diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 689076a264..0c207099ec 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -27,6 +27,13 @@ jobs:
       matrix:
         java_version: ['8', '11', '17', '21', '22']
         os: ['ubuntu-22.04']
+        include:
+          - java_version: '8'
+            os: 'ubuntu-22.04'
+            release_build: 'R'
+          - java_version: '8'
+            os: 'windows-latest'
+            is_windows: 'W'
     env:
       JAVA_OPTS: "-XX:+TieredCompilation -XX:TieredStopAtLevel=1"
     steps:
@@ -47,22 +54,24 @@ jobs:
       run: ./mvnw -B -q -ff -ntp verify
     - name: Extract project Maven version
       id: projectVersion
+      # for some reason fails on Windows; we don't need it so skip:
+      if: ${{ !matrix.is_windows }}
       run: echo "version=$(./mvnw org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-help-plugin:3.3.0:evaluate -DforceStdout -Dexpression=project.version -q)" >>$GITHUB_OUTPUT
     - name: Verify Android SDK Compatibility
-      if: matrix.java_version == '8'
+      if: ${{ matrix.release_build }}
       run: ./mvnw -B -q -ff -ntp -DskipTests animal-sniffer:check
     - name: Deploy snapshot
-      if: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request' && matrix.java_version == '8' && endsWith(steps.projectVersion.outputs.version, '-SNAPSHOT') }}
+      if: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request' && matrix.release_build && endsWith(steps.projectVersion.outputs.version, '-SNAPSHOT') }}
       env:
         CI_DEPLOY_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.CI_DEPLOY_USERNAME }}
         CI_DEPLOY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.CI_DEPLOY_PASSWORD }}
         # MAVEN_GPG_PASSPHRASE: ${{ secrets.MAVEN_GPG_PASSPHRASE }}
       run: ./mvnw -B -q -ff -DskipTests -ntp source:jar deploy
     - name: Generate code coverage
-      if: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request' && matrix.java_version == '8' }}
+      if: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request' && matrix.release_build }}
       run: ./mvnw -B -q -ff -ntp test
     - name: Publish code coverage
-      if: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request' && matrix.java_version == '8' }}
+      if: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request' && matrix.release_build }}
       uses: codecov/codecov-action@84508663e988701840491b86de86b666e8a86bed # v4.3.0
       with:
         token: ${{ secrets.CODECOV_TOKEN }}