diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
index 5fef5ef..7d91e0c 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
@@ -56,7 +56,9 @@ jobs:
   release:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     # Don't loop on our own bump commit (belt-and-suspenders with [skip ci]).
-    if: ${{ !contains(github.event.head_commit.message, 'chore(release): bump version') }}
+    # Quoted because the expression contains a colon (`chore(release):`), which an
+    # unquoted YAML scalar would misparse as a mapping value.
+    if: "${{ !contains(github.event.head_commit.message, 'chore(release): bump version') }}"
     steps:
       - name: Check out full history (need tags + commit log for the bump)
         uses: actions/checkout@v4