diff --git a/.github/workflows/commitlint.yml b/.github/workflows/commitlint.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b71f8f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/commitlint.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# Enforces Conventional Commits on PR commits — the input release-please derives version
+# bumps and the changelog from. Without it, a mistyped prefix (`feat` vs `fix`, or a bare
+# subject) silently produces a wrong bump or a missing changelog entry. Merge commits are
+# ignored by default.
+name: commitlint
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
+jobs:
+  commitlint:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@fbc6f3992d24b796d5a048ff273f7fcc4a7b6c09 # v5
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0 # commitlint needs the PR's full commit range to lint each one
+      - uses: wagoid/commitlint-github-action@b948419dd99f3fd78a6548d48f94e3df7f6bf3ed # v6.2.1
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-please.yml b/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eac5575
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+# Automated versioning. On every push to main, release-please reads the conventional
+# commits since the last release and maintains a rolling "release PR" that bumps the
+# version + regenerates the CHANGELOG. Merging that PR cuts the release (tag + GitHub
+# release) — so YOU decide *when* to release by merging, at a milestone. `release-type:
+# simple` = no language package to publish; it just tracks the version + changelog.
+#
+# Uses the default GITHUB_TOKEN: simplest, no PAT/secret. Trade-off — PRs opened by the
+# default token don't trigger other workflows, so the release PR's own gate checks won't
+# auto-run. That's fine for a version-bump/changelog PR you review before merging.
+name: release-please
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [main]
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write # create the release PR, tags, and the GitHub release
+  pull-requests: write
+
+jobs:
+  release-please:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: googleapis/release-please-action@45996ed1f6d02564a971a2fa1b5860e934307cf7 # v5.0.0
+        id: release
+        with:
+          config-file: release-please-config.json
+          manifest-file: .release-please-manifest.json
+
+      # release-please tags `vX.Y.Z` but does NOT manage the floating major alias. Move
+      # `v1` onto each new release so consumers pinned to `@v1` pick up minors/patches.
+      - uses: actions/checkout@fbc6f3992d24b796d5a048ff273f7fcc4a7b6c09 # v5
+        if: ${{ steps.release.outputs.release_created }}
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+      - name: Move the floating major tag to the new release
+        if: ${{ steps.release.outputs.release_created }}
+        env:
+          TAG: ${{ steps.release.outputs.tag_name }}
+          MAJOR: ${{ steps.release.outputs.major }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          git fetch --tags --force origin
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+          # `^{}` dereferences an annotated tag to its commit before re-pointing v<major>.
+          git tag -f "v${MAJOR}" "${TAG}^{}"
+          git push origin -f "refs/tags/v${MAJOR}"
diff --git a/.release-please-manifest.json b/.release-please-manifest.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c3f1463
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.release-please-manifest.json
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+  ".": "1.2.0"
+}
diff --git a/commitlint.config.mjs b/commitlint.config.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3a98fb2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/commitlint.config.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+// Conventional Commits ruleset for the commitlint check (and thus the input
+// release-please parses). The wagoid action bundles @commitlint/config-conventional,
+// so no package.json / npm install is needed in this workflow-only repo.
+export default {
+  extends: ["@commitlint/config-conventional"],
+};
diff --git a/release-please-config.json b/release-please-config.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b87c1a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/release-please-config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/googleapis/release-please/main/schemas/config.json",
+  "packages": {
+    ".": {
+      "release-type": "simple",
+      "package-name": "foundry",
+      "changelog-path": "CHANGELOG.md",
+      "include-component-in-tag": false,
+      "bump-minor-pre-major": false
+    }
+  }
+}