diff --git a/scripts/__tests__/release-dry-run-notes.test.mjs b/scripts/__tests__/release-dry-run-notes.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2e82a61a0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/__tests__/release-dry-run-notes.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+import { chmodSync, copyFileSync, mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import test from "node:test";
+
+const repoRoot = new URL("../..", import.meta.url).pathname.replace(/\/$/, "");
+
+function writeExecutable(path, body) {
+  writeFileSync(path, body, { mode: 0o755 });
+}
+
+function createReleaseFixture() {
+  const fixtureDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "paperclip-release-dry-run-"));
+  const scriptsDir = join(fixtureDir, "scripts");
+  const binDir = join(fixtureDir, "bin");
+  const callLog = join(fixtureDir, "calls.log");
+
+  mkdirSync(scriptsDir, { recursive: true });
+  mkdirSync(join(fixtureDir, "releases"));
+  mkdirSync(binDir);
+  writeFileSync(callLog, "");
+
+  copyFileSync(join(repoRoot, "scripts", "release.sh"), join(scriptsDir, "release.sh"));
+  chmodSync(join(scriptsDir, "release.sh"), 0o755);
+
+  writeFileSync(
+    join(scriptsDir, "release-lib.sh"),
+    `#!/usr/bin/env bash
+release_info() { echo "$@"; }
+release_fail() { echo "Error: $*" >&2; exit 1; }
+resolve_release_remote() { printf 'origin\\n'; }
+fetch_release_remote() { :; }
+git_current_branch() { printf 'master\\n'; }
+get_last_stable_tag() { printf 'v2026.709.0\\n'; }
+get_current_stable_version() { printf '2026.709.0\\n'; }
+utc_date_iso() { printf '2026-07-10\\n'; }
+list_public_package_info() { printf 'cli\\tpaperclipai\\t0.0.0\\n'; }
+next_stable_version() { printf '2026.710.0\\n'; }
+next_canary_version() { printf '2026.710.0-canary.0\\n'; }
+release_notes_file() { printf '%s/releases/v%s.md\\n' "$REPO_ROOT" "$1"; }
+stable_tag_name() { printf 'v%s\\n' "$1"; }
+canary_tag_name() { printf 'canary/v%s\\n' "$1"; }
+require_clean_worktree() { :; }
+require_npm_publish_auth() { :; }
+git_local_tag_exists() { return 1; }
+git_remote_tag_exists() { return 1; }
+npm_package_version_exists() { return 1; }
+set_public_package_version() { :; }
+`,
+  );
+
+  writeExecutable(
+    join(scriptsDir, "release-registry-versions.mjs"),
+    `#!/usr/bin/env node
+const [mode] = process.argv.slice(2);
+if (mode === "fetch") {
+  process.stdout.write('{"paperclipai":[]}\\n');
+  process.exit(0);
+}
+if (mode === "assert-absent") {
+  process.exit(0);
+}
+process.exit(2);
+`,
+  );
+
+  writeExecutable(
+    join(binDir, "git"),
+    `#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+if [ "$1" = "-C" ]; then
+  shift 2
+fi
+printf 'git %s\\n' "$*" >> "$FAKE_CALL_LOG"
+case "$1" in
+  rev-parse)
+    if [ "\${2:-}" = "HEAD" ]; then
+      echo abcdef1234567890
+      exit 0
+    fi
+    ;;
+  diff|ls-files)
+    exit 0
+    ;;
+  checkout)
+    exit 0
+    ;;
+esac
+exit 0
+`,
+  );
+
+  writeExecutable(
+    join(binDir, "pnpm"),
+    `#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+printf 'pnpm %s\\n' "$*" >> "$FAKE_CALL_LOG"
+if [ "$*" = "build" ]; then
+  echo "fixture stopped at workspace build"
+  exit 42
+fi
+exit 0
+`,
+  );
+
+  return { binDir, callLog, fixtureDir, script: join(scriptsDir, "release.sh") };
+}
+
+function runRelease(args) {
+  const fixture = createReleaseFixture();
+  const result = spawnSync(fixture.script, args, {
+    cwd: fixture.fixtureDir,
+    encoding: "utf8",
+    env: {
+      ...process.env,
+      PATH: `${fixture.binDir}:${process.env.PATH}`,
+      FAKE_CALL_LOG: fixture.callLog,
+    },
+  });
+
+  const calls = readFileSync(fixture.callLog, "utf8");
+  rmSync(fixture.fixtureDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+
+  return {
+    calls,
+    output: result.stdout + result.stderr,
+    status: result.status,
+  };
+}
+
+test("stable dry-run preview does not require a pre-authored release notes file", () => {
+  const result = runRelease(["stable", "--skip-verify", "--dry-run"]);
+
+  assert.equal(result.status, 42);
+  assert.match(result.output, /==> Release plan/);
+  assert.match(result.output, /==> Step 2\/7: Building workspace artifacts/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(result.output, /stable release notes file is required/);
+  assert.match(result.calls, /^pnpm build$/m);
+});
+
+test("stable publish still requires release notes before publish work starts", () => {
+  const result = runRelease(["stable", "--skip-verify"]);
+
+  assert.equal(result.status, 1);
+  assert.match(result.output, /stable release notes file is required/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(result.output, /==> Step 2\/7: Building workspace artifacts/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(result.calls, /^pnpm /m);
+});
diff --git a/scripts/release.sh b/scripts/release.sh
index ed069d92a5..43355c0bcf 100755
--- a/scripts/release.sh
+++ b/scripts/release.sh
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ Notes:
     "canary" and create the git tag canary/vYYYY.MDD.P-canary.N.
   - Stable releases publish YYYY.MDD.P under the npm dist-tag "latest" and
     create the git tag vYYYY.MDD.P.
-  - Stable release notes must already exist at releases/vYYYY.MDD.P.md.
+  - Non-dry-run stable release notes must already exist at releases/vYYYY.MDD.P.md.
   - The script rewrites versions temporarily and restores the working tree on
     exit. Tags always point at the original source commit, not a generated
     release commit.
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ NOTES_FILE="$(release_notes_file "$TARGET_STABLE_VERSION")"
 require_clean_worktree
 require_npm_publish_auth "$dry_run"
 
-if [ "$channel" = "stable" ] && [ ! -f "$NOTES_FILE" ]; then
+if [ "$channel" = "stable" ] && [ "$dry_run" = false ] && [ ! -f "$NOTES_FILE" ]; then
   release_fail "stable release notes file is required at $NOTES_FILE before publishing stable."
 fi