diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
index bd85c6a..47ce699 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
@@ -39,11 +39,11 @@
 # Prerequisites (Settings → Actions → Secrets on RunicGateway/installer):
 #   REGISTRY_USER   — Gitea username the token below belongs to
 #   REGISTRY_TOKEN  — Gitea access token with `write:repository`, so it can push
-#                     the bump commit + tag and create the release.
-#   Also: `main` must accept a direct push from that user (disable branch
-#   protection for it, or add it as an exception) — the bump commit lands on main.
+#                     the release tag and create the release.
 #
-# The bump commit carries `[skip ci]`, so it does not re-trigger this workflow.
+# `main` needs NO push exception: this workflow tags and publishes, and never
+# writes to a branch. Keeping it that way is deliberate — a first release that
+# depends on a write to a protected branch fails at the worst possible moment.
 
 name: Release installer
 
@@ -66,7 +66,8 @@ env:
 jobs:
   release:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    # Don't loop on our own bump commit (belt-and-suspenders with [skip ci]).
+    # Vestigial since this workflow stopped writing a bump commit, and kept as
+    # belt-and-braces in case one ever returns.
     # Quoted because the expression contains a colon (`chore(release):`), which an
     # unquoted YAML scalar would misparse as a mapping value.
     if: "${{ !contains(github.event.head_commit.message, 'chore(release): bump version') }}"
@@ -300,33 +301,45 @@ jobs:
           ls -l dist && echo "----" && cat dist/SHA256SUMS
 
       # ── RELEASE ENGINE: commit the bump, tag, push ───────────────────────
-      - name: Commit version bump and push tag
+      # Tag only — `main` is never pushed to.
+      #
+      # This step used to commit the version bump back to main first, and it has
+      # never executed in any repo that carries it: an EMPTY template expression
+      # written literally in the comment below (the `$`+`{{ }}` token, spelled
+      # out here for that reason) makes the runner fail to build the script and
+      # skip the step WITHOUT failing the job. link/release.yml carried the same
+      # bug for six releases, which is why its Cargo.toml still says 0.1.0 while
+      # its tags reach v1.1.1 — the release API creates the tag when it
+      # publishes, so the pipeline worked by accident.
+      #
+      # It also would have been declined if it had run: `main` is protected, and
+      # the bundle job proved that on 2026-08-05 (`pre-receive hook declined`).
+      # A first release must not depend on a write to a protected branch.
+      #
+      # So the tag is the version, as in servuo-plugins. The version is still
+      # written into Cargo.toml before building, so a released binary
+      # self-reports correctly; it is simply not committed back. The next
+      # version is computed from the newest tag, never from the file.
+      - name: Push the release tag
         if: ${{ steps.plan.outputs.release == 'true' }}
         env:
           REGISTRY_USER: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_USER }}
           REGISTRY_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_TOKEN }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
-          VERSION="${{ steps.plan.outputs.version }}"
           TAG="${{ steps.plan.outputs.tag }}"
           # Secrets can arrive with a trailing newline (depending on how they were
           # pasted); a stray CR/LF corrupts the remote URL ("credential url cannot
-          # be parsed"). Strip line breaks before building the URL. Passing them via
-          # env (not inline ${{ }}) also keeps a newline from breaking this script.
+          # be parsed"). Strip line breaks before building the URL. They are passed
+          # via env rather than interpolated into this script, so a newline cannot
+          # break it — do NOT write a template token literally in a comment here,
+          # or the runner will skip this step without failing the job.
           CI_USER="$(printf '%s' "${REGISTRY_USER}" | tr -d '\r\n')"
           CI_TOKEN="$(printf '%s' "${REGISTRY_TOKEN}" | tr -d '\r\n')"
           git config user.name  "installer-ci"
           git config user.email "ci@whitlocktech.com"
           git remote set-url origin \
             "https://${CI_USER}:${CI_TOKEN}@${GITEA_HOST}/${REPO}.git"
-
-          git add Cargo.toml Cargo.lock
-          if ! git diff --cached --quiet; then
-            git commit -m "chore(release): bump version to ${TAG} [skip ci]"
-            git push origin "HEAD:main"
-          else
-            echo "Version unchanged (first release) — no bump commit needed."
-          fi
           # The tag may already exist when finishing a run that died after
           # tagging (see the plan step). `git tag` on an existing name fails
           # under `set -e`; pushing an identical existing tag is a harmless