diff --git a/.github/workflows/rust-release.yml b/.github/workflows/rust-release.yml
index 83f160757a..a0c03dd87c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/rust-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/rust-release.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 env:
-  TAG_REGEX: '^rust-v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$'
+  TAG_REGEX: '^rust-v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+(-(?:alpha|beta)(\.[0-9]+)?)?$'
 
 jobs:
   tag-check:
diff --git a/codex-rs/scripts/create_github_release.sh b/codex-rs/scripts/create_github_release.sh
index 87e498e2bf..033593dac0 100755
--- a/codex-rs/scripts/create_github_release.sh
+++ b/codex-rs/scripts/create_github_release.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
 set -euo pipefail
+set -x
 
 # Change to the root of the Cargo workspace.
 cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.."
@@ -15,7 +16,11 @@ fi
 CURRENT_BRANCH=$(git symbolic-ref --short -q HEAD)
 
 # Create a new branch for the release and make a commit with the new version.
-VERSION=$(printf '0.0.%d' "$(date +%y%m%d%H%M)")
+if [ $# -ge 1 ]; then
+  VERSION="$1"
+else
+  VERSION=$(printf '0.0.%d' "$(date +%y%m%d%H%M)")
+fi
 TAG="rust-v$VERSION"
 git checkout -b "$TAG"
 perl -i -pe "s/^version = \".*\"/version = \"$VERSION\"/" Cargo.toml