diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a28039a..61de0c0 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -16,8 +16,9 @@
 #
 
 VERSION_PATH=main
-VERSION ?= dev-$(shell git rev-parse --short HEAD)
-GIT_COMMIT=$(shell git rev-parse HEAD)
+-include .env
+VERSION ?= $(if $(RELEASE_VERSION),$(RELEASE_VERSION),dev-$(shell git rev-parse --short HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo unknown))
+GIT_COMMIT ?= $(shell git rev-parse HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo unknown)
 BUILD_DATE=$(shell date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
 MKDIR_P = mkdir -p
 
diff --git a/RELEASE.md b/RELEASE.md
index 106aa29..685bbb7 100644
--- a/RELEASE.md
+++ b/RELEASE.md
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ git push origin v${VERSION}
 
 ## Step 3 — Build and sign the artifacts
 
-`release.sh` resolves the version from the **latest tag reachable in the repo** (via `git describe --tags`), not from the `VERSION` env var. To ensure the artifacts are stamped with the intended version, use one of these approaches:
+`release.sh` resolves the version from the **latest tag reachable in the repo** (via `git describe --tags`), not from the `VERSION` env var. It also resolves a single release commit and uses that same commit for both the source archive and the binary build. To ensure the artifacts are stamped with the intended version, use one of these approaches:
 
 **Option A (recommended): set `RELEASE_VERSION` explicitly**
 
@@ -57,6 +57,8 @@ If `v${VERSION}` is already the most recent tag, `make release-assembly` picks i
 
 > If another newer tag exists in the repo, Option A is required to avoid building artifacts with the wrong version.
 
+By default, the release commit is resolved from tag `v${VERSION}` when it exists. You can override it explicitly with `RELEASE_GIT_COMMIT=<commit>` when you need to release from a specific commit.
+
 This runs three steps in sequence:
 1. `release-source` — creates `build/skywalking-mcp-${VERSION}-src.tgz`
 2. `release-binary` — creates `build/skywalking-mcp-${VERSION}.tgz`
@@ -73,8 +75,8 @@ make release-push-candidate
 ```
 
 This script:
-1. SVN-checks out `https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/skywalking/`
-2. Copies the tarballs, signature, and checksum into `skywalking/mcp/${VERSION}/`
+1. SVN-checks out `https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/skywalking/mcp/`
+2. Copies the tarballs, signature, and checksum into `mcp/${VERSION}/`
 3. Commits to SVN
 4. Prints a vote email template to stdout
 
diff --git a/scripts/push-release.sh b/scripts/push-release.sh
index 0e1ccef..8fb3864 100755
--- a/scripts/push-release.sh
+++ b/scripts/push-release.sh
@@ -43,21 +43,21 @@ RELEASE_COMMIT=$(git -C "${ROOTDIR}" rev-list -n 1 "${TAG_NAME}")
 pushd ${BUILDDIR}
 trap 'popd' EXIT
 
-rm -rf skywalking
+rm -rf mcp
 
-svn co https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/skywalking/
-mkdir -p skywalking/mcp/"$VERSION"
+svn co https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/skywalking/mcp/
+mkdir -p mcp/"$VERSION"
 BINARY_TGZ="${PRODUCT_NAME}.tgz"
 SRC_TGZ="${PRODUCT_NAME}-src.tgz"
-cp "${BINARY_TGZ}" skywalking/mcp/"$VERSION"
-cp "${BINARY_TGZ}.asc" skywalking/mcp/"$VERSION"
-cp "${BINARY_TGZ}.sha512" skywalking/mcp/"$VERSION"
-cp "${SRC_TGZ}" skywalking/mcp/"$VERSION"
-cp "${SRC_TGZ}.asc" skywalking/mcp/"$VERSION"
-cp "${SRC_TGZ}.sha512" skywalking/mcp/"$VERSION"
-
-cd skywalking && svn add --parents mcp/"$VERSION" && svn commit -m "Draft Apache SkyWalking MCP release $VERSION"
-cd mcp/"$VERSION"
+cp "${BINARY_TGZ}" mcp/"$VERSION"
+cp "${BINARY_TGZ}.asc" mcp/"$VERSION"
+cp "${BINARY_TGZ}.sha512" mcp/"$VERSION"
+cp "${SRC_TGZ}" mcp/"$VERSION"
+cp "${SRC_TGZ}.asc" mcp/"$VERSION"
+cp "${SRC_TGZ}.sha512" mcp/"$VERSION"
+
+cd mcp && svn add --parents "$VERSION" && svn commit -m "Draft Apache SkyWalking MCP release $VERSION"
+cd "$VERSION"
 
 cat << EOF
 =========================================================================
diff --git a/scripts/release.sh b/scripts/release.sh
index 9edb6f6..5920d59 100755
--- a/scripts/release.sh
+++ b/scripts/release.sh
@@ -30,6 +30,20 @@ require_cmd() {
     fi
 }
 
+has_git_worktree() {
+    command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1 && git -C "${ROOTDIR}" rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree >/dev/null 2>&1
+}
+
+require_git_worktree() {
+    if ! has_git_worktree; then
+        cat <<EOF >&2
+Error: assembling the source package requires a functional Git worktree at ${ROOTDIR}.
+Run this command from a Git checkout, or reuse a previously generated source archive when building/signing without Git metadata.
+EOF
+        exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
 resolve_release_version() {
     # 1) Explicit environment override
     if [ -n "${RELEASE_VERSION:-}" ]; then
@@ -38,7 +52,7 @@ resolve_release_version() {
     fi
 
     # 2) Derive from Git tags when available
-    if command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1 && git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    if has_git_worktree; then
         if latest_tag=$(git describe --tags "$(git rev-list --tags --max-count=1)" 2>/dev/null); then
             echo "${latest_tag#v}"
             return 0
@@ -65,7 +79,27 @@ resolve_release_version() {
     echo "dev-unknown"
 }
 
+resolve_release_commit() {
+    if [ -n "${RELEASE_GIT_COMMIT:-}" ]; then
+        echo "${RELEASE_GIT_COMMIT}"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    if has_git_worktree && git -C "${ROOTDIR}" show-ref --tags --verify "refs/tags/v${RELEASE_VERSION}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        git -C "${ROOTDIR}" rev-list -n 1 "v${RELEASE_VERSION}"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    if has_git_worktree; then
+        git -C "${ROOTDIR}" rev-parse HEAD
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    echo "unknown"
+}
+
 RELEASE_VERSION=$(resolve_release_version)
+RELEASE_GIT_COMMIT=$(resolve_release_commit)
 
 SOURCE_FILE_NAME=skywalking-mcp-${RELEASE_VERSION}-src.tgz
 SOURCE_FILE=${BUILDDIR}/${SOURCE_FILE_NAME}
@@ -84,7 +118,7 @@ binary(){
 
         tar -xvf "${SOURCE_FILE}" -C "${tmpdir}"
         cd "${tmpdir}"
-        make build
+        make build VERSION="${RELEASE_VERSION}" GIT_COMMIT="${RELEASE_GIT_COMMIT}"
 
         bindir=./build
         mkdir -p "${bindir}/bin"
@@ -99,24 +133,20 @@ binary(){
 
 source(){
     require_cmd tar
+    require_git_worktree
+    require_cmd git
 
     (
         tmpdir=$(mktemp -d)
         trap 'rm -rf "${tmpdir}"' EXIT
 
+        srcdir="${tmpdir}/src"
+
         rm -rf "${SOURCE_FILE}"
-        cd "${ROOTDIR}"
-        echo "RELEASE_VERSION=${RELEASE_VERSION}" > .env
-        tar \
-        --exclude=".DS_Store" \
-        --exclude=".github" \
-        --exclude=".gitignore" \
-        --exclude=".asf.yaml" \
-        --exclude=".idea" \
-        --exclude=".vscode" \
-        --exclude="bin" \
-        -czf "${tmpdir}/${SOURCE_FILE_NAME}" \
-        .
+        mkdir -p "${srcdir}"
+        git -C "${ROOTDIR}" archive --format=tar "${RELEASE_GIT_COMMIT}" | tar -xf - -C "${srcdir}"
+        echo "RELEASE_VERSION=${RELEASE_VERSION}" > "${srcdir}/.env"
+        tar -czf "${tmpdir}/${SOURCE_FILE_NAME}" -C "${srcdir}" .
 
         mkdir -p "${BUILDDIR}"
         mv "${tmpdir}/${SOURCE_FILE_NAME}" "${BUILDDIR}"
@@ -146,7 +176,7 @@ parseCmdLine(){
             b) binary ;;
             s) source ;;
             k) sign "${OPTARG}" ;;
-            v) echo "Resolved RELEASE_VERSION=${RELEASE_VERSION}" ;;
+            v) echo "Resolved RELEASE_VERSION=${RELEASE_VERSION}" && echo "Resolved RELEASE_GIT_COMMIT=${RELEASE_GIT_COMMIT}" ;;
             h) usage ;;
             \?) usage ;;
         esac
@@ -173,8 +203,6 @@ EOF
 # main
 #
 
-require_cmd git
-
 ret=0
 
 parseCmdLine "$@"