diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/do-release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/do-release.yml
index 69f07a0..1ed46dd 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/do-release.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/do-release.yml
@@ -36,36 +36,52 @@ jobs:
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
 
-      - name: Resolve release version
-        id: resolve-version
-        env:
-          REQUESTED_TAG: ${{ inputs.tag }}
+      - name: Fetch and detect release tag
+        id: detect-tag
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
 
-          requested_tag="$(printf '%s' "${REQUESTED_TAG:-}" | sed 's/^[[:space:]]\+//; s/[[:space:]]\+$//')"
+          # Fetch all tags from origin to ensure we have the latest
+          git fetch origin --tags --force --quiet 2>/dev/null || true
+          
+          # Try to find the most recent tag (in case it was just created by prepare-release)
+          latest_tag="$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || echo '')"
+          
+          if [[ -n "$latest_tag" ]]; then
+            echo "detected_tag=$latest_tag" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
+
+      - name: Resolve release version
+        id: resolve-version
+        env:
+          INPUT_TAG: ${{ inputs.tag }}
+          DETECTED_TAG: ${{ steps.detect-tag.outputs.detected_tag }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+
+          # Try to use explicit input first
+          requested_tag="$(printf '%s' "${INPUT_TAG}" | sed 's/^[[:space:]]\+//; s/[[:space:]]\+$//')"
+          
+          # Fall back to detected tag if input is empty
+          if [[ -z "$requested_tag" && -n "${DETECTED_TAG}" ]]; then
+            requested_tag="$DETECTED_TAG"
+          fi
+          
+          # Try GITHUB_REF if still empty
+          if [[ -z "$requested_tag" && "$GITHUB_REF" == refs/tags/* ]]; then
+            requested_tag="${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}"
+          fi
           
           if [[ -n "$requested_tag" ]]; then
-            # Explicit tag was provided via input or workflow_call
+            # Normalize to v-prefixed format
             normalized="${requested_tag#v}"
             tag="v${normalized}"
-          elif [[ "$GITHUB_REF" == refs/tags/* ]]; then
-            # Running from a tag push
-            tag="${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}"
-            normalized="${tag#v}"
           else
-            # Try to find tags at HEAD (fetch latest first in case called from prepare-release)
-            git fetch origin --tags --quiet 2>/dev/null || true
-            
-            if tag_at_head="$(git describe --exact-match --tags HEAD 2>/dev/null)" && [[ -n "$tag_at_head" ]]; then
-              # Current HEAD is at a tag
-              tag="$tag_at_head"
-              normalized="${tag#v}"
-            else
-              echo "A release tag is required when the workflow is not running from a tag push" >&2
-              echo "Provide a tag via the 'tag' input or ensure HEAD is at a tagged commit." >&2
-              exit 1
-            fi
+            echo "Error: Could not resolve release version" >&2
+            echo "  - inputs.tag: '$INPUT_TAG'" >&2
+            echo "  - detected_tag: '${DETECTED_TAG}'" >&2
+            echo "  - GITHUB_REF: '$GITHUB_REF'" >&2
+            exit 1
           fi
 
           echo "tag=${tag}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"