diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-auto-tag.yml b/.github/workflows/release-auto-tag.yml
index b75881b755..f6a52203f9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-auto-tag.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-auto-tag.yml
@@ -5,8 +5,9 @@ name: Release Auto-Tag
 
 on:
   workflow_dispatch: {}
-#  schedule:
-#    - cron: "0 14 * * 1-5" # 7 AM PDT, weekdays only
+  schedule:
+    - cron: "0 16 * * *"
+      timezone: "Europe/Zurich"
 
 permissions:
   contents: write
@@ -19,17 +20,40 @@ concurrency:
 jobs:
   create-tag:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 5
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
         with:
+          ref: main
           fetch-depth: 0
 
-      - name: Determine next patch version
+      - name: Determine next pre-release version
         id: version
         run: |
-          latest=$(git tag -l 'v*.*.*' --sort=-v:refname | head -1)
-          if [ -z "$latest" ]; then
-            echo "::error::No existing v*.*.* tags found"
+          set -euo pipefail
+          tags=$(git tag -l)
+          latest=$(printf '%s\n' "$tags" | \
+            { grep -E '^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+(-pre\.[1-9][0-9]*)?$' || true; } | \
+            sort -V | tail -1)
+          if [[ ! "$latest" =~ ^(v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+)-pre\.([1-9][0-9]*)$ ]]; then
+            echo "No active pre-release series — skipping tag creation"
+            echo "skip=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          base=${BASH_REMATCH[1]}
+          number=${BASH_REMATCH[2]}
+          if ! git show-ref --verify --quiet "refs/tags/${base}-pre.1"; then
+            echo "No ${base}-pre.1 seed — skipping tag creation"
+            echo "skip=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          if git show-ref --verify --quiet "refs/tags/${base}"; then
+            echo "$base is already stable — skipping tag creation"
+            echo "skip=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          if ! git merge-base --is-ancestor "$latest" HEAD; then
+            echo "::error::Latest pre-release $latest is not an ancestor of main"
             exit 1
           fi
           echo "Latest tag: $latest"
@@ -43,10 +67,7 @@ jobs:
             exit 0
           fi
 
-          major=$(echo "$latest" | sed 's/^v//' | cut -d. -f1)
-          minor=$(echo "$latest" | sed 's/^v//' | cut -d. -f2)
-          patch=$(echo "$latest" | sed 's/^v//' | cut -d. -f3)
-          next="v${major}.${minor}.$((patch + 1))"
+          next="${base}-pre.$((number + 1))"
 
           if git tag -l "$next" | grep -q .; then
             echo "::error::Tag $next already exists"
@@ -58,15 +79,18 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Create and push tag
         if: steps.version.outputs.skip != 'true'
+        env:
+          NEXT_TAG: ${{ steps.version.outputs.next }}
         run: |
-          git tag ${{ steps.version.outputs.next }}
-          git push origin ${{ steps.version.outputs.next }}
+          git tag "$NEXT_TAG"
+          git push origin "refs/tags/$NEXT_TAG"
 
       - name: Trigger Release Tag workflow
         if: steps.version.outputs.skip != 'true'
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          NEXT_TAG: ${{ steps.version.outputs.next }}
         run: |
           gh workflow run release-tag.yml \
             --ref main \
-            -f tag=${{ steps.version.outputs.next }}
+            -f tag="$NEXT_TAG"
diff --git a/architecture/build.md b/architecture/build.md
index 4365356f97..cbb49fba33 100644
--- a/architecture/build.md
+++ b/architecture/build.md
@@ -441,10 +441,17 @@ job republishes the analysis job's outcome as the
 required statuses, so they do not gate merges.
 
 Codex Security findings are informational during the observation phase, and the
-workflow only reports on candidates that already exist. Creating pre-release
-tags and gating stable promotion on qualification results are part of
-[RFC 0014](../rfc/0014-release-stability/release-qualification.md) and are not
-implemented yet.
+workflow only reports on candidates that already exist. Gating stable promotion
+on qualification results remains proposed in
+[RFC 0014](../rfc/0014-release-stability/release-qualification.md).
+
+`release-auto-tag.yml` runs daily at 16:00 Europe/Zurich (including daylight saving
+time changes) and supports manual dispatch.
+Maintainers choose the next version by creating `vX.Y.Z-pre.1`. The workflow
+increments the highest release series' pre-release number on `main` only when
+that seed exists, its stable tag does not exist, and new commits are available.
+It never chooses a minor or patch version or creates the initial seed. After
+pushing the tag, it explicitly dispatches `release-tag.yml` to build the candidate.
 
 ## Artifact Scanning