diff --git a/src/commands/prepare.ts b/src/commands/prepare.ts
index d2ed758f..ca9a893b 100644
--- a/src/commands/prepare.ts
+++ b/src/commands/prepare.ts
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ import {
   handleGlobalError,
   reportError,
 } from '../utils/errors';
-import { getGitClient, getDefaultBranch, getLatestTag } from '../utils/git';
+import { getGitClient, getDefaultBranch, getLatestTag, isRepoDirty } from '../utils/git';
 import {
   getChangelogWithBumpType,
   calculateNextVersion,
@@ -335,14 +335,7 @@ function checkGitStatus(repoStatus: StatusResult, rev: string) {
 
   logger.debug('Repository status:', formatJson(repoStatus));
 
-  if (
-    repoStatus.conflicted.length ||
-    repoStatus.created.length ||
-    repoStatus.deleted.length ||
-    repoStatus.modified.length ||
-    repoStatus.renamed.length ||
-    repoStatus.staged.length
-  ) {
+  if (isRepoDirty(repoStatus)) {
     reportError(
       'Your repository is in a dirty state. ' +
         'Please stash or commit the pending changes.',
diff --git a/src/commands/publish.ts b/src/commands/publish.ts
index b24a01a5..07ab1355 100644
--- a/src/commands/publish.ts
+++ b/src/commands/publish.ts
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ import { isValidVersion } from '../utils/version';
 import { BaseStatusProvider } from '../status_providers/base';
 import { BaseArtifactProvider } from '../artifact_providers/base';
 import { SimpleGit } from 'simple-git';
-import { getGitClient, getDefaultBranch } from '../utils/git';
+import { getGitClient, getDefaultBranch, isRepoDirty } from '../utils/git';
 
 /** Default path to post-release script, relative to project root */
 const DEFAULT_POST_RELEASE_SCRIPT_PATH = join('scripts', 'post-release.sh');
@@ -118,6 +118,11 @@ export const builder: CommandBuilder = (yargs: Argv) => {
       description: 'Do not check for build status',
       type: 'boolean',
     })
+    .option('no-git-checks', {
+      default: false,
+      description: 'Ignore local git changes and unsynchronized remotes',
+      type: 'boolean',
+    })
     .check(checkVersion)
     .demandOption('new-version', 'Please specify the version to publish');
 };
@@ -142,6 +147,8 @@ export interface PublishOptions {
   noStatusCheck: boolean;
   /** Do not remove release branch after publishing */
   keepBranch: boolean;
+  /** Do not perform basic git checks */
+  noGitChecks: boolean;
 }
 
 export interface PublishState {
@@ -453,6 +460,20 @@ export async function publishMain(argv: PublishOptions): Promise<any> {
 
   const git = await getGitClient();
 
+  // Check for dirty repository state before any git operations
+  if (argv.noGitChecks) {
+    logger.info('Not checking the status of the local repository');
+  } else {
+    const repoStatus = await git.status();
+    if (isRepoDirty(repoStatus)) {
+      reportError(
+        'Your repository is in a dirty state. ' +
+          'Please stash or commit the pending changes.',
+        logger
+      );
+    }
+  }
+
   const rev = argv.rev;
   let checkoutTarget;
   let branchName;
diff --git a/src/utils/__tests__/git.test.ts b/src/utils/__tests__/git.test.ts
index c4e1ce23..f3994dea 100644
--- a/src/utils/__tests__/git.test.ts
+++ b/src/utils/__tests__/git.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { vi, type Mock, type MockInstance, type Mocked, type MockedFunction } from 'vitest';
-import { getLatestTag } from '../git';
+import { getLatestTag, isRepoDirty } from '../git';
 import * as loggerModule from '../../logger';
+import type { StatusResult } from 'simple-git';
 
 describe('getLatestTag', () => {
   it('returns latest tag in the repo by calling `git describe`', async () => {
@@ -26,3 +27,64 @@ describe('getLatestTag', () => {
     expect(latestTag).toBe('');
   });
 });
+
+describe('isRepoDirty', () => {
+  const createCleanStatus = (): StatusResult => ({
+    not_added: [],
+    conflicted: [],
+    created: [],
+    deleted: [],
+    ignored: [],
+    modified: [],
+    renamed: [],
+    staged: [],
+    files: [],
+    ahead: 0,
+    behind: 0,
+    current: 'main',
+    tracking: 'origin/main',
+    detached: false,
+    isClean: () => true,
+  });
+
+  it('returns false for clean repository', () => {
+    const status = createCleanStatus();
+    expect(isRepoDirty(status)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('returns true when there are modified files', () => {
+    const status = createCleanStatus();
+    status.modified = ['file.txt'];
+    expect(isRepoDirty(status)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('returns true when there are created files', () => {
+    const status = createCleanStatus();
+    status.created = ['newfile.txt'];
+    expect(isRepoDirty(status)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('returns true when there are deleted files', () => {
+    const status = createCleanStatus();
+    status.deleted = ['removed.txt'];
+    expect(isRepoDirty(status)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('returns true when there are staged files', () => {
+    const status = createCleanStatus();
+    status.staged = ['staged.txt'];
+    expect(isRepoDirty(status)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('returns true when there are renamed files', () => {
+    const status = createCleanStatus();
+    status.renamed = [{ from: 'old.txt', to: 'new.txt' }];
+    expect(isRepoDirty(status)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('returns true when there are conflicted files', () => {
+    const status = createCleanStatus();
+    status.conflicted = ['conflict.txt'];
+    expect(isRepoDirty(status)).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/utils/git.ts b/src/utils/git.ts
index e74273dc..0237182a 100644
--- a/src/utils/git.ts
+++ b/src/utils/git.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import simpleGit, { type SimpleGit, type LogOptions, type Options } from 'simple-git';
+import simpleGit, { type SimpleGit, type LogOptions, type Options, type StatusResult } from 'simple-git';
 
 import { getConfigFileDir } from '../config';
 import { ConfigurationError } from './errors';
@@ -111,3 +111,20 @@ export async function getGitClient(): Promise<SimpleGit> {
   }
   return git;
 }
+
+/**
+ * Checks if the git repository has uncommitted changes
+ *
+ * @param repoStatus Result of git.status()
+ * @returns true if the repository has uncommitted changes
+ */
+export function isRepoDirty(repoStatus: StatusResult): boolean {
+  return !!(
+    repoStatus.conflicted.length ||
+    repoStatus.created.length ||
+    repoStatus.deleted.length ||
+    repoStatus.modified.length ||
+    repoStatus.renamed.length ||
+    repoStatus.staged.length
+  );
+}