diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index ed76afd..298458d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 # FleetDM Stack - Gitea Actions
-# CI: lint and validate chart on every push
-# Release: package and publish on tag push (v*)
-# Gitea-compatible: uses gitea context and gitea-release-action
+# CI: lint on every push
+# Semantic Release: auto-bump version on push to main/master
+#   - merge from feature/* branch → major bump
+#   - any other commit (fix, chore, etc.) → patch bump
+# Release: package Helm chart and publish to Gitea Releases
 
 name: Helm Chart CI & Release
 
@@ -14,12 +16,6 @@ on:
     branches:
       - main
       - master
-  # Release when tagging (e.g. git tag v0.1.0)
-  tag:
-    - 'v*'
-
-permissions:
-  contents: read
 
 jobs:
   lint:
@@ -42,23 +38,76 @@ jobs:
           helm lint fleetdm-stack/
           helm template fleetdm-stack fleetdm-stack/ --namespace fleetdm > /dev/null
 
-  release:
-    name: Release Helm Chart
+  semantic-release:
+    name: Semantic Release
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: lint
-    if: startsWith(gitea.ref, 'refs/tags/v')
+    if: gitea.event_name == 'push'
     permissions:
       contents: write
     steps:
-      - name: Checkout
+      - name: Checkout (full history for tags)
         run: |
           git clone https://git.produktor.io/${{ gitea.repository }}.git .
-          git checkout ${{ gitea.sha }}
+          git fetch --tags
+
+      - name: Determine version bump
+        id: version
+        run: |
+          LATEST_TAG=$(git tag -l 'v*' --sort=-v:refname | head -1)
+          if [ -z "$LATEST_TAG" ]; then
+            LATEST_TAG="v0.0.0"
+          fi
+          echo "Latest tag: $LATEST_TAG"
+
+          # Strip 'v' prefix and split
+          VER="${LATEST_TAG#v}"
+          MAJOR=$(echo "$VER" | cut -d. -f1)
+          MINOR=$(echo "$VER" | cut -d. -f2)
+          PATCH=$(echo "$VER" | cut -d. -f3)
+
+          # Check if this commit is a merge from a feature/* branch
+          COMMIT_MSG=$(git log -1 --format='%s' ${{ gitea.sha }})
+          echo "Commit message: $COMMIT_MSG"
+
+          IS_FEATURE="false"
+          if echo "$COMMIT_MSG" | grep -qiE "^Merge.*feature/"; then
+            IS_FEATURE="true"
+          fi
+          # Also check parent branches for merge commits
+          if git log -1 --format='%P' ${{ gitea.sha }} | grep -q ' '; then
+            MERGE_BRANCH=$(git log -1 --format='%s' ${{ gitea.sha }} | grep -oE "feature/[^ '\"]*" || true)
+            if [ -n "$MERGE_BRANCH" ]; then
+              IS_FEATURE="true"
+            fi
+          fi
+
+          if [ "$IS_FEATURE" = "true" ]; then
+            MAJOR=$((MAJOR + 1))
+            MINOR=0
+            PATCH=0
+            BUMP="major"
+          else
+            PATCH=$((PATCH + 1))
+            BUMP="patch"
+          fi
+
+          NEW_VER="${MAJOR}.${MINOR}.${PATCH}"
+          echo "Bump: $BUMP → v${NEW_VER}"
+          echo "new_version=${NEW_VER}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "new_tag=v${NEW_VER}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "bump_type=${BUMP}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - name: Install Helm
         run: |
           curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3 | bash
 
+      - name: Update Chart.yaml version
+        run: |
+          sed -i "s/^version: .*/version: ${{ steps.version.outputs.new_version }}/" fleetdm-stack/Chart.yaml
+          echo "Chart.yaml version set to ${{ steps.version.outputs.new_version }}"
+          grep '^version:' fleetdm-stack/Chart.yaml
+
       - name: Package chart
         run: |
           helm dependency update fleetdm-stack/
@@ -67,13 +116,22 @@ jobs:
           mv fleetdm-stack-*.tgz .tmp/
           ls -la .tmp/
 
+      - name: Create tag
+        run: |
+          git config user.name "Gitea Actions"
+          git config user.email "actions@git.produktor.io"
+          git tag -a "${{ steps.version.outputs.new_tag }}" -m "Release ${{ steps.version.outputs.new_tag }} (${{ steps.version.outputs.bump_type }})"
+          git push https://${{ gitea.actor }}:${{ gitea.token }}@git.produktor.io/${{ gitea.repository }}.git "${{ steps.version.outputs.new_tag }}"
+
       - name: Create Gitea Release
         uses: https://gitea.com/actions/gitea-release-action@v1
         with:
           server_url: ${{ gitea.server_url }}
           token: ${{ gitea.token }}
-          tag_name: ${{ gitea.ref_name }}
-          name: FleetDM Stack ${{ gitea.ref_name }}
+          tag_name: ${{ steps.version.outputs.new_tag }}
+          name: FleetDM Stack ${{ steps.version.outputs.new_tag }}
           body: |
+            **${{ steps.version.outputs.bump_type }}** release — `${{ steps.version.outputs.new_tag }}`
+
             Helm chart for FleetDM Server with MySQL and Redis.
           files: .tmp/*.tgz