diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish.yml b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
index 1ea8ed2..bf5b9c4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ on:
         description: 'Version to publish (e.g., 0.1.0)'
         required: true
         type: string
-        default: '0.0.0.dev20250121'  # TESTING ONLY - REMOVE BEFORE MERGE
+        default: '0.0.0.dev20250721'  # TESTING ONLY - REMOVE BEFORE MERGE
 jobs:
   test:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Set version
       id: version
       run: |
-        VERSION="${{ github.event.inputs.version || '0.0.0.dev20250121' }}"  # TESTING ONLY - defaults to test version
+        VERSION="${{ github.event.inputs.version || '0.0.0.dev20250721' }}"  # TESTING ONLY - defaults to test version
         echo "VERSION=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_ENV
         echo "version=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
     
@@ -109,21 +109,49 @@ jobs:
     
     - name: Create version update PR
       env:
-        GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       run: |
         # Create a new branch for the version update
         BRANCH_NAME="release/v${{ env.VERSION }}"
-        git checkout -b "$BRANCH_NAME"
+        echo "BRANCH_NAME=$BRANCH_NAME" >> $GITHUB_ENV
         
-        # Configure git
-        git config --local user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
-        git config --local user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+        # Create branch via API
+        BASE_SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
+        gh api \
+          --method POST \
+          /repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/git/refs \
+          -f ref="refs/heads/$BRANCH_NAME" \
+          -f sha="$BASE_SHA"
         
-        # Commit the version changes
-        git add pyproject.toml src/claude_code_sdk/__init__.py
-        git commit -m "chore: bump version to ${{ env.VERSION }}
+        # Get current SHA values of files
+        echo "Getting SHA for pyproject.toml"
+        PYPROJECT_SHA=$(gh api /repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/contents/pyproject.toml --jq '.sha')
+        echo "Getting SHA for __init__.py"
+        INIT_SHA=$(gh api /repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/contents/src/claude_code_sdk/__init__.py --jq '.sha')
         
-        This PR updates the version to ${{ env.VERSION }} after publishing to PyPI.
+        # Commit pyproject.toml via GitHub API (this creates signed commits)
+        message="chore: bump version to ${{ env.VERSION }}"
+        base64 -i pyproject.toml > pyproject.toml.b64
+        gh api \
+          --method PUT \
+          /repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/contents/pyproject.toml \
+          -f message="$message" \
+          -F content=@pyproject.toml.b64 \
+          -f sha="$PYPROJECT_SHA" \
+          -f branch="$BRANCH_NAME"
+        
+        # Commit __init__.py via GitHub API
+        base64 -i src/claude_code_sdk/__init__.py > init.py.b64
+        gh api \
+          --method PUT \
+          /repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/contents/src/claude_code_sdk/__init__.py \
+          -f message="$message" \
+          -F content=@init.py.b64 \
+          -f sha="$INIT_SHA" \
+          -f branch="$BRANCH_NAME"
+        
+        # Create PR using GitHub CLI
+        PR_BODY="This PR updates the version to ${{ env.VERSION }} after publishing to PyPI.
         
         ## Changes
         - Updated version in \`pyproject.toml\`
@@ -133,17 +161,12 @@ jobs:
         - Published to PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/claude-code-sdk/${{ env.VERSION }}/
         - Install with: \`pip install claude-code-sdk==${{ env.VERSION }}\`
         
-        ## Next Steps
-        After merging this PR, a release tag will be created automatically.
+        🤖 Generated by GitHub Actions"
         
-        Signed-off-by: github-actions[bot] <github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>"
-        
-        # Push the branch
-        git push origin "$BRANCH_NAME"
-        
-        # Create PR using GitHub CLI (gh)
-        gh pr create \
+        PR_URL=$(gh pr create \
           --title "chore: bump version to ${{ env.VERSION }}" \
-          --body "Automated PR to update version after PyPI release." \
+          --body "$PR_BODY" \
           --base main \
-          --head "$BRANCH_NAME"
\ No newline at end of file
+          --head "$BRANCH_NAME")
+        
+        echo "PR created: $PR_URL"
\ No newline at end of file