diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/pr-version-check.yml b/.gitea/workflows/pr-version-check.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3f5a2d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/pr-version-check.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+name: version-changelog
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [main]
+
+jobs:
+  version-changelog:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Check version bump and changelog entry
+        run: |
+          set -e
+          PR_VERSION=$(grep -m1 '"version"' composer.json | sed -E 's/.*"version"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"([^"]+)".*/\1/')
+          MAIN_VERSION=$(git show origin/main:composer.json | grep -m1 '"version"' | sed -E 's/.*"version"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"([^"]+)".*/\1/')
+
+          echo "main version: $MAIN_VERSION"
+          echo "PR version:   $PR_VERSION"
+
+          if [ "$MAIN_VERSION" = "$PR_VERSION" ]; then
+            echo "::error::composer.json version ($PR_VERSION) was not bumped from main ($MAIN_VERSION)"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          HIGHEST=$(printf '%s\n%s\n' "$MAIN_VERSION" "$PR_VERSION" | sort -V | tail -n1)
+          if [ "$HIGHEST" != "$PR_VERSION" ]; then
+            echo "::error::composer.json version ($PR_VERSION) is not greater than main's ($MAIN_VERSION)"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          if ! grep -qF "## [$PR_VERSION]" CHANGELOG.md; then
+            echo "::error::CHANGELOG.md is missing a '## [$PR_VERSION]' heading"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          echo "OK: version bumped to $PR_VERSION and documented in CHANGELOG.md"
diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d941600
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+name: release
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [main]
+
+env:
+  SERVER_URL: https://git.arthurerlich.de
+
+jobs:
+  release:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+          token: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_TOKEN }}
+
+      - name: Determine version and guard against re-release
+        id: version
+        run: |
+          set -e
+          VERSION=$(grep -m1 '"version"' composer.json | sed -E 's/.*"version"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"([^"]+)".*/\1/')
+          TAG="v${VERSION}"
+          echo "version=${VERSION}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "tag=${TAG}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          if git ls-remote --tags origin "refs/tags/${TAG}" | grep -q "${TAG}"; then
+            echo "skip=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "Tag ${TAG} already exists, nothing to release."
+          else
+            echo "skip=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
+
+      - name: Extract changelog section
+        if: steps.version.outputs.skip == 'false'
+        run: |
+          awk -v ver="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}" '
+            BEGIN { found=0 }
+            /^## \[/ {
+              if (found) exit
+              if ($0 ~ "\[" ver "\]") { found=1; next }
+            }
+            found { print }
+          ' CHANGELOG.md > release-notes.md
+          cat release-notes.md
+
+      - name: Create and push tag
+        if: steps.version.outputs.skip == 'false'
+        run: |
+          git config user.name "gitea-actions"
+          git config user.email "actions@git.arthurerlich.de"
+          git tag "${{ steps.version.outputs.tag }}"
+          git push origin "${{ steps.version.outputs.tag }}"
+
+      - name: Install shopware-cli
+        if: steps.version.outputs.skip == 'false'
+        run: |
+          curl -sL -o /tmp/shopware-cli.tar.gz \
+            https://github.com/shopware/shopware-cli/releases/latest/download/shopware-cli_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz
+          mkdir -p /tmp/swcli-extract
+          tar -xzf /tmp/shopware-cli.tar.gz -C /tmp/swcli-extract
+          cp /tmp/swcli-extract/shopware-cli /usr/local/bin/shopware-cli
+
+      - name: Validate extension (informational only, does not gate the release)
+        if: steps.version.outputs.skip == 'false'
+        run: shopware-cli extension validate . || true
+
+      - name: Package Store-style zip for the Gitea Release asset
+        if: steps.version.outputs.skip == 'false'
+        run: |
+          shopware-cli extension package . --output-directory .build \
+            --filename "AeonDumpManager-${{ steps.version.outputs.tag }}.zip"
+
+      - name: Build root-level zip for the Composer registry
+        if: steps.version.outputs.skip == 'false'
+        run: git archive --format=zip -o "composer-package-${{ steps.version.outputs.tag }}.zip" "${{ steps.version.outputs.tag }}"
+
+      - name: Create Gitea Release
+        if: steps.version.outputs.skip == 'false'
+        uses: akkuman/gitea-release-action@v1
+        with:
+          server_url: ${{ env.SERVER_URL }}
+          token: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_TOKEN }}
+          tag_name: ${{ steps.version.outputs.tag }}
+          name: ${{ steps.version.outputs.tag }}
+          body_path: release-notes.md
+          files: .build/AeonDumpManager-${{ steps.version.outputs.tag }}.zip
+
+      - name: Publish to Composer registry
+        if: steps.version.outputs.skip == 'false'
+        run: |
+          STATUS=$(curl -s -o /tmp/composer-publish.log -w "%{http_code}" \
+            -u "haylan:${{ secrets.RELEASE_TOKEN }}" \
+            -T "composer-package-${{ steps.version.outputs.tag }}.zip" \
+            "https://git.arthurerlich.de/api/packages/haylan/composer")
+          cat /tmp/composer-publish.log
+          if [ "$STATUS" != "201" ] && [ "$STATUS" != "409" ]; then
+            echo "Unexpected HTTP status $STATUS publishing to the Composer registry"
+            exit 1
+          fi
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 8f678bd..783a80c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -14,6 +14,17 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Filter the dump list by date range and sort by date or size; dates use Shopware's locale-aware
   formatting.
 
+## [0.0.2] - 2026-09-21
+
+### Added
+
+- Automated release pipeline: a pre-merge check enforcing a semver version bump and a matching
+  CHANGELOG entry on every PR into `main`, and a post-merge workflow that tags the release,
+  packages the plugin with `shopware-cli`, publishes a Gitea Release with the packaged zip, and
+  publishes the package to this Gitea instance's Composer registry.
+- `main` is now a protected branch: no direct pushes, merges require the version/changelog check
+  to pass.
+
 ## [0.0.1] - 2026-09-15
 
 ### Added