diff --git a/.mokogitea/workflows/pre-release.yml b/.mokogitea/workflows/pre-release.yml
index 81b4cce8..68e5f705 100644
--- a/.mokogitea/workflows/pre-release.yml
+++ b/.mokogitea/workflows/pre-release.yml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 # INGROUP: moko-platform.Release
 # REPO: https://git.mokoconsulting.tech/MokoConsulting/moko-platform
 # PATH: /templates/workflows/universal/pre-release.yml.template
-# VERSION: 09.23.00
+# VERSION: 05.01.00
 # BRIEF: Manual pre-release -- builds dev/alpha/beta/rc packages from any branch
 
 name: "Universal: Pre-Release"
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ on:
     types: [closed]
     branches:
       - dev
+  pull_request_target:
+    types: [synchronize, opened, reopened]
+    branches:
+      - main
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
       stability:
@@ -43,7 +47,8 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: release
     if: >-
       github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' ||
-      (github.event.pull_request.merged == true && github.event.pull_request.base.ref == 'dev')
+      (github.event_name == 'pull_request' && github.event.pull_request.merged == true && github.event.pull_request.base.ref == 'dev') ||
+      (github.event_name == 'pull_request_target' && github.event.pull_request.base.ref == 'main')
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
@@ -51,7 +56,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
           token: ${{ secrets.MOKOGITEA_TOKEN }}
-          submodules: recursive
+          ref: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request_target' && github.event.pull_request.head.sha || '' }}
 
       - name: Setup moko-platform tools
         env:
@@ -61,7 +66,7 @@ jobs:
           if ! command -v composer &> /dev/null; then
             sudo apt-get update -qq && sudo apt-get install -y -qq php-cli php-mbstring php-xml php-zip php-curl composer >/dev/null 2>&1
           fi
-          # Always fetch latest CLI tools — never use stale cache from previous runs
+          # Always fetch latest CLI tools — never use stale cache from previous runs
           rm -rf /tmp/moko-platform-api
           git clone --depth 1 --branch main --quiet \
             "https://x-access-token:${MOKO_CLONE_TOKEN}@${MOKO_CLONE_HOST}/moko-platform.git" \
@@ -77,25 +82,38 @@ jobs:
       - name: Resolve metadata and bump version
         id: meta
         run: |
-          STABILITY="${{ inputs.stability || 'development' }}"
+          # Auto-detect stability: RC for PRs targeting main, else use input or default to development
+          if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" = "pull_request_target" ] && [ "${{ github.event.pull_request.base.ref }}" = "main" ]; then
+            STABILITY="release-candidate"
+          else
+            STABILITY="${{ inputs.stability || 'development' }}"
+          fi
 
           case "$STABILITY" in
-            development)        TAG="development" ;;
-            alpha)              TAG="alpha" ;;
-            beta)               TAG="beta" ;;
-            release-candidate)  TAG="release-candidate" ;;
+            development)        SUFFIX="-dev";   TAG="development" ;;
+            alpha)              SUFFIX="-alpha"; TAG="alpha" ;;
+            beta)               SUFFIX="-beta";  TAG="beta" ;;
+            release-candidate)  SUFFIX="-rc";    TAG="release-candidate" ;;
           esac
 
-          # Set stability suffix, bump preserves it, fix consistency
-          php ${MOKO_CLI}/version_set_platform.php \
-            --path . --version "$(php ${MOKO_CLI}/version_read.php --path . 2>/dev/null || echo '00.00.01')" \
-            --branch "${{ github.ref_name }}" --stability "$STABILITY" 2>/dev/null || true
-          php ${MOKO_CLI}/version_check.php --path . --fix 2>/dev/null || true
-
-          # Read final version (includes suffix, e.g. 01.02.15-dev)
+          # Read current version (bump already handled by push workflow)
           VERSION=$(php ${MOKO_CLI}/version_read.php --path . 2>/dev/null)
           [ -z "$VERSION" ] && VERSION="00.00.01"
 
+          # Strip any existing suffix from version before applying stability
+          VERSION=$(echo "$VERSION" | sed 's/-\(dev\|alpha\|beta\|rc\)$//')
+
+          php ${MOKO_CLI}/version_set_platform.php \
+            --path . --version "$VERSION" --branch "${{ github.ref_name }}" --stability "$STABILITY" 2>/dev/null || true
+
+          # Verify version consistency across all files
+          php ${MOKO_CLI}/version_check.php --path . --fix 2>/dev/null || true
+
+          # Update VERSION variable with suffix
+          if [ -n "$SUFFIX" ]; then
+            VERSION="${VERSION}${SUFFIX}"
+          fi
+
           # Commit version bump
           git config --local user.email "gitea-actions[bot]@mokoconsulting.tech"
           git config --local user.name "gitea-actions[bot]"
@@ -119,11 +137,12 @@ jobs:
 
           echo "version=${VERSION}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "stability=${STABILITY}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "suffix=${SUFFIX}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "tag=${TAG}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "zip_name=${ZIP_NAME}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "ext_element=${EXT_ELEMENT}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
-          echo "=== Pre-Release: ${EXT_ELEMENT} ${VERSION} ==="
+          echo "=== Pre-Release: ${EXT_ELEMENT} ${VERSION}${SUFFIX} ==="
 
       - name: Create release
         id: release