diff --git a/.github/workflows/auto-release.yml b/.github/workflows/auto-release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..19e80c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/auto-release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+name: Auto Release on Release Branch
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    types: [closed]
+    branches:
+      - release
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+
+jobs:
+  auto-release:
+    # Only run if PR was merged to release branch (not just closed)
+    if: github.event.pull_request.merged == true
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0  # Fetch all history for versioning
+
+      - name: Setup Zig
+        uses: goto-bus-stop/setup-zig@v2
+        with:
+          version: 0.14.0
+
+      - name: Read VERSION file
+        id: get_version
+        run: |
+          VERSION=$(cat VERSION)
+          echo "version=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "tag=v$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+      - name: Check if tag exists
+        id: check_tag
+        run: |
+          if git rev-parse "v${{ steps.get_version.outputs.version }}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "exists=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "Tag v${{ steps.get_version.outputs.version }} already exists"
+          else
+            echo "exists=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "Tag v${{ steps.get_version.outputs.version }} does not exist"
+          fi
+
+      - name: Run tests
+        if: steps.check_tag.outputs.exists == 'false'
+        run: zig build test
+
+      - name: Build library
+        if: steps.check_tag.outputs.exists == 'false'
+        run: zig build
+
+      - name: Update build.zig.zon version
+        if: steps.check_tag.outputs.exists == 'false'
+        run: |
+          VERSION="${{ steps.get_version.outputs.version }}"
+          sed -i "s/\.version = \"[^\"]*\"/\.version = \"$VERSION\"/" build.zig.zon
+
+      - name: Generate changelog
+        if: steps.check_tag.outputs.exists == 'false'
+        id: changelog
+        run: |
+          VERSION="${{ steps.get_version.outputs.version }}"
+
+          # Get previous tag
+          PREV_TAG=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+
+          if [ -z "$PREV_TAG" ]; then
+            echo "## Initial Release" > CHANGELOG.md
+            echo "" >> CHANGELOG.md
+            echo "First release of snappyframesz - A Zig implementation of Snappy frame format." >> CHANGELOG.md
+            echo "" >> CHANGELOG.md
+            echo "### Features" >> CHANGELOG.md
+            echo "- Snappy frame format support" >> CHANGELOG.md
+            echo "- Frame compression and decompression" >> CHANGELOG.md
+            echo "- CRC32C checksum validation" >> CHANGELOG.md
+            echo "- Comprehensive test suite" >> CHANGELOG.md
+          else
+            echo "## Changes since $PREV_TAG" > CHANGELOG.md
+            echo "" >> CHANGELOG.md
+            git log "$PREV_TAG"..HEAD --pretty=format:"- %s (%h)" >> CHANGELOG.md
+          fi
+
+          cat CHANGELOG.md
+
+      - name: Commit version update
+        if: steps.check_tag.outputs.exists == 'false'
+        run: |
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+          git add build.zig.zon
+          git diff --staged --quiet || git commit -m "chore: bump version to ${{ steps.get_version.outputs.version }}"
+
+      - name: Push version update
+        if: steps.check_tag.outputs.exists == 'false'
+        run: |
+          git push origin release
+
+      - name: Create Git tag
+        if: steps.check_tag.outputs.exists == 'false'
+        run: |
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+          git tag -a "${{ steps.get_version.outputs.tag }}" -m "Release ${{ steps.get_version.outputs.tag }}"
+          git push origin "${{ steps.get_version.outputs.tag }}"
+
+      - name: Create GitHub Release
+        if: steps.check_tag.outputs.exists == 'false'
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
+        with:
+          tag_name: ${{ steps.get_version.outputs.tag }}
+          name: Release ${{ steps.get_version.outputs.tag }}
+          body_path: CHANGELOG.md
+          draft: false
+          prerelease: false
+        env:
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      - name: Calculate tarball hash
+        if: steps.check_tag.outputs.exists == 'false'
+        id: tarball_hash
+        run: |
+          VERSION="${{ steps.get_version.outputs.version }}"
+          TARBALL_URL="https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/archive/v${VERSION}.tar.gz"
+
+          # Download and calculate hash
+          curl -L "$TARBALL_URL" -o release.tar.gz
+          HASH=$(zig fetch release.tar.gz 2>&1 | grep -o '12[0-9a-f]*' || echo "")
+
+          if [ -z "$HASH" ]; then
+            echo "Could not calculate hash automatically"
+            echo "Users can get the hash by running:"
+            echo "   zig fetch --save $TARBALL_URL"
+          else
+            echo "hash=$HASH" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "Tarball hash: $HASH"
+          fi
+
+      - name: Post release information
+        if: steps.check_tag.outputs.exists == 'false'
+        run: |
+          echo "=========================================================================="
+          echo "Release ${{ steps.get_version.outputs.tag }} created successfully!"
+          echo "=========================================================================="
+          echo ""
+          echo "To use this release in your project's build.zig.zon:"
+          echo ""
+          echo ".dependencies = .{"
+          echo "    .snappyframesz = .{"
+          echo "        .url = \"https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/archive/${{ steps.get_version.outputs.tag }}.tar.gz\","
+          echo "        .hash = \"${{ steps.tarball_hash.outputs.hash }}\","
+          echo "    },"
+          echo "},"
+          echo ""
+          echo "=========================================================================="
+
+      - name: Skip release (tag exists)
+        if: steps.check_tag.outputs.exists == 'true'
+        run: |
+          echo "=========================================================================="
+          echo "Skipping release - tag ${{ steps.get_version.outputs.tag }} already exists"
+          echo "=========================================================================="
+          echo ""
+          echo "To create a new release:"
+          echo "1. Update the VERSION file with a new version number"
+          echo "2. Commit the change"
+          echo "3. Create and merge a PR to the release branch"
+          echo ""
+          echo "=========================================================================="
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8acdd82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+0.0.1