diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
index 7e8f256..d61dbf4 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
@@ -51,7 +51,22 @@ jobs:
               \"prerelease\": $IS_PRE
             }")
 
-          RELEASE_ID=$(echo "$RELEASE" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['id'])")
+          # Extract release ID; if creation failed (already exists), fetch existing
+          RELEASE_ID=$(echo "$RELEASE" | python3 -c "
+          import sys, json
+          data = json.load(sys.stdin)
+          if 'id' in data:
+              print(data['id'])
+          else:
+              print('FAILED', file=sys.stderr)
+              print(json.dumps(data, indent=2), file=sys.stderr)
+              sys.exit(1)
+          " 2>&1) || {
+            echo "Create failed, fetching existing release for tag $TAG..."
+            RELEASE=$(curl -s "$BASE_URL/releases/tags/$TAG" \
+              -H "Authorization: token $GITEA_TOKEN")
+            RELEASE_ID=$(echo "$RELEASE" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['id'])")
+          }
           echo "release_id=$RELEASE_ID" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "version=$VERSION" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"