diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/post-merge.yml b/.gitea/workflows/post-merge.yml
index 1372cb5..9d3470d 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/post-merge.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/post-merge.yml
@@ -108,13 +108,8 @@ jobs:
             echo "No tag found — skipping publish"
             exit 0
           fi
-          HEAD_MSG=$(git log -1 --format=%s)
-          if echo "$HEAD_MSG" | grep -q "^release: ${TAG}"; then
-            echo "Publishing release $TAG..."
-            python3 -m devx.ci.publish "$TAG" "${{ github.repository }}"
-          else
-            echo "HEAD is not a release commit for $TAG — skipping publish"
-          fi
+          echo "Publishing release $TAG (idempotent — skips if already published)..."
+          python3 -m devx.ci.publish "$TAG" "${{ github.repository }}"
       - name: Notify on failure
         if: failure()
         env:
diff --git a/src/devx/ci/detect_release_commit.py b/src/devx/ci/detect_release_commit.py
index d7695df..72ac930 100644
--- a/src/devx/ci/detect_release_commit.py
+++ b/src/devx/ci/detect_release_commit.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
 """Detect whether the latest git commit is a release commit.
 
-Release commits have the format ``release: vX.Y.Z [skip ci]``.
+Release commits have the format ``release: vX.Y.Z``.
 This script writes ``is-release=true`` or ``is-release=false`` to
 ``$GITHUB_OUTPUT`` for use in CI workflow conditionals.
 
diff --git a/src/devx/ci/publish.py b/src/devx/ci/publish.py
index 592ff63..4c1dd50 100644
--- a/src/devx/ci/publish.py
+++ b/src/devx/ci/publish.py
@@ -135,13 +135,21 @@ def publish_to_gitea_registry(registry_url: str, token: str) -> None:
         check=False,
     )
     if result.returncode != 0:
-        raise click.ClickException(
-            _(
-                "Oops! Gitea PyPI registry publish failed:\n{stderr}",
-                stderr=result.stderr.strip(),
+        # Twine writes errors to stdout (not stderr), so check both.
+        combined = f"{result.stdout}\n{result.stderr}".strip()
+        # 409 Conflict means the package version is already published —
+        # this is not an error, just a sign we're re-running publish.
+        if "409" in combined or "Conflict" in combined:
+            click.echo(_("Gitea PyPI registry: {tag} already published — continuing.", tag=""))
+        else:
+            raise click.ClickException(
+                _(
+                    "Oops! Gitea PyPI registry publish failed:\n{stderr}",
+                    stderr=combined,
+                )
             )
-        )
-    click.echo(_("Published to Gitea PyPI registry."))
+    else:
+        click.echo(_("Published to Gitea PyPI registry."))
 
 
 def _default_gitea_registry_url() -> str:
diff --git a/src/devx/ci/release.py b/src/devx/ci/release.py
index a519f38..8238a38 100644
--- a/src/devx/ci/release.py
+++ b/src/devx/ci/release.py
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ def commit_release_changes(new_version: str) -> bool:
     if status.returncode == 0:
         click.echo(_("No staged changes — version and changelog already up to date."))
         return False
-    run_cmd(["git", "commit", "--no-verify", "-m", f"release: v{new_version} [skip ci]"])
+    run_cmd(["git", "commit", "--no-verify", "-m", f"release: v{new_version}"])
     return True
 
 
diff --git a/src/devx/translations.json b/src/devx/translations.json
index 240bfad..1d8fa86 100644
--- a/src/devx/translations.json
+++ b/src/devx/translations.json
@@ -967,6 +967,14 @@
     "ru": "Опубликовано в Gitea PyPI registry.",
     "zh": "已发布到 Gitea PyPI registry。"
   },
+  "Gitea PyPI registry: {tag} already published — continuing.": {
+    "bg": "Gitea PyPI registry: {tag} вече е публикуван — продължава.",
+    "de": "Gitea PyPI-Registry: {tag} bereits veröffentlicht — wird fortgesetzt.",
+    "en": "Gitea PyPI registry: {tag} already published — continuing.",
+    "pl": "Gitea PyPI registry: {tag} już opublikowano — kontynuacja.",
+    "ru": "Gitea PyPI registry: {tag} уже опубликован — продолжаем.",
+    "zh": "Gitea PyPI registry: {tag} 已发布 — 继续。"
+  },
   "Published to PyPI.": {
     "bg": "Публикувано в PyPI.",
     "de": "In PyPI veröffentlicht.",
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_publish.py b/tests/unit/test_publish.py
index 96dd00b..409d415 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_publish.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_publish.py
@@ -122,11 +122,18 @@ class TestPublishToGiteaRegistry:
 
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.subprocess.run")
     def test_failure_raises(self, mock_run: MagicMock) -> None:
-        mock_run.return_value = MagicMock(returncode=1, stderr="registry upload failed")
+        mock_run.return_value = MagicMock(returncode=1, stdout="", stderr="registry upload failed")
         with pytest.raises(click.ClickException) as exc:
             publish_to_gitea_registry("https://git.example.com/api/packages/owner/pypi", "gitea-tok")
         assert "Gitea PyPI registry" in str(exc.value)
 
+    @patch("devx.ci.publish.subprocess.run")
+    def test_409_conflict_is_non_fatal(self, mock_run: MagicMock) -> None:
+        """409 Conflict (already published) should not raise — just continue."""
+        mock_run.return_value = MagicMock(returncode=1, stdout="ERROR 409 Conflict from url", stderr="")
+        # Should not raise
+        publish_to_gitea_registry("https://git.example.com/api/packages/owner/pypi", "gitea-tok")
+
 
 class TestDefaultGiteaRegistryUrl:
     @patch.dict("os.environ", {"DEVX_REPO_OWNER": "myorg"}, clear=True)
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_release.py b/tests/unit/test_release.py
index 64ea42c..fc1efd6 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_release.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_release.py
@@ -766,7 +766,7 @@ class TestCommitReleaseChanges:
         assert result is True
         calls = [c.args[0] for c in mock_run_cmd.call_args_list]
         assert ["git", "add", "src/devx/__init__.py", "CHANGELOG.md"] in calls
-        assert ["git", "commit", "--no-verify", "-m", "release: v0.2.0 [skip ci]"] in calls
+        assert ["git", "commit", "--no-verify", "-m", "release: v0.2.0"] in calls
 
     @patch("devx.ci.release.run_cmd")
     def test_skips_when_no_changes(self, mock_run_cmd: MagicMock) -> None: