diff --git a/.github/workflows/dev_container.yml b/.github/workflows/dev_container.yml
index 17bf12161cc7..5a80f224df9a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dev_container.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dev_container.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-
 name: Container build
 
 on:
@@ -10,19 +9,26 @@ on:
       - 'release/**'
     tags:
       - 'v*'
-    paths:
-      - 'Tools/setup/ubuntu.sh'
-      - 'Tools/setup/requirements.txt'
-      - 'Tools/setup/Dockerfile'
-      - 'Tools/setup/docker-entrypoint.sh'
   pull_request:
     branches:
       - '*'
     paths:
+      - '.github/workflows/dev_container.yml'
       - 'Tools/setup/ubuntu.sh'
       - 'Tools/setup/requirements.txt'
       - 'Tools/setup/Dockerfile'
       - 'Tools/setup/docker-entrypoint.sh'
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      px4_version:
+        description: 'Container tag (e.g. v1.16.0)'
+        required: true
+        type: string
+      deploy_to_registry:
+        description: 'Whether to push built images to the registry'
+        required: false
+        type: boolean
+        default: false
 
 jobs:
   setup:
@@ -42,10 +48,15 @@ jobs:
           submodules: false
           fetch-depth: 0
 
+      # If manual dispatch, take the user‐provided input
       - name: Set PX4 Tag Version
         id: px4_version
         run: |
-          echo "px4_version=$(git describe --tags --match 'v[0-9]*')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          if [[ "${{ github.event_name }}" == "workflow_dispatch" ]]; then
+            echo "px4_version=${{ github.event.inputs.px4_version }}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          else
+            echo "px4_version=$(git describe --tags --match 'v[0-9]*')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          fi
 
       - name: Extract metadata (tags, labels) for Docker
         id: meta
@@ -83,14 +94,14 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Login to Docker Hub
         uses: docker/login-action@v3
-        if: ${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/') }}
+        if: ${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/') || (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && github.event.inputs.deploy_to_registry) }}
         with:
           username: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_USERNAME }}
           password: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_TOKEN }}
 
       - name: Login to GitHub Container Registry
         uses: docker/login-action@v3
-        if: ${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/') }}
+        if: ${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/') || (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && github.event.inputs.deploy_to_registry) }}
         with:
           registry: ghcr.io
           username: ${{ github.actor }}
@@ -113,7 +124,7 @@ jobs:
           labels: ${{ needs.setup.outputs.meta_labels }}
           platforms: ${{ matrix.platform }}
           load: false
-          push: ${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/') }}
+          push: ${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/') || (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && github.event.inputs.deploy_to_registry) }}
           provenance: false
           cache-from: type=gha,version=1
           cache-to: type=gha,version=1,mode=max
@@ -125,7 +136,7 @@ jobs:
       packages: write
     runs-on: [runs-on,"runner=8cpu-linux-x64","image=ubuntu24-full-x64","run-id=${{ github.run_id }}",spot=false,extras=s3-cache]
     needs: [build, setup]
-    if: ${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/') }}
+    if: ${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/') || (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && github.event.inputs.deploy_to_registry) }}
     steps:
       - uses: runs-on/action@v1
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4