diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index d7299bd46a5..688ae918d37 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -65,8 +65,6 @@ jobs:
           NIGHTLY_SHA: ${{ github.sha }}
           NIGHTLY_RUN_NUMBER: ${{ github.run_number }}
         run: |
-          fork_marker="tarik02"
-
           trim() {
             local value="$1"
             value="${value#"${value%%[![:space:]]*}"}"
@@ -79,8 +77,6 @@ jobs:
             raw="$(trim "$1")"
             raw="${raw#v}"
             if [[ "$raw" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
-              printf '%s+%s' "$raw" "$fork_marker"
-            elif [[ "$raw" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\+tarik02(\.[0-9]+)?$ ]]; then
               printf '%s' "$raw"
             else
               echo "Invalid stable release version: $1" >&2
@@ -108,7 +104,7 @@ jobs:
 
           stable_from_main=false
           if [[ "${GITHUB_EVENT_NAME}" == "push" && "${GITHUB_REF}" == "refs/heads/main" ]]; then
-            if [[ "$package_version" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\+${fork_marker}(\.[0-9]+)?$ ]] &&
+            if [[ "$package_version" =~ ^[0-9]{4}\.([1-9]|1[0-2])\.([1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])[0-9]{2}$ ]] &&
               ! git rev-parse -q --verify "refs/tags/v$package_version" >/dev/null; then
               stable_from_main=true
             fi
diff --git a/FORK.md b/FORK.md
index 3fce1735588..fb57f415cab 100644
--- a/FORK.md
+++ b/FORK.md
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ This repository is a fork of `pingdotgg/t3code`. Keep this file focused on fork
 - Stable-version pushes wait for the matching release to finish so tag-based version resolution advances past the published version.
 - Release build jobs skip relay client tracing config because the relay config job is disabled.
 - Release builds publish updater metadata against the fork repository.
-- Fork stable release versions are committed through release PRs before release artifacts are built and tagged.
+- Fork stable release versions use date-based `YYYY.M.DDSS` numbers without build metadata. Release PRs commit them before release artifacts are built and tagged.
 - macOS release signing is separate from Apple notarization.
 - Self-signed macOS signing certificates are trusted during release builds.
 - macOS passkey entitlements are only enabled when Apple notarization/profile configuration is present.
diff --git a/scripts/resolve-fork-stable-release.ts b/scripts/resolve-fork-stable-release.ts
index 10db46f49d4..435f55d4ae2 100644
--- a/scripts/resolve-fork-stable-release.ts
+++ b/scripts/resolve-fork-stable-release.ts
@@ -11,8 +11,6 @@ export interface ForkStableReleaseMetadata {
   readonly name: string;
 }
 
-const forkMarker = "tarik02";
-
 function parseArgs(argv: ReadonlyArray<string>): {
   readonly date: string;
   readonly root: string;
@@ -79,9 +77,8 @@ export function resolveForkStableReleaseMetadata(
   const month = Number(date.slice(4, 6));
   const day = Number(date.slice(6, 8));
   const daySlot = day * 100;
-  const tagPattern = new RegExp(
-    `^v?${year}\\.${month}\\.([0-9]+)\\+${forkMarker}(?:\\.([0-9]+))?$`,
-  );
+  // TODO: Remove +tarik02 matching after the 2026-07-29 release transition.
+  const tagPattern = new RegExp(`^v?${year}\\.${month}\\.([0-9]+)(?:\\+tarik02(?:\\.[0-9]+)?)?$`);
   let maxSequence = 0;
 
   for (const tag of tags) {
@@ -100,7 +97,7 @@ export function resolveForkStableReleaseMetadata(
 
   const nextSequence = maxSequence + 1;
   const patch = daySlot + nextSequence - 1;
-  const version = `${year}.${month}.${patch}+${forkMarker}`;
+  const version = `${year}.${month}.${patch}`;
   return {
     version,
     tag: `v${version}`,