diff --git a/src/cmdforge/gui/pages/tools_page.py b/src/cmdforge/gui/pages/tools_page.py
index 4633980..64ec6f0 100644
--- a/src/cmdforge/gui/pages/tools_page.py
+++ b/src/cmdforge/gui/pages/tools_page.py
@@ -46,8 +46,14 @@ def get_tool_publish_state(tool_name: str) -> Tuple[str, Optional[str]]:
         if not registry_hash:
             return ("local", None)
 
-        # Compute current hash (excluding hash fields)
-        current_hash = compute_config_hash(config)
+        # Compute hash the same way as publish: load Tool object and use to_dict()
+        # This ensures we compare the same normalized representation
+        tool = load_tool(tool_name)
+        if tool:
+            current_hash = compute_config_hash(tool.to_dict())
+        else:
+            # Fallback to raw config if Tool can't be loaded
+            current_hash = compute_config_hash(config)
 
         if current_hash != registry_hash:
             return ("modified", registry_hash)
@@ -473,15 +479,23 @@ class ToolsPage(QWidget):
             # Get status from registry
             status_data = client.get_my_tool_status(tool_name)
             new_status = status_data.get("status", "pending")
+            new_hash = status_data.get("config_hash")
 
             # Update local config
             config_data = yaml.safe_load(config_path.read_text()) or {}
             old_status = config_data.get("registry_status", "pending")
+            old_hash = config_data.get("registry_hash")
 
+            changed = False
             if old_status != new_status:
                 config_data["registry_status"] = new_status
-                config_path.write_text(yaml.dump(config_data, default_flow_style=False, sort_keys=False))
+                changed = True
+            if new_hash and old_hash != new_hash:
+                config_data["registry_hash"] = new_hash
+                changed = True
 
+            if changed:
+                config_path.write_text(yaml.dump(config_data, default_flow_style=False, sort_keys=False))
                 self.refresh()
                 if new_status == "approved":
                     self.main_window.show_status(f"Tool '{tool_name}' has been approved!")
diff --git a/src/cmdforge/hash_utils.py b/src/cmdforge/hash_utils.py
index 7bae348..11de7c7 100644
--- a/src/cmdforge/hash_utils.py
+++ b/src/cmdforge/hash_utils.py
@@ -26,7 +26,12 @@ def compute_config_hash(config: Dict[str, Any], exclude_fields: Optional[list] =
         Hash string in format "sha256:<64-char-hex>"
     """
     if exclude_fields is None:
-        exclude_fields = ['published_hash', 'registry_hash']
+        # Exclude registry metadata and publication metadata from hash
+        # These fields are added during publish but aren't part of tool content
+        exclude_fields = [
+            'published_hash', 'registry_hash', 'registry_status',  # registry metadata
+            'version', 'tags',  # publication metadata (added by publish dialog)
+        ]
 
     # Create a copy without excluded fields
     config_copy = {k: v for k, v in config.items() if k not in exclude_fields}