diff --git a/actions/restore-release-artifact/action.yml b/actions/restore-release-artifact/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e98a1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/actions/restore-release-artifact/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 LibreCode coop and contributors
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+
+name: Restore release artifact
+description: Restore a deterministic release-state artifact from a previous workflow run.
+
+inputs:
+  repository:
+    description: Repository in owner/name form.
+    required: true
+  artifact-name:
+    description: Exact Actions artifact name.
+    required: true
+  expected-head-sha:
+    description: Optional originating workflow head SHA that the artifact must match.
+    required: false
+    default: ''
+  destination:
+    description: Destination directory.
+    required: true
+  github-token:
+    description: Token with Actions artifact read access.
+    required: true
+
+outputs:
+  artifact-id:
+    description: Restored Actions artifact id.
+    value: ${{ steps.restore.outputs.artifact-id }}
+  workflow-run-id:
+    description: Workflow run id that produced the artifact.
+    value: ${{ steps.restore.outputs.workflow-run-id }}
+
+runs:
+  using: composite
+  steps:
+    - id: restore
+      name: Restore exact release artifact
+      shell: bash
+      env:
+        GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ inputs.github-token }}
+        RELEASE_REPOSITORY: ${{ inputs.repository }}
+        RELEASE_ARTIFACT_NAME: ${{ inputs.artifact-name }}
+        RELEASE_EXPECTED_HEAD_SHA: ${{ inputs.expected-head-sha }}
+        RELEASE_ARTIFACT_DESTINATION: ${{ inputs.destination }}
+      run: |
+        set -euo pipefail
+        result_file="${RUNNER_TEMP}/release-artifact-restore.json"
+        python3 "${GITHUB_ACTION_PATH}/../../scripts/restore_release_artifact.py" \
+          --repository "${RELEASE_REPOSITORY}" \
+          --name "${RELEASE_ARTIFACT_NAME}" \
+          --expected-head-sha "${RELEASE_EXPECTED_HEAD_SHA}" \
+          --destination "${RELEASE_ARTIFACT_DESTINATION}" \
+          > "${result_file}"
+
+        artifact_id="$(python3 -c 'import json,sys; print(json.load(open(sys.argv[1]))["artifact_id"])' "${result_file}")"
+        workflow_run_id="$(python3 -c 'import json,sys; print(json.load(open(sys.argv[1]))["workflow_run_id"])' "${result_file}")"
+        echo "artifact-id=${artifact_id}" >> "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
+        echo "workflow-run-id=${workflow_run_id}" >> "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
diff --git a/scripts/restore_release_artifact.py b/scripts/restore_release_artifact.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..58d79f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/restore_release_artifact.py
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 LibreCode coop and contributors
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import io
+import json
+import os
+from pathlib import Path
+from urllib.parse import quote
+from urllib.request import Request, urlopen
+from zipfile import ZipFile
+
+
+def select_artifact(payload: object, name: str, expected_head_sha: str | None) -> dict[str, object]:
+    if not isinstance(payload, dict) or not isinstance(payload.get("artifacts"), list):
+        raise RuntimeError("GitHub returned an invalid artifact listing")
+
+    candidates: list[dict[str, object]] = []
+    for item in payload["artifacts"]:
+        if not isinstance(item, dict):
+            continue
+        if item.get("name") != name or item.get("expired") is True:
+            continue
+        workflow_run = item.get("workflow_run")
+        if expected_head_sha:
+            if not isinstance(workflow_run, dict) or workflow_run.get("head_sha") != expected_head_sha:
+                continue
+        candidates.append(item)
+
+    if not candidates:
+        suffix = f" for head {expected_head_sha}" if expected_head_sha else ""
+        raise RuntimeError(f"Actions artifact {name!r}{suffix} was not found")
+
+    candidates.sort(
+        key=lambda item: (str(item.get("created_at", "")), int(item.get("id", 0))),
+        reverse=True,
+    )
+    return candidates[0]
+
+
+def safe_extract_zip(data: bytes, destination: Path) -> None:
+    destination.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    root = destination.resolve()
+
+    with ZipFile(io.BytesIO(data)) as archive:
+        for entry in archive.infolist():
+            relative = Path(entry.filename)
+            if relative.is_absolute() or ".." in relative.parts:
+                raise RuntimeError(f"unsafe artifact path: {entry.filename}")
+            target = (destination / relative).resolve()
+            try:
+                target.relative_to(root)
+            except ValueError as error:
+                raise RuntimeError(f"unsafe artifact path: {entry.filename}") from error
+
+        archive.extractall(destination)
+
+
+def request_json(url: str, token: str) -> object:
+    request = Request(url, headers={
+        "Accept": "application/vnd.github+json",
+        "Authorization": f"Bearer {token}",
+        "X-GitHub-Api-Version": "2022-11-28",
+        "User-Agent": "LibreCodeCoop/github-workflows",
+    })
+    with urlopen(request, timeout=30) as response:
+        return json.load(response)
+
+
+def request_bytes(url: str, token: str) -> bytes:
+    request = Request(url, headers={
+        "Accept": "application/vnd.github+json",
+        "Authorization": f"Bearer {token}",
+        "X-GitHub-Api-Version": "2022-11-28",
+        "User-Agent": "LibreCodeCoop/github-workflows",
+    })
+    with urlopen(request, timeout=60) as response:
+        return response.read()
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
+    parser.add_argument("--repository", required=True)
+    parser.add_argument("--name", required=True)
+    parser.add_argument("--expected-head-sha", default="")
+    parser.add_argument("--destination", required=True, type=Path)
+    parser.add_argument("--api-url", default=os.environ.get("GITHUB_API_URL", "https://api.github.com"))
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    token = os.environ.get("GITHUB_TOKEN", "")
+    if token.strip() == "":
+        parser.error("GITHUB_TOKEN must not be empty")
+
+    listing_url = (
+        f"{args.api_url.rstrip('/')}/repos/{args.repository}/actions/artifacts"
+        f"?name={quote(args.name, safe='')}&per_page=100"
+    )
+    artifact = select_artifact(
+        request_json(listing_url, token),
+        args.name,
+        args.expected_head_sha or None,
+    )
+    archive_url = artifact.get("archive_download_url")
+    if not isinstance(archive_url, str) or archive_url == "":
+        parser.error("GitHub returned an artifact without archive_download_url")
+
+    safe_extract_zip(request_bytes(archive_url, token), args.destination)
+
+    workflow_run = artifact.get("workflow_run")
+    run_id = workflow_run.get("id") if isinstance(workflow_run, dict) else None
+    print(json.dumps({
+        "artifact_id": artifact.get("id"),
+        "workflow_run_id": run_id,
+        "name": args.name,
+        "created_at": artifact.get("created_at"),
+    }, separators=(",", ":")))
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())
diff --git a/tests/test_restore_release_artifact.py b/tests/test_restore_release_artifact.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4f7363c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_restore_release_artifact.py
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 LibreCode coop and contributors
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import importlib.util
+import io
+import tempfile
+import unittest
+from pathlib import Path
+from zipfile import ZipFile
+
+ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+SCRIPT = ROOT / "scripts" / "restore_release_artifact.py"
+
+spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location("restore_release_artifact", SCRIPT)
+assert spec is not None and spec.loader is not None
+module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
+spec.loader.exec_module(module)
+
+
+class RestoreReleaseArtifactTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_selects_latest_non_expired_artifact_for_expected_head(self) -> None:
+        payload = {"artifacts": [
+            {"id": 1, "name": "release-preparation-pr-10", "expired": False, "created_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z", "workflow_run": {"id": 11, "head_sha": "a" * 40}},
+            {"id": 3, "name": "release-preparation-pr-10", "expired": False, "created_at": "2026-01-03T00:00:00Z", "workflow_run": {"id": 13, "head_sha": "b" * 40}},
+            {"id": 2, "name": "release-preparation-pr-10", "expired": False, "created_at": "2026-01-02T00:00:00Z", "workflow_run": {"id": 12, "head_sha": "a" * 40}},
+        ]}
+        selected = module.select_artifact(payload, "release-preparation-pr-10", "a" * 40)
+        self.assertEqual(2, selected["id"])
+
+    def test_ignores_expired_artifacts(self) -> None:
+        payload = {"artifacts": [{"id": 1, "name": "state", "expired": True, "created_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z", "workflow_run": {"head_sha": "a" * 40}}]}
+        with self.assertRaisesRegex(RuntimeError, "was not found"):
+            module.select_artifact(payload, "state", "a" * 40)
+
+    def test_rejects_path_traversal_archive(self) -> None:
+        buffer = io.BytesIO()
+        with ZipFile(buffer, "w") as archive:
+            archive.writestr("../escape.json", "{}")
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as directory:
+            with self.assertRaisesRegex(RuntimeError, "unsafe artifact path"):
+                module.safe_extract_zip(buffer.getvalue(), Path(directory))
+
+    def test_extracts_safe_archive(self) -> None:
+        buffer = io.BytesIO()
+        with ZipFile(buffer, "w") as archive:
+            archive.writestr("release-plan.json", "{}")
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as directory:
+            destination = Path(directory)
+            module.safe_extract_zip(buffer.getvalue(), destination)
+            self.assertEqual("{}", (destination / "release-plan.json").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()