diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 976bd10..4255179 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -21,23 +21,16 @@ permissions:
   contents: read
 
 jobs:
-  # ─── Job 1: Run all unit tests (+ bump version on push events) ────────────────
+  # ─── Job 1: Run all unit tests ────────────────────────────────────────────────
   test:
     name: Unit Tests
     runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
-    # Version bump needs write access on push events; PRs only need read
     permissions:
-      contents: write
-
-    outputs:
-      new-version: ${{ steps.bump.outputs.new-version }}
+      contents: read
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v6
-        with:
-          # Use GITHUB_TOKEN so the bot can push the version bump commit back
-          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
       - name: Setup Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@v6
@@ -45,84 +38,12 @@ jobs:
           node-version: '24'
           cache: 'npm'
 
-      # ── Version bump (push events only, not PRs, not uat) ─────────────────────
-      # Display version format: RELEASE.BETA.ALPHA.BUILD  (stored in build.extraMetadata.version)
-      # Semver format:          RELEASE.BETA.ALPHA         (stored in version — required by electron-builder)
-      #
-      #   develop → increment BUILD (4th digit only)
-      #   alpha   → increment ALPHA (3rd digit), reset BUILD to 0
-      #   beta    → increment BETA  (2nd digit), reset ALPHA and BUILD to 0
-      #   main    → increment RELEASE (1st digit), reset BETA/ALPHA/BUILD to 0, tag release/X.0.0.0
-      - name: Bump version
-        id: bump
-        if: github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref_name != 'uat' && github.actor != 'dependabot[bot]'
-        run: |
-          # Read the 4-part display version from extraMetadata
-          EXT_VERSION=$(node -p "require('./package.json').build.extraMetadata.version")
-          IFS='.' read -r RELEASE BETA ALPHA BUILD <<< "$EXT_VERSION"
-
-          case "${{ github.ref_name }}" in
-            develop)
-              BUILD=$((BUILD + 1))
-              ;;
-            alpha)
-              ALPHA=$((ALPHA + 1))
-              BUILD=0
-              ;;
-            beta)
-              BETA=$((BETA + 1))
-              ALPHA=0
-              BUILD=0
-              ;;
-            main)
-              RELEASE=$((RELEASE + 1))
-              BETA=0
-              ALPHA=0
-              BUILD=0
-              ;;
-          esac
-
-          NEW_EXT_VERSION="${RELEASE}.${BETA}.${ALPHA}.${BUILD}"
-          # 3-part semver for electron-builder (strips the BUILD digit)
-          NEW_VERSION="${RELEASE}.${BETA}.${ALPHA}"
-
-          node -e "
-            const fs  = require('fs');
-            const pkg = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('package.json', 'utf8'));
-            pkg.version = '${NEW_VERSION}';
-            pkg.build.extraMetadata.version = '${NEW_EXT_VERSION}';
-            fs.writeFileSync('package.json', JSON.stringify(pkg, null, 2) + '\n');
-          "
-          echo "new-version=${NEW_EXT_VERSION}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          echo "Bumped to: ${NEW_EXT_VERSION} (semver: ${NEW_VERSION})"
-
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: npm ci
 
       - name: Run unit tests
         run: npm run test:run
 
-      # Push the version bump commit AFTER tests pass so a failed test doesn't
-      # advance the version counter.
-      - name: Commit and push version bump
-        if: github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref_name != 'uat' && github.actor != 'dependabot[bot]' && steps.bump.outputs.new-version != ''
-        run: |
-          NEW_VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.new-version }}"
-          git config user.name  "github-actions[bot]"
-          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
-          git add package.json
-          # Only commit if package.json actually changed (idempotent guard)
-          git diff --cached --quiet || git commit -m "chore: bump version to ${NEW_VERSION} [skip ci]"
-          git push
-
-      # On main: create a release tag after the version bump commit is pushed.
-      - name: Tag release
-        if: github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref_name == 'main' && github.actor != 'dependabot[bot]' && steps.bump.outputs.new-version != ''
-        run: |
-          TAG="release/${{ steps.bump.outputs.new-version }}"
-          git tag "$TAG"
-          git push origin "$TAG"
-
   # ─── Job 2: Build the .deb installer (only runs when all tests pass) ──────────
   build:
     name: Build Linux DEB
@@ -135,7 +56,6 @@ jobs:
       actions: write   # required to list and delete artifacts
 
     steps:
-      # Checkout the branch tip (picks up the version bump commit from the test job)
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v6
         with: