diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 5eb29d9..3cf4a48 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -1,25 +1,26 @@
+# .github/workflows/ci.yml
 name: CI
 
 on:
   push:
-    branches: [ main, develop ]
+    branches: [main, develop]
   pull_request:
-    branches: [ main, develop ]
+    branches: [main, develop]
+  workflow_call: {} # <-- makes this workflow reusable
 
 jobs:
   test:
     name: Test
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      
+
       - name: Set up Go
         uses: actions/setup-go@v4
         with:
-          go-version: '1.21'
-      
+          go-version: "1.21"
+
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
@@ -32,20 +33,20 @@ jobs:
             pipewire-bin \
             wl-clipboard \
             wtype
-      
+
       - name: Download dependencies
         run: go mod download
-      
+
       - name: Run tests
         run: go test -v ./... -short
-      
+
       - name: Build binary
         env:
           CGO_ENABLED: 1
         run: go build -o hyprvoice ./cmd/hyprvoice
-      
+
       - name: Test binary help
         run: ./hyprvoice --help
-      
+
       - name: Test configure command
         run: ./hyprvoice configure --help
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 27e13e2..ed4a26f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -1,27 +1,34 @@
+# .github/workflows/release.yml
 name: Release
 
 on:
   push:
     tags:
-      - 'v*'
+      - "v*"
 
 permissions:
   contents: write
 
 jobs:
+  ci:
+    # Run your CI first and fail fast if tests fail
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/ci.yml
+    secrets: inherit
+
   build:
     name: Build and Release
+    needs: ci
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    
+
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      
+
       - name: Set up Go
         uses: actions/setup-go@v4
         with:
-          go-version: '1.21'
-      
+          go-version: "1.21"
+
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
@@ -34,11 +41,11 @@ jobs:
             pipewire-bin \
             wl-clipboard \
             wtype
-      
-      - name: Extract version from tag
+
+      - name: Extract version from tag (drop the "v")
         id: version
-        run: echo "VERSION=${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/v}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-      
+        run: echo "VERSION=${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
       - name: Build binary
         env:
           CGO_ENABLED: 1
@@ -48,10 +55,7 @@ jobs:
           go mod download
           go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o hyprvoice-linux-x86_64 ./cmd/hyprvoice
           chmod +x hyprvoice-linux-x86_64
-      
-      - name: Run tests
-        run: go test ./...
-      
+
       - name: Generate checksums
         run: |
           sha256sum hyprvoice-linux-x86_64 > hyprvoice-linux-x86_64.sha256
@@ -61,7 +65,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Create release
         uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
         with:
-          tag_name: ${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}
+          # Use the exact tag that triggered this run
+          tag_name: ${{ github.ref_name }} # e.g., v1.2.3
           name: Release ${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}
           body: |
             ## Hyprvoice v${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}
@@ -77,7 +82,7 @@ jobs:
 
             **Manual installation:**
             ```bash
-            wget https://github.com/leonardotrapani/hyprvoice/releases/download/v${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}/hyprvoice-linux-x86_64
+            wget https://github.com/leonardotrapani/hyprvoice/releases/download/${{ github.ref_name }}/hyprvoice-linux-x86_64
             chmod +x hyprvoice-linux-x86_64
             mv hyprvoice-linux-x86_64 ~/.local/bin/hyprvoice
             ```
@@ -90,7 +95,7 @@ jobs:
             - PipeWire audio system
             - OpenAI API key for transcription
 
-            **Full Changelog**: https://github.com/leonardotrapani/hyprvoice/commits/v${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}
+            **Full Changelog**: https://github.com/leonardotrapani/hyprvoice/commits/${{ github.ref_name }}
           files: |
             ./hyprvoice-linux-x86_64
             ./hyprvoice-linux-x86_64.sha256