diff --git a/.github/workflows/agents-release.yml b/.github/workflows/agents-release.yml
index fd1665b2ba..758f0b82f1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/agents-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/agents-release.yml
@@ -1803,8 +1803,10 @@ jobs:
           # Re-uploading the full set on every retry trips GitHub secondary
           # rate limits and dropped connections strand the whole job.
           if gh release view "$TAG_NAME" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            # --draft=false: a tag deleted mid-recovery leaves the release as a
+            # draft, which /releases/tags then 404s for reuse jobs and users.
             gh release edit "$TAG_NAME" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" \
-              --notes-file RELEASE_NOTES.md --latest=false >/dev/null
+              --notes-file RELEASE_NOTES.md --draft=false --latest=false >/dev/null
           else
             gh release create "$TAG_NAME" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" \
               --verify-tag --title "$TAG_NAME" \