diff --git a/git-cliff-release/action.yaml b/git-cliff-release/action.yaml
index 9e1634d..1d5428a 100644
--- a/git-cliff-release/action.yaml
+++ b/git-cliff-release/action.yaml
@@ -88,8 +88,10 @@ runs:
         elif [[ '${{ inputs.release_type }}' = auto ]]; then
           version_number=$(git-cliff --bumped-version | sed s/^v//)
 
-          # If there are no commits that increase semver, break
-          if [[ "$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)" = "v${version_number}" ]]; then
+          # If there are no commits that increase semver, break.
+          # In a repo with no tags yet there is always something to release, and
+          # git describe would fail with a non-zero exit - guard against that.
+          if latest_tag=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2> /dev/null) && [[ "$latest_tag" = "v${version_number}" ]]; then
             echo "::error title=Nothing to release::There were no commits that trigger a version bump since the last release"
             exit 1
           fi
diff --git a/git-cliff-release/cliff.toml b/git-cliff-release/cliff.toml
index 67368d1..2f34c6a 100644
--- a/git-cliff-release/cliff.toml
+++ b/git-cliff-release/cliff.toml
@@ -61,6 +61,9 @@ trim = true
 postprocessors = []
 
 [bump]
+# Version used for repositories with no existing tags. The "v" prefix keeps it
+# matching tag_pattern, so setting up a brand-new repo works out of the box.
+initial_tag = "v0.1.0"
 # With 0.x.y version, breaking commits should only increase the minor version and feature commits should only increase the patch version
 breaking_always_bump_major = false
 features_always_bump_minor = false