diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..efaee21fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+name: Weekly Release
+
+on:
+  # TODO(sambhav-jain-16): enable the schedule after testing manually
+  # schedule:
+  #   - cron: '0 0 * * 1'  # Every Monday at 00:00 UTC
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      release_type:
+        description: 'Bump type for this run. auto = scan commit messages since last tag for release-type: minor/major markers (present in squash-merge commit bodies), falling back to patch.'
+        required: false
+        type: choice
+        options:
+          - auto
+          - patch
+          - minor
+          - major
+        default: auto
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+
+env:
+  RELEASE_TYPE: ${{ github.event.inputs.release_type || 'auto' }}
+
+concurrency:
+  group: release
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+jobs:
+  release:
+    name: Create Release
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/master'
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Compute release git context
+        id: release_context
+        run: make -s release-context >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+      # Auto path: scan commit messages since last tag for release-type markers.
+      # Markers in PR bodies are included in squash-merge commit messages.
+      - name: Bump version and create tag
+        id: tag_auto
+        if: steps.release_context.outputs.has_changes == 'true' && env.RELEASE_TYPE == 'auto'
+        uses: mathieudutour/github-tag-action@v6.2
+        with:
+          github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          default_bump: patch
+          major_string_token: 'release-type: major'
+          minor_string_token: 'release-type: minor'
+          patch_string_token: 'release-type: patch'
+          release_branches: master
+
+      # Explicit path: manual override, bypass keyword detection.
+      - name: Compute next version
+        id: next_version
+        if: steps.release_context.outputs.has_changes == 'true' && github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && env.RELEASE_TYPE != 'auto'
+        uses: actions-ecosystem/action-bump-semver@v1
+        with:
+          current_version: ${{ steps.release_context.outputs.base_version }}
+          level: ${{ env.RELEASE_TYPE }}
+
+      - name: Create tag for manual override
+        id: tag_explicit
+        if: steps.release_context.outputs.has_changes == 'true' && github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && env.RELEASE_TYPE != 'auto'
+        uses: mathieudutour/github-tag-action@v6.2
+        with:
+          github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          custom_tag: ${{ steps.next_version.outputs.new_version }}
+          release_branches: master
+
+      - name: Create GitHub release
+        if: steps.release_context.outputs.has_changes == 'true'
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v3
+        with:
+          tag_name: ${{ steps.tag_auto.outputs.new_tag || steps.tag_explicit.outputs.new_tag }}
+          name: Release ${{ steps.tag_auto.outputs.new_tag || steps.tag_explicit.outputs.new_tag }}
+          generate_release_notes: true
+
+      - name: No new commits, skipping release
+        if: steps.release_context.outputs.has_changes == 'false'
+        run: echo "Skipping - no commits since last tag."
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 4b2d8c06f..20cc831a0 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -176,6 +176,28 @@ TOOLS = \
 .PHONY: tools
 tools: $(NATIVE_TOOLS)
 
+# Computes release git context.
+.PHONY: release-context
+release-context:
+	@set -eu; \
+	latest_tag=$$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || true); \
+	if [ -n "$$latest_tag" ]; then \
+		base_version="$$latest_tag"; \
+		commit_count=$$(git rev-list "$$latest_tag"..HEAD --count); \
+	else \
+		base_version="v0.0.0"; \
+		commit_count=$$(git rev-list HEAD --count); \
+	fi; \
+	if [ -z "$$latest_tag" ] || [ "$$commit_count" -gt 0 ]; then \
+		has_changes=true; \
+	else \
+		has_changes=false; \
+	fi; \
+	printf 'latest_tag=%s\n' "$$latest_tag"; \
+	printf 'base_version=%s\n' "$$base_version"; \
+	printf 'commit_count=%s\n' "$$commit_count"; \
+	printf 'has_changes=%s\n' "$$has_changes"
+
 # Creates a release summary containing the build revisions of each component
 # for the specified version.
 releases/%: