diff --git a/scripts/release-lock.mjs b/scripts/release-lock.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..42740404b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release-lock.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+const DESKTOP_PACKAGE_NAMES = new Set(["dbx", "dbx-web"]);
+
+export function normalizeDesktopPackageVersions(lockfile) {
+  let inPackage = false;
+  let packageName = "";
+
+  return lockfile
+    .split("\n")
+    .map((line) => {
+      if (line.startsWith("[")) {
+        inPackage = line === "[[package]]";
+        packageName = "";
+        return line;
+      }
+
+      if (inPackage && line.startsWith('name = "')) {
+        packageName = line.slice('name = "'.length, -1);
+        return line;
+      }
+
+      if (inPackage && DESKTOP_PACKAGE_NAMES.has(packageName) && /^version = ".*"$/.test(line)) {
+        return 'version = "<desktop-version>"';
+      }
+
+      return line;
+    })
+    .join("\n");
+}
+
+export function isDesktopVersionOnlyCargoLockChange(beforeLockfile, afterLockfile) {
+  return beforeLockfile !== afterLockfile && normalizeDesktopPackageVersions(beforeLockfile) === normalizeDesktopPackageVersions(afterLockfile);
+}
diff --git a/scripts/release.mjs b/scripts/release.mjs
index 15ab3ed481..9c2bd0cbd2 100644
--- a/scripts/release.mjs
+++ b/scripts/release.mjs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
 import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { createInterface } from "node:readline/promises";
 import { stdin as input, stdout as output } from "node:process";
+import { isDesktopVersionOnlyCargoLockChange } from "./release-lock.mjs";
 import {
   evaluateAgentVersionBump,
   getAgentVersionChanges,
@@ -410,7 +411,7 @@ function getPackageReleaseStatus() {
     };
   }
 
-  const changedFiles = getChangedFilesSince(latest.tag, PACKAGE_RELEASE_PATHS);
+  const changedFiles = getPackageChangedFilesSince(latest.tag);
   return {
     needed: changedFiles.length > 0,
     baseline: latest.tag,
@@ -419,6 +420,21 @@ function getPackageReleaseStatus() {
   };
 }
 
+function getPackageChangedFilesSince(ref) {
+  const changedFiles = getChangedFilesSince(ref, PACKAGE_RELEASE_PATHS);
+  if (!changedFiles.includes("Cargo.lock") || !isDesktopOnlyCargoLockChangeSince(ref)) {
+    return changedFiles;
+  }
+
+  return changedFiles.filter((file) => file !== "Cargo.lock");
+}
+
+function isDesktopOnlyCargoLockChangeSince(ref) {
+  const beforeLockfile = run("git", ["show", `${ref}:Cargo.lock`]).stdout;
+  const afterLockfile = readFileSync("Cargo.lock", "utf8");
+  return isDesktopVersionOnlyCargoLockChange(beforeLockfile, afterLockfile);
+}
+
 function getLatestAgentTag() {
   const tag = getLatestSemverTag(AGENT_TAG_PREFIX);
   if (tag) return { tag: tag.tag, source: "current repo" };
diff --git a/scripts/release.test.mjs b/scripts/release.test.mjs
index ea9127a6a6..bbb255b12c 100644
--- a/scripts/release.test.mjs
+++ b/scripts/release.test.mjs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join, resolve } from "node:path";
 import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
 import test from "node:test";
+import { isDesktopVersionOnlyCargoLockChange } from "./release-lock.mjs";
 
 const repoRoot = new URL("..", import.meta.url).pathname;
 const releaseScript = join(repoRoot, "scripts/release.mjs");
@@ -135,3 +136,37 @@ test("Windows 7 release build does not use sccache", () => {
   const win7Job = workflow.slice(start, end);
   assert.doesNotMatch(win7Job, /RUSTC_WRAPPER|SCCACHE_|sccache/i);
 });
+
+test("desktop-only Cargo.lock version refresh does not count as a Node package change", () => {
+  const before = `
+[[package]]
+name = "dbx"
+version = "0.5.95"
+dependencies = ["dbx-core"]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "dbx-web"
+version = "0.5.95"
+dependencies = ["dbx-core"]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "dbx-mcp"
+version = "0.4.73"
+dependencies = ["dbx-core"]
+`;
+  const after = before.replaceAll('version = "0.5.95"', 'version = "0.5.96"');
+
+  assert.equal(isDesktopVersionOnlyCargoLockChange(before, after), true);
+});
+
+test("Cargo.lock dependency changes still count as a Node package change", () => {
+  const before = `
+[[package]]
+name = "dbx"
+version = "0.5.95"
+dependencies = ["dbx-core"]
+`;
+  const after = before.replace('dependencies = ["dbx-core"]', 'dependencies = ["dbx-core", "dbx-mcp"]');
+
+  assert.equal(isDesktopVersionOnlyCargoLockChange(before, after), false);
+});