diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index e75b982..e436bac 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ CMD_SERVER := ./cmd/amcs-server
 BUILDINFO_PKG := git.warky.dev/wdevs/amcs/internal/buildinfo
 UI_DIR := $(CURDIR)/ui
 PATCH_INCREMENT ?= 1
+RELEASE_VERSION ?=
+RELEASE_REMOTE ?= origin
 VERSION_TAG ?= $(shell git describe --tags --exact-match 2>/dev/null || echo dev)
 COMMIT_SHA ?= $(shell git rev-parse --short HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo unknown)
 BUILD_DATE ?= $(shell date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)
@@ -20,7 +22,7 @@ LDFLAGS := -s -w \
 	-X $(BUILDINFO_PKG).Commit=$(COMMIT_SHA) \
 	-X $(BUILDINFO_PKG).BuildDate=$(BUILD_DATE)
 
-.PHONY: all build clean migrate release-version test generate-migrations generate-models check-schema-drift build-cli ui-install ui-build ui-dev ui-check help
+.PHONY: all build clean migrate release-version release-build test generate-migrations generate-models check-schema-drift build-cli ui-install ui-build ui-dev ui-check help
 
 all: build
 
@@ -31,7 +33,8 @@ help:
 	@echo "  test                 Run all tests (includes UI check)"
 	@echo "  clean                Remove build artifacts"
 	@echo "  migrate              Run database migrations"
-	@echo "  release-version      Tag and push a new patch release (PATCH_INCREMENT=N)"
+	@echo "  release-version      Tag and push a release (auto patch bump or RELEASE_VERSION=vX.Y.Z)"
+	@echo "  release-build        Build with a specific release tag (RELEASE_VERSION=vX.Y.Z)"
 	@echo "  generate-migrations  Generate SQL migration from DBML schema files"
 	@echo "  generate-models      Generate Go models from DBML schema"
 	@echo "  check-schema-drift   Verify generated migration matches current schema"
@@ -64,22 +67,41 @@ release-version:
 	@case "$(PATCH_INCREMENT)" in \
 		''|*[!0-9]*|0) echo "PATCH_INCREMENT must be a positive integer" >&2; exit 1 ;; \
 	esac
-	@latest=$$(git tag --list 'v[0-9]*.[0-9]*.[0-9]*' --sort=-v:refname | head -n 1); \
-	if [ -z "$$latest" ]; then latest="v0.0.0"; fi; \
-	version=$${latest#v}; \
-	major=$${version%%.*}; \
-	rest=$${version#*.}; \
-	minor=$${rest%%.*}; \
-	patch=$${rest##*.}; \
-	next_patch=$$((patch + $(PATCH_INCREMENT))); \
-	next_tag="v$$major.$$minor.$$next_patch"; \
+	@if ! git diff --quiet || ! git diff --cached --quiet; then \
+		echo "Refusing to release from a dirty working tree. Commit or stash changes first." >&2; \
+		exit 1; \
+	fi
+	@next_tag="$(RELEASE_VERSION)"; \
+	if [ -z "$$next_tag" ]; then \
+		latest=$$(git tag --list 'v[0-9]*.[0-9]*.[0-9]*' --sort=-v:refname | head -n 1); \
+		if [ -z "$$latest" ]; then latest="v0.0.0"; fi; \
+		version=$${latest#v}; \
+		major=$${version%%.*}; \
+		rest=$${version#*.}; \
+		minor=$${rest%%.*}; \
+		patch=$${rest##*.}; \
+		next_patch=$$((patch + $(PATCH_INCREMENT))); \
+		next_tag="v$$major.$$minor.$$next_patch"; \
+	fi; \
+	case "$$next_tag" in \
+		v[0-9]*.[0-9]*.[0-9]*) ;; \
+		*) echo "RELEASE_VERSION must look like vX.Y.Z (got '$$next_tag')" >&2; exit 1 ;; \
+	esac; \
 	if git rev-parse -q --verify "refs/tags/$$next_tag" >/dev/null; then \
 		echo "$$next_tag already exists" >&2; \
 		exit 1; \
 	fi; \
 	git tag -a "$$next_tag" -m "Release $$next_tag"; \
-	git push origin "$$next_tag"; \
-	echo "$$next_tag"
+	git push $(RELEASE_REMOTE) "$$next_tag"; \
+	$(MAKE) release-build RELEASE_VERSION="$$next_tag"; \
+	echo "Released $$next_tag"
+
+release-build:
+	@case "$(RELEASE_VERSION)" in \
+		v[0-9]*.[0-9]*.[0-9]*) ;; \
+		*) echo "RELEASE_VERSION must look like vX.Y.Z" >&2; exit 1 ;; \
+	esac
+	@$(MAKE) build build-cli VERSION_TAG="$(RELEASE_VERSION)"
 
 migrate:
 	./scripts/migrate.sh