diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59ba355
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+name: Release
+
+# Publish to npm + cut a GitHub Release when a version tag is pushed.
+# Flow: bump package.json → merge to main → `git tag v0.1.5 && git push --tags`.
+# Requires repo secret NPM_TOKEN (a granular/automation token with publish + bypass-2FA).
+on:
+  push:
+    tags: ['v*.*.*']
+  workflow_dispatch: {}
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write # cut the GitHub Release
+
+jobs:
+  publish:
+    name: publish to npm + GitHub Release
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup Bun
+        uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v2
+        with:
+          bun-version: ">=1.1"
+
+      - name: Setup Node (registry auth)
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: "20"
+          registry-url: "https://registry.npmjs.org"
+
+      - name: Install
+        run: bun install --frozen-lockfile
+
+      # Guard: a v0.1.5 tag must match package.json 0.1.5, so a mistagged push
+      # can never publish the wrong version.
+      - name: Tag matches package.json version
+        if: github.event_name == 'push'
+        run: |
+          TAG="${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}"
+          PKG="$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")"
+          echo "tag=$TAG package.json=$PKG"
+          [ "$TAG" = "$PKG" ] || { echo "::error::tag $TAG != package.json $PKG"; exit 1; }
+
+      # `npm publish` runs prepublishOnly (build + tests + gen:check + compat +
+      # migrations) before uploading, so the gate is enforced here too.
+      - name: Publish to npm
+        run: npm publish --access public
+        env:
+          NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
+
+      - name: Create GitHub Release
+        if: github.event_name == 'push'
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: gh release create "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" --title "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" --generate-notes