diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fad5f082b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+.PHONY: release update-version build-frontend build-wheel build-docker test-iris cleanup-push test-whl test-local test-gcp upload-to-gcs
+
+# todo: add test-gcp
+pre-release: update-version build-frontend build-wheel build-docker test-iris test-whl test-local upload-to-gcs
+
+release: pre-release cleanup-push
+
+update-version:
+	@echo "Updating preswald version..."
+	@current_version=$$(grep "version" pyproject.toml | grep -v "^#" | head -1 | sed -E 's/.*version = "([^"]+)".*/\1/'); \
+	if [ -z "$$current_version" ]; then \
+		echo "Error: Could not find version in pyproject.toml"; \
+		exit 1; \
+	fi; \
+	major=$$(echo $$current_version | cut -d. -f1); \
+	minor=$$(echo $$current_version | cut -d. -f2); \
+	patch=$$(echo $$current_version | cut -d. -f3); \
+	new_patch=$$(echo "$$patch + 1" | bc); \
+	new_version="$$major.$$minor.$$new_patch"; \
+	if [ "$$(uname)" = "Darwin" ]; then \
+		sed -i '' "s/version = \"$$current_version\"/version = \"$$new_version\"/" pyproject.toml; \
+	else \
+		sed -i "s/version = \"$$current_version\"/version = \"$$new_version\"/" pyproject.toml; \
+	fi; \
+	echo "Version updated from $$current_version to $$new_version"
+
+build-frontend:
+	@echo "Building frontend..."
+	python -m preswald.build frontend
+
+build-wheel:
+	@echo "Building wheel..."
+	python -m build
+	@echo "Wheel built successfully"
+
+build-docker:
+	@echo "Building preswald docker image..."
+	@mkdir -p docker/tmp
+	@latest_wheel=$$(ls -t dist/preswald-*.whl | head -1); \
+	wheel_exists=false; \
+	if [ -f "$$latest_wheel" ]; then \
+		cp $$latest_wheel docker/wheel.whl; \
+		wheel_exists=true; \
+	fi;
+	@echo "wheel_exists=$$wheel_exists"
+	cd docker && docker buildx build --platform linux/amd64 --pull=false --no-cache \
+		--build-arg USE_LOCAL_WHEEL=$$wheel_exists \
+		-t preswald -f preswald.Dockerfile .
+	docker tag preswald structuredlabs/preswald-base
+
+test-iris:
+	@echo "Testing iris example app..."
+	docker build --pull=false --no-cache -t iris_app -f ./docker/test/iris_app.Dockerfile .
+	@echo "Running automated test of iris app..."
+	docker run -d -p 8501:8501 --name iris_test_container iris_app
+	@echo "Waiting for app to start..."
+	sleep 10
+	@echo "Testing app endpoint..."
+	curl -s --fail http://localhost:8501 || (docker stop iris_test_container && docker rm iris_test_container && echo "Test failed: could not connect to app" && exit 1)
+	@echo "Test successful, cleaning up container..."
+	docker stop iris_test_container
+	docker rm iris_test_container
+
+cleanup-push:
+	@echo "Pushing to DockerHub..."
+	@echo "Authenticating with DockerHub..."
+	@echo "$$DOCKERHUB_TOKEN" | docker login -u "$$DOCKERHUB_USERNAME" --password-stdin
+	docker push structuredlabs/preswald-base
+	@echo "Cleaning up..."
+	@rm -f docker/wheel.whl
+	docker logout
+
+test-whl:
+	@echo "Testing preswald wheel..."
+	@latest_wheel=$$(ls -t dist/preswald-*.whl | head -1); \
+	conda create -n preswald_test python=3.12 -y; \
+	conda activate preswald_test; \
+	pip install $$latest_wheel; \
+	preswald --version; \
+	conda deactivate; \
+	conda env remove -n preswald_test -y
+
+test-local:
+	@echo "Running local deployment test..."
+	./autotest/deployments/local/test.sh
+
+test-gcp:
+	@echo "Running GCP deployment test..."
+	./autotest/deployments/gcp/test.sh
+
+upload-to-gcs:
+	@echo "Uploading wheel to Google Cloud Storage..."
+	@if [ -z "$$PRESWALD_DEPLOYER_DEV_SA" ]; then \
+		echo "Error: PRESWALD_DEPLOYER_DEV_SA environment variable not set"; \
+		exit 1; \
+	fi; \
+	if ! command -v gcloud >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
+		echo "Error: gcloud command not found."; \
+		exit 1; \
+	fi; \
+	if ! command -v gsutil >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
+		echo "Error: gsutil command not found."; \
+		exit 1; \
+	fi; \
+	latest_wheel=$$(ls -t dist/preswald-*.whl | head -1); \
+	if [ ! -f "$$latest_wheel" ]; then \
+		echo "Error: No wheel file found in dist/ directory."; \
+		exit 1; \
+	fi; \
+	wheel_filename=$$(basename $$latest_wheel); \
+	echo "$$PRESWALD_DEPLOYER_DEV_SA" | base64 --decode > /tmp/service-account.json; \
+	gcloud auth activate-service-account --key-file=/tmp/service-account.json || { echo "Failed to authenticate with Google Cloud"; rm -f /tmp/service-account.json; exit 1; }; \
+	gsutil cp $$latest_wheel gs://preswald_wheels/$$wheel_filename || { echo "Failed to upload to Google Cloud Storage"; rm -f /tmp/service-account.json; exit 1; }; \
+	rm -f /tmp/service-account.json; \
+	echo "Successfully uploaded $$wheel_filename to gs://preswald_wheels/" 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docker/preswald.Dockerfile b/docker/preswald.Dockerfile
index 82d500328..e3a8130f6 100644
--- a/docker/preswald.Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/preswald.Dockerfile
@@ -11,11 +11,20 @@ RUN apt-get update && \
     && apt-get clean \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
-# COPY ./preswald-0.1.52-py3-none-any.whl /app/
-
-RUN pip install --no-cache-dir --upgrade pip && \
-    pip install --no-cache-dir --upgrade preswald
-	# pip install --no-cache-dir --upgrade ./preswald-0.1.52-py3-none-any.whl --force-reinstall
+# Define an argument to check if we should use local wheel
+ARG USE_LOCAL_WHEEL=false
+COPY wheel.whl /app/wheel.whl
+
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir --upgrade pip
+
+# Install using the appropriate method
+RUN if [ "$USE_LOCAL_WHEEL" = "true" ] && [ -f /app/wheel.whl ]; then \
+    echo "Installing from local wheel" && \
+    pip install --no-cache-dir --upgrade /app/wheel.whl --force-reinstall; \
+    else \
+    echo "Installing from PyPI" && \
+    pip install --no-cache-dir --upgrade preswald; \
+    fi
 
 FROM python:3.12-slim-bullseye