diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 0e90aac..79d7801 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -86,6 +86,9 @@ jobs:
           $wheel = @(Get-ChildItem "release-assets/*.whl")
           $installers = @(Get-ChildItem "desktop/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/nsis/*.exe")
           if ($wheel.Count -ne 1 -or $installers.Count -ne 1) { throw "expected one wheel and one NSIS installer" }
+          Get-ChildItem release-assets -Force -File |
+            Where-Object Name -eq '.gitignore' |
+            Remove-Item -Force
           $installerAsset = Join-Path release-assets "ArcheAxis.OS-Windows-x64-setup.exe"
           Copy-Item $installers[0].FullName $installerAsset
           Copy-Item .hermes/desktop-runtime-v1/runtime/release-identity.json release-assets/
diff --git a/tests/test_release_manifest.py b/tests/test_release_manifest.py
index 4e1e6dd..74b03f3 100644
--- a/tests/test_release_manifest.py
+++ b/tests/test_release_manifest.py
@@ -279,6 +279,8 @@ def test_release_workflow_stages_installer_under_provider_stable_name() -> None:
     assert 'ArcheAxis.OS-Windows-x64-setup.exe' in workflow
     assert 'Copy-Item $installers[0].FullName $installerAsset' in workflow
     assert '--installer $installerAsset' in workflow
+    assert "Where-Object Name -eq '.gitignore'" in workflow
+    assert "Remove-Item -Force" in workflow
 
 
 def test_release_workflow_publishes_only_checksum_bound_allowlist() -> None: