diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-spec.yml b/.github/workflows/release-spec.yml
index 2f6d15db30..dc64297df2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-spec.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-spec.yml
@@ -168,6 +168,8 @@ jobs:
             
             export bump_release='false'
             changed_lines=$(git diff --numstat openapi/v2.json | awk '{print $1}')
+            # Default to 0 if empty
+            changed_lines=${changed_lines:-0}
             if [ "${changed_lines}" -gt 1 ]; then
               export bump_release='true'
             fi