diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish.yml b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
index f701810a..4d6153f3 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ jobs:
           #!/bin/bash
 
           TAG_VALUE=${GITHUB_REF/refs\/tags\//}
-          echo "version=${TAG_VALUE}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "version=${TAG_VALUE}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
           # Extract the repository name (minus the owner/org)
           reponame=$(basename $GITHUB_REPOSITORY)
@@ -136,9 +136,10 @@ jobs:
       - name: Validate tag version
         if: ${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags') }}
         run: |
-          PYTHON_VERSION=$(grep "\bversion='[^']+'" | awk -F "'" '{print $2}')
-          if [ "${steps.version.outputs.version}" != "$PYTHON_VERSION" ]; then
-            echo "Version mismatch; tag version is [${steps.version.outputs.version}] but Python version is [$PYTHON_VERSION]"
+          PYTHON_VERSION=$(grep -E "\bversion='[^']+'" setup.py | awk -F "'" '{print $2}')
+          echo "Tag version is [${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}], Python version is [$PYTHON_VERSION]"
+          if [ "${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}" != "$PYTHON_VERSION" ]; then
+            echo "Version mismatch; tag version is [${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}] but Python version is [$PYTHON_VERSION]" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
             exit 1
           fi