diff --git a/.forgejo/workflows/build.yml b/.forgejo/workflows/build.yml
index 928c3cc4a..7d2273bb5 100644
--- a/.forgejo/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.forgejo/workflows/build.yml
@@ -131,7 +131,13 @@ jobs:
       #      Lucy host forced-command. The host re-verifies the signer, re-signs
       #      the fdroid index (keystore stays on Lucy), and rsyncs to Rackham. ----
       - name: Publish to fdroid via Lucy host forced-command
-        if: github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
+        # Publish on a push to main OR a manual dispatch. A workflow_dispatch is
+        # how we ship a strawcore-only change (strawcore is cloned fresh at build
+        # time) into an APK without any straw code change — without the dispatch
+        # arm a dispatch builds + verifies the APK but silently never publishes.
+        if: >-
+          (github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/main') ||
+          github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
         env:
           LUCY_KEY: ${{ secrets.STRAW_FDROID_LUCY_KEY }}
           # Publish target + its host-key are Forgejo secrets, NOT literals, so