diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-amd64.yml b/.github/workflows/build-amd64.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index ecd65e6..0000000
--- a/.github/workflows/build-amd64.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,101 +0,0 @@
-name: Build Example Applications (AMD64)
-
-on:
-  push:
-    tags:
-      - 'v*'
-  pull_request:
-  workflow_dispatch:
-
-jobs:
-  build-and-package:
-    name: Build and Package (AMD64)
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      contents: read
-
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          submodules: recursive
-
-      - name: Verify Tag Matches CMake Version
-        if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v')
-        run: |
-          PROJECT_VERSION=$(grep -oP 'project\([^ ]+ VERSION \K[0-9.]+' CMakeLists.txt)
-          TAG_VERSION=${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/v}
-          TAG_BASE_VERSION=$(echo "$TAG_VERSION" | cut -d'-' -f1)
-          if [ "$PROJECT_VERSION" != "$TAG_BASE_VERSION" ]; then
-            echo "::error::CMake project version ($PROJECT_VERSION) does not match Git tag version ($TAG_BASE_VERSION)!"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-          echo "Version match verified: $PROJECT_VERSION"
-
-      - name: Install Build Dependencies
-        run: |
-          sudo apt-get update
-          sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y \
-            build-essential cmake git pkg-config \
-            libeigen3-dev libboost-all-dev libasound2-dev \
-            libprotobuf-dev protobuf-compiler libimlib2-dev
-
-      - name: Build and Install matrixserver from submodule
-        run: |
-          cmake -S "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver" \
-            -B "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build" \
-            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-            -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/install"
-          cmake --build "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build" -- -j$(nproc)
-          cmake --install "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build"
-
-      - name: Build Example Applications
-        run: |
-          cmake -S "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE" \
-            -B "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/build" \
-            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-            -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/install"
-          cmake --build "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/build" -- -j$(nproc)
-
-      - name: Create Debian Package Workspace
-        run: |
-          PROJECT_VERSION=$(grep -oP 'project\([^ ]+ VERSION \K[0-9.]+' CMakeLists.txt)
-          if [ -z "$PROJECT_VERSION" ]; then echo "Failed to extract version"; exit 1; fi
-
-          mkdir -p deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin
-          cp bin/cubetestapp  deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/Genetic      deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/Breakout3D   deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/Blackout3D   deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/PixelFlow3   deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/MatrixRain   deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/Snake        deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/Picture      deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/imutestapp   deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/PixelFlow    deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/PixelFlow2   deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/Rainbow      deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-
-          mkdir -p deb-workspace/DEBIAN
-          cat <<EOF > deb-workspace/DEBIAN/control
-          Package: led-cube-exampleapplications
-          Version: ${PROJECT_VERSION}
-          Section: base
-          Priority: optional
-          Architecture: amd64
-          Maintainer: Bjoern Hauffe<oss@64b.de>
-          Description: LEDCube matrixserver example applications (AMD64/Simulator)
-          Depends: matrixserver-simulator
-          EOF
-
-      - name: Build Debian Package
-        run: |
-          PROJECT_VERSION=$(grep -oP 'project\([^ ]+ VERSION \K[0-9.]+' CMakeLists.txt)
-          dpkg-deb --build deb-workspace "led-cube-exampleapplications_${PROJECT_VERSION}_amd64.deb"
-
-      - name: Upload Debian Package Artifact
-        if: github.event_name != 'pull_request'
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
-        with:
-          name: led-cube-exampleapplications-amd64
-          path: led-cube-exampleapplications_*_amd64.deb
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-arm64.yml b/.github/workflows/build-arm64.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 89cdb81..0000000
--- a/.github/workflows/build-arm64.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,108 +0,0 @@
-name: Build Example Applications Pi (ARM64)
-
-on:
-  workflow_run:
-    workflows: ["Build Example Applications (AMD64)"]
-    types: [completed]
-  workflow_dispatch:
-
-jobs:
-  build-and-package-pi:
-    name: Build and Package Pi (ARM64)
-    if: ${{ github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' || (github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' && github.event.workflow_run.event != 'pull_request') }}
-    runs-on: [self-hosted, linux, ARM64]
-    permissions:
-      contents: read
-
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          submodules: recursive
-
-      - name: Install Build Dependencies
-        run: |
-          sudo apt-get update
-          sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y \
-            build-essential cmake git pkg-config \
-            libeigen3-dev libboost-thread-dev libboost-log-dev \
-            libboost-system-dev libboost-regex-dev libboost-chrono-dev \
-            libboost-date-time-dev libboost-filesystem-dev libboost-atomic-dev \
-            libboost-program-options-dev libasound2-dev libprotobuf-dev \
-            protobuf-compiler libimlib2-dev libftdi1-dev
-
-      - name: Build and install wiringPi natively
-        run: |
-          git clone https://github.com/WiringPi/WiringPi.git
-          cd WiringPi && sudo ./build && cd .. && rm -rf WiringPi
-
-      - name: Mock Raspberry Pi detection for CMake
-        run: sudo mkdir -p /boot && sudo touch /boot/LICENCE.broadcom
-
-      - name: Build and Install matrixserver from submodule (all hardware backends)
-        run: |
-          make -C "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/renderer/RGBMatrixRenderer/rpi-rgb-led-matrix/lib" clean || true
-          rm -rf "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build"
-          mkdir "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build"
-          cmake -S "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver" \
-            -B "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build" \
-            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-            -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/install" \
-            -DENABLE_FPGA_FTDI=ON \
-            -DENABLE_FPGA_RPISPI=ON \
-            -DENABLE_RGB_MATRIX=ON
-          cmake --build "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build" -- -j$(nproc)
-          cmake --install "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build"
-
-      - name: Build Example Applications
-        run: |
-          rm -rf "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/build"
-          mkdir "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/build"
-          cmake -S "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE" \
-            -B "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/build" \
-            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-            -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/install"
-          cmake --build "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/build" -- -j$(nproc)
-
-      - name: Create Debian Package Workspace
-        run: |
-          PROJECT_VERSION=$(grep -oP 'project\([^ ]+ VERSION \K[0-9.]+' CMakeLists.txt)
-          if [ -z "$PROJECT_VERSION" ]; then echo "Failed to extract version"; exit 1; fi
-
-          mkdir -p deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin
-          cp bin/cubetestapp  deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/Genetic      deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/Breakout3D   deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/Blackout3D   deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/PixelFlow3   deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/MatrixRain   deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/Snake        deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/Picture      deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/imutestapp   deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/PixelFlow    deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/PixelFlow2   deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-          cp bin/Rainbow      deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
-
-          mkdir -p deb-workspace/DEBIAN
-          cat <<EOF > deb-workspace/DEBIAN/control
-          Package: led-cube-exampleapplications
-          Version: ${PROJECT_VERSION}
-          Section: base
-          Priority: optional
-          Architecture: arm64
-          Maintainer: Bjoern Hauffe<oss@64b.de>
-          Description: LEDCube matrixserver example applications for Raspberry Pi
-          Depends: matrixserver-pi
-          EOF
-
-
-      - name: Build Debian Package
-        run: |
-          PROJECT_VERSION=$(grep -oP 'project\([^ ]+ VERSION \K[0-9.]+' CMakeLists.txt)
-          dpkg-deb --build deb-workspace "led-cube-exampleapplications_${PROJECT_VERSION}_arm64.deb"
-
-      - name: Upload Debian Package Artifact
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
-        with:
-          name: led-cube-exampleapplications-arm64
-          path: led-cube-exampleapplications_*_arm64.deb
diff --git a/.github/workflows/create-release.yml b/.github/workflows/create-release.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 209da83..0000000
--- a/.github/workflows/create-release.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,104 +0,0 @@
-name: Create Pre-Release
-
-on:
-  workflow_run:
-    workflows: ["Build Example Applications Pi (ARM64)"]
-    types: [completed]
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      tag:
-        description: 'Release tag name (e.g. v0.4.8)'
-        required: true
-      sha:
-        description: 'Commit SHA that both build workflows ran against'
-        required: true
-
-jobs:
-  release:
-    if: >
-      github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' ||
-      (github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' &&
-       startsWith(github.event.workflow_run.head_branch, 'v'))
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-      actions: read
-
-    steps:
-      - name: Download ARM64 .deb artifact
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
-        run: |
-          mkdir -p debs
-
-          if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" = "workflow_dispatch" ]; then
-            HEAD_SHA=$(gh api "repos/$REPO/commits/${{ inputs.sha }}" --jq '.sha')
-            WF_ID=$(gh api "repos/$REPO/actions/workflows" \
-              --jq '.workflows[] | select(.name == "Build Example Applications Pi (ARM64)") | .id')
-            RUN_ID=$(gh api "repos/$REPO/actions/workflows/$WF_ID/runs?head_sha=$HEAD_SHA&per_page=10" \
-              --jq '.workflow_runs[0].id')
-          else
-            RUN_ID="${{ github.event.workflow_run.id }}"
-          fi
-
-          gh run download "$RUN_ID" --repo "$REPO" \
-            --name led-cube-exampleapplications-arm64 \
-            --dir debs/
-
-      - name: Download AMD64 .deb artifact
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
-          HEAD_SHA: ${{ inputs.sha || github.event.workflow_run.head_sha }}
-        run: |
-          HEAD_SHA=$(gh api "repos/$REPO/commits/$HEAD_SHA" --jq '.sha')
-
-          WF_ID=$(gh api "repos/$REPO/actions/workflows" \
-            --jq '.workflows[] | select(.name == "Build Example Applications (AMD64)") | .id')
-
-          RUN_ID=$(gh api "repos/$REPO/actions/workflows/$WF_ID/runs?head_sha=$HEAD_SHA&per_page=10" \
-            --jq '.workflow_runs[0].id')
-
-          gh run download "$RUN_ID" --repo "$REPO" \
-            --name led-cube-exampleapplications-amd64 \
-            --dir debs/
-
-          echo "Downloaded packages:"
-          find debs/ -name "*.deb" | sort
-
-      - name: Stage .deb files for upload
-        run: mv debs/*.deb .
-
-      - name: Upload to APT Repository
-        uses: appleboy/scp-action@master
-        with:
-          host: ${{ vars.UPLOAD_HOST }}
-          username: ${{ vars.UPLOAD_USER }}
-          key: ${{ secrets.UPLOAD_SSH_KEY }}
-          source: "*.deb"
-          target: "/docker/apt-repo/data/incoming/"
-
-      - name: Create GitHub pre-release
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          TAG: ${{ inputs.tag || github.event.workflow_run.head_branch }}
-        run: |
-          DEB_FILES=$(find debs/ -name "*.deb" | tr '\n' ' ')
-
-          LATEST_RELEASE=$(gh release view --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
-            --json tagName -q .tagName 2>/dev/null || echo "")
-
-          NOTES_FLAG=""
-          if [ -n "$LATEST_RELEASE" ]; then
-            NOTES_FLAG="--notes-start-tag $LATEST_RELEASE"
-          fi
-
-          gh release create "$TAG" $DEB_FILES \
-            --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
-            --prerelease \
-            --generate-notes \
-            $NOTES_FLAG \
-            --title "Release $TAG" || \
-          gh release upload "$TAG" $DEB_FILES \
-            --repo "${{ github.repository }}" --clobber
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d097b14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,251 @@
+name: Release
+
+on:
+  push:
+    tags: ['v*']
+  pull_request:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+  build-amd64:
+    name: Build & package (AMD64)
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          submodules: recursive
+
+      - name: Verify tag matches CMake version
+        if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v')
+        run: |
+          PROJECT_VERSION=$(grep -oP 'project\([^ ]+ VERSION \K[0-9.]+' CMakeLists.txt)
+          TAG_VERSION=${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/v}
+          TAG_BASE_VERSION=$(echo "$TAG_VERSION" | cut -d'-' -f1)
+          if [ "$PROJECT_VERSION" != "$TAG_BASE_VERSION" ]; then
+            echo "::error::CMake project version ($PROJECT_VERSION) does not match Git tag version ($TAG_BASE_VERSION)!"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "Version match verified: $PROJECT_VERSION"
+
+      - name: Install build dependencies
+        run: |
+          sudo apt-get update
+          sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y \
+            build-essential cmake git pkg-config ccache \
+            libeigen3-dev libboost-all-dev libasound2-dev \
+            libprotobuf-dev protobuf-compiler libimlib2-dev
+
+      - name: Restore ccache
+        uses: actions/cache@v4
+        with:
+          path: ${{ github.workspace }}/.ccache
+          key: ccache-amd64-${{ github.sha }}
+          restore-keys: |
+            ccache-amd64-
+
+      - name: Build matrixserver from submodule
+        env:
+          CCACHE_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}/.ccache
+        run: |
+          cmake -S "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver" \
+            -B "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build" \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
+            -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/install" \
+            -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache \
+            -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache
+          cmake --build "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build" -- -j$(nproc)
+          cmake --install "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build"
+
+      - name: Build example applications
+        env:
+          CCACHE_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}/.ccache
+        run: |
+          cmake -S "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE" \
+            -B "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/build" \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
+            -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/install" \
+            -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache \
+            -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache
+          cmake --build "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/build" -- -j$(nproc)
+          ccache -s
+
+      - name: Build .deb
+        run: |
+          PROJECT_VERSION=$(grep -oP 'project\([^ ]+ VERSION \K[0-9.]+' CMakeLists.txt)
+          mkdir -p deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin deb-workspace/DEBIAN
+          for app in cubetestapp Genetic Breakout3D Blackout3D PixelFlow3 \
+                     MatrixRain Snake Picture imutestapp PixelFlow PixelFlow2 Rainbow; do
+            cp "bin/$app" deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
+          done
+          cat <<EOF > deb-workspace/DEBIAN/control
+          Package: led-cube-exampleapplications
+          Version: ${PROJECT_VERSION}
+          Section: base
+          Priority: optional
+          Architecture: amd64
+          Maintainer: Bjoern Hauffe<oss@64b.de>
+          Description: LEDCube matrixserver example applications (AMD64/Simulator)
+          Depends: matrixserver-simulator
+          EOF
+          dpkg-deb --build deb-workspace "led-cube-exampleapplications_${PROJECT_VERSION}_amd64.deb"
+
+      - name: Upload .deb artifact
+        if: github.event_name != 'pull_request'
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: led-cube-exampleapplications-amd64
+          path: led-cube-exampleapplications_*_amd64.deb
+
+  build-arm64:
+    name: Build & package (ARM64)
+    needs: build-amd64
+    if: github.event_name != 'pull_request'
+    runs-on: [self-hosted, linux, ARM64]
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          submodules: recursive
+
+      - name: Install build dependencies
+        run: |
+          sudo apt-get update
+          sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y \
+            build-essential cmake git pkg-config ccache \
+            libeigen3-dev libboost-thread-dev libboost-log-dev \
+            libboost-system-dev libboost-regex-dev libboost-chrono-dev \
+            libboost-date-time-dev libboost-filesystem-dev libboost-atomic-dev \
+            libboost-program-options-dev libasound2-dev libprotobuf-dev \
+            protobuf-compiler libimlib2-dev libftdi1-dev
+
+      - name: Build and install wiringPi (skip if present)
+        run: |
+          if [ ! -f /usr/local/lib/libwiringPi.so ] && [ ! -f /usr/lib/libwiringPi.so ]; then
+            git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/WiringPi/WiringPi.git /tmp/WiringPi
+            cd /tmp/WiringPi && sudo ./build && cd / && rm -rf /tmp/WiringPi
+          else
+            echo "wiringPi already installed, skipping"
+          fi
+
+      - name: Mock Raspberry Pi detection for CMake
+        run: sudo mkdir -p /boot && sudo touch /boot/LICENCE.broadcom
+
+      - name: Restore ccache
+        uses: actions/cache@v4
+        with:
+          path: ${{ github.workspace }}/.ccache
+          key: ccache-arm64-${{ github.sha }}
+          restore-keys: |
+            ccache-arm64-
+
+      - name: Build matrixserver from submodule (all hardware backends)
+        env:
+          CCACHE_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}/.ccache
+        run: |
+          make -C "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/renderer/RGBMatrixRenderer/rpi-rgb-led-matrix/lib" clean || true
+          rm -rf "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build"
+          cmake -S "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver" \
+            -B "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build" \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
+            -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/install" \
+            -DENABLE_FPGA_FTDI=ON \
+            -DENABLE_FPGA_RPISPI=ON \
+            -DENABLE_RGB_MATRIX=ON \
+            -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache \
+            -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache
+          cmake --build "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build" -- -j$(nproc)
+          cmake --install "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/build"
+
+      - name: Build example applications
+        env:
+          CCACHE_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}/.ccache
+        run: |
+          rm -rf "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/build"
+          cmake -S "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE" \
+            -B "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/build" \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
+            -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/matrixserver/install" \
+            -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache \
+            -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache
+          cmake --build "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/build" -- -j$(nproc)
+          ccache -s
+
+      - name: Build .deb
+        run: |
+          PROJECT_VERSION=$(grep -oP 'project\([^ ]+ VERSION \K[0-9.]+' CMakeLists.txt)
+          mkdir -p deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin deb-workspace/DEBIAN
+          for app in cubetestapp Genetic Breakout3D Blackout3D PixelFlow3 \
+                     MatrixRain Snake Picture imutestapp PixelFlow PixelFlow2 Rainbow; do
+            cp "bin/$app" deb-workspace/opt/cube/bin/
+          done
+          cat <<EOF > deb-workspace/DEBIAN/control
+          Package: led-cube-exampleapplications
+          Version: ${PROJECT_VERSION}
+          Section: base
+          Priority: optional
+          Architecture: arm64
+          Maintainer: Bjoern Hauffe<oss@64b.de>
+          Description: LEDCube matrixserver example applications for Raspberry Pi
+          Depends: matrixserver-pi
+          EOF
+          dpkg-deb --build deb-workspace "led-cube-exampleapplications_${PROJECT_VERSION}_arm64.deb"
+
+      - name: Upload .deb artifact
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: led-cube-exampleapplications-arm64
+          path: led-cube-exampleapplications_*_arm64.deb
+
+  release:
+    name: Create pre-release & upload to APT
+    needs: [build-amd64, build-arm64]
+    if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v')
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+    steps:
+      - name: Download all .deb artifacts
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          path: debs
+          pattern: led-cube-exampleapplications-*
+          merge-multiple: true
+
+      - name: List downloaded packages
+        run: find debs -name "*.deb" | sort
+
+      - name: Upload to APT repository (sftp)
+        env:
+          UPLOAD_HOST: ${{ vars.UPLOAD_HOST }}
+          UPLOAD_USER: ${{ vars.UPLOAD_USER }}
+          UPLOAD_SSH_KEY: ${{ secrets.UPLOAD_SSH_KEY }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          mkdir -p ~/.ssh
+          umask 077
+          printf '%s\n' "$UPLOAD_SSH_KEY" > ~/.ssh/id_upload
+          ssh-keyscan -p 22322 -t ed25519,rsa "$UPLOAD_HOST" >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts 2>/dev/null
+          sftp -P 22322 -i ~/.ssh/id_upload -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes \
+               -b - "$UPLOAD_USER@$UPLOAD_HOST" <<EOF
+          cd /docker/apt-repo/data/incoming
+          $(for f in debs/*.deb; do echo "put $f"; done)
+          bye
+          EOF
+
+      - name: Create GitHub pre-release
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          TAG: ${{ github.ref_name }}
+        run: |
+          LATEST=$(gh release view --json tagName -q .tagName 2>/dev/null || true)
+          NOTES_FLAG=""
+          [ -n "$LATEST" ] && NOTES_FLAG="--notes-start-tag $LATEST"
+          gh release create "$TAG" debs/*.deb \
+            --prerelease --generate-notes $NOTES_FLAG \
+            --title "Release $TAG" \
+          || gh release upload "$TAG" debs/*.deb --clobber