diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-artifact.yml b/.github/workflows/build-artifact.yml
index 88b8b3244831f..8d5b2927e9acd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-artifact.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-artifact.yml
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ on:
     branches:
       - ionos-dev
       - ionos-stable
+      - 'rc/**'
   workflow_dispatch:  # Manual trigger to bypass all caches
     inputs:
       force_rebuild:
@@ -50,7 +51,17 @@ on:
         default: ''
 
 concurrency:
-  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/ionos-dev' && github.run_id || github.event.pull_request.number || github.ref }}
+  group: >-
+    ${{ github.workflow }}-${{
+      github.event_name == 'pull_request' && format('pr-{0}', github.event.pull_request.number) ||
+      (
+        (
+          contains(fromJson('["refs/heads/ionos-dev","refs/heads/ionos-stable"]'), github.ref) ||
+          startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/rc/')
+        ) && github.run_id ||
+        github.ref
+      )
+    }}
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 env:
@@ -142,9 +153,11 @@ jobs:
               echo "   ✅ Event type is 'push'"
             fi
 
-            if [ "${{ github.ref_name }}" != "ionos-dev" ] && [ "${{ github.ref_name }}" != "ionos-stable" ]; then
-              echo "- ❌ Branch must be 'ionos-dev' or 'ionos-stable' (current: \`${{ github.ref_name }}\`)" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-              echo "   ❌ Branch is '${{ github.ref_name }}' (must be 'ionos-dev' or 'ionos-stable')"
+            # Check if branch matches expected patterns: ionos-dev, ionos-stable, or rc/*
+            VALID_BRANCH_PATTERN='^(ionos-dev|ionos-stable)$|^rc/.*$'
+            if [[ ! "${{ github.ref_name }}" =~ $VALID_BRANCH_PATTERN ]]; then
+              echo "- ❌ Branch must be 'ionos-dev', 'ionos-stable', or 'rc/*' (current: \`${{ github.ref_name }}\`)" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+              echo "   ❌ Branch is '${{ github.ref_name }}' (must be 'ionos-dev', 'ionos-stable', or 'rc/*')"
               WILL_TRIGGER=false
             else
               echo "- ✅ Branch is '\`${{ github.ref_name }}\`'" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
@@ -676,10 +689,10 @@ jobs:
 
   upload-to-artifactory:
     runs-on: self-hosted
-    # Upload the artifact to the Artifactory repository on PR *OR* on "ionos-dev|ionos-stable" branch push defined in the on:push:branches
+    # Upload the artifact to the Artifactory repository on PR *OR* on "ionos-dev|ionos-stable|rc/*" branch push defined in the on:push:branches
     if: |
       always() &&
-      (github.event_name == 'pull_request' || github.ref_name == 'ionos-dev' || github.ref_name == 'ionos-stable') &&
+      (github.event_name == 'pull_request' || github.ref_name == 'ionos-dev' || github.ref_name == 'ionos-stable' || startsWith(github.ref_name, 'rc/')) &&
       needs.prepare-matrix.result == 'success' &&
       (needs.build-external-apps.result == 'success' || needs.build-external-apps.result == 'skipped') &&
       needs.build-artifact.result == 'success'
@@ -758,21 +771,37 @@ jobs:
       - name: Upload build to artifactory
         id: artifactory_upload
         run: |
-          # PR builds are stored in a separate directory as "dev/pr/nextcloud-workspace-pr-<number>.zip"
-          # Push to "ionos-dev" branch is stored as "dev/nextcloud-workspace-<ncVersion>.zip"
+          # Artifactory Build Storage Structure:
+          # | Branch/Event     | Stage Prefix   | Artifact Path                                                            |
+          # |------------------|----------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
+          # | Pull Request     | dev            | dev/pr/nextcloud-workspace-pr-<number>.zip                               |
+          # | ionos-dev        | dev            | dev/ncw-<ncVersion>/<shortSha>/nextcloud-workspace-<ncVersion>.zip       |
+          # | ionos-stable     | stable         | stable/ncw-<ncVersion>/<shortSha>/nextcloud-workspace-<ncVersion>.zip    |
+          # | rc/*             | rc             | rc/<github.ref_name>/ncw-<ncVersion>/<shortSha>/nextcloud-workspace-<ncVersion>.zip        |
 
           ARTIFACTORY_STAGE_PREFIX="dev"
 
-          # set ARTIFACTORY_STAGE_PREFIX=stable on ionos-stable branch
+          # Set stage prefix based on branch
           if [ "${{ github.ref_name }}" == "ionos-stable" ]; then
               ARTIFACTORY_STAGE_PREFIX="stable"
+          # set ARTIFACTORY_STAGE_PREFIX=rc on rc/* branches
+          elif [[ "${{ github.ref_name }}" =~ ^rc/.*$ ]]; then
+              ARTIFACTORY_STAGE_PREFIX="${{ github.ref_name }}"
           fi
 
           export PATH_TO_DIRECTORY="${{ env.ARTIFACTORY_REPOSITORY_SNAPSHOT }}/${ARTIFACTORY_STAGE_PREFIX}"
-          PATH_TO_FILE="pr/nextcloud-workspace-pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}.zip"
 
-          if [ -z "${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}" ]; then
-            PATH_TO_FILE="nextcloud-workspace-${{ needs.build-artifact.outputs.NC_VERSION }}.zip"
+          # For PR: use simple pr/<number> path
+          # For branches: use ncw-<version>/<sha>/ structure to ensure unique paths
+          if [ -n "${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}" ]; then
+            PATH_TO_FILE="pr/nextcloud-workspace-pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}.zip"
+          else
+            # Extract short SHA (first 7 characters)
+            SHORT_SHA="${{ github.sha }}"
+            SHORT_SHA="${SHORT_SHA:0:7}"
+            NC_VERSION="${{ needs.build-artifact.outputs.NC_VERSION }}"
+
+            PATH_TO_FILE="ncw-${NC_VERSION}/${SHORT_SHA}/nextcloud-workspace-${NC_VERSION}.zip"
           fi
 
           export PATH_TO_LATEST_ARTIFACT="${PATH_TO_DIRECTORY}/${PATH_TO_FILE}"
@@ -907,30 +936,98 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: self-hosted
 
     name: Trigger remote workflow
-    needs: [upload-to-artifactory]
-    # Trigger remote build on "ionos-dev|ionos-stable" branch *push* defined in the on:push:branches
+    needs: [build-artifact, upload-to-artifactory]
+    # Trigger remote build on "ionos-dev|ionos-stable|rc/*" branch *push* defined in the on:push:branches
     # Can be disabled via repository variable 'DISABLE_REMOTE_TRIGGER' (set to 'true' to disable)
     # Configure at: https://github.com/IONOS-Productivity/ncw-server/settings/variables/actions
     if: |
       always() &&
       github.event_name == 'push' &&
-      (github.ref_name == 'ionos-dev' || github.ref_name == 'ionos-stable') &&
+      (github.ref_name == 'ionos-dev' || github.ref_name == 'ionos-stable' || startsWith(github.ref_name, 'rc/')) &&
+      needs.build-artifact.result == 'success' &&
       needs.upload-to-artifactory.result == 'success' &&
       vars.DISABLE_REMOTE_TRIGGER != 'true'
     steps:
+      - name: Check prerequisites
+        run: |
+          echo "Checking if all required variables are set..."
+          error_count=0
+
+          # Check secrets
+          if [ -z "${{ secrets.GITLAB_TOKEN }}" ]; then
+            echo "::error::GITLAB_TOKEN secret is not set"
+            error_count=$((error_count + 1))
+          fi
+
+          if [ -z "${{ secrets.GITLAB_TRIGGER_URL }}" ]; then
+            echo "::error::GITLAB_TRIGGER_URL secret is not set"
+            error_count=$((error_count + 1))
+          fi
+
+          # Check required outputs from previous jobs
+          if [ -z "${{ needs.build-artifact.outputs.NC_VERSION }}" ]; then
+            echo "::error::NC_VERSION output from build-artifact job is not set"
+            error_count=$((error_count + 1))
+          else
+            echo "✓ NC_VERSION: ${{ needs.build-artifact.outputs.NC_VERSION }}"
+          fi
+
+          if [ -z "${{ needs.upload-to-artifactory.outputs.ARTIFACTORY_LAST_BUILD_PATH }}" ]; then
+            echo "::error::ARTIFACTORY_LAST_BUILD_PATH output from upload-to-artifactory job is not set"
+            error_count=$((error_count + 1))
+          else
+            echo "✓ ARTIFACTORY_LAST_BUILD_PATH: ${{ needs.upload-to-artifactory.outputs.ARTIFACTORY_LAST_BUILD_PATH }}"
+          fi
+
+          # Check GitHub context variables
+          if [ -z "${{ github.sha }}" ]; then
+            echo "::error::github.sha is not set"
+            error_count=$((error_count + 1))
+          else
+            echo "✓ GITHUB_SHA: ${{ github.sha }}"
+          fi
+
+          if [ -z "${{ github.run_id }}" ]; then
+            echo "::error::github.run_id is not set"
+            error_count=$((error_count + 1))
+          else
+            echo "✓ BUILD_ID: ${{ github.run_id }}"
+          fi
+
+          if [ -z "${{ github.ref_name }}" ]; then
+            echo "::error::github.ref_name is not set"
+            error_count=$((error_count + 1))
+          else
+            echo "✓ BRANCH: ${{ github.ref_name }}"
+          fi
+
+          # Abort if any required variable is not set
+          if [ $error_count -ne 0 ]; then
+            echo "::error::Required variables are not set. Aborting."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          echo "✅ All required variables are set"
       - name: Trigger remote workflow
         run: |
           # Enable command echo for debugging purposes
           set -x
 
-          # Determine build type based on branch:
-          # - 'ionos-dev' branch triggers 'dev' build type
-          # - 'ionos-stable' branch triggers 'stable' build type
+          # Branch to GitLab Trigger Mapping:
+          # | ref_name     | GITLAB_REF   | BUILD_TYPE  |
+          # |--------------|--------------|-------------|
+          # | ionos-dev    | main         | dev         |
+          # | ionos-stable | main         | stable      |
+          # | rc/*         | main         | rc          |
+
           BUILD_TYPE="dev"
 
           # Override build type for stable branch
           if [ "${{ github.ref_name }}" == "ionos-stable" ]; then
               BUILD_TYPE="stable"
+          # Override build type for rc/* branches
+          elif [[ "${{ github.ref_name }}" =~ ^rc/ ]]; then
+              BUILD_TYPE="rc"
           fi
 
           # Construct source build URL for traceability
@@ -953,7 +1050,7 @@ jobs:
               --fail-with-body \
               -o response.json \
               --form token=${{ secrets.GITLAB_TOKEN }} \
-              --form ref="stable" \
+              --form ref="main" \
               --form "variables[GITHUB_SHA]=${{ github.sha }}" \
               --form "variables[ARTIFACTORY_LAST_BUILD_PATH]=${{ needs.upload-to-artifactory.outputs.ARTIFACTORY_LAST_BUILD_PATH }}" \
               --form "variables[NC_VERSION]=${{ needs.build-artifact.outputs.NC_VERSION }}" \