diff --git a/.forgejo/workflows/release.yml b/.forgejo/workflows/release.yml
index 2f3ec08..ca8c1f2 100644
--- a/.forgejo/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.forgejo/workflows/release.yml
@@ -50,7 +50,8 @@ jobs:
           echo "Token length: ${#FORGEJO_TOKEN}"
 
           TAG="${{ github.event.inputs.tag || github.ref_name }}"
-          API_BASE="${{ github.server_url }}/api/v1"
+          # use internal docker network URL instead of external
+          API_BASE="http://forgejo:3000/api/v1"
           REPO="${{ github.repository }}"
 
           # ensure tag exists (create at HEAD if not)
@@ -69,15 +70,13 @@ jobs:
 
           if [ "$RELEASE_ID" = "null" ] || [ -z "$RELEASE_ID" ]; then
             echo "Creating release for ${TAG}..."
-            echo '{"tag_name": "'"${TAG}"'", "name": "'"${TAG}"'"}' > /tmp/payload.json
-            cat /tmp/payload.json
-            RESPONSE=$(curl -sv --http1.1 -X POST \
+            RESPONSE=$(curl -s -X POST \
               -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
               -H "Authorization: token ${FORGEJO_TOKEN}" \
-              --data-binary @/tmp/payload.json \
-              "${API_BASE}/repos/${REPO}/releases" 2>&1)
-            echo "Full response: ${RESPONSE}"
-            RELEASE_ID=$(echo "$RESPONSE" | grep -o '"id":[0-9]*' | head -1 | cut -d: -f2)
+              -d '{"tag_name": "'"${TAG}"'", "name": "'"${TAG}"'"}' \
+              "${API_BASE}/repos/${REPO}/releases")
+            echo "Create response: ${RESPONSE}"
+            RELEASE_ID=$(echo "$RESPONSE" | jq -r '.id')
           fi
 
           echo "Release ID: ${RELEASE_ID}"