diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
index 83063dc..78545f6 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
@@ -24,12 +24,16 @@ jobs:
       - name: Read version
         id: version
         run: |
-          MAJOR=$(jq -r '.major' version.json)
-          MINOR=$(jq -r '.minor' version.json)
-          PATCH=$(jq -r '.patch' version.json)
-          PATCH_PADDED=$(printf "%03d" "$PATCH")
-          FULL_VERSION="${MAJOR}.${MINOR}.${PATCH_PADDED}"
-          echo "version=$FULL_VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          python3 -c "
+          import json, sys
+          with open('version.json') as f:
+              v = json.load(f)
+          patch_padded = f\"{v['patch']:03d}\"
+          full = f\"{v['major']}.{v['minor']}.{patch_padded}\"
+          with open('$GITHUB_OUTPUT', 'a') as out:
+              out.write(f'version={full}\n')
+          print(f'Current version: {full}')
+          "
 
       - name: Check if deploy needed
         id: check
@@ -38,6 +42,7 @@ jobs:
           CURRENT_VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
           if [ -f "$VERSION_FILE" ]; then
             DEPLOYED_VERSION=$(cat "$VERSION_FILE" | cut -d: -f2)
+            echo "Deployed: $DEPLOYED_VERSION"
             if [ "$CURRENT_VERSION" = "$DEPLOYED_VERSION" ]; then
               echo "skip=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
               echo "No new version to deploy"
@@ -50,32 +55,32 @@ jobs:
         if: steps.check.outputs.skip != 'true'
         id: bump
         run: |
-          MAJOR=$(jq -r '.major' version.json)
-          MINOR=$(jq -r '.minor' version.json)
-          PATCH=$(jq -r '.patch' version.json)
-          NEW_PATCH=$((PATCH + 1))
-          PATCH_PADDED=$(printf "%03d" "$NEW_PATCH")
-          RELEASE_VERSION="${MAJOR}.${MINOR}.${PATCH_PADDED}"
-
-          jq --argjson p "$NEW_PATCH" '.patch = $p' version.json > version_new.json
-          mv version_new.json version.json
+          python3 -c "
+          import json
+          with open('version.json') as f:
+              v = json.load(f)
+          v['patch'] += 1
+          patch_padded = f\"{v['patch']:03d}\"
+          full = f\"{v['major']}.{v['minor']}.{patch_padded}\"
+          with open('version.json', 'w') as f:
+              json.dump(v, f, indent=2)
+          print(f'version={full}')
+          print(f'::set-output name=release_version::{full}')
+          print(f'Bumped to {full}')
+          "
 
           git config user.email "bot@example.com"
           git config user.name "CI Release Bot"
           git add version.json
-          git commit -m "release: bump to $RELEASE_VERSION"
+          git commit -m "release: bump to ${{ steps.bump.outputs.release_version }}"
           git push origin main
 
-          git tag -a "v${RELEASE_VERSION}" -m "release: $RELEASE_VERSION"
-          git push origin "v${RELEASE_VERSION}"
-
-          echo "release_version=$RELEASE_VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          git tag -a "v${{ steps.bump.outputs.release_version }}" -m "release: ${{ steps.bump.outputs.release_version }}"
+          git push origin "v${{ steps.bump.outputs.release_version }}"
 
       - name: Login to Gitea Registry
         if: steps.check.outputs.skip != 'true'
         run: |
-          echo "${{ secrets.GITEA_REGISTRY_PASSWORD }}" | \
-            docker login --username jarianc --password-stdin ${{ env.REGISTRY }} 2>&1 || \
           echo "REDACTED" | docker login --username jarianc --password-stdin ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
 
       - name: Build & Push to Registry