diff --git a/.github/workflows/create-release.yml b/.github/workflows/create-release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b1a24a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/create-release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,211 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright The Lance Authors
+
+name: Create Release
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      release_type:
+        description: 'Version bump type (patch/minor/major bumps version, current keeps it unchanged)'
+        required: true
+        default: 'patch'
+        type: choice
+        options:
+          - patch
+          - minor
+          - major
+          - current
+      release_channel:
+        description: 'Release channel (preview creates beta tag, stable creates release tag)'
+        required: true
+        default: 'preview'
+        type: choice
+        options:
+          - preview
+          - stable
+      dry_run:
+        description: 'Dry run (simulate the release without pushing)'
+        required: true
+        default: true
+        type: boolean
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write    # commit + tag + push
+  actions: write     # gh workflow run release.yml
+
+jobs:
+  create-release:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    timeout-minutes: 30
+    steps:
+      - name: Output Inputs
+        run: echo "${{ toJSON(github.event.inputs) }}"
+
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: main
+          fetch-depth: 0
+          # persist-credentials defaults to true → git push uses GITHUB_TOKEN.
+
+      - uses: actions-rust-lang/setup-rust-toolchain@v1
+
+      - name: Install cargo-edit
+        run: cargo install cargo-edit --locked
+
+      - name: Get current version
+        id: current_version
+        run: |
+          CURRENT=$(grep '^version = ' Cargo.toml | head -1 | cut -d '"' -f2)
+          echo "version=$CURRENT" >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "Current version: $CURRENT"
+
+      - name: Calculate base version
+        id: base_version
+        run: |
+          CURRENT="${{ steps.current_version.outputs.version }}"
+          # Strip any pre-release suffix (e.g. "0.1.0-beta.3" -> "0.1.0")
+          BASE_CURRENT="${CURRENT%%-*}"
+          IFS='.' read -r MAJOR MINOR PATCH <<<"$BASE_CURRENT"
+
+          case "${{ inputs.release_type }}" in
+            major)
+              MAJOR=$((MAJOR + 1)); MINOR=0; PATCH=0
+              ;;
+            minor)
+              MINOR=$((MINOR + 1)); PATCH=0
+              ;;
+            patch)
+              PATCH=$((PATCH + 1))
+              ;;
+            current)
+              # Keep the base version unchanged; useful for cutting another beta
+              # against the same base (e.g. v0.2.0-beta.2 after v0.2.0-beta.1).
+              ;;
+            *)
+              echo "Unknown release_type: ${{ inputs.release_type }}" >&2
+              exit 1
+              ;;
+          esac
+
+          BASE="${MAJOR}.${MINOR}.${PATCH}"
+          echo "version=$BASE" >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "Base version: $BASE"
+
+      - name: Determine tag and crate version
+        id: versions
+        run: |
+          BASE_VERSION="${{ steps.base_version.outputs.version }}"
+          CURRENT_VERSION="${{ steps.current_version.outputs.version }}"
+          if [ "${{ inputs.release_channel }}" = "stable" ]; then
+            TAG="v${BASE_VERSION}"
+            CRATE_VERSION="${BASE_VERSION}"
+          else
+            # For preview releases, find the next beta number for this base version
+            BETA_TAGS=$(git tag -l "v${BASE_VERSION}-beta.*" | sort -V)
+            if [ -z "$BETA_TAGS" ]; then
+              BETA_NUM=1
+            else
+              LAST_BETA=$(echo "$BETA_TAGS" | tail -n 1)
+              PREFIX="v${BASE_VERSION}-beta."
+              LAST_NUM="${LAST_BETA#"$PREFIX"}"
+              BETA_NUM=$((LAST_NUM + 1))
+            fi
+            TAG="v${BASE_VERSION}-beta.${BETA_NUM}"
+            CRATE_VERSION="${BASE_VERSION}-beta.${BETA_NUM}"
+          fi
+
+          if [ "$CURRENT_VERSION" != "$CRATE_VERSION" ]; then
+            VERSION_CHANGED="true"
+          else
+            VERSION_CHANGED="false"
+          fi
+
+          # Refuse to push if the tag already exists.
+          if git rev-parse -q --verify "refs/tags/$TAG" >/dev/null; then
+            echo "Tag $TAG already exists; aborting." >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          {
+            echo "tag=$TAG"
+            echo "crate_version=$CRATE_VERSION"
+            echo "version_changed=$VERSION_CHANGED"
+          } >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "Tag will be: $TAG"
+          echo "Crate version will be: $CRATE_VERSION"
+          echo "Version changed: $VERSION_CHANGED"
+
+      - name: Update Cargo.toml + Cargo.lock
+        if: steps.versions.outputs.version_changed == 'true'
+        run: |
+          cargo set-version --package lance-c "${{ steps.versions.outputs.crate_version }}"
+
+      - name: Configure git identity
+        run: |
+          git config user.name 'github-actions[bot]'
+          git config user.email 'github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com'
+
+      - name: Create release commit
+        if: steps.versions.outputs.version_changed == 'true'
+        run: |
+          git add Cargo.toml Cargo.lock
+          git commit -m "chore: bump version to ${{ steps.versions.outputs.crate_version }}"
+
+      - name: Create tag
+        run: |
+          git tag -a "${{ steps.versions.outputs.tag }}" \
+            -m "Release ${{ steps.versions.outputs.tag }}"
+
+      - name: Push commit + tag (if not dry run)
+        if: ${{ !inputs.dry_run }}
+        run: |
+          if [ "${{ steps.versions.outputs.version_changed }}" = "true" ]; then
+            git push origin main
+          fi
+          git push origin "${{ steps.versions.outputs.tag }}"
+
+      # GITHUB_TOKEN-pushed refs do NOT trigger downstream workflows
+      # (GitHub's recursion guard). We dispatch the Release workflow at the
+      # new tag's ref so its publish job (gated on refs/tags/v*) can fire.
+      - name: Trigger Release workflow on the new tag
+        if: ${{ !inputs.dry_run }}
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          gh workflow run release.yml \
+            --ref "${{ steps.versions.outputs.tag }}" \
+            -f version="${{ steps.versions.outputs.crate_version }}"
+
+      - name: Summary
+        run: |
+          {
+            echo "## Release Summary"
+            echo ""
+            echo "- **Release Type:** ${{ inputs.release_type }}"
+            echo "- **Release Channel:** ${{ inputs.release_channel }}"
+            echo "- **Current Version:** ${{ steps.current_version.outputs.version }}"
+            if [ "${{ steps.versions.outputs.version_changed }}" = "true" ]; then
+              echo "- **New Version:** ${{ steps.versions.outputs.crate_version }}"
+            fi
+            echo "- **Tag:** ${{ steps.versions.outputs.tag }}"
+            echo "- **Dry Run:** ${{ inputs.dry_run }}"
+          } >>"$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+
+          if [ "${{ inputs.dry_run }}" = "true" ]; then
+            {
+              echo ""
+              echo "⚠️ This was a dry run. No commits, tags, or releases were pushed."
+            } >>"$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+          else
+            {
+              echo ""
+              echo "✅ Tag pushed and Release workflow dispatched."
+              echo ""
+              echo "### Next Steps:"
+              echo "1. Watch the [Release workflow](https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/actions/workflows/release.yml) finish (~20 min)."
+              echo "2. Verify the published assets at the [release page](https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/releases/tag/${{ steps.versions.outputs.tag }})."
+              echo "3. Copy the SHA512 snippet from the publish job log into vcpkg/conan recipes."
+            } >>"$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+          fi
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 790ff62..070c785 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -128,3 +128,4 @@ jobs:
             dist/SHA512SUMS
           generate_release_notes: true
           fail_on_unmatched_files: true
+          prerelease: ${{ contains(github.ref_name, '-beta') || contains(github.ref_name, '-rc') }}
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c2991e9..e23b13a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -184,7 +184,33 @@ auto ds = lance::Dataset::open("data.lance", {}, /*version=*/42);
 
 ## Releasing
 
-Releases are tag-driven via [`release.yml`](.github/workflows/release.yml).
+Releases are tag-driven: pushing a `v*.*.*` tag fires [`release.yml`](.github/workflows/release.yml), which builds prebuilt tarballs for `linux-{x86_64,aarch64}` and `macos-{x86_64,aarch64}` and attaches them to a GitHub Release. Beta tags (`v*-beta.*`) are published as pre-releases.
+
+### Recommended: cut a release via Actions UI
+
+[`create-release.yml`](.github/workflows/create-release.yml) is a `workflow_dispatch` entry point that bumps `Cargo.toml`, commits, tags, and pushes — replacing the manual edit/commit/tag steps below.
+
+1. Open Actions → **Create Release** → **Run workflow** on `main`.
+2. Choose:
+   - **release_type**: `patch` / `minor` / `major` (or `current` to cut another beta on the same base, e.g. `v0.2.0-beta.2` after `v0.2.0-beta.1`).
+   - **release_channel**: `preview` (tags `vX.Y.Z-beta.N`, auto-incremented) or `stable` (tags `vX.Y.Z`).
+   - **dry_run**: leave on for the first run to preview the computed tag/version without pushing anything.
+3. Re-run with **dry_run** off. The workflow:
+   - Bumps `version = ...` in `Cargo.toml` and refreshes `Cargo.lock` via `cargo set-version` (skipped for `current` if the version is already correct).
+   - Commits as `github-actions[bot]` with message `chore: bump version to <version>`.
+   - Pushes the commit to `main` and pushes the tag.
+   - Dispatches `release.yml` at the new tag's ref. (Direct tag push by `GITHUB_TOKEN` does not trigger workflows — GitHub's recursion guard — so we explicitly `gh workflow run` instead.)
+4. `release.yml` builds artifacts. ~20 minutes later the [GitHub Release](https://github.com/lance-format/lance-c/releases) has all four `.tar.xz` artifacts plus a `SHA512SUMS` file.
+5. The `publish` job's log emits a paste-ready `set(LANCE_C_SHA512_... "...")` snippet. Copy it into:
+   - [`ports/lance-c/portfile.cmake`](ports/lance-c/portfile.cmake) (SHA512s)
+   - [`recipes/lance-c/all/conandata.yml`](recipes/lance-c/all/conandata.yml) (SHA256s, derived from the `.sha256` files in the release assets)
+6. Open follow-up PRs to `microsoft/vcpkg` and `conan-io/conan-center-index` mirroring the updated `ports/` and `recipes/` directories.
+
+> **Branch protection:** if `main` is a protected branch, allow `github-actions[bot]` (or the GitHub Actions integration) to bypass push restrictions, or replace the default `GITHUB_TOKEN` in `create-release.yml` with a PAT that has `contents: write`.
+
+### Manual fallback
+
+If you need to cut a release without the workflow (e.g. local tag with extra commits):
 
 1. Decide the new version (semver). Pre-1.0 (`0.x.y`): bump **minor** for breaking changes or new features, **patch** for bug fixes only.
 2. On `main`, bump `version = ...` in [`Cargo.toml`](Cargo.toml) and refresh `Cargo.lock`:
@@ -202,11 +228,7 @@ Releases are tag-driven via [`release.yml`](.github/workflows/release.yml).
    git tag v0.2.0
    git push origin v0.2.0
    ```
-5. `release.yml` fires on the tag push and builds prebuilt tarballs for `linux-{x86_64,aarch64}` and `macos-{x86_64,aarch64}`. ~20 minutes later, the [GitHub Release](https://github.com/lance-format/lance-c/releases) has all four `.tar.xz` artifacts plus a `SHA512SUMS` file.
-6. The `publish` job's log emits a paste-ready `set(LANCE_C_SHA512_... "...")` snippet. Copy it into:
-   - [`ports/lance-c/portfile.cmake`](ports/lance-c/portfile.cmake) (SHA512s)
-   - [`recipes/lance-c/all/conandata.yml`](recipes/lance-c/all/conandata.yml) (SHA256s, derived from the `.sha256` files in the release assets)
-7. Open follow-up PRs to `microsoft/vcpkg` and `conan-io/conan-center-index` mirroring the updated `ports/` and `recipes/` directories.
+5. `release.yml` fires on the tag push and builds the four prebuilt tarballs as above.
 
 A `workflow_dispatch` trigger on `release.yml` lets you do dry-run builds without cutting a tag — Actions tab → "Release" → "Run workflow" → enter a version like `0.0.1-dev`. The `publish` job is skipped (gated on `refs/tags/v`), but the build matrix runs end-to-end so you can validate it before the real tag.