diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index cc40a4f..1d572eb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -17,16 +17,6 @@ on:
   push:
     branches: [master]
   pull_request:
-# CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF is the Makefile's opt-in override (see its comment there)
-# to install cat_tools from a git ref instead of PGXN, for exactly this CI --
-# PGXN's published cat_tools is stuck at a stale 2017 release missing the
-# function extension_drop's SQL calls. Set at workflow level (not per-job) so
-# every job that builds/installs the extension, including ones in other
-# stacked PRs, picks it up automatically without its own copy of this value.
-# Revert this once cat_tools 0.3.0 is actually published to PGXN -- see
-# RELEASE.md's guardrail against cutting a release while this is still set.
-env:
-  CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF: 0.3.0
 concurrency:
   # A superseded push's pg_upgrade matrix (several binary pg_upgrades) is
   # pure waste once a newer push on the same ref supersedes it.
@@ -51,6 +41,22 @@ jobs:
       - name: Lint SQL
         run: make lint
 
+  # A release built while a dependency is git-pinned instead of PGXN can't
+  # actually be installed by a plain `pgxn install` -- see ../ai/RELEASE.md's
+  # pre-release checklist. This is the automated version of that check.
+  release-safety:
+    name: 🔒 No git-pinned deps while releasing
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Check out the repo
+        uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - name: Fail if cutting a release with cat_tools git-pinned
+        run: |
+          if bin/in_release && [ -n "$CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF$CAT_TOOLS_SKIP_INSTALL" ]; then
+            echo "::error::default_version is a real version (releasing) while CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF/CAT_TOOLS_SKIP_INSTALL is set at the workflow level -- revert the override before releasing."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
   # Cheap gate that lets the heavy pg-upgrade-test job below skip itself on
   # commits that touch only docs. Must run on every push/pull_request (no
   # paths-ignore on the workflow itself) -- otherwise the required
@@ -311,6 +317,13 @@ jobs:
     container: pgxn/pgxn-tools
     env:
       PG_TLE_RELEASE: "1.5.2"
+      # This job always clones cat_tools from git (pg_tle registration needs
+      # source, never PGXN), so it needs its own ref regardless of the
+      # release-gated CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF above. Empty by default (falls back
+      # to the `stable` tag below); set job-scoped only as a temporary
+      # override if PGXN's cat_tools goes stale again -- never at the
+      # workflow level, which release-safety guards against.
+      CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF: ""
     steps:
       - name: Start PostgreSQL ${{ matrix.pg }}
         run: pg-start ${{ matrix.pg }}
@@ -347,23 +360,19 @@ jobs:
         # cat_tools must be registered BEFORE extension_drop: extension_drop
         # requires cat_tools, so the CASCADE install below needs cat_tools
         # already resolvable through pg_tle's own catalog by the time it
-        # runs. cat_tools is cloned fresh at the SAME git ref the Makefile's
-        # own filesystem `cat_tools` target pins to (CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF),
-        # read via `make print-CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF` so the two never drift
-        # apart. cat_tools vendors its own pgxntool copy directly (confirmed:
+        # runs. cat_tools vendors its own pgxntool copy directly (confirmed:
         # its only git submodule is an unrelated linter, so a plain `git
         # clone` alone gives a working `make run-pgtle`), so registering it
         # needs nothing beyond the exact same target this repo uses on
         # itself right after.
         run: |
           psql -d template1 -c "CREATE EXTENSION pg_tle"
-          CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF=$(make -s print-CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF 2>/dev/null | sed -n 's/.*set to "\(.*\)"$/\1/p')
           git clone https://github.com/Postgres-Extensions/cat_tools.git /tmp/cat_tools_tle
           # -C on both git and make, rather than `cd`: this is one continuous
           # shell script (a multi-line `run:` block), so a bare `cd` here
           # would still be in effect for the `make run-pgtle` below that's
           # meant to run against OUR OWN checkout, not the cat_tools clone.
-          git -C /tmp/cat_tools_tle checkout "$CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF"
+          git -C /tmp/cat_tools_tle checkout "${CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF:-stable}"
           PGDATABASE=template1 make -C /tmp/cat_tools_tle run-pgtle
           PGDATABASE=template1 make run-pgtle
       - name: Verify no stray extension control files landed on the filesystem
@@ -415,7 +424,7 @@ jobs:
   # job succeeded or was skipped (e.g. a docs-only push skipping
   # pg-upgrade-test) and fails if any failed or were cancelled.
   all-checks-passed:
-    needs: [lint, changes, test, pg-upgrade-test, pg-tle-test]
+    needs: [lint, release-safety, changes, test, pg-upgrade-test, pg-tle-test]
     if: always()
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
diff --git a/RELEASE.md b/RELEASE.md
index 3523152..c18c62e 100644
--- a/RELEASE.md
+++ b/RELEASE.md
@@ -1,29 +1,15 @@
 # Release Process
 
 See [`../ai/RELEASE.md`](../ai/RELEASE.md) for the shared
-Postgres-Extensions release process (versioning, `make tag`/`make dist`,
-the `stable` pseudo-version, manual PGXN upload). This file covers only
-what's genuinely specific to this repo.
-
-## Critical: never cut a release while CI needs a git-source dependency override
-
-`../ai/RELEASE.md`'s pre-release checks and "Notes / gotchas" section cover
-the generic version of this warning (check any dependency-override toggle
-is unset before releasing). The concrete instance affecting this repo:
-`.github/workflows/ci.yml` sets `CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF: 0.3.0` at the workflow
-level, because PGXN's published `cat_tools` (a stale 2017 release) doesn't
-have the function `sql/extension_drop.sql` calls
-(`cat_tools.routine__parse_arg_types_text`), so it can't satisfy
-`META.in.json`'s declared `cat_tools` dependency floor. While that's true,
-cutting a release produces a real, publishable zip that can't actually be
-built by anyone who installs it via a plain `pgxn install`.
-
-**Before starting the shared release process**, check whether `ci.yml`
-still sets `CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF` (or `CAT_TOOLS_SKIP_INSTALL`) to a
-non-empty value. If it does, stop — wait for cat_tools 0.3.0 (or later) to
-actually land on PGXN, and revert `ci.yml`'s override back to unset,
-before proceeding. Check `ci.yml`'s actual value, not just whether the
-`Makefile`'s `cat_tools` target *supports* the override — `CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF`
-and `CAT_TOOLS_SKIP_INSTALL` always exist there now as normally-empty,
-opt-in mechanisms; their mere existence doesn't mean anything is currently
-pinned.
+Postgres-Extensions release process. This file covers only what's genuinely
+specific to this repo.
+
+## Git-pinned dependencies are enforced by CI, not just by convention
+
+CI's `release-safety` job fails the build if `default_version` is a real
+version (i.e. cutting a release) while `CAT_TOOLS_GIT_REF` or
+`CAT_TOOLS_SKIP_INSTALL` is set at the workflow level (`bin/in_release` +
+`.github/workflows/ci.yml`). This is the automated form of `../ai/RELEASE.md`'s
+"no dependency-override toggle" pre-release check for this repo's one
+current override; if this repo grows another such override later, extend
+the same job rather than trusting the manual check alone.
diff --git a/bin/in_release b/bin/in_release
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..9fe6c98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/in_release
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# Exit 0 if extension_drop.control's default_version is a real version (mid-
+# release-cut or forgot to reset after one) and exit 1 if it's `stable`
+# (normal, between-releases state). See ../ai/RELEASE.md's `stable`
+# pseudo-version convention.
+#
+# USAGE: bin/in_release [CONTROL_FILE]
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+control_file="${1:-extension_drop.control}"
+default_version=$(sed -n "s/^default_version[[:space:]]*=[[:space:]]*'\(.*\)'/\1/p" "$control_file")
+
+[ "$default_version" != "stable" ]