow, "documentation"
         )
+        release_validation_section = self._extract_workflow_job_section(
+            workflow, "release-validation"
+        )
         detect_run = self._extract_workflow_step_run(
             workflow, "validate-and-detect", step_id="detect"
         )
@@ -2621,6 +2691,8 @@ def test_ci_workflow_includes_parity_jobs_for_rust_plugin_checks(self) -> None:
         self.assertIn("mutation_cargo_packages: ${{ steps.detect.outputs.mutation_cargo_packages }}", workflow)
         self.assertIn("mutation_jobs: ${{ steps.detect.outputs.mutation_jobs }}", workflow)
         self.assertIn("has_mutation_cargo_packages: ${{ steps.detect.outputs.has_mutation_cargo_packages }}", workflow)
+        self.assertIn("release_validation_tags: ${{ steps.detect.outputs.release_validation_tags }}", workflow)
+        self.assertIn("has_release_validation_tags: ${{ steps.detect.outputs.has_release_validation_tags }}", workflow)
         self.assertIn("security-policy:", workflow)
         self.assertIn("mutation-testing:", workflow)
         self.assertIn("coverage:", workflow)
@@ -2630,6 +2702,8 @@ def test_ci_workflow_includes_parity_jobs_for_rust_plugin_checks(self) -> None:
         self.assertIn("if: github.event_name == 'pull_request' && needs.validate-and-detect.outputs.has_mutation_cargo_packages == 'true'", mutants_section)
         self.assertIn("if: needs.validate-and-detect.outputs.has_plugins == 'true'", coverage_section)
         self.assertIn("if: needs.validate-and-detect.outputs.has_plugins == 'true'", documentation_section)
+        self.assertIn("if: github.event_name == 'pull_request' && needs.validate-and-detect.outputs.has_release_validation_tags == 'true'", release_validation_section)
+        self.assertIn("tag: ${{ fromJson(needs.validate-and-detect.outputs.release_validation_tags) }}", release_validation_section)
         self.assertNotIn("cargo-audit", security_section)
         self.assertNotIn("cargo audit", security_section)
         self.assertIn("cargo install cargo-deny", security_section)
@@ -3259,7 +3333,9 @@ def test_release_workflow_tests_artifacts_outside_source_tree(self) -> None:
             'venv_python="${tmpdir}/venv/Scripts/python.exe"',
             workflow,
         )
+        self.assertIn('uv pip install --python "${venv_python}" --group dev PyYAML', workflow)
         self.assertIn('"${venv_python}" -m pip install', workflow)
+        self.assertNotIn('pytest pytest-asyncio PyYAML', workflow)
         self.assertIn('"${venv_python}" -m pytest', workflow)
         self.assertIn(
             "actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd",
diff --git a/tools/plugin_catalog.py b/tools/plugin_catalog.py
index d663431..722b659 100644
--- a/tools/plugin_catalog.py
+++ b/tools/plugin_catalog.py
@@ -486,6 +486,31 @@ def _git_changed_paths(root: Path, base: str, head: str) -> list[str]:
     return [line for line in completed.stdout.splitlines() if line.strip()]
 
 
+def _git_file_text(root: Path, revision: str, path: str) -> str | None:
+    completed = subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "show", f"{revision}:{path}"],
+        cwd=root,
+        text=True,
+        capture_output=True,
+        check=False,
+    )
+    if completed.returncode != 0:
+        return None
+    return completed.stdout
+
+
+def _cargo_version_from_text(text: str) -> str | None:
+    try:
+        payload = tomllib.loads(text)
+    except tomllib.TOMLDecodeError:
+        return None
+    package = payload.get("package", {})
+    if not isinstance(package, dict):
+        return None
+    version = package.get("version")
+    return version if isinstance(version, str) else None
+
+
 def changed_plugins(root: Path, base: str, head: str) -> list[str]:
     plugins = discover_plugins(root)
     return _changed_plugins_for_records(root, plugins, _git_changed_paths(root, base, head))
@@ -563,6 +588,21 @@ def add_job(cargo_package: str, *, in_diff: bool, test_packages: list[str] | Non
     return [jobs[key] for key in sorted(jobs)]
 
 
+def _release_validation_tags_for_records(
+    root: Path, plugins: list[PluginRecord], changed_paths: list[str], base: str
+) -> list[str]:
+    tags: list[str] = []
+    for plugin in plugins:
+        cargo_path = f"{plugin.path}/Cargo.toml"
+        if cargo_path not in changed_paths:
+            continue
+        old_text = _git_file_text(root, base, cargo_path)
+        old_version = _cargo_version_from_text(old_text) if old_text is not None else None
+        if old_version is not None and old_version != plugin.version:
+            tags.append(f"{plugin.slug.replace('_', '-')}-v{plugin.version}")
+    return sorted(tags)
+
+
 def ci_selection(root: Path, mode: str, base: str | None = None, head: str | None = None) -> dict:
     plugins = discover_plugins(root)
     plugin_lookup = {plugin.slug: plugin for plugin in plugins}
@@ -576,12 +616,16 @@ def ci_selection(root: Path, mode: str, base: str | None = None, head: str | Non
             }
             for slug in selected
         ]
+        release_validation_tags: list[str] = []
     else:
         if base is None or head is None:
             raise CatalogError("ci-selection diff mode requires base and head revisions")
         changed_paths = _git_changed_paths(root, base, head)
         selected = _changed_plugins_for_records(root, plugins, changed_paths)
         mutation_jobs = _mutation_jobs_for_records(root, plugins, changed_paths)
+        release_validation_tags = _release_validation_tags_for_records(
+            root, plugins, changed_paths, base
+        )
     cargo_packages = [plugin_lookup[slug].cargo_package_name for slug in selected]
     mutation_cargo_packages = [str(job["cargo_package"]) for job in mutation_jobs]
     return {
@@ -592,6 +636,8 @@ def ci_selection(root: Path, mode: str, base: str | None = None, head: str | Non
         "mutation_cargo_packages": mutation_cargo_packages,
         "has_mutation_cargo_packages": bool(mutation_cargo_packages),
         "mutation_jobs": mutation_jobs,
+        "release_validation_tags": release_validation_tags,
+        "has_release_validation_tags": bool(release_validation_tags),
     }
 
 
@@ -840,6 +886,8 @@ def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
             "mutation_cargo_packages",
             "has_mutation_cargo_packages",
             "mutation_jobs",
+            "release_validation_tags",
+            "has_release_validation_tags",
         ),
     )
 
diff --git a/tools/validate_ci_selection.py b/tools/validate_ci_selection.py
index 63d7387..7bf82c3 100644
--- a/tools/validate_ci_selection.py
+++ b/tools/validate_ci_selection.py
@@ -48,9 +48,14 @@ def main() -> int:
         payload.get("mutation_cargo_packages"), "mutation_cargo_packages"
     )
     mutation_jobs = _assert_mutation_jobs(payload.get("mutation_jobs"))
+    release_validation_tags = payload.get("release_validation_tags")
     has_plugins = payload.get("has_plugins")
     plugin_count = payload.get("plugin_count")
 
+    if not isinstance(release_validation_tags, list) or any(
+        not isinstance(item, str) for item in release_validation_tags
+    ):
+        raise AssertionError("release_validation_tags must be a string list")
     if not isinstance(has_plugins, bool):
         raise AssertionError("has_plugins must be bool")
     if not isinstance(plugin_count, int) or plugin_count != len(plugins):
@@ -66,6 +71,8 @@ def main() -> int:
                 "mutation_cargo_packages": mutation_cargo_packages,
                 "mutation_jobs": mutation_jobs,
                 "has_mutation_cargo_packages": bool(mutation_cargo_packages),
+                "release_validation_tags": release_validation_tags,
+                "has_release_validation_tags": bool(release_validation_tags),
             }
         )
     )