diff --git a/docs/user/reference/config/components.md b/docs/user/reference/config/components.md
index 4c8e0662..88137e7c 100644
--- a/docs/user/reference/config/components.md
+++ b/docs/user/reference/config/components.md
@@ -110,9 +110,9 @@ The `[components.<name>.release]` section controls how azldev manages the Releas
 
 | Mode | Behavior |
 |------|----------|
-| `auto` | Auto-detects from the spec's Release tag value. If `%autorelease` is found, rpmautospec handles it. If a static integer is found, it is bumped by the synthetic commit count. |
+| `auto` | Auto-detects from the spec's Release tag value. If `%autorelease` is found, rpmautospec handles it. If a static integer is found, optionally followed by `%{?dist}` or `%{dist}`, it is bumped by the synthetic commit count. |
 | `autorelease` | Explicitly declares the spec uses `%autorelease`. Skips all Release manipulation. Use this for specs with conditional `%autorelease`/`%else` fallbacks that confuse auto-detection. |
-| `static` | Explicitly declares the spec uses a static integer release. Bumps it by the synthetic commit count only when the Release tag starts with an integer. Non-integer or other non-standard Release values (for example, `%{pkg_release}`) require `manual` or an overlay. |
+| `static` | Explicitly declares the spec uses a static integer release. Bumps it by the synthetic commit count only when the Release tag is an integer, optionally followed by `%{?dist}` or `%{dist}`. Non-integer or other non-standard Release values (for example, `%{pkg_release}`) require `manual` or an overlay. |
 | `manual` | Skips all automatic Release manipulation. Use for components that manage their own release numbering (e.g. kernel). |
 
 Most components use `auto` (the default) and need no release configuration. Examples:
diff --git a/internal/app/azldev/core/sources/release.go b/internal/app/azldev/core/sources/release.go
index b7a3a798..55dcad6c 100644
--- a/internal/app/azldev/core/sources/release.go
+++ b/internal/app/azldev/core/sources/release.go
@@ -25,11 +25,11 @@ import (
 var autoreleasePattern = regexp.MustCompile(`%(\{[?]?autorelease($|[}\s])|autorelease($|\s))`)
 
 // staticReleasePattern matches only the two Release tag forms we can safely
-// auto-bump: a bare integer (e.g. "1") or an integer followed by the
-// conditional dist macro (e.g. "5%{?dist}"). Any other suffix — dotted
+// auto-bump: a bare integer (e.g. "1") or an integer followed by a
+// dist macro (e.g. "5%{?dist}" or "5%{dist}"). Any other suffix — dotted
 // segments, unknown macros, etc. — is rejected so the component must use
 // 'release.calculation = "manual"'.
-var staticReleasePattern = regexp.MustCompile(`^(\d+)(%\{\?dist\})?$`)
+var staticReleasePattern = regexp.MustCompile(`^(\d+)(%\{\??dist\})?$`)
 
 // GetReleaseTagValue reads the Release tag value from the spec file at specPath.
 // It returns the raw value string as written in the spec (e.g. "1%{?dist}" or "%autorelease").
diff --git a/internal/app/azldev/core/sources/release_internal_test.go b/internal/app/azldev/core/sources/release_internal_test.go
index 4922e937..6a37e078 100644
--- a/internal/app/azldev/core/sources/release_internal_test.go
+++ b/internal/app/azldev/core/sources/release_internal_test.go
@@ -103,6 +103,28 @@ func TestTryBumpStaticRelease_StaticBumps(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Contains(t, string(content), "Release: 4%{?dist}")
 }
 
+func TestTryBumpStaticRelease_StaticBumpsNonConditionalDist(t *testing.T) {
+	ctrl := gomock.NewController(t)
+	memFS := afero.NewMemMapFs()
+	preparer := newTestPreparer(memFS)
+
+	writeTestSpec(t, memFS, "test-pkg", "1%{dist}")
+
+	comp := mockComponent(ctrl, "test-pkg", &projectconfig.ComponentConfig{
+		Release: projectconfig.ReleaseConfig{
+			Calculation: projectconfig.ReleaseCalculationAuto,
+		},
+	})
+
+	err := preparer.tryBumpStaticRelease(comp, filepath.Join(testSourcesDir, "test-pkg"), 3)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	specPath := filepath.Join(testSourcesDir, "test-pkg", "test-pkg.spec")
+	content, err := fileutils.ReadFile(memFS, specPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, string(content), "Release: 4%{dist}")
+}
+
 func TestTryBumpStaticRelease_NonStandardErrorsWithoutManual(t *testing.T) {
 	ctrl := gomock.NewController(t)
 	memFS := afero.NewMemMapFs()
diff --git a/internal/app/azldev/core/sources/release_test.go b/internal/app/azldev/core/sources/release_test.go
index ac92910f..13a0444c 100644
--- a/internal/app/azldev/core/sources/release_test.go
+++ b/internal/app/azldev/core/sources/release_test.go
@@ -59,9 +59,10 @@ func TestBumpStaticRelease(t *testing.T) {
 		expected    string
 		wantErr     bool
 	}{
-		// Accepted forms: bare integer or integer + %{?dist}.
+		// Accepted forms: bare integer or integer + dist macro.
 		{"simple integer", "1", 3, "4", false},
-		{"with dist tag", "1%{?dist}", 2, "3%{?dist}", false},
+		{"with conditional dist tag", "1%{?dist}", 2, "3%{?dist}", false},
+		{"non-conditional dist tag", "1%{dist}", 2, "3%{dist}", false},
 		{"larger base", "10%{?dist}", 5, "15%{?dist}", false},
 		{"single commit", "1%{?dist}", 1, "2%{?dist}", false},
 
@@ -71,7 +72,6 @@ func TestBumpStaticRelease(t *testing.T) {
 
 		// Rejected: unknown macros in suffix.
 		{"other macros", "17%{someothermacro}%{?dist}", 3, "", true},
-		{"non-conditional dist", "1%{dist}", 1, "", true},
 		{"macro before dist", "0%{rc_subver}%{?dist}", 1, "", true},
 
 		// Rejected: dotted decimal releases.