diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-extension-catalog.yml b/.github/workflows/build-extension-catalog.yml
index 2a81b51b361..2f4b7c52d08 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-extension-catalog.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-extension-catalog.yml
@@ -12,22 +12,43 @@ on:
       tagged_release:
         required: false
         type: string
+      is_test:
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      test_ext_repo:
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      test_ext_branch:
+        required: false
+        type: string
     secrets:
       registry_token:
         required: true
+    outputs:
+      build-extension-catalog-job-status: 
+        value: ${{ jobs.build-extension-catalog.outputs.build-status }}
 
 jobs:
   build-extension-catalog:
     name: Build container image
-    if: github.ref_type == 'tag' || (github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && github.event_name != 'pull_request')
+    if: github.ref_type == 'tag' || (github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && github.event_name != 'pull_request') || inputs.is_test == 'true'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       actions: write
       contents: read
       packages: write
-
+    outputs:
+      build-status: ${{ job.status }}
     steps:
-      - name: Checkout repository
+      - if: inputs.is_test == 'true'
+        name: Checkout repository (test flow)
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          repository: rancher/${{ inputs.test_ext_repo }}
+          ref: ${{ inputs.test_ext_branch }}
+      
+      - if: inputs.is_test != 'true'
+        name: Checkout repository (normal flow)
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Enable Corepack
@@ -60,7 +81,7 @@ jobs:
         run: yarn
 
       - name: Parse Extension Name
-        if: github.ref_type == 'tag'
+        if: github.ref_type == 'tag' || inputs.is_test == 'true'
         id: parsed-name
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
@@ -69,7 +90,13 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build and push UI image
         run: |
-          publish="yarn publish-pkgs -cp -r ${{ inputs.registry_target }} -o ${{ github.repository_owner }}"
+          publish="yarn publish-pkgs -c"
+
+          if [[ "${{ inputs.is_test }}" != "true" ]]; then
+            publish="$publish -p"
+          fi
+
+          publish="$publish -r ${{ inputs.registry_target }} -o ${{ github.repository_owner }}"
 
           if [[ -n "${{ inputs.tagged_release }}" ]]; then
             publish="$publish -t ${{ inputs.tagged_release }}"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-extension-charts.yml b/.github/workflows/build-extension-charts.yml
index 0cb43d4408d..edba881700d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-extension-charts.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-extension-charts.yml
@@ -9,6 +9,20 @@ on:
       tagged_release:
         required: true
         type: string
+      is_test:
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      test_ext_repo:
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      test_ext_branch:
+        required: false
+        type: string
+    outputs:
+      build-job-status: 
+        value: ${{ jobs.build-extension-artifact.outputs.build-status }}
+      release-job-status: 
+        value: ${{ jobs.release.outputs.release-status }}
 
 env:
   ACTIONS_RUNNER_DEBUG: false
@@ -26,8 +40,19 @@ jobs:
     permissions:
       actions: write
       contents: read
+    outputs:
+      build-status: ${{ job.status }}
     steps:
-      - name: Checkout
+      - if: inputs.is_test == 'true'
+        name: Checkout (test flow)
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          repository: rancher/${{ inputs.test_ext_repo }}
+          ref: ${{ inputs.test_ext_branch }}
+          fetch-depth: 0
+      
+      - if: inputs.is_test != 'true'
+        name: Checkout (normal flow)
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
@@ -55,7 +80,7 @@ jobs:
         run: yarn
 
       - name: Parse Extension Name
-        if: github.ref_type == 'tag'
+        if: github.ref_type == 'tag' || inputs.is_test == 'true'
         id: parsed-name
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
@@ -72,10 +97,14 @@ jobs:
             publish="$publish -t ${{ inputs.tagged_release }}"
           fi
 
+          if [[ "${{ inputs.is_test }}" == "true" ]]; then
+            publish="$publish -f"
+          fi
+
           $publish
 
       - name: Upload charts artifact
-        if: github.ref_type == 'tag' || (github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && github.event_name != 'pull_request')
+        if: github.ref_type == 'tag' || (github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && github.event_name != 'pull_request') || inputs.is_test == 'true'
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
         with:
           name: charts
@@ -83,7 +112,7 @@ jobs:
 
   release:
     name: Release Build
-    if: github.ref_type == 'tag' || (github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && github.event_name != 'pull_request')
+    if: github.ref_type == 'tag' || (github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && github.event_name != 'pull_request') || inputs.is_test != 'true'
     needs: build-extension-artifact
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
@@ -91,6 +120,8 @@ jobs:
       contents: write
       deployments: write
       pages: write
+    outputs:
+      release-status: ${{ job.status }}
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -119,4 +150,4 @@ jobs:
           charts_dir: ./charts/*
         env:
           CR_TOKEN: '${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}'
-          CR_SKIP_EXISTING: true
+          CR_SKIP_EXISTING: true
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/check-plugins.yaml b/.github/workflows/check-plugins.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index a8fbb48be66..00000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/check-plugins.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,38 +0,0 @@
-name: check-plugins-build
-on:
-  pull_request:
-    branches:
-      - master
-env:
-  TEST_PERSIST_BUILD: true
-jobs:
-  validate:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-
-      - name: Enable Corepack
-        run: corepack enable
-
-      - name: Setup Node.js
-        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
-        with:
-          node-version-file: '.nvmrc'
-          cache: 'yarn'
-
-      - name: Validate Plugin build system
-        run: ./shell/scripts/test-plugins-build.sh
-        shell: bash
-
-      - name: Upload files
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
-        if: failure()
-        with:
-          name: test
-          path: |
-            /tmp/tmp.**/test-app
-            !/tmp/tmp.**/test-app/dist/js/*.map
-            !/tmp/tmp.**/test-app/node_modules/
-            !/tmp/tmp.**/test-app/pkg/test-pkg/node_modules/
-          retention-days: 2
diff --git a/.github/workflows/docusaurus.yaml b/.github/workflows/docusaurus.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 38056fe0316..00000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/docusaurus.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,54 +0,0 @@
-name: Publish Docusaurus
-
-on:
-  push:
-    branches:
-      - master
-  pull_request:
-    branches:
-      - master
-jobs:
-  build:
-    name: Build
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
-      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
-        with:
-          node-version-file: '.nvmrc'
-          cache: yarn
-
-      - name: Install dependencies
-        run: cd docusaurus/ && yarn install:ci
-      - name: Build website
-        run: cd docusaurus/ && yarn build
-      - name: Add CNAME
-        run: |
-          echo "extensions.rancher.io" > ./docusaurus/build/CNAME
-
-      - name: Upload artifact
-        if: ${{ github.event_name == 'push' && github.repository_owner == 'rancher' }}
-        uses: actions/upload-pages-artifact@v3
-        with:
-          path: ./docusaurus/build
-          retention-days: 10
-          compression-level: 9
-
-  # Seperate the deploy job to isolate write permissions
-  deploy:
-    name: Publish
-    if: ${{ github.event_name == 'push' && github.repository_owner == 'rancher' }}
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: build
-
-    # This is required to avoid https://github.com/actions/deploy-pages/issues/271
-    environment:
-      name: github-pages
-
-    permissions:
-      pages: write
-      id-token: write
-
-    steps:
-      - name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
-        uses: actions/deploy-pages@v4
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-shell-pkg.yaml b/.github/workflows/release-shell-pkg.yaml
index 9caef82bee0..6d8edc1536e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-shell-pkg.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-shell-pkg.yaml
@@ -5,15 +5,43 @@ on:
     tags:
       - 'shell-pkg-v*'
       - 'creators-pkg-v*'
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      tag:
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      is_test:
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      test_branch:
+        required: false
+        type: string
+    outputs:
+      build-release-shell-creators-status: 
+        value: ${{ jobs.build.outputs.build-status }}
 
 jobs:
+  
   build:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       contents: read
       packages: write
+    if: github.repository == 'rancher/dashboard' && (github.event_name == 'workflow_call' || (github.event_name == 'push' && github.event.ref == 'refs/tags/${{ github.ref_name }}'))
+    outputs:
+      build-status: ${{ job.status }}
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+      - if: inputs.is_test == 'true' && inputs.test_branch != ''
+        name: Checkout (test flow)
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+          ref: ${{ inputs.test_branch }}
+          fetch-depth: 0
+      
+      - if: inputs.is_test != 'true'
+        name: Checkout (normal flow)
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
           persist-credentials: false
@@ -29,35 +57,36 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Check Tags Version Matching
         env:
-          TAG: ${{github.ref_name}}
+          TAG: ${{ inputs.tag || github.ref_name }}
         run: ./.github/workflows/scripts/check-package-tag-version.sh
         shell: bash
 
-      - name: Validate Plugin build system
-        run: ./shell/scripts/test-plugins-build.sh
-        shell: bash
+      # - name: Validate Plugin build system
+      #   run: ./shell/scripts/test-plugins-build.sh
+      #   shell: bash
 
-      # Reset the local (ci) repository state because
-      # The previous step (Validate Plugin build system) changes
-      # the version number on package.json for Shell in order
-      # to release it in verdaccio for it's tests
-      - name: Reset repository (file system)
-        run: |
-          git reset --hard HEAD
-          echo $NPM_REGISTRY
-          cat ./shell/package.json
-
-      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
-        with:
-          node-version-file: '.nvmrc'
-          registry-url: 'https://registry.npmjs.org'
-          scope: '@rancher'
+      # # Reset the local (ci) repository state because
+      # # The previous step (Validate Plugin build system) changes
+      # # the version number on package.json for Shell in order
+      # # to release it in verdaccio for it's tests
+      # - name: Reset repository (file system)
+      #   run: |
+      #     git reset --hard HEAD
+      #     echo $NPM_REGISTRY
+      #     cat ./shell/package.json
 
-      - name: Install packages
-        run: yarn install --frozen-lockfile
+      # - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+      #   with:
+      #     node-version-file: '.nvmrc'
+      #     registry-url: 'https://registry.npmjs.org'
+      #     scope: '@rancher'
 
-      - name: Publish Shell Package to npm
-        run: ./shell/scripts/publish-shell.sh --npm
-        env:
-          TAG: ${{github.ref_name}}
-          NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
+      # - name: Install packages
+      #   run: yarn install --frozen-lockfile
+
+      # - name: Publish Shell Package to npm
+      #   run: ./shell/scripts/publish-shell.sh --npm
+      #   env:
+      #     TAG: ${{ inputs.tag || github.ref_name }}
+      #     DRY_RUN: ${{ inputs.is_test }}
+      #     NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/storybook.yaml b/.github/workflows/storybook.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index b71bc7a58c8..00000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/storybook.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-name: storybook
-env:
-    STORYBOOK_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.STORYBOOK_TOKEN }}
-on:
-  push:
-    branches:
-      - master
-  pull_request:
-    branches:
-      - master
-jobs:
-  storybook:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-    - name: Use Node.js
-      uses: actions/setup-node@v4
-      with:
-        node-version-file: '.nvmrc'
-    - name: Install packages
-      run: yarn install
-    - name: Build Storybook
-      run: |
-        yarn build-storybook
-    - name: Publish Storybook
-      if: ${{ github.event_name == 'push' && github.repository_owner == 'rancher'}}
-      run: .github/workflows/scripts/publish-storybook
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test-extension-workflows.yml b/.github/workflows/test-extension-workflows.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..68cd82f55ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/test-extension-workflows.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+name: Test Extension workflows
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [12032-reusable-wf-tests-2]
+
+defaults:
+  run:
+    shell: bash
+    working-directory: ./
+
+jobs:
+  retrieve-tags-master:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      SHELL_TAG: ${{ steps.retrieve-data.outputs.SHELL_TAG }}
+      CREATORS_TAG: ${{ steps.retrieve-data.outputs.CREATORS_TAG }}
+      ECI_TAG: ${{ steps.retrieve-data.outputs.ECI_TAG }}
+      EXTENSIONS_TAG: ${{ steps.retrieve-data.outputs.EXTENSIONS_TAG }}
+      CURR_JOB_ID: ${{ github.job }}
+      tags-job-status: ${{ job.status }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: 12032-reusable-wf-tests-2
+
+      - name: Retrieve Shell and Creators versions
+        run: source ./shell/scripts/retrieve-versions.sh
+        id: retrieve-data
+        shell: bash
+  # test-build-extension-charts-master:
+  #   needs: retrieve-tags-master
+  #   uses: rancher/dashboard/.github/workflows/build-extension-charts.yml@master
+  #   permissions:
+  #     actions: write
+  #     contents: write
+  #     deployments: write
+  #     pages: write
+  #   with:
+  #     target_branch: 'gh-pages'
+  #     tagged_release:  ${{ needs.retrieve-tags-master.outputs.EXTENSIONS_TAG }}
+  #     is_test:  'true'
+  #     test_ext_repo: 'ui-plugin-examples'
+  #     test_ext_branch:  'main'
+  # test-build-extension-catalog-master:
+  #   needs: retrieve-tags-master
+  #   uses: rancher/dashboard/.github/workflows/build-extension-catalog.yml@master
+  #   permissions:
+  #     actions: write
+  #     contents: read
+  #     packages: write
+  #   with:
+  #     registry_target: ghcr.io
+  #     registry_user: ${{ github.actor }}
+  #     tagged_release: ${{ needs.retrieve-tags-master.outputs.ECI_TAG }}
+  #     is_test:  'true'
+  #     test_ext_repo: 'ui-plugin-examples'
+  #     test_ext_branch:  'main'
+  #   secrets: 
+  #     registry_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+  test-release-shell-pkg-master:
+    needs: retrieve-tags-master
+    uses: aalves08/dashboard/.github/workflows/release-shell-pkg.yaml@12032-reusable-wf-tests-2
+    with:
+      # is_test:  'true'
+      # test_branch:  'master'
+      tag: ${{ needs.retrieve-tags-master.outputs.SHELL_TAG }}
+  # test-release-creators-pkg-master:
+  #   needs: retrieve-tags-master
+  #   uses: rancher/dashboard/.github/workflows/release-shell-pkg.yaml@master
+  #   with:
+  #     is_test: 'true'
+  #     test_branch: 'master'
+  #     tag: ${{ needs.retrieve-tags-master.outputs.CREATORS_TAG }}
+
+  # slack-message:
+  #   if: ${{ always() }}
+  #   runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+  #   needs: [retrieve-tags-master, test-build-extension-charts-master, test-build-extension-catalog-master, test-release-shell-pkg-master, test-release-creators-pkg-master]
+  #   steps: 
+  #     - name: Slack message for workflow
+  #       if: always()
+  #       shell: bash
+  #       env:
+  #         SLACK_WEBHOOK: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL_EXT_WFS }}
+  #       run: |
+  #         OUTPUT_ARRAY=("${{ needs.retrieve-tags-master.outputs.tags-job-status }}" "${{ needs.test-build-extension-charts-master.outputs.build-job-status }}" "${{ needs.test-build-extension-charts-master.outputs.release-job-status }}" "${{ needs.test-build-extension-catalog-master.outputs.build-extension-catalog-job-status }}" "${{ needs.test-release-shell-pkg-master.outputs.build-release-shell-creators-status }}" "${{ needs.test-release-creators-pkg-master.outputs.build-release-shell-creators-status }}")
+
+  #         if [[ ${OUTPUT_ARRAY[@]} =~ "failure" ]]; then
+  #           MSG_PREFIX="Workflows testing for extensions failed! 🆘"
+  #         else
+  #           MSG_PREFIX="Workflows testing for extensions succedded! ✅"
+  #         fi
+
+  #         echo "message prefix ::: $MSG_PREFIX"
+
+  #         TAGS_OUTPUT_STRING="status for retrieve-tags-master - build => ${{ needs.retrieve-tags-master.outputs.tags-job-status }}"
+  #         EXT_CHART_BUILD_OUTPUT_STRING="status for test-build-extension-charts-master - build => ${{ needs.test-build-extension-charts-master.outputs.build-job-status }}"    
+  #         EXT_CHART_RELEASE_OUTPUT_STRING="status for test-build-extension-charts-master - release => ${{ needs.test-build-extension-charts-master.outputs.release-job-status }}"    
+  #         EXT_CATALOG_BUILD_OUTPUT_STRING="status for test-build-extension-catalog-master - build => ${{ needs.test-build-extension-catalog-master.outputs.build-extension-catalog-job-status }}"    
+  #         RELEASE_SHELL_PKG_OUTPUT_STRING="status for test-release-shell-pkg-master - release => ${{ needs.test-release-shell-pkg-master.outputs.build-release-shell-creators-status }}"    
+  #         RELEASE_CREATORS_PKG_OUTPUT_STRING="status for test-release-creators-pkg-master - release => ${{ needs.test-release-creators-pkg-master.outputs.build-release-shell-creators-status }}"    
+
+  #         echo $TAGS_OUTPUT_STRING    
+  #         echo $EXT_CHART_BUILD_OUTPUT_STRING    
+  #         echo $EXT_CHART_RELEASE_OUTPUT_STRING
+  #         echo $EXT_CATALOG_BUILD_OUTPUT_STRING
+  #         echo $RELEASE_SHELL_PKG_OUTPUT_STRING    
+  #         echo $RELEASE_CREATORS_PKG_OUTPUT_STRING    
+        
+  #         MSG="$MSG_PREFIX ::: $TAGS_OUTPUT_STRING ::: $EXT_CHART_BUILD_OUTPUT_STRING ::: $EXT_CHART_RELEASE_OUTPUT_STRING ::: $EXT_CATALOG_BUILD_OUTPUT_STRING ::: $RELEASE_SHELL_PKG_OUTPUT_STRING ::: $RELEASE_CREATORS_PKG_OUTPUT_STRING"
+
+  #         echo "message sent: $MSG"
+
+  #         curl -X POST -H 'Content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8' \
+  #         --data '{ branch: "master", message: $MSG }' $SLACK_WEBHOOK
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yaml b/.github/workflows/test.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index e0f265c5c25..00000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,258 +0,0 @@
-name: Tests
-on:
-  push:
-    branches:
-      - master
-      - 'release-*'
-  pull_request:
-    branches:
-      - master
-      - 'release-*'
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      environment:
-        description: 'Environment to run tests against'
-        type: environment
-        required: true
-
-env:
-  TEST_USERNAME: admin
-  TEST_PASSWORD: password
-  CATTLE_BOOTSTRAP_PASSWORD: password
-  TEST_BASE_URL: https://127.0.0.1/dashboard
-  API: https://127.0.0.1
-  TEST_PROJECT_ID: rancher-dashboard
-  CYPRESS_API_URL: http://139.59.134.103:1234/
-  TEST_RUN_ID: ${{github.run_number}}-${{github.run_attempt}}-${{github.event.pull_request.title || github.event.head_commit.message}}
-  # Build the dashboard to use in tests. When set to false it will grab `latest` from CDN (useful for running e2e tests quickly)
-  BUILD_DASHBOARD: true
-
-  E2E_BUILD_DIST_NAME: dist
-  E2E_BUILD_DIST_DIR: dist
-  E2E_BUILD_DIST_EMBER_NAME: dist_ember
-  E2E_BUILD_DIST_EMBER_DIR: dist_ember
-
-jobs:
-  e2e-ui-build:
-    if: "!contains( github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'ci/skip-e2e')"
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 1
-      - name: Setup env
-        uses: ./.github/actions/setup
-      - name: Build e2e
-        run: yarn e2e:build
-      - name: Upload e2e build
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
-        with:
-          name: ${{ env.E2E_BUILD_DIST_NAME }}
-          path: ${{ env.E2E_BUILD_DIST_DIR }}/
-          if-no-files-found: error
-          retention-days: 10
-          compression-level: 9
-      - name: Upload e2e build ember
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
-        with:
-          name: ${{ env.E2E_BUILD_DIST_EMBER_NAME }}
-          path: ${{ env.E2E_BUILD_DIST_EMBER_DIR }}/
-          if-no-files-found: error
-          retention-days: 10
-          compression-level: 9
-
-
-  e2e-test:
-    if: "!contains( github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'ci/skip-e2e')"
-    needs: e2e-ui-build
-    strategy:
-      fail-fast: false
-      matrix:
-        role: [
-          { username: 'admin', tag: '@adminUser' }, 
-          { username: 'standard_user', tag: '@standardUser' }
-        ]
-        features:  [
-          ['@navigation', '@extensions'],
-          ['@charts'],
-          ['@explorer'],
-          ['@explorer2'],
-          ['@fleet'],
-          ['@generic', '@globalSettings'],
-          ['@manager'],
-          ['@userMenu', '@usersAndAuths'],
-          ['@components'],
-          ['@vai']
-        ]
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 1
-      - name: Setup env
-        uses: ./.github/actions/setup
-
-      # Installing fixed version of Chrome since latest version does not work (128 didn't work)
-      # Leaving this here again in case we need to pin to a specific Chrome version in the future
-      - name: Install Chrome 127
-        run: |
-          sudo apt-get install -y wget
-          cd /tmp
-          wget -q http://mirror.cs.uchicago.edu/google-chrome/pool/main/g/google-chrome-stable/google-chrome-stable_127.0.6533.72-1_amd64.deb
-          sudo apt-get install -y --allow-downgrades ./google-chrome-stable_127.0.6533.72-1_amd64.deb
-          google-chrome --version
-
-      - name: Download e2e build
-        uses:  actions/download-artifact@v4
-        with:
-         name: ${{ env.E2E_BUILD_DIST_NAME }}
-         path: ${{ env.E2E_BUILD_DIST_DIR }}
-      - name: Download e2e build ember
-        uses:  actions/download-artifact@v4
-        with:
-         name: ${{ env.E2E_BUILD_DIST_EMBER_NAME }}
-         path: ${{ env.E2E_BUILD_DIST_EMBER_DIR }}
-      
-      - name: Run Rancher
-        run: yarn e2e:docker
-      
-      - name: Setup Rancher and user
-        run: |
-          yarn e2e:prod
-        env: 
-          GREP_TAGS: ${{ matrix.role.tag }}Setup+${{ matrix.features[0] }} --@jenkins ${{ matrix.role.tag }}Setup+${{ matrix.features[1] || matrix.features[0] }} --@jenkins
-          TEST_USERNAME: admin
-          TEST_ONLY: setup
-      - name: Run user tests
-        run: |
-          yarn e2e:prod
-          [ "$BUILD_DASHBOARD" != "false" ] || exit 0
-        env: 
-          TEST_SKIP: setup
-          GREP_TAGS: ${{ matrix.role.tag }}+${{ matrix.features[0] }} --@jenkins ${{ matrix.role.tag }}+${{ matrix.features[1] || matrix.features[0] }} --@jenkins
-          TEST_USERNAME: ${{ matrix.role.username }}
-          
-      - name: Upload screenshots
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
-        if: ${{ failure() }}
-        with:
-          name: ${{github.run_number}}-${{github.run_attempt}}-screenshots-${{ matrix.role.tag }}+${{ matrix.features[0] }}
-          path: cypress/screenshots
-
-
-  unit-test:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 1
-      
-      - name: Run tests
-        uses: ./.github/actions/unit-tests
-
-      - name: Collect Coverage
-        run: |
-          mkdir -p coverage-artifacts/coverage
-          cp coverage/unit/coverage-final.json coverage-artifacts/coverage/coverage-unit.json
-          cp -r coverage/unit/ coverage-artifacts/coverage/unit/
-
-      - name: Upload coverage
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
-        with:
-          name: ${{github.run_number}}-${{github.run_attempt}}-coverage
-          path: coverage-artifacts/**/*
-
-
-  i18n:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 1
-
-      - name: Run i18n lint
-        uses: ./.github/actions/i18n-lint
-
-
-  lint:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 1
-
-      - name: Run tests
-        uses: ./.github/actions/lint
-      
-
-  check-i18n:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 1
-      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
-        with:
-          node-version-file: '.nvmrc'
-      
-      - name: Install packages
-        run: yarn install:ci
-      
-      - name: Run i18n string check
-        run: |
-          # Falure won't fail the job (remove -x when all current issues are fixed)
-          ./scripts/check-i18n -s -x
-
-  check-i18n-links:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 1
-      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
-        with:
-          node-version-file: '.nvmrc'
-      
-      - name: Install packages
-        run: yarn install:ci
-      
-      - name: Run check of all http links in the i18n files (broken link check)
-        run: |
-          ./scripts/check-i18n-links
-
-  # coverage:
-  #   runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-  #   needs:
-  #     - unit-test
-  #   steps:
-  #     - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-  #       with:
-  #         fetch-depth: 1
-
-  #     - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
-  #       with:
-  #         node-version-file: '.nvmrc'
-
-  #     - name: Download Coverage Artifacts
-  #       uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
-  #       with:
-  #         name: ${{github.run_number}}-${{github.run_attempt}}-coverage
-
-  #     - name: Install Codecov CLI
-  #       run : .github/workflows/scripts/install-codecov.sh
-
-  #     - name: Upload tests coverage report to Codecov
-  #       run: ./codecov --verbose upload-process -t ${{ secrets.CODECOV_TOKEN }} -n ${{github.run_number}}-${{github.run_attempt}}-coverage -F unit -f ./coverage/coverage-unit.json
-
-  check-e2e-tags:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 1
-      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
-        with:
-          node-version-file: '.nvmrc'
-      - name: Check e2e tags
-        run: |
-          ./scripts/check-e2e-tests-for-tags
diff --git a/shell/scripts/extension/parse-tag-name b/shell/scripts/extension/parse-tag-name
index e87e6bbff0b..ef19335b4af 100755
--- a/shell/scripts/extension/parse-tag-name
+++ b/shell/scripts/extension/parse-tag-name
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ GITHUB_RELEASE_TAG=$1
 GITHUB_RUN_ID=$2
 GITHUB_WORKFLOW_TYPE=$3
 
+echo "Parse tag name - evaluating release tag $GITHUB_RELEASE_TAG"
+
 # Ensure "catalog" workflow release tag name does not match a pkg/<pkg-name>
 if [[ "${GITHUB_WORKFLOW_TYPE}" == "catalog" ]]; then
   for d in pkg/*/ ; do
diff --git a/shell/scripts/publish-shell.sh b/shell/scripts/publish-shell.sh
index e0e11671951..d64e53d70c3 100755
--- a/shell/scripts/publish-shell.sh
+++ b/shell/scripts/publish-shell.sh
@@ -50,6 +50,13 @@ function publish() {
     PUBLISH_ARGS="--no-git-tag-version --access public --registry $NPM_REGISTRY --tag pre-release"
   fi
 
+  # when testing the workflow, we don't want to actually do an npm publish but only a dry run
+  if [ ${DRY_RUN} == "true" ]; then
+    PUBLISH_ARGS="--no-git-tag-version --access public --registry $NPM_REGISTRY --tag pre-release --dry-run"
+  fi
+
+  echo "Publish to NPM - arguments ::: ${PUBLISH_ARGS}"
+
   echo "Publishing ${NAME} from ${FOLDER}"
   pushd ${FOLDER} >/dev/null
 
diff --git a/shell/scripts/retrieve-versions.sh b/shell/scripts/retrieve-versions.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..811aafcb202
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shell/scripts/retrieve-versions.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -eo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" &>/dev/null && pwd)"
+BASE_DIR="$(
+  cd $SCRIPT_DIR && cd ../.. &
+  pwd
+)"
+SHELL_DIR=$BASE_DIR/shell
+CREATORS_DIR=$BASE_DIR/creators/extension
+
+function generate_tag_export() {
+  NAME=$1
+
+  case $NAME in
+    "shell")
+      SHELL_V=$(jq -r .version ${SHELL_DIR}/package.json)
+      echo "SHELL_TAG=shell-pkg-v$SHELL_V" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+      echo "Shell tag retrieved ::: ${SHELL_V}"
+      ;;
+    "creators")
+      CREATORS_V=$(jq -r .version ${CREATORS_DIR}/package.json)
+      echo "CREATORS_TAG=creators-pkg-v$CREATORS_V" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+      echo "Creators tag retrieved ::: ${CREATORS_V}"
+      ;;
+    "extension")
+      REPO_NAME=$2
+      BRANCH=$3
+      EXTENSION=$4
+      git clone https://github.com/rancher/$REPO_NAME.git
+      pushd ${BASE_DIR}/$REPO_NAME
+
+      git checkout $BRANCH
+
+      ECI_NAME=$(jq -r .name ./package.json)
+      ECI_VERSION=$(jq -r .version ./package.json)
+      EXTENSION_VERSION=$(jq -r .version pkg/$EXTENSION/package.json)
+      ECI_TAG_FULL=$ECI_NAME-$ECI_VERSION
+      EXTENSION_TAG_FULL=$EXTENSION-$EXTENSION_VERSION
+
+      echo "ECI_TAG=$ECI_TAG_FULL" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+      echo "EXTENSION_TAG=$EXTENSION_TAG_FULL" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+      echo "ECI tag retrieved ::: ${ECI_TAG_FULL}"
+      echo "Extension tag retrieved ::: ${EXTENSION_TAG_FULL}"
+
+      popd
+      ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+generate_tag_export "shell"
+generate_tag_export "creators"
+generate_tag_export "extension" "ui-plugin-examples" "main" "clock"
\ No newline at end of file