diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/Release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/Release.yml
index 50cfa9f..6dce6f8 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/Release.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/Release.yml
@@ -84,16 +84,15 @@ jobs:
           REPO=$(echo "${REPOSITORY}" | cut -d'/' -f2)
           API_URL="${GITEA_URL}/api/v1/repos/${OWNER}/${REPO}"
 
+          # Fallback to main if DEFAULT_BRANCH is empty
+          BASE_BRANCH="${DEFAULT_BRANCH:-main}"
+          echo "Using base branch: ${BASE_BRANCH}"
+
           TITLE="chore(release): prepare for ${VERSION}"
-          # Read CHANGES.md and escape for JSON
-          DESCRIPTION=$(cat CHANGES.md | jq -Rs .)
-          DESCRIPTION="${DESCRIPTION:1:-1}"  # Remove surrounding quotes from jq
-
-          # Add squash merge reminder
-          DESCRIPTION="${DESCRIPTION}
-
-          ---
-          **Note:** Please use **Squash Merge** when merging this PR."
+          # Read CHANGES.md content and add note (jq --arg will handle JSON escaping)
+          CHANGES_CONTENT=$(cat CHANGES.md)
+          PR_NOTE="**Note:** Please use **Squash Merge** when merging this PR."
+          DESCRIPTION="${CHANGES_CONTENT}"$'\n\n---\n\n'"${PR_NOTE}"
 
           echo "Checking for existing release PRs..."
           PRS=$(curl -sf \
@@ -102,9 +101,16 @@ jobs:
           PR_INDEX=$(echo "${PRS}" | jq -r '.[0].number // empty')
 
           echo "Checking for existing next-release branch..."
-          BRANCH_EXISTS=$(curl -sf \
+          BRANCH_CHECK=$(curl -s -w "%{http_code}" -o /dev/null \
             -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
-            "${API_URL}/branches/next-release" 2>/dev/null && echo "true" || echo "false")
+            "${API_URL}/branches/next-release")
+          echo "Branch check HTTP status: ${BRANCH_CHECK}"
+          if [ "${BRANCH_CHECK}" = "200" ]; then
+            BRANCH_EXISTS="true"
+          else
+            BRANCH_EXISTS="false"
+          fi
+          echo "Branch exists: ${BRANCH_EXISTS}"
 
           # Prepare CHANGELOG.md content
           CHANGELOG_CONTENT=$(base64 -w0 < CHANGELOG.md)
@@ -174,28 +180,75 @@ jobs:
                 "${API_URL}/contents/.version"
             fi
           else
-            echo "Creating new next-release branch with CHANGELOG.md..."
-            curl -sf -X POST \
-              -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
-              -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-              --data "$(jq -n \
-                --arg content "${CHANGELOG_CONTENT}" \
-                --arg message "${TITLE}" \
-                --arg branch "${DEFAULT_BRANCH}" \
-                --arg new_branch "next-release" \
-                '{content: $content, message: $message, branch: $branch, new_branch: $new_branch}')" \
-              "${API_URL}/contents/CHANGELOG.md"
+            echo "Creating new next-release branch from ${BASE_BRANCH}..."
 
-            echo "Adding .version to next-release branch..."
-            curl -sf -X POST \
+            # Check if CHANGELOG.md exists on base branch to determine create vs update
+            CHANGELOG_SHA=$(curl -sf \
               -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
-              -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-              --data "$(jq -n \
-                --arg content "${VERSION_CONTENT}" \
-                --arg message "${TITLE}" \
-                --arg branch "next-release" \
-                '{content: $content, message: $message, branch: $branch}')" \
-              "${API_URL}/contents/.version"
+              "${API_URL}/contents/CHANGELOG.md?ref=${BASE_BRANCH}" | jq -r '.sha // empty')
+
+            if [ -n "${CHANGELOG_SHA}" ]; then
+              echo "Updating CHANGELOG.md (exists on ${BASE_BRANCH}) on new branch..."
+              RESPONSE=$(curl -s -w "\n%{http_code}" -X PUT \
+                -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
+                -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+                --data "$(jq -n \
+                  --arg content "${CHANGELOG_CONTENT}" \
+                  --arg sha "${CHANGELOG_SHA}" \
+                  --arg message "${TITLE}" \
+                  --arg branch "${BASE_BRANCH}" \
+                  --arg new_branch "next-release" \
+                  '{content: $content, sha: $sha, message: $message, branch: $branch, new_branch: $new_branch}')" \
+                "${API_URL}/contents/CHANGELOG.md")
+            else
+              echo "Creating CHANGELOG.md on new branch..."
+              RESPONSE=$(curl -s -w "\n%{http_code}" -X POST \
+                -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
+                -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+                --data "$(jq -n \
+                  --arg content "${CHANGELOG_CONTENT}" \
+                  --arg message "${TITLE}" \
+                  --arg branch "${BASE_BRANCH}" \
+                  --arg new_branch "next-release" \
+                  '{content: $content, message: $message, branch: $branch, new_branch: $new_branch}')" \
+                "${API_URL}/contents/CHANGELOG.md")
+            fi
+            HTTP_CODE=$(echo "${RESPONSE}" | tail -1)
+            BODY=$(echo "${RESPONSE}" | sed '$d')
+            if [ "${HTTP_CODE}" -ge 400 ]; then
+              echo "Error with CHANGELOG.md: ${BODY}"
+              exit 1
+            fi
+
+            # Check if .version exists on base branch
+            VERSION_SHA=$(curl -sf \
+              -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
+              "${API_URL}/contents/.version?ref=${BASE_BRANCH}" | jq -r '.sha // empty')
+
+            if [ -n "${VERSION_SHA}" ]; then
+              echo "Updating .version on next-release branch..."
+              curl -sf -X PUT \
+                -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
+                -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+                --data "$(jq -n \
+                  --arg content "${VERSION_CONTENT}" \
+                  --arg sha "${VERSION_SHA}" \
+                  --arg message "${TITLE}" \
+                  --arg branch "next-release" \
+                  '{content: $content, sha: $sha, message: $message, branch: $branch}')" \
+                "${API_URL}/contents/.version"
+            else
+              echo "Creating .version on next-release branch..."
+              curl -sf -X POST \
+                -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
+                -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+                --data "$(jq -n \
+                  --arg content "${VERSION_CONTENT}" \
+                  --arg message "${TITLE}" \
+                  --arg branch "next-release" \
+                  '{content: $content, message: $message, branch: $branch}')" \
+                "${API_URL}/contents/.version"
+            fi
           fi
 
           if [ -n "${PR_INDEX}" ]; then
@@ -275,8 +328,7 @@ jobs:
           REPO=$(echo "${REPOSITORY}" | cut -d'/' -f2)
           API_URL="${GITEA_URL}/api/v1/repos/${OWNER}/${REPO}"
 
-          MESSAGE=$(cat CHANGES.md | jq -Rs .)
-          MESSAGE="${MESSAGE:1:-1}"  # Remove surrounding quotes
+          MESSAGE=$(cat CHANGES.md)
 
           echo "Creating release ${VERSION}..."
           curl -sf -X POST \