diff --git a/.github/workflows/electron-release.yml b/.github/workflows/electron-release.yml
index e899a664ea..913071d311 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/electron-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/electron-release.yml
@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ on:
         description: "Release version (e.g., v1.6.8)"
         required: true
         type: string
+      publish_npm:
+        description: "Also run the npm publish leg (turn off when re-attaching desktop assets to a release whose npm package already shipped)"
+        required: false
+        default: true
+        type: boolean
 
 # Least-privilege default: read-only at the top level; each job grants the writes it
 # needs (build/release upload assets, publish-npm forwards npm provenance / packages
@@ -76,6 +81,9 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
+          # workflow_dispatch: build the tag being (re)built, not the dispatching branch. On a
+          # tag push this resolves to the same commit.
+          ref: ${{ needs.validate.outputs.version }}
       - name: Setup Node
         uses: actions/setup-node@v7
         with:
@@ -161,6 +169,9 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
+          # workflow_dispatch: build the tag being (re)built, not the dispatching branch. On a
+          # tag push this resolves to the same commit.
+          ref: ${{ needs.validate.outputs.version }}
       - name: Setup Node
         uses: actions/setup-node@v7
         with:
@@ -347,6 +358,8 @@ jobs:
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
           fetch-depth: 0
+          # Source archives + SBOM come from the tag being released, not the dispatching branch.
+          ref: ${{ needs.validate.outputs.version }}
 
       # `merge-multiple` is deliberately OFF. It resolves same-name collisions by ARRIVAL
       # ORDER, and the two macOS jobs each emit their own `latest-mac.yml` listing only their
@@ -462,11 +475,20 @@ jobs:
   publish-npm:
     name: Publish to npm
     needs: [validate, release]
+    # A re-dispatch that only re-attaches desktop assets must not publish the npm package again.
+    if: ${{ github.event_name != 'workflow_dispatch' || inputs.publish_npm }}
     permissions:
       # Must be `write`, not `read`: this job calls the reusable npm-publish.yml whose
       # `publish` job needs `contents: write` (gh release upload — attach the SBOM, #3874).
       # A reusable workflow's job cannot request more permission than the caller grants,
       # so a `read` here makes GitHub reject the run at startup (startup_failure).
+      #
+      # `actions: read` for the same reason: the called `publish` job downloads the next-build
+      # artefact and requests it. v3.8.50 (run 33005490476) died at startup with "The nested
+      # job 'publish' is requesting 'actions: read', but is only allowed 'actions: none'" — and
+      # because `release` lives in this same workflow, the tag shipped with ZERO assets. Keep
+      # this block a superset of every job's permissions in npm-publish.yml.
+      actions: read
       contents: write
       id-token: write # npm provenance (forwarded to the reusable workflow)
       packages: write # publish to npm.pkg.github.com
diff --git a/changelog.d/fixes/v3850-electron-release-assets.md b/changelog.d/fixes/v3850-electron-release-assets.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..255efd829c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/fixes/v3850-electron-release-assets.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+- Electron release workflow: the `publish-npm` job now grants `actions: read` to the reusable `npm-publish.yml` it calls (its `publish` job requests it), which is what made GitHub refuse the whole v3.8.50 run at startup and ship the release with zero desktop assets; a `workflow_dispatch` now builds the requested tag instead of the dispatching branch and can skip the npm leg (`publish_npm=false`) when only re-attaching assets