diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
index ae5729f..64ab1af 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
 name: CI
 
 on:
-  push:
-    branches: ['main']
   pull_request:
+    branches: ['main']
 
 jobs:
   build:
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 8faad38..dedc3be 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ release: bump-version
 	git_hash=$$(jj log -r @ --no-graph -T 'commit_id'); \
 	commits=$$(jj log -r 'latest(tags())..@' --no-graph -T 'description ++ "\n"' 2>/dev/null || \
 	           jj log --no-graph -T 'description ++ "\n"' --limit 30); \
-	notes=$$(printf 'Write concise markdown release notes for obikmer (a Rust kmer genomics tool). Be technical and direct. Base them strictly on these commit messages:\n\n%s' "$$commits" | aichat); \
-	git tag -a "v$$new_version" -m "$$notes" "$$git_hash" && \
+	notes=$$(printf 'Write concise markdown release notes for obikmer (a Rust kmer genomics tool). Be technical and direct. Base them strictly on these commit messages:\n\n%s' "$$commits" | aichat 2>/dev/null); \
+	tag_msg="$${notes:-Release v$$new_version}"; \
+	git tag -a "v$$new_version" -m "$$tag_msg" "$$git_hash" && \
 	git push origin "v$$new_version"
diff --git a/src/Cargo.lock b/src/Cargo.lock
index ec0a075..7ae6c83 100644
--- a/src/Cargo.lock
+++ b/src/Cargo.lock
@@ -1704,7 +1704,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "obikmer"
-version = "1.1.18"
+version = "1.1.19"
 dependencies = [
  "clap",
  "csv",
diff --git a/src/obikmer/Cargo.toml b/src/obikmer/Cargo.toml
index 634fac7..229bfb3 100644
--- a/src/obikmer/Cargo.toml
+++ b/src/obikmer/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "obikmer"
-version = "1.1.18"
+version = "1.1.19"
 edition = "2024"
 
 [[bin]]