diff --git a/.github/workflows/_build-docker-action.yml b/.github/workflows/_build-docker-action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dee0e88e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/_build-docker-action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+name: 'Build Docker Image'
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+env:
+  REGISTRY: docker.io
+  IMAGE_NAME: aberger4/jabs
+jobs:
+  build:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      packages: write
+
+    steps:
+
+    - name: Checkout repository
+      uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+    - name: Log in to Container Registry
+      if: github.event_name != 'pull_request'
+      uses: docker/login-action@v3
+      with:
+        registry: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
+        username: aberger4
+        password: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_SECRET }}
+
+    - name: Extract metadata
+      id: meta
+      uses: docker/metadata-action@v5
+      with:
+        images: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}
+        tags: |
+          type=ref,event=branch
+          type=ref,event=pr
+          type=semver,pattern={{version}}
+          type=semver,pattern={{major}}.{{minor}}
+          type=raw,value=latest,enable={{is_default_branch}}
+
+    - name: Set up Docker Buildx
+      uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
+
+    - name: Build and push Docker image
+      uses: docker/build-push-action@v5
+      with:
+        context: .
+        push: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request' }}
+        tags: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tags }}
+        labels: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.labels }}
+        cache-from: type=gha
+        cache-to: type=gha,mode=max
diff --git a/.github/workflows/_format-lint-action.yml b/.github/workflows/_format-lint-action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0453eb2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/_format-lint-action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+name: 'Lint Code Definition'
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      python-version:
+        description: 'Python version to set up'
+        required: false
+        default: '3.13'
+        type: string
+jobs:
+  format-lint:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v4
+        with:
+          python-version: ${{ inputs.python-version }}
+
+      - name: Install uv
+        uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v3
+        with:
+          version: "latest"
+
+      - name: Install dependencies with uv
+        run: uv sync --only-group lint
+
+      - name: Run Ruff Linter
+        run: uv run --only-group lint ruff check src/
+
+      - name: Run Ruff Formatter
+        run: uv run --only-group lint ruff format --check src/
diff --git a/.github/workflows/_run-tests-action.yml b/.github/workflows/_run-tests-action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..47a36948
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/_run-tests-action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+name: 'Python Tests Definition'
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      python-version:
+        description: Python version to set up'
+        required: false
+        default: '3.13'
+        type: string
+      runner-os:
+        description: 'Runner OS'
+        required: false
+        default: 'ubuntu-latest'
+        type: string
+jobs:
+  run-tests:
+    runs-on: ${{ inputs.runner-os }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+
+      - name: Set up Python ${{ inputs.python-version }}
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v4
+        with:
+          python-version: ${{ inputs.python-version }}
+
+      - name: Install uv
+        uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v3
+        with:
+          version: "latest"
+
+      - name: Install dependencies with uv
+        run: uv sync
+
+      - name: Test with pytest
+        run: uv run pytest --ignore=tests/test_search_bar_widget.py tests
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pull-request.yml b/.github/workflows/pull-request.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..749fcdd4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/pull-request.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+name: Pull Request Checks
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [ main, master ]
+
+jobs:
+  format-lint:
+    name: "Format and Lint"
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/_format-lint-action.yml
+
+  test:
+    name: "Run Tests"
+    needs: format-lint
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/_run-tests-action.yml
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f7820a92
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+name: Build and Release
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [ main, master ]
+    paths:
+      - 'pyproject.toml'
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  id-token: write
+  packages: write
+
+jobs:
+  format-lint:
+    name: "Format and Lint"
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/_format-lint-action.yml
+
+  test:
+    name: "Run Tests"
+    needs: format-lint
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/_run-tests-action.yml
+
+  check-version-changed:
+    name: "Check if version changed"
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      version: ${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}
+      version-changed: ${{ steps.check.outputs.changed }}
+      is-prerelease: ${{ steps.version.outputs.is-prerelease }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 2
+      
+      - name: Get current version
+        id: version
+        run: |
+          VERSION=$(grep '^version = ' pyproject.toml | sed 's/version = "\(.*\)"/\1/')
+          echo "version=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          
+          # Check if version contains letters (indicating pre-release)
+          if echo "$VERSION" | grep -q '[a-zA-Z]'; then
+            echo "is-prerelease=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "Detected pre-release version: $VERSION"
+          else
+            echo "is-prerelease=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "Detected stable release version: $VERSION"
+          fi
+      
+      - name: Check if version changed
+        id: check
+        run: |
+          if git diff HEAD~1 HEAD --name-only | grep -q pyproject.toml; then
+            if git diff HEAD~1 HEAD pyproject.toml | grep -q '^+version = '; then
+              echo "changed=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+              echo "Version changed in pyproject.toml"
+            else
+              echo "changed=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+              echo "pyproject.toml changed but version did not change"
+            fi
+          else
+            echo "changed=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "pyproject.toml was not changed"
+          fi
+
+  build-package:
+    name: "Build Python Package"
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: [build, check-version-changed]
+    if: needs.check-version-changed.outputs.version-changed == 'true'
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      
+      - name: Install uv
+        uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v4
+        with:
+          enable-cache: true
+      
+      - name: Set up Python
+        run: uv python install 3.10
+      
+      - name: Build package
+        run: uv build
+      
+      - name: Upload build artifacts
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: dist
+          path: dist/
+
+  publish-pypi:
+    name: "Publish to PyPI"
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: [build-package, check-version-changed]
+    if: needs.check-version-changed.outputs.version-changed == 'true'
+    environment: release
+    steps:
+      - name: Download build artifacts
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: dist
+          path: dist/
+      
+      - name: Install uv
+        uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v4
+      
+      - name: Publish to PyPI
+        run: uv publish --token ${{ secrets.PYPI_API_TOKEN }}
+        working-directory: .
+
+  create-release:
+    name: "Create GitHub Release"
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: [publish-pypi, check-version-changed]
+    if: needs.check-version-changed.outputs.version-changed == 'true'
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      
+      - name: Download build artifacts
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: dist
+          path: dist/
+      
+      - name: Create Release
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
+        with:
+          tag_name: v${{ needs.check-version-changed.outputs.version }}
+          name: Release v${{ needs.check-version-changed.outputs.version }}
+          draft: false
+          prerelease: ${{ needs.check-version-changed.outputs.is-prerelease == 'true' }}
+          generate_release_notes: true
+          files: dist/*
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f6dd6094..8bfd81f0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -226,4 +226,71 @@ training data from a project folder, transfer it to our HPC cluster, and then tr
 
 Pickle files are tiny and efficient, but are not transferable across computers. We use these for large-scale 
 predictions in pipelines (for example, using exported training data to train a classifier saved as a .pickle file, 
-which can then be used to classify many videos as part of a pipeline).
\ No newline at end of file
+which can then be used to classify many videos as part of a pipeline).
+
+## CI/CD and Release Management
+
+JABS uses GitHub Actions for continuous integration and automated releases to PyPI. 
+The CI/CD pipeline is defined in `.github/workflows/` and automatically manages package building, testing, and publishing.
+
+### Pull Request Checks
+
+Pull requests to the `main` branch trigger automated checks to ensure code quality and functionality:
+
+1. **Code Formatting and Linting**: Ensures code adheres to style guidelines
+2. **Test Execution**: Runs the full test suite to verify functionality
+
+### Automated Release Process
+
+The release process is triggered automatically when the version number in `pyproject.toml` is changed on the `main` branch:
+
+1. **Version Detection**: The workflow monitors changes to `pyproject.toml` and extracts the version number
+2. **Pre-release Detection**: Versions containing letters (e.g., `1.0.0a1`, `2.1.0rc1`) are automatically marked as pre-releases
+3. **Build Pipeline**: If version changed, the system runs:
+   - Code formatting and linting checks
+   - Test execution
+   - Package building with `uv build`
+4. **PyPI Publishing**: Successfully built packages are automatically published to PyPI
+5. **GitHub Release**: A corresponding GitHub release is created with build artifacts
+
+### Release Workflow Files
+
+- **`.github/workflows/release.yml`**: Main release workflow that orchestrates the entire process
+- **`.github/workflows/_format-lint-action.yml`**: Reusable workflow for code quality checks
+- **`.github/workflows/_run-tests-action.yml`**: Reusable workflow for test execution
+- **`.github/workflows/pull-request.yml`**: CI checks for pull requests
+
+### Creating a New Release
+
+To create a new release:
+
+1. Update the version number in `pyproject.toml`:
+   ```toml
+   version = "X.Y.Z"  # for stable releases
+   version = "X.Y.Za1" # for alpha pre-releases
+   version = "X.Y.Zrc1" # for release candidates
+   ```
+
+2. Re-lock the uv lock file:
+   ```bash
+   uv lock
+   ```
+
+3. Commit and push the change:
+   ```bash
+   git add pyproject.toml uv.lock
+   git commit -m "Bump version to X.Y.Z"
+   ```
+   
+4. Merge your changes into the `main` branch via a pull request.
+
+3. The CI/CD pipeline will automatically:
+   - Detect the version change
+   - Run all quality checks and tests
+   - Build and publish the package to PyPI
+   - Create a GitHub release with generated release notes
+
+### Environment Requirements
+
+The release workflow requires:
+- **PyPI API Token**: Stored as `PYPI_API_TOKEN` in GitHub repository secrets