diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
index 447f3e4..e6bc1e2 100644
--- a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -17,5 +17,5 @@ Keep PRs focused — one logical change per PR.
 - [ ] `ruff format .` applied
 - [ ] `mypy src` passes
 - [ ] `pytest` passes (new behavior is covered by tests)
-- [ ] `CHANGELOG.md` updated for user-facing changes
+- [ ] PR title / commits follow [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/) (drives versioning & changelog)
 - [ ] Docs / docstrings updated if the public API changed
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 5d0f215..71e5bb3 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -1,22 +1,54 @@
 name: Release
 
-# Publishes to PyPI when a GitHub Release is published. Uses PyPI Trusted
-# Publishing (OIDC) — no API tokens or secrets are stored in the repo.
-# One-time setup: add a trusted publisher on PyPI for this repo + the
-# `release.yml` workflow + the `pypi` environment.
-# https://docs.pypi.org/trusted-publishers/
+# Automated releases via release-please + PyPI Trusted Publishing.
+#
+# Flow:
+#   1. Pushes to main run release-please, which maintains a "release PR" that
+#      bumps the version (src/senderkit/_version.py) and CHANGELOG.md from the
+#      Conventional Commit history.
+#   2. Merging that release PR tags the version + creates the GitHub Release and,
+#      in the same run, builds and publishes to PyPI.
+#
+# Everything stays in ONE workflow run so it does not depend on the GitHub
+# Release event (events raised by GITHUB_TOKEN do not trigger other workflows).
+#
+# One-time repo setup:
+#   - Settings → Actions → General → Workflow permissions:
+#       enable "Allow GitHub Actions to create and approve pull requests".
+#   - A PyPI Trusted Publisher for this repo → workflow "release.yml" →
+#     environment "pypi". https://docs.pypi.org/trusted-publishers/
 
 on:
-  release:
-    types: [published]
+  push:
+    branches: [main]
 
 permissions:
   contents: read
 
 jobs:
+  release-please:
+    name: Release please
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write # create tags + GitHub releases
+      pull-requests: write # open/update the release PR
+    outputs:
+      release_created: ${{ steps.release.outputs.release_created }}
+      tag_name: ${{ steps.release.outputs.tag_name }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: googleapis/release-please-action@v4
+        id: release
+        with:
+          config-file: release-please-config.json
+          manifest-file: .release-please-manifest.json
+
   build:
     name: Build distributions
+    needs: release-please
+    if: needs.release-please.outputs.release_created == 'true'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v6
@@ -28,9 +60,9 @@ jobs:
         run: python -m build
       - name: Check metadata
         run: twine check dist/*
-      - name: Verify version matches release tag
+      - name: Verify built version matches the release tag
         env:
-          TAG: ${{ github.event.release.tag_name }}
+          TAG: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.tag_name }}
         run: |
           VERSION="$(python -c 'import senderkit; print(senderkit.__version__)')"
           echo "Package version: $VERSION"
@@ -46,12 +78,14 @@ jobs:
 
   publish:
     name: Publish to PyPI
-    needs: build
+    needs: [release-please, build]
+    if: needs.release-please.outputs.release_created == 'true'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     environment:
       name: pypi
       url: https://pypi.org/p/senderkit
     permissions:
+      contents: read
       id-token: write # required for Trusted Publishing
     steps:
       - uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
diff --git a/.release-please-manifest.json b/.release-please-manifest.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e18ee07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.release-please-manifest.json
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+  ".": "0.0.0"
+}
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 06d8009..2c52555 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -46,17 +46,28 @@ pytest --cov=senderkit
   `mypy`-clean.
 - **Style.** `ruff` handles linting and formatting (100-char lines). Match the
   surrounding code; the CI format gate is enforced.
-- **Changelog.** Add an entry to `CHANGELOG.md` for any user-facing change.
-- **Commits & PRs.** Keep PRs focused on one logical change. Write clear commit
-  messages explaining the *why*.
+- **Commits & PRs.** Keep PRs focused on one logical change. Use
+  [Conventional Commit](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/) messages — the
+  version bump and changelog are derived from them, so the prefix matters:
+  - `fix:` → patch release, `feat:` → minor release.
+  - `feat!:` or a `BREAKING CHANGE:` footer → breaking change.
+  - `docs:`, `chore:`, `test:`, `refactor:`, `ci:` → no release on their own.
+  - On squash-merge GitHub uses the **PR title**, so keep it conventional too.
+- **Changelog.** Generated automatically from commit messages — don't edit
+  `CHANGELOG.md` by hand.
 
 ## Releasing (maintainers)
 
-1. Bump `VERSION` in `src/senderkit/_version.py` (single source of truth) and
-   update `CHANGELOG.md`.
-2. Merge to `main`.
-3. Create a GitHub Release with tag `vX.Y.Z` matching the new version.
-4. The `Release` workflow builds and publishes to PyPI via Trusted Publishing.
+Releases are automated with
+[release-please](https://github.com/googleapis/release-please):
+
+1. Merge PRs to `main` with Conventional Commit messages.
+2. release-please maintains a **release PR** that bumps `VERSION` in
+   `src/senderkit/_version.py` (the single source of truth) and updates
+   `CHANGELOG.md`. Review and edit it as needed.
+3. Merging the release PR tags `vX.Y.Z`, creates the GitHub Release, and the
+   `Release` workflow builds and publishes to PyPI via Trusted Publishing — all
+   in one run.
 
 ## Code of Conduct
 
diff --git a/release-please-config.json b/release-please-config.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d2ec1c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/release-please-config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/googleapis/release-please/main/schemas/config.json",
+  "packages": {
+    ".": {
+      "release-type": "simple",
+      "package-name": "senderkit",
+      "changelog-path": "CHANGELOG.md",
+      "extra-files": ["src/senderkit/_version.py"]
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/senderkit/_version.py b/src/senderkit/_version.py
index af196f9..778398f 100644
--- a/src/senderkit/_version.py
+++ b/src/senderkit/_version.py
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 """Single source of truth for the SDK version, surfaced in the User-Agent header."""
 
-VERSION = "0.1.0"
+VERSION = "0.1.0"  # x-release-please-version