diff --git a/scripts/release.sh b/scripts/release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..31f3bca05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,196 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+##===----------------------------------------------------------------------===##
+##
+## This source file is part of the Swift.org open source project
+##
+## Copyright (c) 2024-2026 Apple Inc. and the Swift.org project authors
+## Licensed under Apache License v2.0
+##
+## See LICENSE.txt for license information
+## See CONTRIBUTORS.txt for the list of Swift.org project authors
+##
+## SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+##
+##===----------------------------------------------------------------------===##
+
+# Release script for swift-java
+#
+# This script automates the release process:
+# 1. Pins swift-java-jni-core to a specific released version
+# 2. Verifies the build
+# 3. Creates a release branch and commit
+# 4. After merge, prepares the next development snapshot
+#
+# Usage: ./scripts/release.sh
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+PACKAGE_SWIFT="$REPO_ROOT/Package.swift"
+MAIN_BRANCH="main"
+
+# Colors for output
+RED='\033[0;31m'
+GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
+BOLD='\033[1m'
+NC='\033[0m' # No Color
+
+info()    { echo -e "${GREEN}[INFO]${NC} $*"; }
+warn()    { echo -e "${YELLOW}[WARN]${NC} $*"; }
+error()   { echo -e "${RED}[ERROR]${NC} $*"; exit 1; }
+confirm() {
+  echo -e "${YELLOW}$*${NC}"
+  read -r -p "Press Enter to continue (or Ctrl+C to abort)... "
+}
+
+# ==== -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# MARK: Gather release version
+
+echo ""
+echo -e "${BOLD}swift-java release script${NC}"
+echo "========================="
+echo ""
+
+CURRENT_TAG="$(git -C "$REPO_ROOT" describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || echo "none")"
+read -r -p "Enter the version to release (current tag: $CURRENT_TAG): " RELEASE_VERSION
+
+# Validate version format
+if [[ ! "$RELEASE_VERSION" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+  error "Invalid version format: '$RELEASE_VERSION'. Expected format: N.N.N"
+fi
+
+info "Preparing release ${BOLD}$RELEASE_VERSION${NC}"
+
+# ==== -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# MARK: Check preconditions
+
+# Ensure we're on a clean working tree
+if [[ -n "$(git -C "$REPO_ROOT" status --porcelain)" ]]; then
+  error "Working tree is not clean. Please commit or stash your changes first."
+fi
+
+# Ensure we're on the main branch
+CURRENT_BRANCH="$(git -C "$REPO_ROOT" branch --show-current)"
+if [[ "$CURRENT_BRANCH" != "$MAIN_BRANCH" ]]; then
+  error "Must be on '$MAIN_BRANCH' branch to start a release. Currently on '$CURRENT_BRANCH'."
+fi
+
+# Ensure main is up to date
+info "Fetching latest changes..."
+git -C "$REPO_ROOT" fetch origin
+
+LOCAL_SHA="$(git -C "$REPO_ROOT" rev-parse HEAD)"
+REMOTE_SHA="$(git -C "$REPO_ROOT" rev-parse origin/$MAIN_BRANCH)"
+if [[ "$LOCAL_SHA" != "$REMOTE_SHA" ]]; then
+  error "Local '$MAIN_BRANCH' is not up to date with origin. Please pull first."
+fi
+
+# ==== -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# MARK: Determine latest swift-java-jni-core release
+
+info "Fetching latest swift-java-jni-core release tag..."
+JNI_CORE_LATEST=$(gh api repos/swiftlang/swift-java-jni-core/tags --jq '.[0].name')
+
+if [[ -z "$JNI_CORE_LATEST" ]]; then
+  error "Could not determine latest swift-java-jni-core release."
+fi
+
+info "Latest swift-java-jni-core release: ${BOLD}$JNI_CORE_LATEST${NC}"
+
+# ==== -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# MARK: Update Package.swift for release
+
+RELEASE_BRANCH="release/$RELEASE_VERSION"
+info "Creating branch '${RELEASE_BRANCH}'..."
+git -C "$REPO_ROOT" checkout -b "$RELEASE_BRANCH"
+
+info "Pinning swift-java-jni-core to version ${BOLD}$JNI_CORE_LATEST${NC} in Package.swift..."
+
+# Replace any existing jni-core version specification with the pinned version.
+# This handles both `from: "X.Y.Z"` and `branch: "main"` forms.
+sed -i '' -E \
+  's|(swiftJavaJNICoreDep = \.package\(url: "https://github\.com/swiftlang/swift-java-jni-core"), .*\)|swiftJavaJNICoreDep = .package(url: "https://github.com/swiftlang/swift-java-jni-core", from: "'"$JNI_CORE_LATEST"'")|' \
+  "$PACKAGE_SWIFT"
+
+# Verify the change was applied
+if ! grep -q "from: \"$JNI_CORE_LATEST\"" "$PACKAGE_SWIFT"; then
+  error "Failed to update swift-java-jni-core version in Package.swift"
+fi
+
+info "Package.swift updated."
+
+# ==== -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# MARK: Verify build
+
+info "Verifying build..."
+if ! xcrun swift build --package-path "$REPO_ROOT" 2>&1; then
+  error "Build failed! Please fix the issues before releasing."
+fi
+
+info "Build succeeded."
+
+# ==== -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# MARK: Create release commit
+
+info "Creating release commit..."
+git -C "$REPO_ROOT" add "$PACKAGE_SWIFT"
+git -C "$REPO_ROOT" commit -m "Preparing release $RELEASE_VERSION."
+
+info "Pushing branch '${RELEASE_BRANCH}' to origin..."
+git -C "$REPO_ROOT" push -u origin "$RELEASE_BRANCH"
+
+echo ""
+echo "============================================================"
+info "Release branch '${RELEASE_BRANCH}' has been pushed."
+echo ""
+echo -e "  Next steps:"
+echo -e "  1. Create a pull request for '${BOLD}${RELEASE_BRANCH}${NC}'"
+echo -e "  2. Get it reviewed and merged"
+echo -e "  3. Tag the merge commit on main: ${BOLD}git tag $RELEASE_VERSION && git push origin $RELEASE_VERSION${NC}"
+echo -e "  4. Create a GitHub release for the tag"
+echo -e "  5. Come back here and press Enter to prepare the next development snapshot"
+echo "============================================================"
+echo ""
+
+confirm "Once the release PR is merged AND the tag is created, press Enter to continue..."
+
+# ==== -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# MARK: Prepare next development snapshot
+
+info "Switching back to '$MAIN_BRANCH' and pulling latest..."
+git -C "$REPO_ROOT" checkout "$MAIN_BRANCH"
+git -C "$REPO_ROOT" pull --rebase origin "$MAIN_BRANCH"
+
+NEXT_DEV_BRANCH="prepare-next-development-from-$RELEASE_VERSION"
+info "Creating branch '${NEXT_DEV_BRANCH}'..."
+git -C "$REPO_ROOT" checkout -b "$NEXT_DEV_BRANCH"
+
+info "Updating Package.swift to use swift-java-jni-core from main branch..."
+sed -i '' -E \
+  's|(swiftJavaJNICoreDep = \.package\(url: "https://github\.com/swiftlang/swift-java-jni-core"), .*\)|swiftJavaJNICoreDep = .package(url: "https://github.com/swiftlang/swift-java-jni-core", branch: "main")|' \
+  "$PACKAGE_SWIFT"
+
+# Verify the change was applied
+if ! grep -q 'branch: "main"' "$PACKAGE_SWIFT"; then
+  error "Failed to update swift-java-jni-core to branch: \"main\" in Package.swift"
+fi
+
+info "Package.swift updated for development."
+
+git -C "$REPO_ROOT" add "$PACKAGE_SWIFT"
+git -C "$REPO_ROOT" commit -m "Prepare next development cycle after $RELEASE_VERSION release."
+
+info "Pushing branch '${NEXT_DEV_BRANCH}' to origin..."
+git -C "$REPO_ROOT" push -u origin "$NEXT_DEV_BRANCH"
+
+echo ""
+echo "============================================================"
+info "Post-release branch '${NEXT_DEV_BRANCH}' has been pushed."
+echo ""
+echo -e "  Next steps:"
+echo -e "  1. Create a pull request for '${BOLD}${NEXT_DEV_BRANCH}${NC}'"
+echo -e "  2. Get it reviewed and merged"
+echo ""
+echo -e "${GREEN}Release $RELEASE_VERSION is complete!${NC}"
+echo "============================================================"