@@ -19,6 +19,16 @@ and wheels. It publishes to TestPyPI followed by PyPI, then publishes the
 GitHub Release without marking it as latest. A failed
 docs build prevents asset uploads, package publication, and finalization.
 
+The release-note checker runs from `git-tag`, not the workflow revision.
+For a Pathfinder `full-release`, that tag must contain a version
+of `ci/tools/check_release_notes.py` that writes `version=<VERSION>` to
+`GITHUB_OUTPUT`. Metadata preparation and finalization reject an empty
+version. Do not dispatch `full-release` for older tags without that support:
+the GitHub Release cannot be finalized, although shared documentation,
+asset upload, and package publication jobs can still run. Use the retained
+legacy Pathfinder workflow for those tags during the transition; do not
+move existing tags to add the updated checker.
+
 The default `dry-run` action validates preparation, builds docs, and
 collects release artifacts without creating a GitHub Release or publishing
 packages. It can be dispatched from a development branch; use
 
@@ -187,11 +187,15 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Check versioned release notes exist
         id: release-notes
+        env:
+          RELEASE_GIT_TAG: ${{ inputs.git-tag }}
+          RELEASE_COMPONENT: ${{ inputs.component }}
+          BACKPORT_GIT_TAG: ${{ inputs.backport-git-tag }}
         run: |
           python ci/tools/check_release_notes.py \
-            --git-tag "${{ inputs.git-tag }}" \
-            --component "${{ inputs.component }}" \
-            --backport-git-tag "${{ inputs.backport-git-tag }}"
+            --git-tag "$RELEASE_GIT_TAG" \
+            --component "$RELEASE_COMPONENT" \
+            --backport-git-tag "$BACKPORT_GIT_TAG"
 
   ensure-pathfinder-draft:
     name: Prepare Pathfinder release draft