diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 96a442e..ccb17a1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -7,12 +7,14 @@ on:
 
 jobs:
   build:
-    name: Build and Release
+    name: Build binaries
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
-        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0  # Fetch all history for version info
 
@@ -21,21 +23,115 @@ jobs:
         with:
           go-version: '1.21'
 
-      - name: Make build script executable
-        run: chmod +x scripts/build.sh
+      - name: Make scripts executable
+        run: chmod +x scripts/build.sh scripts/package.sh
+
+      - name: Build binaries
+        run: SKIP_PACKAGE=1 ./scripts/build.sh ${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}
+
+      - name: Upload unsigned build artifacts
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: unsigned-dist
+          path: dist/*
+          if-no-files-found: error
+          retention-days: 1
+
+  sign-windows:
+    name: Sign Windows binaries
+    runs-on: windows-2022
+    needs: build
+    environment: release-signing
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      id-token: write
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Download unsigned build artifacts
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: unsigned-dist
+          path: dist
+
+      - name: Azure login
+        uses: azure/login@v3
+        with:
+          client-id: ${{ secrets.AZURE_CLIENT_ID }}
+          tenant-id: ${{ secrets.AZURE_TENANT_ID }}
+          subscription-id: ${{ secrets.AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID }}
+
+      - name: Sign Windows binaries with Azure Artifact Signing
+        uses: azure/artifact-signing-action@v1
+        with:
+          endpoint: ${{ vars.AZURE_CODESIGN_ENDPOINT }}
+          signing-account-name: ${{ vars.AZURE_CODESIGN_ACCOUNT_NAME }}
+          certificate-profile-name: ${{ vars.AZURE_CODESIGN_CERTIFICATE_PROFILE }}
+          files-folder: ${{ github.workspace }}\dist
+          files-folder-filter: git-flow-*-windows-*.exe
+          file-digest: SHA256
+          timestamp-rfc3161: http://timestamp.acs.microsoft.com
+          timestamp-digest: SHA256
+
+      - name: Verify Windows signatures
+        shell: pwsh
+        run: |
+          $files = Get-ChildItem -Path "$env:GITHUB_WORKSPACE\dist" -Filter "git-flow-*-windows-*.exe"
+          if ($files.Count -eq 0) {
+            throw "No Windows executables found to verify."
+          }
+
+          foreach ($file in $files) {
+            $signature = Get-AuthenticodeSignature -FilePath $file.FullName
+            if ($signature.Status -ne "Valid") {
+              Write-Error "Invalid signature for $($file.Name): $($signature.Status) $($signature.StatusMessage)"
+              exit 1
+            }
+            Write-Host "Verified signature for $($file.Name)"
+          }
+
+      - name: Upload signed build artifacts
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: signed-dist
+          path: dist/*
+          if-no-files-found: error
+          retention-days: 1
+
+  release:
+    name: Package and release
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: sign-windows
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Download signed build artifacts
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: signed-dist
+          path: dist
+
+      - name: Make packaging script executable
+        run: chmod +x scripts/package.sh
+
+      - name: Restore Unix executable permissions
+        run: chmod +x dist/git-flow-*-darwin-* dist/git-flow-*-linux-*
+
+      - name: Package signed artifacts
+        run: ./scripts/package.sh ${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}
 
       - name: Check if preview release
         id: check_preview
         run: |
-          if [[ ${{ github.ref }} =~ ^refs/tags/v.*-(alpha|beta|rc)\. ]]; then
+          if [[ "${GITHUB_REF_NAME}" =~ ^v.*-(alpha|beta|rc)\. ]]; then
             echo "is_preview=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           else
             echo "is_preview=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           fi
 
-      - name: Build binaries
-        run: ./scripts/build.sh ${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}
-
       - name: Extract release notes from CHANGELOG
         id: changelog
         run: |
@@ -79,4 +175,4 @@ jobs:
             ## Checksums
             SHA-256 checksums for the release artifacts are available in the checksums.txt file.
         env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} 
\ No newline at end of file
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/RELEASING.md b/RELEASING.md
index ae89e0f..c192535 100644
--- a/RELEASING.md
+++ b/RELEASING.md
@@ -39,6 +39,28 @@ We follow [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/). Only **user-facing ch
 
 ## Release Process
 
+### Release Signing Setup
+
+Windows release executables are signed with Azure Artifact Signing before archives and checksums are created. The release workflow uses GitHub Actions OIDC.
+
+Configure a GitHub environment named `release-signing` with these secrets:
+
+- `AZURE_CLIENT_ID`
+- `AZURE_TENANT_ID`
+- `AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID`
+
+Configure the same environment with these variables:
+
+- `AZURE_CODESIGN_ENDPOINT`
+- `AZURE_CODESIGN_ACCOUNT_NAME`
+- `AZURE_CODESIGN_CERTIFICATE_PROFILE`
+
+The Azure identity must have the `Artifact Signing Certificate Profile Signer` role on the certificate profile. Configure the Entra federated credential for this GitHub environment subject:
+
+```text
+repo:gittower/git-flow-next:environment:release-signing
+```
+
 ### 1. Determine Version Bump
 
 Review commits since last release:
@@ -93,10 +115,13 @@ git push origin vX.Y.Z
 
 The `.github/workflows/release.yml` workflow automatically:
 
-1. Builds binaries for all platforms (darwin, linux, windows)
-2. Creates GitHub release with artifacts
-3. Generates checksums
-4. Marks as prerelease if tag contains `-alpha`, `-beta`, or `-rc`
+1. Builds raw binaries for all platforms (darwin, linux, windows)
+2. Signs Windows `.exe` files with Azure Artifact Signing
+3. Verifies Windows Authenticode signatures
+4. Creates archives containing the signed Windows executables
+5. Generates checksums after signing and packaging
+6. Creates GitHub release with artifacts
+7. Marks as prerelease if tag contains `-alpha`, `-beta`, or `-rc`
 
 ### 7. Update Homebrew Tap
 
@@ -143,6 +168,7 @@ These are automatically marked as prereleases on GitHub.
 - [ ] Committed: `chore: Bump version to X.Y.Z`
 - [ ] Pushed to main
 - [ ] Created and pushed tag
+- [ ] Verified Windows signing job succeeded
 - [ ] Verified GitHub release was created
 - [ ] Updated Homebrew tap (`./update_formula.rb`)
 - [ ] Updated website documentation (if commands changed)
diff --git a/scripts/build.sh b/scripts/build.sh
index 7775484..cc783be 100755
--- a/scripts/build.sh
+++ b/scripts/build.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
+set -euo pipefail
+
 # Get version from command line or use "dev" as default
 VERSION=${1:-dev}
 BINARY_NAME="git-flow"
@@ -64,31 +66,9 @@ if [[ ${#MISSING_BINARIES[@]} -gt 0 ]]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
-# Create archives for each binary
-echo "Creating archives..."
-
-# macOS
-echo "Creating darwin archives..."
-tar czf "$BUILD_DIR/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-darwin-amd64.tar.gz" -C "$BUILD_DIR" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-darwin-amd64"
-tar czf "$BUILD_DIR/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-darwin-arm64.tar.gz" -C "$BUILD_DIR" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-darwin-arm64"
-
-# Linux
-echo "Creating linux archives..."
-tar czf "$BUILD_DIR/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-amd64.tar.gz" -C "$BUILD_DIR" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-amd64"
-tar czf "$BUILD_DIR/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-arm64.tar.gz" -C "$BUILD_DIR" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-arm64"
-tar czf "$BUILD_DIR/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-386.tar.gz" -C "$BUILD_DIR" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-386"
-
-# Windows (using zip instead of tar.gz)
-echo "Creating windows archives..."
-if command -v zip >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-    (cd "$BUILD_DIR" && zip "${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-windows-amd64.zip" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-windows-amd64.exe")
-    (cd "$BUILD_DIR" && zip "${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-windows-386.zip" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-windows-386.exe")
+if [[ "${SKIP_PACKAGE:-}" == "1" ]]; then
+    echo "Build complete! Binaries are in the $BUILD_DIR directory"
 else
-    echo "Warning: zip command not found, skipping Windows archives"
+    "$(dirname "$0")/package.sh" "$VERSION"
+    echo "Build complete! Artifacts are in the $BUILD_DIR directory"
 fi
-
-# Generate checksums
-echo "Generating checksums..."
-(cd "$BUILD_DIR" && shasum -a 256 * > "${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-checksums.txt")
-
-echo "Build complete! Artifacts are in the $BUILD_DIR directory" 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/scripts/package.sh b/scripts/package.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..5a2e626
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/package.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Get version from command line or use "dev" as default
+VERSION=${1:-dev}
+BINARY_NAME="git-flow"
+PACKAGE_NAME="git-flow-next"
+
+# Build directory
+BUILD_DIR="dist"
+
+echo "Packaging $PACKAGE_NAME version $VERSION..."
+
+# Verify all binaries are present before packaging
+echo "Verifying binaries..."
+MISSING_BINARIES=()
+
+for binary in "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-darwin-amd64" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-darwin-arm64" \
+              "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-amd64" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-arm64" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-386" \
+              "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-windows-amd64.exe" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-windows-386.exe"; do
+    if [[ ! -f "$BUILD_DIR/$binary" ]]; then
+        MISSING_BINARIES+=("$binary")
+    fi
+done
+
+if [[ ${#MISSING_BINARIES[@]} -gt 0 ]]; then
+    echo "Error: The following binaries were not found:"
+    for binary in "${MISSING_BINARIES[@]}"; do
+        echo "  - $binary"
+    done
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Remove generated artifacts for this version so checksums describe the final outputs.
+rm -f "$BUILD_DIR/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-"*.tar.gz \
+      "$BUILD_DIR/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-"*.zip \
+      "$BUILD_DIR/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-checksums.txt"
+
+# Create archives for each binary
+echo "Creating archives..."
+
+# macOS
+echo "Creating darwin archives..."
+tar czf "$BUILD_DIR/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-darwin-amd64.tar.gz" -C "$BUILD_DIR" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-darwin-amd64"
+tar czf "$BUILD_DIR/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-darwin-arm64.tar.gz" -C "$BUILD_DIR" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-darwin-arm64"
+
+# Linux
+echo "Creating linux archives..."
+tar czf "$BUILD_DIR/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-amd64.tar.gz" -C "$BUILD_DIR" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-amd64"
+tar czf "$BUILD_DIR/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-arm64.tar.gz" -C "$BUILD_DIR" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-arm64"
+tar czf "$BUILD_DIR/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-386.tar.gz" -C "$BUILD_DIR" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-linux-386"
+
+# Windows (using zip instead of tar.gz)
+echo "Creating windows archives..."
+if command -v zip >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    (cd "$BUILD_DIR" && zip "${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-windows-amd64.zip" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-windows-amd64.exe")
+    (cd "$BUILD_DIR" && zip "${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-windows-386.zip" "${BINARY_NAME}-${VERSION}-windows-386.exe")
+else
+    echo "Warning: zip command not found, skipping Windows archives"
+fi
+
+# Generate checksums
+echo "Generating checksums..."
+(cd "$BUILD_DIR" && shasum -a 256 * > "${PACKAGE_NAME}-${VERSION}-checksums.txt")
+
+echo "Packaging complete! Artifacts are in the $BUILD_DIR directory"