diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 81c37f2..02202af 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 name: Test actions
 on:
   pull_request:
+  workflow_dispatch:
 
 jobs:
     shopware-version-fallback:
@@ -84,4 +85,32 @@ jobs:
                 if [[ "${SHOPWARE_VERSION}" != "${EXPECTED_VERSION}" ]]; then
                     echo "shopware-version should be '${EXPECTED_VERSION}' but got '${SHOPWARE_VERSION}'"
                     exit 1
+                fi
+
+    print-versions:
+        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+        permissions:
+            contents: read
+        steps:
+            - name: Checkout code
+              uses: actions/checkout@v6
+            - name: Get versions
+              id: versions
+              uses: ./versions
+              with:
+                github-token: ${{ github.token }}
+            - name: Print outputs
+              run: |
+                echo "next-minor:     ${{ steps.versions.outputs.next-minor }}"
+                echo "next-patch:     ${{ steps.versions.outputs.next-patch }}"
+                echo "latest:         ${{ steps.versions.outputs.latest-version }}"
+                echo "first:          ${{ steps.versions.outputs.first-version }}"
+                echo "lts-latest:     ${{ steps.versions.outputs.lts-latest-version }}"
+                echo "lts-next-patch: ${{ steps.versions.outputs.lts-next-patch }}"
+            - name: Sanity-check next-minor
+              run: |
+                NEXT_MINOR="${{ steps.versions.outputs.next-minor }}"
+                if [[ ! "$NEXT_MINOR" =~ ^v?[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+                    echo "next-minor looks wrong: '${NEXT_MINOR}'"
+                    exit 1
                 fi
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/versions/action.yml b/versions/action.yml
index 41dd0b2..20c18c7 100644
--- a/versions/action.yml
+++ b/versions/action.yml
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ inputs:
   lts-major:
     description: LTS major prefix like v6.5.
     default: v6.6.
+  github-token:
+    description: Token used to check for release branches via the GitHub API
+    default: ${{ github.token }}
 
 outputs:
   first-version:
@@ -47,5 +50,6 @@ runs:
       env:
         CUR_MAJOR: ${{ inputs.major }}
         PREV_MAJOR: ${{ inputs.lts-major }}
+        GH_TOKEN: ${{ inputs.github-token }}
       run: |
         ${GITHUB_ACTION_PATH}/print_versions.bash | tee >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
diff --git a/versions/print_versions.bash b/versions/print_versions.bash
index 59fa304..3c0ebda 100755
--- a/versions/print_versions.bash
+++ b/versions/print_versions.bash
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
+if ! gh auth status &>/dev/null; then
+    echo "::error::gh is not authenticated. Set GH_TOKEN or GITHUB_TOKEN." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
 PREV_MAJOR="${PREV_MAJOR:-"v6.6."}"
 CUR_MAJOR="${CUR_MAJOR:-"v6.7."}"
 
@@ -26,7 +31,11 @@ get_next_minor_and_patch() {
     IFS='.' read -r -a parts <<<"${max_tag}"
 
     local next_release_branch="${parts[0]#v}.${parts[1]}.$((${parts[2]} + 1)).x"
-    if gh api "repos/shopware/shopware/branches/${next_release_branch}" --silent 2>/dev/null; then
+    local gh_output gh_status
+    gh_output=$(gh api "repos/shopware/shopware/branches/${next_release_branch}" 2>&1)
+    gh_status=$?
+    if [ $gh_status -eq 0 ] || ! echo "$gh_output" | grep -q "HTTP 404"; then
+        # Branch exists, or the API call failed for an unknown reason — default to freeze.
         echo "NEXT_MINOR=${parts[0]}.${parts[1]}.$((${parts[2]} + 2)).0"
     else
         echo "NEXT_MINOR=${parts[0]}.${parts[1]}.$((${parts[2]} + 1)).0"