diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index f4ebb9d..2a63931 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -26,8 +26,6 @@ jobs:
     # that bypassed dry-run would be denied by the API.
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
       - id: semvertag
         uses: ./
         with:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/semvertag.yml b/.github/workflows/semvertag.yml
index 366824e..630abae 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/semvertag.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/semvertag.yml
@@ -30,8 +30,6 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
       - uses: ./
         with:
           dry-run: true
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f996bc3..94dbb7c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -71,15 +71,12 @@ jobs:
   tag:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
       - uses: modern-python/semvertag@v0
 ```
 
 semvertag auto-detects GitHub Actions, picks the bump from the latest
-commit, and creates the tag ref via the GitHub API. `fetch-depth: 0`
-matters — the default `1` misses tag-relative history. See
+commit, and creates the tag ref via the GitHub API. It never reads the
+working tree, so the job needs no `actions/checkout` step at all. See
 [GitHub Actions docs](https://github.com/modern-python/semvertag/blob/main/docs/providers/github.md) for token scopes,
 GitHub Enterprise setup, outputs, and troubleshooting.
 
diff --git a/docs/providers/github.md b/docs/providers/github.md
index 4d50c7c..2182b61 100644
--- a/docs/providers/github.md
+++ b/docs/providers/github.md
@@ -32,9 +32,6 @@ jobs:
   tag:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
       - uses: modern-python/semvertag@v0
 ```
 
@@ -49,10 +46,11 @@ without pushing.
 > `--provider github` is only needed when running outside GHA (e.g.
 > on a developer laptop targeting a github.com repo).
 
-> **`fetch-depth: 0`** matters: semvertag walks commit history to
-> determine the bump. `actions/checkout@v4`'s default
-> `fetch-depth: 1` only fetches the single tip commit and will miss
-> tag-relative history.
+> **No checkout needed.** semvertag reads the head commit and the tag
+> history over the GitHub API and never touches the working tree, so
+> the job needs neither an `actions/checkout` step nor a `fetch-depth`
+> setting. Add a checkout only if other steps in the same job need the
+> repository files.
 
 ## Strategy
 
@@ -113,9 +111,6 @@ jobs:
     permissions:
       contents: write
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
       - id: semvertag
         uses: modern-python/semvertag@v0
       - if: steps.semvertag.outputs.status == 'created'
@@ -223,9 +218,6 @@ jobs:
   tag:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
           python-version: "3.13"