diff --git a/.github/workflows/nightly-publish.yaml b/.github/workflows/nightly-publish.yaml
index c8cfa3fa..52e60d7a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/nightly-publish.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/nightly-publish.yaml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Setup Docker Buildx
         uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@6524bf65af31da8d45b59e8c27de4bd072b392f5 # v3.8.0
       - name: Set image tag
-        run: echo "TAG=$(date +'%Y%m%d')" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+        run: echo "TAG=v0.0.0-$(date +'%Y%m%d')" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
       - name: Build and push image
         env:
           REPO: ghcr.io/rancher
@@ -51,17 +51,16 @@ jobs:
         uses: azure/setup-helm@v4
         with:
           version: 3.8.0
-      - name: Set image tag
-        run: echo "TAG=$(date +'%Y%m%d')" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+      - name: Set image tag and chart version
+        run: |
+          echo "TAG=v0.0.0-$(date +'%Y%m%d')" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+          echo "CHART_VERSION=$(date +'%Y%m%d')" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
       - name: Build charts
         env:
           REPO: ghcr.io/rancher # used in the Helm chart values.yaml
-          CHART_VERSION: ${{ env.TAG }} # chart version matches image tag
         run: |
           make charts
       - name: Push charts
-        env:
-          CHART_VERSION: ${{ env.TAG }} # chart version matches image tag
         run: |
           helm push bin/rancher-aks-operator-$CHART_VERSION.tgz oci://ghcr.io/${{ github.repository_owner }}/rancher-aks-operator-chart
           helm push bin/rancher-aks-operator-crd-$CHART_VERSION.tgz oci://ghcr.io/${{ github.repository_owner }}/rancher-aks-operator-crd-chart
\ No newline at end of file