diff --git a/.claude/commands/create-frontend-release.md b/.claude/commands/create-frontend-release.md
index cce1664c6..1c44cb0be 100644
--- a/.claude/commands/create-frontend-release.md
+++ b/.claude/commands/create-frontend-release.md
@@ -348,6 +348,14 @@ echo "Workflow triggered. Waiting for PR creation..."
    sleep 10
    gh run list --workflow=release.yaml --limit=1
    ```
+4. **For Minor/Major Version Releases**: The create-release-candidate-branch workflow will automatically:
+   - Create a `core/x.yy` branch for the PREVIOUS minor version
+   - Apply branch protection rules
+   - Document the feature freeze policy
+   ```bash
+   # Monitor branch creation (for minor/major releases)
+   gh run list --workflow=create-release-candidate-branch.yaml --limit=1
+   ```
 4. If workflow didn't trigger due to [skip ci]:
    ```bash
    echo "ERROR: Release workflow didn't trigger!"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/create-release-candidate-branch.yaml b/.github/workflows/create-release-candidate-branch.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ed0cfdafa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/create-release-candidate-branch.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,214 @@
+name: Create Release Branch
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    types: [closed]
+    branches: [main]
+    paths:
+      - 'package.json'
+
+jobs:
+  create-release-branch:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: >
+      github.event.pull_request.merged == true &&
+      contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'Release')
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+          token: ${{ secrets.PR_GH_TOKEN || secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      - name: Setup Node.js
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: 'lts/*'
+
+      - name: Check version bump type
+        id: check_version
+        run: |
+          # Get current version from main
+          CURRENT_VERSION=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")
+          # Remove 'v' prefix if present (shouldn't be in package.json, but defensive)
+          CURRENT_VERSION=${CURRENT_VERSION#v}
+          echo "current_version=$CURRENT_VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+          # Validate version format
+          if ! [[ "$CURRENT_VERSION" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+ ]]; then
+            echo "ERROR: Invalid version format: $CURRENT_VERSION"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          # Extract major and minor versions
+          MAJOR=$(echo $CURRENT_VERSION | cut -d. -f1)
+          MINOR=$(echo $CURRENT_VERSION | cut -d. -f2)
+          PATCH=$(echo $CURRENT_VERSION | cut -d. -f3 | cut -d- -f1)
+
+          echo "major=$MAJOR" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "minor=$MINOR" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "patch=$PATCH" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+          # Get previous version from the commit before the merge
+          git checkout HEAD^1
+          PREV_VERSION=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version" 2>/dev/null || echo "0.0.0")
+          # Remove 'v' prefix if present
+          PREV_VERSION=${PREV_VERSION#v}
+
+          # Validate previous version format
+          if ! [[ "$PREV_VERSION" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+ ]]; then
+            echo "WARNING: Invalid previous version format: $PREV_VERSION, using 0.0.0"
+            PREV_VERSION="0.0.0"
+          fi
+
+          PREV_MINOR=$(echo $PREV_VERSION | cut -d. -f2)
+
+          echo "prev_version=$PREV_VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "prev_minor=$PREV_MINOR" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+          # Get previous major version for comparison
+          PREV_MAJOR=$(echo $PREV_VERSION | cut -d. -f1)
+
+          # Check if current version is a pre-release
+          if [[ "$CURRENT_VERSION" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+- ]]; then
+            IS_PRERELEASE=true
+          else
+            IS_PRERELEASE=false
+          fi
+
+          # Check if this was a minor version bump or major version bump
+          # But skip if it's a pre-release version
+          if [[ "$IS_PRERELEASE" == "true" ]]; then
+            echo "is_minor_bump=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "reason=prerelease version" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          elif [[ "$MAJOR" -gt "$PREV_MAJOR" && "$MINOR" == "0" && "$PATCH" == "0" ]]; then
+            # Major version bump (e.g., 1.99.x → 2.0.0)
+            echo "is_minor_bump=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            BRANCH_NAME="core/${PREV_MAJOR}.${PREV_MINOR}"
+            echo "branch_name=$BRANCH_NAME" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          elif [[ "$MAJOR" == "$PREV_MAJOR" && "$MINOR" -gt "$PREV_MINOR" && "$PATCH" == "0" ]]; then
+            # Minor version bump (e.g., 1.23.x → 1.24.0)
+            echo "is_minor_bump=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            BRANCH_NAME="core/${MAJOR}.${PREV_MINOR}"
+            echo "branch_name=$BRANCH_NAME" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          else
+            echo "is_minor_bump=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          fi
+
+          # Return to main branch
+          git checkout main
+
+      - name: Create release branch
+        if: steps.check_version.outputs.is_minor_bump == 'true'
+        run: |
+          BRANCH_NAME="${{ steps.check_version.outputs.branch_name }}"
+
+          # Check if branch already exists
+          if git ls-remote --heads origin "$BRANCH_NAME" | grep -q "$BRANCH_NAME"; then
+            echo "⚠️  Branch $BRANCH_NAME already exists, skipping creation"
+            echo "branch_exists=true" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+            exit 0
+          else
+            echo "branch_exists=false" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          fi
+
+          # Create branch from the commit BEFORE the version bump
+          # This ensures the release branch has the previous minor version
+          git checkout -b "$BRANCH_NAME" HEAD^1
+
+          # Push the new branch
+          git push origin "$BRANCH_NAME"
+
+          echo "✅ Created release branch: $BRANCH_NAME"
+          echo "This branch is now in feature freeze and will only receive:"
+          echo "- Bug fixes"
+          echo "- Critical security patches"
+          echo "- Documentation updates"
+
+      - name: Create branch protection rules
+        if: steps.check_version.outputs.is_minor_bump == 'true' && env.branch_exists != 'true'
+        env:
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.PR_GH_TOKEN || secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          BRANCH_NAME="${{ steps.check_version.outputs.branch_name }}"
+
+          # Create branch protection using GitHub API
+          echo "Setting up branch protection for $BRANCH_NAME..."
+
+          RESPONSE=$(curl -s -w "\n%{http_code}" -X PUT \
+            -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
+            -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
+            "https://api.github.com/repos/${{ github.repository }}/branches/$BRANCH_NAME/protection" \
+            -d '{
+              "required_status_checks": {
+                "strict": true,
+                "contexts": ["build", "test"]
+              },
+              "enforce_admins": false,
+              "required_pull_request_reviews": {
+                "required_approving_review_count": 1,
+                "dismiss_stale_reviews": true
+              },
+              "restrictions": null,
+              "allow_force_pushes": false,
+              "allow_deletions": false
+            }')
+
+          HTTP_CODE=$(echo "$RESPONSE" | tail -n 1)
+          BODY=$(echo "$RESPONSE" | sed '$d')
+
+          if [[ "$HTTP_CODE" -eq 200 ]] || [[ "$HTTP_CODE" -eq 201 ]]; then
+            echo "✅ Branch protection successfully applied"
+          else
+            echo "⚠️  Failed to apply branch protection (HTTP $HTTP_CODE)"
+            echo "Response: $BODY"
+            # Don't fail the workflow, just warn
+          fi
+
+      - name: Post summary
+        if: steps.check_version.outputs.is_minor_bump == 'true'
+        run: |
+          BRANCH_NAME="${{ steps.check_version.outputs.branch_name }}"
+          PREV_VERSION="${{ steps.check_version.outputs.prev_version }}"
+          CURRENT_VERSION="${{ steps.check_version.outputs.current_version }}"
+
+          if [[ "${{ env.branch_exists }}" == "true" ]]; then
+            cat >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY << EOF
+          ## 🌿 Release Branch Already Exists
+
+          The release branch for the previous minor version already exists:
+          EOF
+          else
+            cat >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY << EOF
+          ## 🌿 Release Branch Created
+
+          A new release branch has been created for the previous minor version:
+          EOF
+          fi
+
+          cat >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY << EOF
+
+          - **Branch**: \`$BRANCH_NAME\`
+          - **Version**: \`$PREV_VERSION\` (feature frozen)
+          - **Main branch**: \`$CURRENT_VERSION\` (active development)
+
+          ### Branch Policy
+
+          The \`$BRANCH_NAME\` branch is now in **feature freeze** and will only accept:
+          - 🐛 Bug fixes
+          - 🔒 Security patches
+          - 📚 Documentation updates
+
+          All new features should continue to be developed against \`main\`.
+
+          ### Backporting Changes
+
+          To backport a fix to this release branch:
+          1. Create your fix on \`main\` first
+          2. Cherry-pick to \`$BRANCH_NAME\`
+          3. Create a PR targeting \`$BRANCH_NAME\`
+          4. Use the \`Release\` label on the PR
+          EOF