diff --git a/.github/workflows/update-version.yml b/.github/workflows/update-version.yml
index 8c61def1..6e1454a2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/update-version.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/update-version.yml
@@ -15,9 +15,7 @@ on:
 permissions:
   contents: write
   pull-requests: write
-  # Note: Auto-merge may require additional permissions depending on repository settings.
-  # If auto-merge fails, consider using a Personal Access Token (PAT) or GitHub App token
-  # with 'pull-requests: write' and 'contents: write' scopes.
+  actions: write
 
 jobs:
   update-version:
@@ -205,15 +203,77 @@ jobs:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GH_PAT || secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         run: |
           PR_NUMBER="${{ steps.create_pr.outputs.pr_number }}"
-          echo "🔀 Merging PR #$PR_NUMBER via squash..."
+          echo "🔀 Attempting to merge PR #$PR_NUMBER via squash..."
+          
+          # Check PR status
+          set +e
+          PR_STATE=$(gh pr view "$PR_NUMBER" --repo "${{ github.repository }}" --json state --jq '.state' 2>&1)
+          PR_VIEW_EXIT=$?
+          set -e
+          
+          if [ $PR_VIEW_EXIT -ne 0 ] || [ -z "$PR_STATE" ]; then
+            echo "⚠️ Could not retrieve PR state, attempting merge anyway..."
+          else
+            echo "📊 PR State: $PR_STATE"
+            if [ "$PR_STATE" != "OPEN" ]; then
+              echo "⚠️ PR is not open (state: $PR_STATE), skipping merge"
+              exit 0
+            fi
+          fi
+          
           # Brief wait for GitHub to compute PR mergeability
           sleep 5
-          gh pr merge "$PR_NUMBER" \
+          
+          # Check if PR is mergeable
+          set +e
+          MERGEABLE=$(gh pr view "$PR_NUMBER" --repo "${{ github.repository }}" --json mergeable --jq '.mergeable' 2>&1)
+          set -e
+          echo "📊 Mergeable: $MERGEABLE"
+          
+          # Attempt merge with error handling
+          set +e
+          MERGE_OUTPUT=$(gh pr merge "$PR_NUMBER" \
             --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
             --squash \
             --delete-branch \
-            --yes
-          echo "✅ PR #$PR_NUMBER merged successfully"
+            --yes 2>&1)
+          MERGE_EXIT=$?
+          set -e
+          
+          if [ $MERGE_EXIT -eq 0 ]; then
+            echo "✅ PR #$PR_NUMBER merged successfully"
+            echo "$MERGE_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "::warning::Standard merge failed for PR #$PR_NUMBER"
+            echo "::group::Merge Error Output"
+            echo "$MERGE_OUTPUT"
+            echo "::endgroup::"
+            
+            # Try with admin flag (bypasses branch protection if user has admin rights)
+            echo "🔧 Attempting merge with admin override..."
+            set +e
+            ADMIN_OUTPUT=$(gh pr merge "$PR_NUMBER" \
+              --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
+              --squash \
+              --delete-branch \
+              --admin 2>&1)
+            ADMIN_EXIT=$?
+            set -e
+            
+            if [ $ADMIN_EXIT -eq 0 ]; then
+              echo "✅ PR #$PR_NUMBER merged successfully with admin override"
+              echo "$ADMIN_OUTPUT"
+            else
+              echo "::error::Failed to merge PR #$PR_NUMBER even with admin override"
+              echo "::group::Admin Merge Error Output"
+              echo "$ADMIN_OUTPUT"
+              echo "::endgroup::"
+              echo "::warning::Consider configuring a Personal Access Token (PAT) with full repo permissions as GH_PAT secret"
+              echo "::warning::PR #$PR_NUMBER was created but requires manual merge: https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/pull/$PR_NUMBER"
+              # Don't exit with error to avoid blocking the workflow
+              exit 0
+            fi
+          fi
 
       - name: Summary
         run: |