diff --git a/.github/workflows/npm-publish.yml b/.github/workflows/npm-publish.yml
index dc427a8..632ae55 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/npm-publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/npm-publish.yml
@@ -65,30 +65,38 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: npm ci
 
-      # Skip when this exact version is already on npm. `npm publish` over an
+      # Skip when this commit did not bump the version. `npm publish` over an
       # existing version is a hard E403, which turned every unbumped merge —
       # Dependabot's, and CI-only PRs now that the bump gate exempts them —
-      # into a red publish run (run 33714086138, 2026-09-02). The package is
-      # `access: restricted`, so the lookup needs the read-only NPM_TOKEN;
-      # the publish itself stays on OIDC trusted publishing.
-      - name: Check if version already published
+      # into a red publish run (runs 33714086138 and 33715159834, 2026-09-02).
+      # Compared against HEAD^ in git rather than looked up on npm: the
+      # package is `access: restricted`, and this repo has no NPM_TOKEN, so an
+      # unauthenticated `npm view` reports 404 for every version — which is
+      # exactly what the first attempt at this guard did (#20). Same rule the
+      # private libraries apply via verify-version-bump's push-side output.
+      # The checkout above is fetch-depth 2 for this comparison. A manual
+      # dispatch always attempts the publish (that is what it is for).
+      - name: Check if this commit bumped the version
         id: check
         shell: bash
         env:
-          NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
+          DISPATCHED: ${{ github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
-          NAME=$(node -p "require('./package.json').name")
-          VERSION=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")
-          if npm view "${NAME}@${VERSION}" version >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-            echo "published=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-            echo "::notice::${NAME}@${VERSION} already on npm — no version bump on this commit, skipping publish."
+          read_version() {
+            node -p "(() => { const s = require('fs').readFileSync(0, 'utf8'); try { return JSON.parse(s).version || '' } catch { return '' } })()"
+          }
+          CUR=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")
+          PREV=$(git show HEAD^:package.json 2>/dev/null | read_version || true)
+          if [ "$DISPATCHED" != "true" ] && [ "$CUR" = "$PREV" ]; then
+            echo "bumped=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "::notice::version unchanged ($CUR) against HEAD^ — nothing to publish."
           else
-            echo "published=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-            echo "${NAME}@${VERSION} not yet published — will publish."
+            echo "bumped=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "Version ${PREV:-<none>} -> $CUR; publishing."
           fi
 
       # No build step: this package ships index.js / index.d.ts directly.
       - name: Publish to npm
-        if: steps.check.outputs.published != 'true'
+        if: steps.check.outputs.bumped == 'true'
         run: npm publish