diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish-workflow.yml b/.github/workflows/publish-workflow.yml
index e3c2a64..7c0dd2b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish-workflow.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish-workflow.yml
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
+          fetch-tags: true
       - uses: gradle/actions/setup-gradle@v6
       - name: Download build
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
@@ -34,7 +35,19 @@ jobs:
         with:
           args: |
             build/*.jar
+      - name: Check for tagged release
+        id: check_tag
+        run: |
+          if git tag --points-at HEAD | grep -qE '^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$'; then
+            echo "is_release_tag=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "is_release_tag=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
       - name: Gradle Publish
+        # Both a branch push and its accompanying tag push trigger this workflow from the
+        # same release. Skip the branch-triggered run when it's also sitting on a release
+        # tag, so only the tag-triggered run publishes (avoids a duplicate-version 409).
+        if: ${{ !(github.ref_type == 'branch' && steps.check_tag.outputs.is_release_tag == 'true') }}
         run: ./gradlew publish
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c7f33c4..67f417d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,18 +1,10 @@
 # Changelog
 
 ## [Unreleased]
-
-### Added
-
-### Changed
-
-### Deprecated
-
-### Removed
-
 ### Fixed
-
-### Security
+- Changelog plugin no longer pre-populates the new Unreleased section with empty Keep a Changelog group headers
+- Release hook now fails loudly (instead of silently skipping the whole release) if the Unreleased section has no content when a release runs
+- Publish workflow's registry publish step is skipped on the branch-triggered run when it's also sitting on a release tag, avoiding a duplicate-version 409 against the tag-triggered run
 
 ## [0.3.0] - 2026-07-22
 
diff --git a/build.gradle.kts b/build.gradle.kts
index fc7ec19..2e9b2d2 100644
--- a/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/build.gradle.kts
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ scmVersion {
 
 changelog {
     repositoryUrl.set("https://github.com/dotRun/MCVotifierLib")
-    groups.set(listOf("Added", "Changed", "Deprecated", "Removed", "Fixed", "Security"))
+    groups.set(emptyList())
 }
 
 fun patchChangelogToVersion(newVersion: String) {
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ fun patchChangelogToVersion(newVersion: String) {
         .apply {
             version.set(newVersion)
             header.set("$newVersion - ${date()}")
+            patchEmpty.set(false)
         }.run()
 }