diff --git a/.claude/commands/release.md b/.claude/commands/release.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..65f9c5f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.claude/commands/release.md
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+---
+name: "Release"
+description: Run the full release workflow — changelog, version bump, tag, GitHub release
+allowed-tools: Bash, Read, Edit
+category: Workflow
+tags: [release, workflow]
+---
+
+Execute the full release workflow. Follow every step in order; always confirm with the user before any irreversible action (tag push, GitHub release, PyPI publish).
+
+---
+
+## Step 1 — Pre-flight checks
+
+Run all three checks before proceeding. If any fails, stop and tell the user what to fix.
+
+```bash
+git branch --show-current          # must be "main"
+git status --porcelain             # must be empty (clean tree)
+gh auth status                     # must show BastiTee as the active account
+```
+
+## Step 2 — Determine next version
+
+```bash
+grep '^version' pyproject.toml | head -1    # current version
+git log $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)..HEAD --oneline   # commits since last tag
+```
+
+Show the user the current version and the commit list, then ask: **"What should the new version number be?"**
+
+## Step 3 — Draft and confirm changelog entry
+
+Extract PR numbers from merge commits and build a draft `## X.Y.Z` section:
+
+```bash
+git log $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)..HEAD --oneline | grep "Merge pull request"
+```
+
+For each user-facing change, include a linked PR reference in the format `([#N](https://github.com/BastiTee/python-boilerplate/pull/N))`. Skip Dependabot and pure CI commits. Show the draft to the user and ask them to confirm or edit before writing anything.
+
+## Step 4 — Update files
+
+1. Prepend the confirmed changelog section to `CHANGELOG.md` — insert it right after the `# Changelog` title line, above all existing version sections.
+2. Update `version = "..."` in `pyproject.toml` to the new version.
+3. Show `git diff` and ask for confirmation before continuing.
+
+## Step 5 — Build the release artifact
+
+```bash
+make release
+```
+
+This runs a clean build (tests, mypy, lint, format, package) and lists the built artifacts. It must succeed before committing. Fix any failures before continuing.
+
+## Step 6 — Commit
+
+```bash
+git add CHANGELOG.md pyproject.toml uv.lock
+git commit -m "Release X.Y.Z"
+```
+
+## Step 7 — Tag and push _(confirm before running — irreversible)_
+
+```bash
+git tag -a X.Y.Z -m "Version X.Y.Z"
+git push && git push --tags
+```
+
+## Step 8 — Create GitHub release _(confirm before running — irreversible)_
+
+The release title is `vX.Y.Z` (v-prefixed). The notes are a bare URL to the changelog section — the anchor is the version with dots stripped (e.g. `0.1.2` → `#012`).
+
+```bash
+gh release create X.Y.Z \
+  --title "vX.Y.Z" \
+  --notes "https://github.com/BastiTee/python-boilerplate/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md#XYZ"
+```
+
+Report the release as complete once Step 8 succeeds.
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index deb2d57..ac68aab 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -175,21 +175,3 @@ First release. Contains support for:
 -   vscode editor configuration including debugging support, unit test discovery and on-save formatting
 -   Dockerized builds and run with nginx/uwsgi
 -   Publishing to PyPi.org at <https://pypi.org/project/python3-boilerplate/>
-
-## How to release a new version
-
--   Implement all desired changes on branch
--   Update this changelog
--   Bump version number in `pyproject.toml`
--   Finish development on branch and merge to main
--   Run
-
-```shell
-VERSION=$( python -m uv version --short --color never ) &&\
-echo "Release: ${VERSION}" &&\
-git tag -a ${VERSION} -m "Version ${VERSION}" &&\
-git push --tags
-git push
-```
-
--   Create a new release under <https://github.com/BastiTee/python-boilerplate/releases>
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 66d651d..efdc5dd 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ export LC_ALL = C
 export LANG = C.UTF-8
 PY_FILES := src tests
 
-.PHONY: help all clean clear-cache venv build test mypy lint lint-fix format format-check outdated update run-venv install-run audit pre-commit
+.PHONY: help all clean clear-cache venv build release test mypy lint lint-fix format format-check outdated update run-venv install-run audit pre-commit
 .DEFAULT_GOAL := all
 
 help: ## Show this help message
@@ -49,6 +49,9 @@ venv: clean ## Clean and recreate virtual environment
 build: test mypy lint format ## Run the entire build chain
 	uv build
 
+release: clean build ## Prepare release
+	ls -la dist
+
 test: ## Run pytest test suite
 	uv run py.test tests
 
diff --git a/rename_template.sh b/rename_template.sh
index 0f607b5..b6818a3 100755
--- a/rename_template.sh
+++ b/rename_template.sh
@@ -39,4 +39,4 @@ EOF
 
 # Clean up
 find . -type f -iname "*.rename-bak" -exec rm -f {} \;
-rm -rf $( basename $0 ) CHANGELOG.md CLAUDE.md .claude .github/workflows/main-build.yml
+rm -rf $( basename $0 ) CHANGELOG.md CLAUDE.md .claude .github/CODEOWNERS .github/workflows/main-build.yml