diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 30ec204..2ecda1f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -80,15 +80,20 @@ jobs:
           cd dist
           sha256sum * > checksums.txt
 
-      - uses: taiki-e/install-action@v2
-        if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')
-        with:
-          tool: git-cliff@2
-
-      - name: Generate release notes
+      - name: Extract release notes from CHANGELOG.md
         if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')
+        env:
+          TAG: ${{ github.ref_name }}
         run: |
-          git-cliff --tag "${{ github.ref_name }}" --latest --output release-notes.md
+          awk -v tag="$TAG" '
+            $0 ~ "^## " tag " " {found=1; next}
+            found && /^## / {exit}
+            found {print}
+          ' CHANGELOG.md > release-notes.md
+          if [ ! -s release-notes.md ]; then
+            echo "::error::No CHANGELOG.md section found for $TAG; update the changelog before tagging." >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
 
       - name: Publish semver release
         if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')
diff --git a/DEVELOPING.md b/DEVELOPING.md
index 6c5fd36..50bf6a4 100644
--- a/DEVELOPING.md
+++ b/DEVELOPING.md
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ Once the run completes, anyone with read access can download the artifact for th
 
 ## Releasing
 
-Releases are triggered by pushing a semver tag. The CI workflow builds 5-platform binaries, generates a changelog via `git-cliff`, and publishes a GitHub release.
+Releases are triggered by pushing a semver tag. The CI workflow builds 5-platform binaries and publishes a GitHub release. The release notes are the matching version section extracted from `CHANGELOG.md` (the single source of truth), so the changelog must be committed before tagging.
 
 Prerequisites: [`git-cliff`](https://git-cliff.org/docs/installation).
 
diff --git a/cliff.toml b/cliff.toml
index d8719f6..bc1a5ad 100644
--- a/cliff.toml
+++ b/cliff.toml
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ commit_parsers = [
   { message = "^refactor", group = "Refactor" },
   { message = "^docs", group = "Documentation" },
   { message = "^test", group = "Testing" },
+  { message = "^chore: release", skip = true },
   { message = "^chore", group = "Miscellaneous" },
   { message = "^ci", skip = true },
   { message = "^style", skip = true },