diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/prepare-release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/prepare-release.yml
index e760677..efe0c87 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/prepare-release.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/prepare-release.yml
@@ -264,7 +264,18 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
 
-          release_api="${GITHUB_API_URL:-${GITHUB_SERVER_URL%/}/api/v1}/repos/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}/releases/${RELEASE_ID}/assets"
+          raw_release_id="$(printf '%s' "${RELEASE_ID:-}" | sed 's/^[[:space:]]\+//; s/[[:space:]]\+$//')"
+          if [[ "$raw_release_id" =~ ^%\!t\(string=(.*)\)$ ]]; then
+            raw_release_id="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+          fi
+
+          release_id="$(printf '%s' "$raw_release_id" | sed 's/^[[:space:]]\+//; s/[[:space:]]\+$//')"
+          if ! [[ "$release_id" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+            echo "Invalid release id from publish step: '${RELEASE_ID}'" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          release_api="${GITHUB_API_URL:-${GITHUB_SERVER_URL%/}/api/v1}/repos/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}/releases/${release_id}/assets"
 
           for asset in dist/*; do
             name="$(basename "$asset")"