diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 7b0be11ad31c8046093cf421bcd44c88d3f4fc62..18dac071326dd970c17935edef9f1f103b5d0ca7 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -42,6 +42,8 @@ release:
     - pip install --user --requirement requirements.ci.txt
   script:
     - semantic-release --verbosity=DEBUG publish
+  rules:
+    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH
 
 build container image:
   stage: build