diff --git a/.mokogitea/workflows/auto-release.yml b/.mokogitea/workflows/auto-release.yml
index caee5cf..bec445b 100644
--- a/.mokogitea/workflows/auto-release.yml
+++ b/.mokogitea/workflows/auto-release.yml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 # REPO: https://git.mokoconsulting.tech/mokoconsulting-tech/moko-platform
 # PATH: /templates/workflows/universal/auto-release.yml.template
 # VERSION: 05.00.00
-# BRIEF: Universal build & release — detects platform from manifest.xml
+# BRIEF: Universal build & release � detects platform from manifest.xml
 #
 # +========================================================================+
 # |              UNIVERSAL BUILD & RELEASE PIPELINE                        |
@@ -174,10 +174,11 @@ jobs:
       - name: "Determine version bump level"
         id: bump
         run: |
-          # Patch bump for fix/patch/hotfix branches, minor for everything else
+          # Fix/patch branches: version was already bumped by pre-release, just strip suffix
+          # Feature/dev branches: bump minor for the new stable release
           HEAD_REF="${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref || 'dev' }}"
           case "$HEAD_REF" in
-            fix/*|patch/*|hotfix/*|bugfix/*) BUMP="patch" ;;
+            fix/*|patch/*|hotfix/*|bugfix/*) BUMP="none" ;;
             *)                               BUMP="minor" ;;
           esac
           echo "level=${BUMP}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
@@ -185,8 +186,12 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: "Publish stable release"
         run: |
+          BUMP_FLAG=""
+          if [ "${{ steps.bump.outputs.level }}" != "none" ]; then
+            BUMP_FLAG="--bump ${{ steps.bump.outputs.level }}"
+          fi
           php ${MOKO_CLI}/release_publish.php \
-            --path . --stability stable --bump ${{ steps.bump.outputs.level }} --branch main \
+            --path . --stability stable ${BUMP_FLAG} --branch main \
             --token "${{ secrets.MOKOGITEA_TOKEN }}"
 
       - name: Update release notes from CHANGELOG.md