diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 5631a2d6c6..92eaf12aac 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -3488,7 +3488,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "wasmtime-cranelift",
  "wasmtime-environ",
  "wasmtime-fuzzing",
- "wasmtime-jit",
  "wasmtime-runtime",
  "wasmtime-wasi",
  "wasmtime-wasi-crypto",
@@ -3678,7 +3677,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "thiserror",
  "walkdir",
  "wasmtime",
- "wasmtime-runtime",
  "wasmtime-wasi",
  "wiggle",
 ]
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index a5d19c3c88..1f2bc42713 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -22,11 +22,10 @@ doc = false
 
 [dependencies]
 wasmtime = { path = "crates/wasmtime", version = "0.30.0", default-features = false, features = ['cache', 'cranelift'] }
-wasmtime-cache = { path = "crates/cache", version = "0.30.0" }
-wasmtime-cranelift = { path = "crates/cranelift", version = "0.30.0" }
-wasmtime-environ = { path = "crates/environ", version = "0.30.0" }
-wasmtime-jit = { path = "crates/jit", version = "0.30.0" }
-wasmtime-wast = { path = "crates/wast", version = "0.30.0" }
+wasmtime-cache = { path = "crates/cache", version = "=0.30.0" }
+wasmtime-cranelift = { path = "crates/cranelift", version = "=0.30.0" }
+wasmtime-environ = { path = "crates/environ", version = "=0.30.0" }
+wasmtime-wast = { path = "crates/wast", version = "=0.30.0" }
 wasmtime-wasi = { path = "crates/wasi", version = "0.30.0" }
 wasmtime-wasi-crypto = { path = "crates/wasi-crypto", version = "0.30.0", optional = true }
 wasmtime-wasi-nn = { path = "crates/wasi-nn", version = "0.30.0", optional = true }
diff --git a/cranelift/codegen/Cargo.toml b/cranelift/codegen/Cargo.toml
index db677ac45d..548ac0473c 100644
--- a/cranelift/codegen/Cargo.toml
+++ b/cranelift/codegen/Cargo.toml
@@ -23,9 +23,9 @@ serde = { version = "1.0.94", features = ["derive"], optional = true }
 bincode = { version = "1.2.1", optional = true }
 gimli = { version = "0.25.0", default-features = false, features = ["write"], optional = true }
 smallvec = { version = "1.6.1" }
-peepmatic = { path = "../peepmatic", optional = true, version = "0.77.0" }
-peepmatic-traits = { path = "../peepmatic/crates/traits", optional = true, version = "0.77.0" }
-peepmatic-runtime = { path = "../peepmatic/crates/runtime", optional = true, version = "0.77.0" }
+peepmatic = { path = "../peepmatic", optional = true, version = "=0.77.0" }
+peepmatic-traits = { path = "../peepmatic/crates/traits", optional = true, version = "=0.77.0" }
+peepmatic-runtime = { path = "../peepmatic/crates/runtime", optional = true, version = "=0.77.0" }
 regalloc = { version = "0.0.32" }
 souper-ir = { version = "2.1.0", optional = true }
 wast = { version = "38.0.0", optional = true }
diff --git a/cranelift/peepmatic/Cargo.toml b/cranelift/peepmatic/Cargo.toml
index e497554dcc..62e3b6f3f3 100644
--- a/cranelift/peepmatic/Cargo.toml
+++ b/cranelift/peepmatic/Cargo.toml
@@ -10,13 +10,13 @@ description = "DSL and compiler for generating peephole optimizers"
 
 [dependencies]
 anyhow = "1.0.27"
-peepmatic-automata = { version = "0.77.0", path = "crates/automata", features = ["dot"] }
-peepmatic-macro = { version = "0.77.0", path = "crates/macro" }
-peepmatic-runtime = { version = "0.77.0", path = "crates/runtime", features = ["construct"] }
-peepmatic-traits = { version = "0.77.0", path = "crates/traits" }
+peepmatic-automata = { version = "=0.77.0", path = "crates/automata", features = ["dot"] }
+peepmatic-macro = { version = "=0.77.0", path = "crates/macro" }
+peepmatic-runtime = { version = "=0.77.0", path = "crates/runtime", features = ["construct"] }
+peepmatic-traits = { version = "=0.77.0", path = "crates/traits" }
 serde = { version = "1.0.105", features = ["derive"] }
 wast = "38.0.0"
 z3 = { version = "0.7.1", features = ["static-link-z3"] }
 
 [dev-dependencies]
-peepmatic-test-operator = { version = "0.77.0", path = "crates/test-operator" }
+peepmatic-test-operator = { path = "crates/test-operator" }
diff --git a/cranelift/peepmatic/crates/runtime/Cargo.toml b/cranelift/peepmatic/crates/runtime/Cargo.toml
index 3cf97de9ad..09b71824c3 100644
--- a/cranelift/peepmatic/crates/runtime/Cargo.toml
+++ b/cranelift/peepmatic/crates/runtime/Cargo.toml
@@ -12,14 +12,14 @@ description = "Runtime support for peepmatic peephole optimizers"
 bincode = "1.2.1"
 bumpalo = "3.2.0"
 log = "0.4.8"
-peepmatic-automata = { version = "0.77.0", path = "../automata", features = ["serde"] }
-peepmatic-traits = { version = "0.77.0", path = "../traits" }
+peepmatic-automata = { version = "=0.77.0", path = "../automata", features = ["serde"] }
+peepmatic-traits = { version = "=0.77.0", path = "../traits" }
 serde = { version = "1.0.105", features = ["derive"] }
 thiserror = "1.0.15"
 wast = { version = "38.0.0", optional = true }
 
 [dev-dependencies]
-peepmatic-test-operator = { version = "0.77.0", path = "../test-operator" }
+peepmatic-test-operator = { path = "../test-operator" }
 serde_test = "1.0.114"
 
 [features]
diff --git a/cranelift/peepmatic/crates/souper/Cargo.toml b/cranelift/peepmatic/crates/souper/Cargo.toml
index cdb16ea3c1..ae65097912 100644
--- a/cranelift/peepmatic/crates/souper/Cargo.toml
+++ b/cranelift/peepmatic/crates/souper/Cargo.toml
@@ -14,6 +14,6 @@ souper-ir = { version = "2.1.0", features = ["parse"] }
 log = "0.4.8"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
-peepmatic = { path = "../..", version = "0.77.0" }
-peepmatic-test-operator = { version = "0.77.0", path = "../test-operator" }
+peepmatic = { path = "../..", version = "=0.77.0" }
+peepmatic-test-operator = { version = "=0.77.0", path = "../test-operator" }
 wast = "38.0.0"
diff --git a/cranelift/peepmatic/crates/test-operator/Cargo.toml b/cranelift/peepmatic/crates/test-operator/Cargo.toml
index 03ed818929..8ae98c4d58 100644
--- a/cranelift/peepmatic/crates/test-operator/Cargo.toml
+++ b/cranelift/peepmatic/crates/test-operator/Cargo.toml
@@ -9,6 +9,6 @@ edition = "2018"
 # See more keys and their definitions at https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/manifest.html
 
 [dependencies]
-peepmatic-traits = { version = "0.77.0", path = "../traits" }
+peepmatic-traits = { version = "=0.77.0", path = "../traits" }
 serde = { version = "1.0.105", features = ["derive"] }
 wast = "38.0.0"
diff --git a/crates/cranelift/Cargo.toml b/crates/cranelift/Cargo.toml
index 6f5a435e48..473070682a 100644
--- a/crates/cranelift/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/cranelift/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,12 +13,12 @@ edition = "2018"
 [dependencies]
 anyhow = "1.0"
 log = "0.4"
-wasmtime-environ = { path = "../environ", version = "0.30.0" }
+wasmtime-environ = { path = "../environ", version = "=0.30.0" }
 cranelift-wasm = { path = "../../cranelift/wasm", version = "0.77.0" }
 cranelift-codegen = { path = "../../cranelift/codegen", version = "0.77.0" }
 cranelift-frontend = { path = "../../cranelift/frontend", version = "0.77.0" }
 cranelift-entity = { path = "../../cranelift/entity", version = "0.77.0" }
-cranelift-native = { path = '../../cranelift/native', version = '0.77.0' }
+cranelift-native = { path = "../../cranelift/native", version = "0.77.0" }
 wasmparser = "0.81.0"
 target-lexicon = "0.12"
 gimli = { version = "0.25.0", default-features = false, features = ['read', 'std'] }
diff --git a/crates/jit/Cargo.toml b/crates/jit/Cargo.toml
index 47656d764b..d7dab0dce8 100644
--- a/crates/jit/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/jit/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ repository = "https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime"
 edition = "2018"
 
 [dependencies]
-wasmtime-environ = { path = "../environ", version = "0.30.0" }
-wasmtime-runtime = { path = "../runtime", version = "0.30.0" }
+wasmtime-environ = { path = "../environ", version = "=0.30.0" }
+wasmtime-runtime = { path = "../runtime", version = "=0.30.0" }
 region = "2.2.0"
 thiserror = "1.0.4"
 target-lexicon = { version = "0.12.0", default-features = false }
diff --git a/crates/runtime/Cargo.toml b/crates/runtime/Cargo.toml
index 002747f67b..ea464e202d 100644
--- a/crates/runtime/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/runtime/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ repository = "https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime"
 edition = "2018"
 
 [dependencies]
-wasmtime-environ = { path = "../environ", version = "0.30.0" }
-wasmtime-fiber = { path = "../fiber", version = "0.30.0", optional = true }
+wasmtime-environ = { path = "../environ", version = "=0.30.0" }
+wasmtime-fiber = { path = "../fiber", version = "=0.30.0", optional = true }
 region = "2.1.0"
 libc = { version = "0.2.82", default-features = false }
 log = "0.4.8"
diff --git a/crates/wasi-common/Cargo.toml b/crates/wasi-common/Cargo.toml
index 85f2304b0b..ec500d9a5f 100644
--- a/crates/wasi-common/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/wasi-common/Cargo.toml
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ links = "wasi-common-19"
 [dependencies]
 anyhow = "1.0"
 thiserror = "1.0"
-wiggle = { path = "../wiggle", default-features = false, version = "0.30.0" }
+wiggle = { path = "../wiggle", default-features = false, version = "=0.30.0" }
 tracing = "0.1.19"
 cap-std = "0.19.1"
 cap-rand = "0.19.1"
diff --git a/crates/wasi-common/cap-std-sync/Cargo.toml b/crates/wasi-common/cap-std-sync/Cargo.toml
index 3c093f679b..7a416c803e 100644
--- a/crates/wasi-common/cap-std-sync/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/wasi-common/cap-std-sync/Cargo.toml
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ edition = "2018"
 include = ["src/**/*", "README.md", "LICENSE" ]
 
 [dependencies]
-wasi-common = { path = "../", version = "0.30.0" }
+wasi-common = { path = "../", version = "=0.30.0" }
 async-trait = "0.1"
 anyhow = "1.0"
 cap-std = "0.19.1"
diff --git a/crates/wasi-common/tokio/Cargo.toml b/crates/wasi-common/tokio/Cargo.toml
index bf3fbce231..e09803a1ec 100644
--- a/crates/wasi-common/tokio/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/wasi-common/tokio/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@ edition = "2018"
 include = ["src/**/*", "LICENSE" ]
 
 [dependencies]
-wasi-common = { path = "../", version = "0.30.0" }
-wasi-cap-std-sync = { path = "../cap-std-sync", version = "0.30.0" }
-wiggle = { path = "../../wiggle", version = "0.30.0" }
+wasi-common = { path = "../", version = "=0.30.0" }
+wasi-cap-std-sync = { path = "../cap-std-sync", version = "=0.30.0" }
+wiggle = { path = "../../wiggle", version = "=0.30.0" }
 tokio = { version = "1.8.0", features = [ "rt", "fs", "time", "io-util", "net", "io-std", "rt-multi-thread"] }
 cap-std = "0.19.1"
 cap-fs-ext = "0.19.1"
diff --git a/crates/wasi-crypto/Cargo.toml b/crates/wasi-crypto/Cargo.toml
index ae4f8b1cdb..be6e6fb09a 100644
--- a/crates/wasi-crypto/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/wasi-crypto/Cargo.toml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ edition = "2018"
 anyhow = "1.0"
 wasi-crypto = { path = "spec/implementations/hostcalls/rust", version = "0.1.5" }
 wasmtime = { path = "../wasmtime", version = "0.30.0", default-features = false }
-wiggle = { path = "../wiggle", version = "0.30.0" }
+wiggle = { path = "../wiggle", version = "=0.30.0" }
 
 [badges]
 maintenance = { status = "experimental" }
diff --git a/crates/wasi-nn/Cargo.toml b/crates/wasi-nn/Cargo.toml
index 2d4d71e68e..32b7e00f7a 100644
--- a/crates/wasi-nn/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/wasi-nn/Cargo.toml
@@ -16,9 +16,8 @@ edition = "2018"
 anyhow = "1.0"
 log = { version = "0.4", default-features = false }
 wasmtime = { path = "../wasmtime", version = "0.30.0", default-features = false }
-wasmtime-runtime = { path = "../runtime", version = "0.30.0" }
 wasmtime-wasi = { path = "../wasi", version = "0.30.0" }
-wiggle = { path = "../wiggle", version = "0.30.0" }
+wiggle = { path = "../wiggle", version = "=0.30.0" }
 
 # These dependencies are necessary for the wasi-nn implementation:
 openvino = { version = "0.3.1", features = ["runtime-linking"] }
diff --git a/crates/wasi/Cargo.toml b/crates/wasi/Cargo.toml
index ce52c1aa2f..957e876d37 100644
--- a/crates/wasi/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/wasi/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@ include = ["src/**/*", "README.md", "LICENSE", "build.rs"]
 build = "build.rs"
 
 [dependencies]
-wasi-common = { path = "../wasi-common", version = "0.30.0" }
-wasi-cap-std-sync = { path = "../wasi-common/cap-std-sync", version = "0.30.0", optional = true }
-wasi-tokio = { path = "../wasi-common/tokio", version = "0.30.0", optional = true }
-wiggle = { path = "../wiggle", default-features = false, version = "0.30.0", features = ["wasmtime_integration"] }
+wasi-common = { path = "../wasi-common", version = "=0.30.0" }
+wasi-cap-std-sync = { path = "../wasi-common/cap-std-sync", version = "=0.30.0", optional = true }
+wasi-tokio = { path = "../wasi-common/tokio", version = "=0.30.0", optional = true }
+wiggle = { path = "../wiggle", default-features = false, version = "=0.30.0", features = ["wasmtime_integration"] }
 wasmtime = { path = "../wasmtime", default-features = false, version = "0.30.0" }
 anyhow = "1.0"
 
diff --git a/crates/wasmtime/Cargo.toml b/crates/wasmtime/Cargo.toml
index daa9edadaf..ce81f55a0d 100644
--- a/crates/wasmtime/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/wasmtime/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,12 +13,12 @@ edition = "2018"
 rustdoc-args = ["--cfg", "nightlydoc"]
 
 [dependencies]
-wasmtime-runtime = { path = "../runtime", version = "0.30.0" }
-wasmtime-environ = { path = "../environ", version = "0.30.0" }
-wasmtime-jit = { path = "../jit", version = "0.30.0" }
-wasmtime-cache = { path = "../cache", version = "0.30.0", optional = true }
-wasmtime-fiber = { path = "../fiber", version = "0.30.0", optional = true }
-wasmtime-cranelift = { path = "../cranelift", version = "0.30.0", optional = true }
+wasmtime-runtime = { path = "../runtime", version = "=0.30.0" }
+wasmtime-environ = { path = "../environ", version = "=0.30.0" }
+wasmtime-jit = { path = "../jit", version = "=0.30.0" }
+wasmtime-cache = { path = "../cache", version = "=0.30.0", optional = true }
+wasmtime-fiber = { path = "../fiber", version = "=0.30.0", optional = true }
+wasmtime-cranelift = { path = "../cranelift", version = "=0.30.0", optional = true }
 target-lexicon = { version = "0.12.0", default-features = false }
 wasmparser = "0.81"
 anyhow = "1.0.19"
diff --git a/crates/wiggle/Cargo.toml b/crates/wiggle/Cargo.toml
index b157c876ab..fdc7701853 100644
--- a/crates/wiggle/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/wiggle/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ include = ["src/**/*", "README.md", "LICENSE"]
 [dependencies]
 thiserror = "1"
 witx = { path = "../wasi-common/WASI/tools/witx", version = "0.9.1", optional = true }
-wiggle-macro = { path = "macro", version = "0.30.0" }
+wiggle-macro = { path = "macro", version = "=0.30.0" }
 tracing = "0.1.26"
 bitflags = "1.2"
 async-trait = "0.1.42"
diff --git a/crates/wiggle/macro/Cargo.toml b/crates/wiggle/macro/Cargo.toml
index c0718833df..fb1b0138de 100644
--- a/crates/wiggle/macro/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/wiggle/macro/Cargo.toml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ test = false
 doctest = false
 
 [dependencies]
-wiggle-generate = { path = "../generate", version = "0.30.0" }
+wiggle-generate = { path = "../generate", version = "=0.30.0" }
 witx = { version = "0.9.1", path = "../../wasi-common/WASI/tools/witx" }
 quote = "1.0"
 syn = { version = "1.0", features = ["full"] }
diff --git a/scripts/publish.rs b/scripts/publish.rs
index 30b3fe0c5c..be55bb0bba 100644
--- a/scripts/publish.rs
+++ b/scripts/publish.rs
@@ -63,12 +63,49 @@ const CRATES_TO_PUBLISH: &[&str] = &[
     "wasmtime-wasi",
     "wasmtime-wasi-nn",
     "wasmtime-wasi-crypto",
-    "wasmtime-rust-macro",
-    "wasmtime-rust",
     "wasmtime-wast",
     "wasmtime-cli",
 ];
 
+// Anything **not** mentioned in this array is required to have an `=a.b.c`
+// dependency requirement on it to enable breaking api changes even in "patch"
+// releases since everything not mentioned here is just an organizational detail
+// that no one else should rely on.
+const PUBLIC_CRATES: &[&str] = &[
+    // just here to appease the script because these are submodules of this
+    // repository.
+    "wasi-crypto",
+    "witx",
+    // these are actually public crates which we cannot break the API of in
+    // patch releases.
+    "wasmtime",
+    "wasmtime-wasi",
+    "wasmtime-wasi-nn",
+    "wasmtime-wasi-crypto",
+    "wasmtime-cli",
+    // all cranelift crates are considered "public" in that they can't
+    // have breaking API changes in patch releases
+    "cranelift-entity",
+    "cranelift-bforest",
+    "cranelift-codegen-shared",
+    "cranelift-codegen-meta",
+    "cranelift-codegen",
+    "cranelift-reader",
+    "cranelift-serde",
+    "cranelift-module",
+    "cranelift-preopt",
+    "cranelift-frontend",
+    "cranelift-wasm",
+    "cranelift-native",
+    "cranelift-object",
+    "cranelift-interpreter",
+    "cranelift",
+    "cranelift-jit",
+    // This is a dependency of cranelift crates and as a result can't break in
+    // patch releases as well
+    "wasmtime-types",
+];
+
 struct Crate {
     manifest: PathBuf,
     name: String,
@@ -235,7 +272,7 @@ fn bump_version(krate: &Crate, crates: &[Crate]) {
                 continue;
             }
             if !line.contains(&other.version) {
-                if !line.contains("version =") {
+                if !line.contains("version =") || !krate.publish {
                     continue;
                 }
                 panic!(
@@ -243,6 +280,23 @@ fn bump_version(krate: &Crate, crates: &[Crate]) {
                     krate.manifest, other.name, other.version
                 );
             }
+            if krate.publish {
+                if PUBLIC_CRATES.contains(&other.name.as_str()) {
+                    assert!(
+                        !line.contains("\"="),
+                        "{} should not have an exact version requirement on {}",
+                        krate.name,
+                        other.name
+                    );
+                } else {
+                    assert!(
+                        line.contains("\"="),
+                        "{} should have an exact version requirement on {}",
+                        krate.name,
+                        other.name
+                    );
+                }
+            }
             rewritten = true;
             new_manifest.push_str(&line.replace(&other.version, &other.next_version));
             break;