diff --git a/cmd/main.go b/cmd/main.go
index 8639547..a72cf7f 100644
--- a/cmd/main.go
+++ b/cmd/main.go
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ func newRootCmd() *cobra.Command {
 	var (
 		dryRun         bool
 		noPush         bool
+		noRelease      bool
 		noCommit       bool
 		tagOnly        bool
 		branchOverride string
@@ -62,6 +63,7 @@ func newRootCmd() *cobra.Command {
 				patternSet:     patternSet,
 				dryRun:         dryRun,
 				noPush:         noPush,
+				noRelease:      noRelease,
 				noCommit:       noCommit,
 				tagOnly:        tagOnly,
 			})
@@ -70,6 +72,7 @@ func newRootCmd() *cobra.Command {
 
 	root.Flags().BoolVar(&dryRun, "dry-run", false, "print next version without making changes")
 	root.Flags().BoolVar(&noPush, "no-push", false, "create commit and tag locally without pushing or creating a GitLab release")
+	root.Flags().BoolVar(&noRelease, "no-release", false, "push commit and tag but skip creating the GitLab release")
 	root.Flags().BoolVar(&noCommit, "no-commit", false, "update pom.xml but do not commit, tag, or push")
 	root.Flags().BoolVar(&tagOnly, "tag-only", false, "tag HEAD without updating pom.xml (assumes version was already committed)")
 	root.Flags().StringVar(&branchOverride, "branch", "", "override branch name detection (required in detached HEAD)")
@@ -101,6 +104,7 @@ type options struct {
 	patternSet     bool
 	dryRun         bool
 	noPush         bool
+	noRelease      bool
 	noCommit       bool
 	tagOnly        bool
 }
@@ -264,6 +268,10 @@ func run(o options) error {
 	fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "info: pushed")
 
 	// --- GitLab release ---
+	if o.noRelease {
+		fmt.Printf("released %s\n", nextTag)
+		return nil
+	}
 	if cfg.GitLab.URL == "" || cfg.GitLab.Project == "" {
 		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "warning: GitLab URL or project not configured — skipping release creation")
 		fmt.Printf("released %s\n", nextTag)
diff --git a/cmd/main_test.go b/cmd/main_test.go
index 40f8054..4f0708c 100644
--- a/cmd/main_test.go
+++ b/cmd/main_test.go
@@ -460,6 +460,25 @@ func TestRunSkipGitLab(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestRunNoRelease(t *testing.T) {
+	_, dir := setupRepoWithRemote(t)
+	addFile(t, dir, "x.go", "// fix")
+	repo, _ := gogit.PlainOpen(dir)
+	w, _ := repo.Worktree()
+	w.Add("x.go")
+	w.Commit("fix: patch something", &gogit.CommitOptions{Author: testSig()})
+
+	// --no-release skips GitLab release even when credentials are configured
+	t.Setenv("CI_SERVER_URL", "https://gitlab.example.com")
+	t.Setenv("CI_PROJECT_ID", "42")
+	t.Setenv("GITLAB_TOKEN", "test-token")
+
+	err := execCmd(t, "--no-release", "--branch", "release/1.2", "--repo", dir)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("--no-release: unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestRunMissingToken(t *testing.T) {
 	_, dir := setupRepoWithRemote(t)
 	addFile(t, dir, "x.go", "// fix")