diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 9bd26c71..00bb12f6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -90,6 +90,25 @@ jobs:
           echo "version=$VERSION" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "tag=v$VERSION" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
+      - name: Validate release branch and version
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          set -Eeuo pipefail
+          VERSION='${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}'
+          case "$RELEASE_BRANCH" in
+            main) ;;
+            dev)
+              [[ "$VERSION" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+rc[0-9]+$ ]] || {
+                echo "Refusing to publish ArchiveBox $VERSION from dev; only main may publish non-prerelease versions." >&2
+                exit 1
+              }
+              ;;
+            *)
+              echo "Refusing to publish ArchiveBox $VERSION from unsupported branch $RELEASE_BRANCH; only dev and main may publish." >&2
+              exit 1
+              ;;
+          esac
+
       - name: Publish the exact tested distributions
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_GH_TOKEN || github.token }}
diff --git a/etc/package.json b/etc/package.json
index 4894ae52..e6f992bb 100644
--- a/etc/package.json
+++ b/etc/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "archivebox",
-    "version": "0.9.35rc157",
+    "version": "0.9.35rc158",
   "repository": "github:ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox",
   "license": "MIT",
   "dependencies": {
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index ff3ce8e7..ba6f1333 100755
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "archivebox"
-version = "0.9.35rc157"
+version = "0.9.35rc158"
 requires-python = ">=3.13"
 description = "Self-hosted internet archiving solution."
 authors = [{name = "Nick Sweeting", email = "pyproject.toml@archivebox.io"}]
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "abxbus==2.5.40",         # EventBus API
     "abxpkg",                # direct imports only; version constrained by abx-dl -> abx-plugins
     "abx-plugins",           # direct imports only; version constrained by abx-dl
-    "abx-dl==1.12.25",       # shared ArchiveBox downloader package with blocking install preflight
+    "abx-dl==1.12.26",       # shared ArchiveBox downloader package with blocking install preflight
     ### UUID7 backport for Python <3.14
     "uuid7>=0.1.0; python_version < '3.14'",  # provides the uuid_extensions module on Python 3.13
 ]
@@ -348,7 +348,7 @@ Donate = "https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/wiki/Donations"
 
 
 [tool.bumpver]
-current_version = "v0.9.35rc157"
+current_version = "v0.9.35rc158"
 version_pattern = "vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH[PYTAGNUM]"
 commit_message = "bump version {old_version} -> {new_version}"
 tag_message = "{new_version}"
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 06b2089d..cc0693d3 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ abxpkg = "2100-01-01T00:00:00Z"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "abx-dl"
-version = "1.12.25"
+version = "1.12.26"
 source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "abx-plugins" },
@@ -39,9 +39,9 @@ dependencies = [
     { name = "rich" },
     { name = "rich-click" },
 ]
-sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/3c/d9/937f071e830269e4e56dde321ced7fa9acfa1dccfe6c60c65a90ca4f8007/abx_dl-1.12.25.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:d38a1c295ffcbb0bec1cbd79cd575c9e804cef86e6b79786f94ac322b526adf6", size = 87097, upload-time = "2026-07-28T08:22:56.4Z" }
+sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/ee/f9/3df8bafb309f125e1a009752797546d453a9834260640613206350fc9b59/abx_dl-1.12.26.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:827667f1737291c59fe7a784012083bf4012ac65ab20c5f63e507f744b1b195e", size = 87179, upload-time = "2026-07-28T08:58:36.324Z" }
 wheels = [
-    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/bd/ee/50f81c72f88a6de843e989aae13ee1b114dbcf809fbbd87f732f9c7813b8/abx_dl-1.12.25-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:c66fda7bb4cf2f0934c246f4163a239b19675618c2dc3911907226eea98029ba", size = 90844, upload-time = "2026-07-28T08:22:57.59Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/96/0f/88b64301a9d510d8cf4ffd8d19effd38715acda50b54d0cb3171d7520798/abx_dl-1.12.26-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:d97fe232bff82ce6d59877e8599ba383666427f9c0039302c2ebfe75af7a3c7c", size = 90904, upload-time = "2026-07-28T08:58:37.381Z" },
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "archivebox"
-version = "0.9.35rc157"
+version = "0.9.35rc158"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "abx-dl" },
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ dev = [
 
 [package.metadata]
 requires-dist = [
-    { name = "abx-dl", specifier = "==1.12.25" },
+    { name = "abx-dl", specifier = "==1.12.26" },
     { name = "abx-plugins" },
     { name = "abxbus", specifier = "==2.5.40" },
     { name = "abxpkg" },