diff --git a/.github/workflows/auto-release.yml b/.github/workflows/auto-release.yml
index 4a8fc8e..b028c39 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/auto-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/auto-release.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 name: Automatic Release on Master
 
+# This workflow creates releases without requiring a PAT token
+# Version updates are included in the tag commit but NOT pushed back to the branch
+# This allows it to work with protected branches that require PRs
+#
+# To update VERSION and build.zig.zon on master, manually create a PR after release
+
 on:
   push:
     branches:
@@ -166,23 +172,27 @@ jobs:
           
           sed -i "s/\.version = \"[^\"]*\"/\.version = \"$VERSION\"/" build.zig.zon
           
-          echo "✅ Updated version to $VERSION in build.zig.zon"
+          # Also update VERSION file
+          echo "$VERSION" > VERSION
+          
+          echo "✅ Updated version to $VERSION in build.zig.zon and VERSION"
           
-          git diff build.zig.zon
+          git diff build.zig.zon VERSION
 
-      - name: Commit and push version update
+      - name: Commit version update (for tag only, not pushed to branch)
         run: |
           NEW_VERSION="${{ needs.determine-release.outputs.new_version }}"
           
           git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
           git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
           
-          git add build.zig.zon
+          git add build.zig.zon VERSION
           if git diff --staged --quiet; then
             echo "ℹ️  No version changes to commit"
           else
-            git commit -m "chore: bump version to $NEW_VERSION [skip ci]"
-            git push
+            git commit -m "chore: bump version to $NEW_VERSION"
+            echo "✅ Version updated in local commit (will be in tag, not pushed to branch)"
+            echo "ℹ️  Skipping push to avoid protected branch issues"
           fi
 
       - name: Create and push tag
@@ -437,46 +447,3 @@ jobs:
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
-  update-version:
-    name: Update Version in Code
-    needs: [determine-release, create-github-release]
-    if: needs.determine-release.outputs.should_release == 'true'
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout code
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          token: ${{ secrets.PAT_TOKEN }}
-          ref: ${{ github.ref_name }}
-          fetch-depth: 0
-
-      - name: Update build.zig.zon version
-        run: |
-          VERSION="${{ needs.determine-release.outputs.version_no_v }}"
-          
-          # Update version in build.zig.zon
-          sed -i "s/\.version = \"[^\"]*\"/\.version = \"$VERSION\"/" build.zig.zon
-          
-          # Update VERSION file
-          echo "$VERSION" > VERSION
-          
-          echo "✅ Updated version to $VERSION"
-
-      - name: Commit and push version update
-        run: |
-          NEW_VERSION="${{ needs.determine-release.outputs.new_version }}"
-          
-          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
-          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
-          
-          git add build.zig.zon VERSION
-          
-          if git diff --staged --quiet; then
-            echo "ℹ️  No changes to commit"
-          else
-            git commit -m "chore: bump version to $NEW_VERSION [skip ci]"
-            git push origin HEAD:${{ github.ref_name }}
-            echo "✅ Pushed version update to ${{ github.ref_name }}"
-          fi
diff --git a/.github/workflows/update-version-pr.yml b/.github/workflows/update-version-pr.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7de432
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/update-version-pr.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+name: Create Version Update PR
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        description: 'Version to update to (e.g., 0.2.2 without v prefix)'
+        required: true
+        type: string
+
+jobs:
+  create-pr:
+    name: Create Version Update PR
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+      pull-requests: write
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Create version update branch
+        run: |
+          VERSION="${{ inputs.version }}"
+          BRANCH_NAME="chore/bump-version-$VERSION"
+          
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+          
+          git checkout -b "$BRANCH_NAME"
+          echo "✅ Created branch: $BRANCH_NAME"
+
+      - name: Update version files
+        run: |
+          VERSION="${{ inputs.version }}"
+          
+          # Update build.zig.zon
+          sed -i "s/\.version = \"[^\"]*\"/\.version = \"$VERSION\"/" build.zig.zon
+          
+          # Update VERSION file
+          echo "$VERSION" > VERSION
+          
+          echo "✅ Updated version to $VERSION"
+          git diff build.zig.zon VERSION
+
+      - name: Commit changes
+        run: |
+          VERSION="${{ inputs.version }}"
+          
+          git add build.zig.zon VERSION
+          git commit -m "chore: bump version to v$VERSION
+
+This updates the version files after the v$VERSION release was created.
+
+- Updated build.zig.zon to version $VERSION
+- Updated VERSION file to $VERSION"
+          
+          echo "✅ Changes committed"
+
+      - name: Push branch
+        run: |
+          VERSION="${{ inputs.version }}"
+          BRANCH_NAME="chore/bump-version-$VERSION"
+          
+          git push origin "$BRANCH_NAME"
+          echo "✅ Pushed branch: $BRANCH_NAME"
+
+      - name: Create Pull Request
+        uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v6
+        with:
+          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          branch: chore/bump-version-${{ inputs.version }}
+          title: "chore: bump version to v${{ inputs.version }}"
+          body: |
+            ## Version Update
+            
+            This PR updates the version files after the v${{ inputs.version }} release was created.
+            
+            ### Changes
+            - ✅ Updated `build.zig.zon` to version `${{ inputs.version }}`
+            - ✅ Updated `VERSION` file to `${{ inputs.version }}`
+            
+            ### Context
+            The auto-release workflow created the v${{ inputs.version }} tag and GitHub release.
+            This PR syncs the version files on the master branch.
+            
+            **Note**: This is automatically generated after a release.
+          labels: |
+            chore
+            version-bump
+            automated
+          assignees: ${{ github.actor }}
+