diff --git a/.github/workflows/package-test.yml b/.github/workflows/package-test.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e7e42e20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/package-test.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+name: Package Test
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+  package:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Check out repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
+
+      - name: Build release ZIP (integration root at ZIP root)
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          rm -f "${{ github.workspace }}/pollenlevels.zip"
+          cd "${{ github.workspace }}/custom_components/pollenlevels"
+          zip "${{ github.workspace }}/pollenlevels.zip" -r ./
+
+      - name: Validate ZIP structure (zip_release-compatible)
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          python - <<'PY'
+          import zipfile
+
+          zip_path = "pollenlevels.zip"
+          required = {"manifest.json", "__init__.py"}
+
+          with zipfile.ZipFile(zip_path) as zf:
+              names = [n for n in zf.namelist() if n and not n.endswith("/")]
+
+          if not names:
+              raise SystemExit("ZIP is empty")
+
+          bad_prefix = [n for n in names if n.startswith("custom_components/")]
+          if bad_prefix:
+              raise SystemExit(
+                  "ZIP contains 'custom_components/' prefix; "
+                  "zip must be integration-root only"
+              )
+
+          missing = sorted(required.difference(names))
+          if missing:
+              raise SystemExit("ZIP missing required root files: " + ", ".join(missing))
+
+          print("ZIP structure validated.")
+          PY
+
+      - name: Upload ZIP artifact
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v6
+        with:
+          name: pollenlevels-zip
+          path: pollenlevels.zip
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..93055996
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+name: Release Asset
+
+on:
+  release:
+    types: [published]
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+
+jobs:
+  package-and-upload:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Check out repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
+
+      - name: Build release ZIP (integration root at ZIP root)
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          rm -f "${{ github.workspace }}/pollenlevels.zip"
+          cd "${{ github.workspace }}/custom_components/pollenlevels"
+          zip "${{ github.workspace }}/pollenlevels.zip" -r ./
+
+      - name: Validate ZIP structure (zip_release-compatible)
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          python - <<'PY'
+          import zipfile
+
+          zip_path = "pollenlevels.zip"
+          required = {"manifest.json", "__init__.py"}
+
+          with zipfile.ZipFile(zip_path) as zf:
+              names = [n for n in zf.namelist() if n and not n.endswith("/")]
+
+          if not names:
+              raise SystemExit("ZIP is empty")
+
+          bad_prefix = [n for n in names if n.startswith("custom_components/")]
+          if bad_prefix:
+              raise SystemExit(
+                  "ZIP contains 'custom_components/' prefix; "
+                  "zip must be integration-root only"
+              )
+
+          missing = sorted(required.difference(names))
+          if missing:
+              raise SystemExit("ZIP missing required root files: " + ", ".join(missing))
+
+          print("ZIP structure validated.")
+          PY
+
+      - name: Upload ZIP to release
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
+        with:
+          files: pollenlevels.zip
+          overwrite_files: true
+          fail_on_unmatched_files: true
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 8df88078..7d4bd99d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
+## [1.9.4] - 2026-02-24
+### Changed
+- Updated release packaging automation for HACS `zip_release` by validating the
+  integration-root ZIP layout, enabling strict release upload failure when
+  `pollenlevels.zip` is missing, and aligning package-test artifact upload to
+  `actions/upload-artifact@v6`.
+
 ## [1.9.3] - 2026-02-14
 ### Fixed
 - Aligned config-flow API validation with runtime parsing by requiring `dailyInfo`
diff --git a/custom_components/pollenlevels/manifest.json b/custom_components/pollenlevels/manifest.json
index 8a6d4eb7..42f5c1d5 100644
--- a/custom_components/pollenlevels/manifest.json
+++ b/custom_components/pollenlevels/manifest.json
@@ -7,5 +7,5 @@
     "integration_type": "service",
     "iot_class": "cloud_polling",
     "issue_tracker": "https://github.com/eXPerience83/pollenlevels/issues",
-    "version": "1.9.3"
+    "version": "1.9.4"
 }
diff --git a/hacs.json b/hacs.json
index 99f40769..54ed71a8 100644
--- a/hacs.json
+++ b/hacs.json
@@ -3,5 +3,7 @@
   "homeassistant": "2025.3.0",
   "content_in_root": false,
   "render_readme": true,
-  "hacs": "2.0.0"
+  "hacs": "2.0.0",
+  "zip_release": true,
+  "filename": "pollenlevels.zip"
 }
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index c29fb16d..c3d891f0 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 [project]
 name = "pollenlevels"
-version = "1.9.3"
+version = "1.9.4"
 # Enforce the runtime floor aligned with upcoming HA Python 3.14 images.
 requires-python = ">=3.14"