diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/trigger-desktop.yml b/.gitea/workflows/trigger-desktop.yml
index 1609e817a..302cd1dca 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/trigger-desktop.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/trigger-desktop.yml
@@ -8,30 +8,66 @@ jobs:
   trigger:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - name: Bump cinny submodule in cinny-desktop and push
+      - name: Bump cinny submodule and trigger cinny-desktop build
         env:
           TOKEN: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_TOKEN }}
         run: |
           CINNY_SHA="${{ github.sha }}"
-          echo "Bumping cinny submodule to $CINNY_SHA"
+          echo "New cinny SHA: $CINNY_SHA"
 
+          # ── Step 1: check if cinny-desktop is already at this SHA ──────────
+          CURRENT=$(curl -sf \
+            "https://code.lotusguild.org/api/v1/repos/LotusGuild/cinny-desktop/contents/.cinny-version" \
+            -H "Authorization: token $TOKEN" 2>/dev/null || echo "{}")
+          CURRENT_SHA=$(echo "$CURRENT" | python3 -c \
+            "import sys,json,base64; d=json.load(sys.stdin); \
+             print(base64.b64decode(d['content']).decode().strip() if 'content' in d else '')" \
+            2>/dev/null || echo "")
+
+          if [ "$CURRENT_SHA" = "$CINNY_SHA" ]; then
+            echo "cinny-desktop already at $CINNY_SHA — nothing to do"
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          # ── Step 2: bump the git submodule pointer ──────────────────────────
           git clone "https://x-access-token:$TOKEN@code.lotusguild.org/LotusGuild/cinny-desktop.git" desktop
           cd desktop
-
           git config user.email "ci@lotusguild.org"
           git config user.name "Lotus CI"
 
-          # Fetch the cinny submodule and point it at the new SHA
           git submodule update --init cinny
           git -C cinny fetch origin
           git -C cinny checkout "$CINNY_SHA"
 
           git add cinny
-          # Only commit + push if the submodule pointer actually changed
           if git diff --cached --quiet; then
-            echo "Submodule already at $CINNY_SHA — no push needed"
+            echo "Submodule pointer already correct"
           else
             git commit -m "chore: bump cinny submodule to ${CINNY_SHA:0:8}"
             git push origin main
-            echo "Pushed — cinny-desktop release build triggered"
+            echo "Submodule bump pushed"
           fi
+          cd ..
+
+          # ── Step 3: update .cinny-version via Gitea contents API ────────────
+          # Actions-runner pushes don't trigger downstream workflows in Gitea.
+          # A REST API file update creates a real user-attributed commit that does.
+          FILE_SHA=$(echo "$CURRENT" | python3 -c \
+            "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d.get('sha',''))" \
+            2>/dev/null || echo "")
+          CONTENT=$(echo -n "$CINNY_SHA" | base64 -w 0)
+
+          if [ -n "$FILE_SHA" ]; then
+            curl -sf -X PUT \
+              "https://code.lotusguild.org/api/v1/repos/LotusGuild/cinny-desktop/contents/.cinny-version" \
+              -H "Authorization: token $TOKEN" \
+              -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+              -d "{\"message\":\"chore: trigger desktop build for cinny ${CINNY_SHA:0:8}\",\"content\":\"$CONTENT\",\"sha\":\"$FILE_SHA\"}"
+          else
+            curl -sf -X POST \
+              "https://code.lotusguild.org/api/v1/repos/LotusGuild/cinny-desktop/contents/.cinny-version" \
+              -H "Authorization: token $TOKEN" \
+              -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+              -d "{\"message\":\"chore: trigger desktop build for cinny ${CINNY_SHA:0:8}\",\"content\":\"$CONTENT\"}"
+          fi
+          echo "release.yml triggered via API commit"