diff --git a/.github/workflows/post-merge-cleanup.yml b/.github/workflows/post-merge-cleanup.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2958c60
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/post-merge-cleanup.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+name: Clean up next branch after merge
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    types: [closed]
+    branches:
+      - master
+
+jobs:
+  cleanup:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+    # Only run if PR was merged (not just closed) and it was from next branch
+    if: github.event.pull_request.merged == true && github.event.pull_request.head.ref == 'next'
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Setup Git
+        run: |
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+
+      - name: Reset next branch to master
+        run: |
+          git checkout -B next origin/master
+
+      - name: Push updated next branch
+        run: |
+          git push --force-with-lease origin next
+
+      - name: Summary
+        run: |
+          echo "::notice::Post-merge cleanup completed"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/prepare-release.yml b/.github/workflows/prepare-release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e3e8571
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/prepare-release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,274 @@
+name: Prepare release PR from next branch
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      pr_number:
+        description: 'PR number to prepare release for'
+        required: true
+        type: string
+      version_type:
+        description: 'Version bump type'
+        required: true
+        type: choice
+        options:
+          - patch
+          - minor
+          - major
+        default: patch
+
+env:
+  REPO_B_TARGET: 'main'
+  REPO_B_NEXT: 'next'
+
+jobs:
+  prepare-release:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+      pull-requests: write
+      actions: read
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Setup Git
+        run: |
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+
+      - name: Checkout next branch
+        run: |
+          git checkout -B ${{ env.REPO_B_NEXT }} origin/${{ env.REPO_B_NEXT }}
+
+      - name: Verify PR exists and get info
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          echo "Verifying PR #${{ github.event.inputs.pr_number }} exists..."
+          PR_STATE=$(gh pr view ${{ github.event.inputs.pr_number }} --json state --jq '.state' 2>/dev/null || echo "NOT_FOUND")
+          
+          if [ "$PR_STATE" = "NOT_FOUND" ]; then
+            echo "::error::PR #${{ github.event.inputs.pr_number }} not found"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          
+          if [ "$PR_STATE" != "OPEN" ]; then
+            echo "::error::PR #${{ github.event.inputs.pr_number }} is $PR_STATE, expected OPEN"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          
+          echo "PR #${{ github.event.inputs.pr_number }} is open and ready for release preparation"
+
+      - name: Determine version bump
+        id: version
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          echo "Fetching latest release from GitHub..."
+          LATEST_RELEASE=$(gh release list --limit 1 --json tagName --jq '.[0].tagName' 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+          
+          if [ -n "$LATEST_RELEASE" ]; then
+            CURRENT_VERSION="$LATEST_RELEASE"
+            echo "Found latest release: $CURRENT_VERSION"
+          else
+            echo "No releases found, starting from v0.0.0"
+            CURRENT_VERSION="v0.0.0"
+          fi
+          
+          # Parse version components (remove 'v' prefix if present)
+          version_number=$(echo $CURRENT_VERSION | sed 's/^v//')
+          major=$(echo $version_number | cut -d. -f1)
+          minor=$(echo $version_number | cut -d. -f2)
+          patch=$(echo $version_number | cut -d. -f3)
+          
+          echo "Current version components: major=$major, minor=$minor, patch=$patch"
+          
+          # Calculate new version based on input
+          case "${{ github.event.inputs.version_type }}" in
+            major)
+              major=$((major + 1))
+              minor=0
+              patch=0
+              echo "Major version bump requested"
+              ;;
+            minor)
+              minor=$((minor + 1))
+              patch=0
+              echo "Minor version bump requested"
+              ;;
+            patch)
+              patch=$((patch + 1))
+              echo "Patch version bump requested"
+              ;;
+          esac
+          
+          NEW_VERSION="v${major}.${minor}.${patch}"
+          echo "Version bump: $CURRENT_VERSION → $NEW_VERSION"
+          
+          echo "current_version=$CURRENT_VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "new_version=$NEW_VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+      - name: Generate changelog entry
+        run: |
+          echo "Generating changelog entry for ${{ steps.version.outputs.new_version }}"
+          
+          # Get all commits in this PR (from target branch to current HEAD)
+          ALL_PR_COMMITS=$(git rev-list --reverse origin/${{ env.REPO_B_TARGET }}..HEAD)
+          
+          # Create changelog entry
+          changelog_entry="## ${{ steps.version.outputs.new_version }} ($(date +%Y-%m-%d))
+
+          Full Changelog: [${{ steps.version.outputs.current_version }}...${{ steps.version.outputs.new_version }}](https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/compare/${{ steps.version.outputs.current_version }}...${{ steps.version.outputs.new_version }})
+          "
+          
+          # Add features section
+          has_feat_commits=false
+          for commit in $ALL_PR_COMMITS; do
+            if [ -n "$commit" ]; then
+              commit_msg=$(git log --format="%s" -1 "$commit")
+              if echo "$commit_msg" | grep -q "feat:"; then
+                if [ "$has_feat_commits" = false ]; then
+                  changelog_entry="${changelog_entry}
+                  ### Features
+                  "
+                  has_feat_commits=true
+                fi
+                # Remove "feat: " prefix and add to changelog with commit link
+                feature_desc=$(echo "$commit_msg" | sed 's/feat: //')
+                short_sha=$(echo "$commit" | cut -c1-7)
+                changelog_entry="${changelog_entry}* ${feature_desc} ([${short_sha}](https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/commit/${commit}))
+                "
+              fi
+            fi
+          done
+          
+          if [ "$has_feat_commits" = true ]; then
+            changelog_entry="${changelog_entry}
+          "
+          fi
+          
+          # Add fixes section
+          has_fixes=false
+          for commit in $ALL_PR_COMMITS; do
+            if [ -n "$commit" ]; then
+              commit_msg=$(git log --format="%s" -1 "$commit")
+              if echo "$commit_msg" | grep -q "fix:"; then
+                if [ "$has_fixes" = false ]; then
+                  changelog_entry="${changelog_entry}
+                  ### Bug Fixes
+                  "
+                  has_fixes=true
+                fi
+                # Remove "fix: " prefix and add to changelog with commit link
+                fix_desc=$(echo "$commit_msg" | sed 's/fix: //')
+                short_sha=$(echo "$commit" | cut -c1-7)
+                changelog_entry="${changelog_entry}* ${fix_desc} ([${short_sha}](https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/commit/${commit}))
+                "
+              fi
+            fi
+          done
+          
+          if [ "$has_fixes" = true ]; then
+            changelog_entry="${changelog_entry}
+          "
+          fi
+          
+          # Add other changes section
+          has_other=false
+          for commit in $ALL_PR_COMMITS; do
+            if [ -n "$commit" ]; then
+              commit_msg=$(git log --format="%s" -1 "$commit")
+              if ! echo "$commit_msg" | grep -q -E "^(feat:|fix:|Update sync state)"; then
+                if [ "$has_other" = false ]; then
+                  changelog_entry="${changelog_entry}
+                  ### Other Changes
+                  "
+                  has_other=true
+                fi
+                short_sha=$(echo "$commit" | cut -c1-7)
+                changelog_entry="${changelog_entry}* ${commit_msg} ([${short_sha}](https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/commit/${commit}))
+                "
+              fi
+            fi
+          done
+          
+          # Save changelog entry to temp file
+          echo "$changelog_entry" > /tmp/changelog_entry.md
+          echo "Generated changelog entry:"
+          cat /tmp/changelog_entry.md
+
+      - name: Update version files
+        run: |
+          # Update pyproject.toml if it exists
+          if [ -f pyproject.toml ]; then
+            echo "Updating version in pyproject.toml"
+            # Remove 'v' prefix for pyproject.toml
+            VERSION_NUMBER=$(echo "${{ steps.version.outputs.new_version }}" | sed 's/^v//')
+            
+            # Update version in pyproject.toml using sed
+            sed -i "s/^version = .*/version = \"$VERSION_NUMBER\"/" pyproject.toml
+            
+            echo "Updated pyproject.toml version to: $VERSION_NUMBER"
+            git add pyproject.toml
+          fi
+
+      - name: Update CHANGELOG.md
+        run: |
+          echo "Updating CHANGELOG.md"
+          # Insert new entry at the top (after title if it exists)
+          if head -1 CHANGELOG.md | grep -q "^# "; then
+            # Has title, insert after first line
+            head -1 CHANGELOG.md > /tmp/changelog_new.md
+            echo "" >> /tmp/changelog_new.md
+            cat /tmp/changelog_entry.md >> /tmp/changelog_new.md
+            tail -n +2 CHANGELOG.md >> /tmp/changelog_new.md
+          else
+            # No title, insert at beginning
+            cat /tmp/changelog_entry.md > /tmp/changelog_new.md
+            cat CHANGELOG.md >> /tmp/changelog_new.md
+          fi
+          mv /tmp/changelog_new.md CHANGELOG.md
+          
+          git add CHANGELOG.md
+          echo "Updated CHANGELOG.md"
+
+      - name: Create release commit
+        run: |
+          git commit -m "release: ${{ steps.version.outputs.new_version }}"
+          
+          echo "Created release commit for ${{ steps.version.outputs.new_version }}"
+
+          git push origin ${{ env.REPO_B_NEXT }}
+
+      - name: Update PR with release info
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          # Create updated PR body
+          PR_BODY="## Release ${{ steps.version.outputs.new_version }}
+
+          ## Changelog
+
+          $(cat /tmp/changelog_entry.md)
+
+          ---
+          *Release commit added by prepare-release workflow.*
+          *This PR is now ready to be reviewed and merged.*"
+          
+          # Update the PR title and body
+          gh pr edit ${{ github.event.inputs.pr_number }} \
+            --title "Release ${{ steps.version.outputs.new_version }}" \
+            --body "$PR_BODY"
+          
+          echo "Updated PR #${{ github.event.inputs.pr_number }} with release information"
+
+
+      - name: Summary
+        run: |
+          echo "::notice::Release preparation completed successfully"
+          echo "::notice::PR #${{ github.event.inputs.pr_number }} updated with release commit for ${{ steps.version.outputs.new_version }}"
+          echo "::notice::Review the PR and merge when ready"
diff --git a/.sync_state b/.sync_state
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2471320
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.sync_state
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+1d2c8905b08c612264d01f337870cd7465ad546e