diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish.yml b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
index 6e9f77b3f..17b7a640f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -373,12 +373,24 @@ jobs:
            NEW_VERSION="${BASE_VERSION}-alpha.${NEW_ALPHA_NUM}"
            echo "New version: $NEW_VERSION"
 
+           # Update the version file
+           sed -i "s/\"$CURRENT_VERSION\"/\"$NEW_VERSION\"/" "$VERSION_FILE"
+
+           # Verify the change
+           echo "Updated version.rb:"
+
       - name: Commit and push version bump
         run: |
           git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
           git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
 
           git add config/initializers/version.rb
+
+          # Check if there are changes to commit
+          if git diff --cached --quiet; then
+            echo "No changes to commit - version may have already been bumped"
+            exit 0
+
           git commit -m "Bump version to next alpha after ${{ github.ref_name }} release"
 
           # Push with retry logic