diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
index 1072c02..e589ed2 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
@@ -152,7 +152,96 @@ jobs:
 
           # One push for both refs: a commit that lands without its tag builds
           # nothing and looks like a successful release.
-          git push origin "HEAD:master" "refs/tags/v${VERSION}"
+          #
+          # The output is captured because a failing *post-receive* hook does not
+          # fail the push: git prints `remote: error: ...`, updates both refs and
+          # exits 0. That is how v1.0.3 was cut — the hook 500'd, so Gitea never
+          # created the build run, and this step went green anyway.
+          if ! git push origin "HEAD:master" "refs/tags/v${VERSION}" 2>push.log; then
+            cat push.log
+            echo "::error::Push failed. Nothing was released."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          cat push.log
+
+          if grep -q '^remote: error' push.log; then
+            echo "::warning::The remote's post-receive hook errored. Both refs landed,"
+            echo "::warning::but Gitea most likely created no workflow run for them."
+            echo "::warning::The next step checks and dispatches build.yml if needed."
+          fi
+
+          echo "sha=$(git rev-parse HEAD)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        id: push
+
+      # Gitea creates workflow runs from the post-receive hook, so a hook error
+      # silently costs you the build: the tag exists, no image is ever published,
+      # and the failure only surfaces later as a 404 when deploy pulls the image.
+      # Confirm the run exists; dispatch it if it does not; fail loudly if that
+      # does not work either.
+      - name: Verify build.yml started
+        env:
+          RELEASE_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_TOKEN }}
+          VERSION: ${{ steps.ver.outputs.version }}
+          SHA: ${{ steps.push.outputs.sha }}
+        run: |
+          node -e '
+            const base = `${process.env.GITHUB_SERVER_URL}/api/v1/repos/${process.env.GITHUB_REPOSITORY}`;
+            const headers = { Authorization: `token ${process.env.RELEASE_TOKEN}` };
+            const sha = process.env.SHA;
+            const tag = `v${process.env.VERSION}`;
+            const sleep = (ms) => new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, ms));
+
+            const started = async () => {
+              const res = await fetch(`${base}/actions/runs?limit=30`, { headers });
+              if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`runs query failed: HTTP ${res.status}`);
+              const body = await res.json();
+              return (body.workflow_runs || []).some(
+                (r) => r.head_sha === sha && String(r.path || "").includes("build.yml"),
+              );
+            };
+
+            // The hook fires synchronously with the push, so a run that is coming
+            // is usually already there; the retries cover a busy instance.
+            const poll = async (attempts) => {
+              for (let i = 0; i < attempts; i++) {
+                if (await started()) return true;
+                await sleep(10_000);
+              }
+              return started();
+            };
+
+            (async () => {
+              if (await poll(3)) {
+                console.log(`build.yml is running for ${sha}.`);
+                return;
+              }
+
+              console.log(`No build.yml run for ${sha}. Dispatching against ${tag}.`);
+              const res = await fetch(
+                `${base}/actions/workflows/build.yml/dispatches`,
+                {
+                  method: "POST",
+                  headers: { ...headers, "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+                  // Must be the tag, not master: metadata-action only emits the
+                  // X.Y.Z and X.Y image tags when the ref is a semver tag.
+                  body: JSON.stringify({ ref: tag }),
+                },
+              );
+              if (!res.ok) console.log(`Dispatch returned HTTP ${res.status}.`);
+
+              if (await poll(3)) {
+                console.log(`build.yml is running for ${sha}.`);
+                return;
+              }
+
+              console.log(`::error::${tag} is pushed but nothing is building it, and`);
+              console.log(`::error::the dispatch did not take. Run "Build and Push Images"`);
+              console.log(`::error::by hand with ref=${tag} (the tag, not master), then`);
+              console.log(`::error::deploy. Check the Gitea server log for the`);
+              console.log(`::error::post-receive error while you are at it.`);
+              process.exit(1);
+            })();
+          '
 
       - name: Summary
         env: