diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index a535bdd..ba6630b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@ name: App Search Tests
 
 on:
   push:
-  merge_group:
+    branches-ignore:
+      - master  # release.yml handles master
   schedule:
     - cron: '0 1 * * 5'
 
@@ -13,6 +14,7 @@ concurrency:
 jobs:
   outdated:
     name: Outdated packages
+    if: ${{ !startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/gh-readonly-queue/') }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -31,7 +33,7 @@ jobs:
         run: pip list --outdated --not-required --user | grep . && echo "There are outdated packages" && exit 1 || echo "All packages up to date"
 
   ruff:
-    name: Ruff Format
+    name: Lint
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -53,7 +55,7 @@ jobs:
         run: ruff check
 
   security:
-    name: Bandit Security
+    name: Security
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -82,6 +84,7 @@ jobs:
           path: report.json
 
   tests:
+    if: ${{ !startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/gh-readonly-queue/') }}
     name: Python ${{ matrix.python-version }} / ${{ matrix.db }} / Django ${{ matrix.django-version}}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     continue-on-error: ${{ matrix.django-version == '~=6.0' || matrix.python-version == '3.14' }}
@@ -148,7 +151,8 @@ jobs:
         run: python demo_app/manage.py check
 
   coverage:
-    name: Upload Coverage to Codecov
+    name: Coverage
+    if: ${{ !startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/gh-readonly-queue/') }}
     needs: [tests]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
@@ -178,35 +182,3 @@ jobs:
           directory: .
           token: ${{ secrets.CODECOV_TOKEN }}
           fail_ci_if_error: true
-
-  release:
-    name: Release
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: ['outdated', 'ruff', 'security', 'tests', 'coverage']
-    if: always() && github.ref == 'refs/heads/master' && !contains(needs.*.result, 'failure') && !contains(needs.*.result, 'cancelled')
-    permissions: write-all
-    outputs:
-      bumped: ${{ steps.release.outputs.bumped }}
-      bump_version: ${{ steps.release.outputs.bump_version }}
-      bump_sha: ${{ steps.release.outputs.bump_sha }}
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          ref: master
-          fetch-depth: 0  # Need full history for git tags and version calculation
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
-        with:
-          python-version: "3.13"
-      - name: Install dependencies
-        run: |
-          pip install git+https://${{ secrets.ORGANIZATIONAL_REPO_TOKEN }}@github.com/pivotal-energy-solutions/tensor-infrastructure@master#egg=infrastructure
-      - name: Release
-        id: release
-        env:
-          PYTHONWARNINGS: once::DeprecationWarning
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.ORGANIZATIONAL_REPO_TOKEN }}
-        run: |
-          bumper -P
-          echo "bumped=$(jq '.bumped' out.json)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "bump_version=$(jq '.bump_version' out.json)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "bump_sha=$(jq '.bump_sha' out.json)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..29cbed3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+name: Release
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - master
+
+jobs:
+  release:
+    name: Release
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions: write-all
+    outputs:
+      bumped: ${{ steps.release.outputs.bumped }}
+      bump_version: ${{ steps.release.outputs.bump_version }}
+      bump_sha: ${{ steps.release.outputs.bump_sha }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: master
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Verify commit came from a PR with passing checks
+        id: verify
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: |
+          echo "🔍 Checking if commit ${{ github.sha }} came from a valid PR..."
+          for i in 1 2 3; do
+            PR_JSON=$(gh api repos/${{ github.repository }}/commits/${{ github.sha }}/pulls 2>/dev/null || echo "[]")
+            PR_COUNT=$(echo "$PR_JSON" | jq 'length')
+            if [ "$PR_COUNT" -gt 0 ]; then
+              break
+            fi
+            echo "   Attempt $i: No PR found yet, waiting 2s..."
+            sleep 2
+          done
+
+          if [ "$PR_COUNT" -eq 0 ]; then
+            echo "❌ This commit did not come from a PR - skipping release"
+            echo "should_release=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          PR_NUMBER=$(echo "$PR_JSON" | jq -r '.[0].number')
+          HEAD_SHA=$(echo "$PR_JSON" | jq -r '.[0].head.sha')
+          PR_TITLE=$(echo "$PR_JSON" | jq -r '.[0].title')
+          echo "📋 Found PR #$PR_NUMBER: $PR_TITLE"
+
+          REQUIRED_CHECKS=("Lint" "Security" "Coverage")
+          ALL_PASSED=true
+          for CHECK_NAME in "${REQUIRED_CHECKS[@]}"; do
+            RESULT=$(gh api repos/${{ github.repository }}/commits/$HEAD_SHA/check-runs \
+              --jq ".check_runs[] | select(.name == \"$CHECK_NAME\") | .conclusion" 2>/dev/null | head -1)
+            if [ "$RESULT" = "success" ]; then
+              echo "   ✅ $CHECK_NAME: passed"
+            else
+              echo "   ❌ $CHECK_NAME: $RESULT"
+              ALL_PASSED=false
+            fi
+          done
+
+          if [ "$ALL_PASSED" = "false" ]; then
+            echo "❌ Required checks did not pass - skipping release"
+            echo "should_release=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          echo "✅ All required checks passed on PR #$PR_NUMBER"
+          echo "should_release=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "pr_number=$PR_NUMBER" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+      - name: Skip release notification
+        if: steps.verify.outputs.should_release != 'true'
+        run: |
+          echo "⚠️ Release skipped - commit did not meet release criteria"
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        if: steps.verify.outputs.should_release == 'true'
+        with:
+          python-version: "3.13"
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        if: steps.verify.outputs.should_release == 'true'
+        run: |
+          pip install git+https://${{ secrets.ORGANIZATIONAL_REPO_TOKEN }}@github.com/pivotal-energy-solutions/tensor-infrastructure@master#egg=infrastructure
+
+      - name: Release
+        id: release
+        if: steps.verify.outputs.should_release == 'true'
+        env:
+          PYTHONWARNINGS: once::DeprecationWarning
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.ORGANIZATIONAL_REPO_TOKEN }}
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: |
+          echo "🚀 Creating release for PR #${{ steps.verify.outputs.pr_number }}..."
+          bumper -P
+          echo "bumped=$(jq '.bumped' out.json)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "bump_version=$(jq '.bump_version' out.json)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "bump_sha=$(jq '.bump_sha' out.json)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+          VERSION=$(jq -r '.bump_version' out.json)
+          BUMPED=$(jq -r '.bumped' out.json)
+
+          if [ "$BUMPED" = "true" ]; then
+            PR_INFO=$(gh api repos/${{ github.repository }}/pulls/${{ steps.verify.outputs.pr_number }} --jq '{title: .title, user: .user.login, html_url: .html_url}')
+            PR_TITLE=$(echo "$PR_INFO" | jq -r '.title')
+            PR_AUTHOR=$(echo "$PR_INFO" | jq -r '.user')
+            PR_URL=$(echo "$PR_INFO" | jq -r '.html_url')
+
+            cat >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY << EOF
+          ## 🚀 Release $VERSION
+
+          | | |
+          |---|---|
+          | **Version** | \`$VERSION\` |
+          | **PR** | [#${{ steps.verify.outputs.pr_number }}]($PR_URL) |
+          | **Title** | $PR_TITLE |
+          | **Author** | @$PR_AUTHOR |
+          | **Commit** | \`${{ github.sha }}\` |
+
+          ### Release Assets
+          - 📦 [View Release](https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/releases/tag/$VERSION)
+          - 🏷️ Tag: \`$VERSION\`
+          EOF
+          fi