diff --git a/src/devx/ci/publish.py b/src/devx/ci/publish.py
index 4c1dd50..10a10c2 100644
--- a/src/devx/ci/publish.py
+++ b/src/devx/ci/publish.py
@@ -202,18 +202,27 @@ def main(tag: str, repo: str, registry_url: str | None, skip_build: bool) -> Non
     if not skip_build:
         build_package()
 
-        if pypi_token:
-            # Standard PyPI flow takes precedence when PYPI_TOKEN is set
-            publish_to_pypi(pypi_token)
-        elif registry_url:
-            # Gitea PyPI registry flow
-            publish_to_gitea_registry(registry_url, gitea_token)
-        else:
+        try:
+            if pypi_token:
+                # Standard PyPI flow takes precedence when PYPI_TOKEN is set
+                publish_to_pypi(pypi_token)
+            elif registry_url:
+                # Gitea PyPI registry flow
+                publish_to_gitea_registry(registry_url, gitea_token)
+            else:
+                click.echo(
+                    _(
+                        "PYPI_TOKEN not set and no registry URL configured — "
+                        "skipping PyPI publish. No worries, we'll just create the Gitea release."
+                    )
+                )
+        except click.ClickException as e:
             click.echo(
                 _(
-                    "PYPI_TOKEN not set and no registry URL configured — "
-                    "skipping PyPI publish. No worries, we'll just create the Gitea release."
-                )
+                    "PyPI publish failed (non-fatal — continuing to Gitea release):\n{error}",
+                    error=str(e),
+                ),
+                err=True,
             )
     else:
         click.echo(_("--skip-build: skipping package build and PyPI publish."))
diff --git a/src/devx/translations.json b/src/devx/translations.json
index 1d8fa86..8cf7843 100644
--- a/src/devx/translations.json
+++ b/src/devx/translations.json
@@ -911,6 +911,14 @@
     "ru": "Ой! Публикация в PyPI не удалась:\n{stderr}",
     "zh": "哎呀！PyPI 发布失败：\n{stderr}"
   },
+  "PyPI publish failed (non-fatal — continuing to Gitea release):\n{error}": {
+    "bg": "Публикуването в PyPI неуспешно (некритично — продължава към Gitea release):\n{error}",
+    "de": "PyPI-Veröffentlichung fehlgeschlagen (nicht fatal — Gitea-Release wird fortgesetzt):\n{error}",
+    "en": "PyPI publish failed (non-fatal — continuing to Gitea release):\n{error}",
+    "pl": "Publikacja PyPI nie powiodła się (niekrytyczne — kontynuacja Gitea release):\n{error}",
+    "ru": "Публикация в PyPI не удалась (некритично — продолжаем создание Gitea release):\n{error}",
+    "zh": "PyPI 发布失败（非致命 — 继续创建 Gitea release）：\n{error}"
+  },
   "PASSED: {pair}": {
     "bg": "PASSED: {pair}",
     "de": "PASSED: {pair}",
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_publish.py b/tests/unit/test_publish.py
index 409d415..d82b557 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_publish.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_publish.py
@@ -301,14 +301,21 @@ class TestMain:
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.TeaCLI")
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.publish_to_pypi")
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.build_package")
-    def test_publish_failure_raises_click(
+    def test_publish_failure_continues_to_gitea_release(
         self, mock_build: MagicMock, mock_publish: MagicMock, mock_tea_cls: MagicMock, mock_notes: MagicMock
     ) -> None:
+        """PyPI publish failure is non-fatal — Gitea release is still created."""
+        mock_tea = MagicMock()
+        mock_tea.list_releases.return_value = []
+        mock_tea_cls.return_value = mock_tea
         mock_publish.side_effect = click.ClickException("publish failed")
         runner = CliRunner()
         result = runner.invoke(main, ["v1.0.0", "owner/repo"])
-        assert result.exit_code == 1
-        assert "publish" in result.output
+        assert result.exit_code == 0
+        assert "non-fatal" in result.output
+        mock_tea.create_release.assert_called_once_with(
+            "owner/repo", tag="v1.0.0", title="v1.0.0", body="Release notes"
+        )
 
     @patch.dict("os.environ", {"REPO_TOKEN": "gitea-tok", "PYPI_TOKEN": "pypi-tok"})
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.generate_release_notes", return_value="Release notes")