diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-please.yml b/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b08a51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+# Automated releases, driven by conventional commits.
+#
+# Every push to main, release-please recomputes the next version from the
+# commits since the last tag (`fix:` → patch, `feat:` → minor, `!`/BREAKING →
+# major, all within the prerelease line configured in release-please-config.json)
+# and keeps a "chore(main): release <version>" PR open with the bumped
+# package.json / manifest.json / manifest-beta.json and a generated CHANGELOG.md.
+# Merging that PR is the release: release-please tags it and publishes the
+# GitHub release, then the jobs below attach the built plugin files and record
+# the version in versions.json.
+#
+# Nothing is released by merging an ordinary PR — only by merging the release
+# PR — so a docs-only merge cannot mint a version.
+#
+# The tag release-please creates does NOT fire .github/workflows/release.yml:
+# GitHub does not re-trigger workflows for refs pushed with GITHUB_TOKEN. That
+# file remains the manual escape hatch for a hand-pushed tag; this one is the
+# automated path. Keep the two in sync if the build or the asset list changes.
+name: Release Please
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: ["main"]
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
+
+jobs:
+  release-please:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      release_created: ${{ steps.release.outputs.release_created }}
+      tag_name: ${{ steps.release.outputs.tag_name }}
+      version: ${{ steps.release.outputs.version }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: googleapis/release-please-action@v4
+        id: release
+        with:
+          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          config-file: release-please-config.json
+          manifest-file: .release-please-manifest.json
+
+  # The release exists but is empty until this runs: Obsidian installs a plugin
+  # from these three files, so a release without them is unusable.
+  publish-assets:
+    needs: release-please
+    if: needs.release-please.outputs.release_created == 'true'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.tag_name }}
+
+      - name: Use Node.js 20.x
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v5
+        with:
+          node-version: "20.x"
+          cache: "npm"
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: npm ci
+
+      - name: Build plugin
+        run: npm run build
+
+      # Same assertion release.yml makes: manifest.json ships inside the release
+      # and Obsidian trusts its version field, so a drift between it and the tag
+      # would install as the wrong version.
+      - name: Verify manifest version matches tag
+        run: |
+          tag="${{ needs.release-please.outputs.tag_name }}"
+          manifest_version=$(node -p "require('./manifest.json').version")
+          if [ "$tag" != "$manifest_version" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Tag '$tag' does not match manifest.json version '$manifest_version'."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+      - name: Attach plugin files to the release
+        env:
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: |
+          gh release upload "${{ needs.release-please.outputs.tag_name }}" \
+            main.js manifest.json styles.css --clobber
+
+  # versions.json maps every published plugin version to the minimum Obsidian
+  # version it needs. release-please cannot write it — the key is the version
+  # itself, not a fixed path — so version-bump.mjs (the same script the manual
+  # `npm version` flow uses) appends the entry afterwards. Obsidian reads this
+  # file from the default branch, not from the release, so landing it one commit
+  # after the tag is fine.
+  record-version:
+    needs: [release-please, publish-assets]
+    if: needs.release-please.outputs.release_created == 'true'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+        with:
+          ref: main
+
+      - name: Use Node.js 20.x
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v5
+        with:
+          node-version: "20.x"
+
+      - name: Record the release in versions.json
+        env:
+          npm_package_version: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.version }}
+        run: node version-bump.mjs
+
+      - name: Commit if anything changed
+        run: |
+          if git diff --quiet; then
+            echo "versions.json already records ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.version }}."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+          git add manifest.json manifest-beta.json versions.json
+          git commit -m "chore: record ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.version }} in versions.json"
+          git push origin main
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 0290ab4..b3a99e4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+# The manual release path: publishes whatever tag you push by hand, after
+# `npm version <x.y.z>`. The automated path is .github/workflows/release-please.yml,
+# which tags and publishes when its release PR is merged — a tag it creates does
+# not reach this workflow (GitHub does not re-trigger on GITHUB_TOKEN pushes), so
+# the two cannot both publish one release. Keep the build and asset list here in
+# step with that file.
 name: Release
 
 on:
diff --git a/.release-please-manifest.json b/.release-please-manifest.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5fd05df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.release-please-manifest.json
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+  ".": "2.4.0-beta.3"
+}
diff --git a/MAINTAINING.md b/MAINTAINING.md
index 5bf3d06..6f748b8 100644
--- a/MAINTAINING.md
+++ b/MAINTAINING.md
@@ -87,12 +87,26 @@ and skips entirely when no bundle is installed.
 
 - Beta channel: install via [BRAT](https://github.com/TfTHacker/obsidian42-brat) against this repo;
   BRAT reads `manifest-beta.json`.
-- Cut a release: `npm version <x.y.z[-beta.N]>` → `version-bump.mjs` syncs `manifest.json` +
-  `versions.json` (and `manifest-beta.json`) → push the tag. `.github/workflows/release.yml` verifies
-  the tag equals the manifest version and publishes `main.js`, `manifest.json`, `styles.css`. A `-`
-  in the tag marks it a GitHub prerelease.
-- Keep `manifest.json`, `manifest-beta.json`, and `package.json` versions in sync — the release
-  workflow fails the build if the tag and `manifest.json` disagree.
+- **Normal path — merge the release PR.** Every push to `main`,
+  `.github/workflows/release-please.yml` recomputes the next version from the conventional commits
+  since the last tag and keeps a `chore(main): release <version>` PR open, containing the bumped
+  `package.json` / `manifest.json` / `manifest-beta.json` and a generated `CHANGELOG.md`. Merging
+  that PR *is* the release: it tags, publishes the GitHub release, attaches `main.js`,
+  `manifest.json`, `styles.css`, and appends the `versions.json` entry. Merging any other PR never
+  cuts a version.
+- **Write commit subjects release-please can read.** `fix:` → patch, `feat:` → minor, `!` or a
+  `BREAKING CHANGE:` footer → major — all within the prerelease line configured in
+  `release-please-config.json` (currently `2.4.0-beta.N`). To pin a version by hand, put
+  `Release-As: 2.5.0` in a commit body. To graduate the beta line to a stable `2.4.0`, drop
+  `"prerelease": true` (and `"versioning": "prerelease"`) from that config in the same PR.
+- **Manual path — push a tag.** `npm version <x.y.z[-beta.N]>` → `version-bump.mjs` syncs
+  `manifest.json` + `versions.json` (and `manifest-beta.json`) → push the tag.
+  `.github/workflows/release.yml` verifies the tag equals the manifest version and publishes the
+  same three files. A `-` in the tag marks it a GitHub prerelease. Use this only when you need a
+  release the commit history would not produce; afterwards set `.release-please-manifest.json` to
+  the version you published, or release-please will keep proposing it.
+- Keep `manifest.json`, `manifest-beta.json`, and `package.json` versions in sync — both release
+  workflows fail the build if the tag and `manifest.json` disagree.
 
 ## Localization (i18n)
 
diff --git a/release-please-config.json b/release-please-config.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8fb289c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/release-please-config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/googleapis/release-please/main/schemas/config.json",
+  "release-type": "node",
+  "packages": {
+    ".": {
+      "package-name": "paperout-to-authors",
+      "extra-files": [
+        { "type": "json", "path": "manifest.json", "jsonpath": "$.version" },
+        { "type": "json", "path": "manifest-beta.json", "jsonpath": "$.version" }
+      ]
+    }
+  },
+  "include-v-in-tag": false,
+  "include-component-in-tag": false,
+  "versioning": "prerelease",
+  "prerelease": true,
+  "prerelease-type": "beta",
+  "changelog-sections": [
+    { "type": "feat", "section": "Features" },
+    { "type": "fix", "section": "Bug Fixes" },
+    { "type": "perf", "section": "Performance" },
+    { "type": "refactor", "section": "Refactoring" },
+    { "type": "docs", "section": "Documentation" },
+    { "type": "revert", "section": "Reverts" },
+    { "type": "build", "section": "Build & Tooling" },
+    { "type": "ci", "section": "Build & Tooling" },
+    { "type": "test", "section": "Tests", "hidden": true },
+    { "type": "style", "section": "Styling", "hidden": true },
+    { "type": "chore", "section": "Chores", "hidden": true }
+  ]
+}