diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ef8a0b3..08aec77 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ Thumbs.db
 
 # QEMU images / large artifacts
 qemu-dietpi/
+out/
 
 # Stock images (large)
 images/stock/
-
diff --git a/tools/release/make-release.sh b/tools/release/make-release.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9af25c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/release/make-release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Build a Pi-Kit release bundle (tar.gz) and a manifest.json with SHA256.
+# Usage: ./tools/release/make-release.sh <version> [base_download_url]
+# Example base URL: https://git.44r0n.cc/44r0n7/pi-kit/releases/download/v1.0.0
+
+if [[ $# -lt 1 ]]; then
+  echo "Usage: $0 <version> [base_download_url]" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+VERSION="$1"
+BASE_URL="${2:-https://example.com/releases}"
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.." && pwd)"
+OUT_DIR="$ROOT/out/releases"
+STAGE="$OUT_DIR/stage-$VERSION"
+BUNDLE_NAME="pikit-${VERSION}.tar.gz"
+BUNDLE_PATH="$OUT_DIR/$BUNDLE_NAME"
+MANIFEST_PATH="$OUT_DIR/manifest.json"
+
+rm -rf "$STAGE"
+mkdir -p "$STAGE" "$OUT_DIR"
+
+echo "Staging files..."
+# Copy managed files; adjust as needed
+rsync -a --delete \
+  --exclude 'node_modules' \
+  --exclude '.git' \
+  --exclude 'test-results' \
+  --exclude 'playwright-report' \
+  --exclude '.cache' \
+  --exclude '.vite' \
+  "$ROOT/pikit-web/" "$STAGE/pikit-web/"
+
+cp "$ROOT/pikit-api.py" "$STAGE/"
+cp "$ROOT/pikit-services.json" "$STAGE/" 2>/dev/null || true
+cp "$ROOT/set_ready.sh" "$STAGE/" 2>/dev/null || true
+cp "$ROOT/start-codex.sh" "$STAGE/" 2>/dev/null || true
+
+echo "Packing bundle..."
+tar -C "$STAGE" -czf "$BUNDLE_PATH" .
+
+echo "Computing sha256..."
+SHA256=$(sha256sum "$BUNDLE_PATH" | awk '{print $1}')
+
+cat > "$MANIFEST_PATH" <<EOF
+{
+  "version": "$VERSION",
+  "bundle": "$BASE_URL/$BUNDLE_NAME",
+  "changelog": "$BASE_URL/CHANGELOG-$VERSION.txt",
+  "files": [
+    { "path": "bundle.tar.gz", "sha256": "$SHA256" }
+  ]
+}
+EOF
+
+echo "Done."
+echo "Bundle : $BUNDLE_PATH"
+echo "Manifest: $MANIFEST_PATH"
+echo "Upload both to your release (bundle as $BUNDLE_NAME, manifest as manifest.json)."