diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/publish-python-package.yml b/.gitea/workflows/publish-python-package.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f0cfbcd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/publish-python-package.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+name: Publish Python package
+
+on:
+  push:
+    tags:
+      - "v*"
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+  publish:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Check out source
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: "3.12"
+
+      - name: Install packaging tools
+        run: python -m pip install --upgrade build twine
+
+      - name: Build distributions
+        run: python -m build
+
+      - name: Validate distributions
+        run: python -m twine check dist/*
+
+      - name: Upload to Gitea PyPI
+        env:
+          TWINE_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.GITEA_PACKAGE_USER }}
+          TWINE_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.GITEA_PACKAGE_TOKEN }}
+        run: >-
+          python -m twine upload
+          --repository-url https://gitea.coulomb.social/api/packages/coulomb/pypi
+          dist/*
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index ab44021..f558e68 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -37,6 +37,9 @@ help: ## Show issue core capability help
 	@echo "  test-integration             Run integration tests only"
 	@echo "  test-cov                     Run tests with coverage report"
 	@echo "  test-verbose                 Run tests with verbose output"
+	@echo "  package                      Build source and wheel distributions"
+	@echo "  package-check                Build and validate distributions"
+	@echo "  publish-gitea                Publish distributions to Gitea PyPI"
 	@echo ""
 	@echo "Feedback & Continuous Improvement:"
 	@echo "  feedback MSG=\"...\"            Submit feedback about issue-core"
@@ -60,6 +63,10 @@ help: ## Show issue core capability help
 # Check if issue command is available
 ISSUE_CLI := $(shell command -v issue 2> /dev/null)
 
+PYTHON ?= python3
+GITEA_PACKAGE_OWNER ?= coulomb
+GITEA_PYPI_REPOSITORY_URL ?= https://gitea.coulomb.social/api/packages/$(GITEA_PACKAGE_OWNER)/pypi
+
 # Core Issue Operations
 .PHONY: issue-list
 issue-list: ## List all issues from configured backend
@@ -209,6 +216,28 @@ test-cov: ## Run tests with coverage report (local development)
 test-verbose: ## Run tests with verbose output (local development)
 	pytest tests/ -v
 
+.PHONY: clean-dist
+clean-dist: ## Remove local Python package build artifacts
+	rm -rf build/ dist/ *.egg-info/
+
+.PHONY: package
+package: clean-dist ## Build source and wheel distributions
+	$(PYTHON) -m build
+
+.PHONY: package-check
+package-check: package ## Build and validate source/wheel distributions
+	$(PYTHON) -m twine check dist/*
+
+.PHONY: publish-gitea
+publish-gitea: package-check ## Publish distributions to the Coulomb Gitea PyPI registry
+ifndef TWINE_USERNAME
+	$(error TWINE_USERNAME is required)
+endif
+ifndef TWINE_PASSWORD
+	$(error TWINE_PASSWORD is required)
+endif
+	$(PYTHON) -m twine upload --repository-url "$(GITEA_PYPI_REPOSITORY_URL)" dist/*
+
 # Feedback and Continuous Improvement
 .PHONY: feedback
 feedback: ## Submit feedback (Usage: make feedback MSG="your feedback")
@@ -358,4 +387,4 @@ capability-info: ## Show capability information
 	@echo "Supported backends: Local SQLite, GitHub, GitLab, Gitea"
 	@echo "Key features: Repository-aware, offline-capable, unified interface"
 	@echo "Targets:"
-	@$(MAKE) --no-print-directory help | grep "^  " | sed 's/^  /    /'
\ No newline at end of file
+	@$(MAKE) --no-print-directory help | grep "^  " | sed 's/^  /    /'
diff --git a/docs/package-release.md b/docs/package-release.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fd6d3fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/package-release.md
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# Python Package Release
+
+`issue-core` publishes as the `issue-core` Python package. The Railiance
+application deployment path expects the `0.2.x` series to be available from the
+Coulomb Gitea PyPI registry.
+
+## Local Release
+
+Build and validate the release artifacts:
+
+```bash
+make package-check
+```
+
+Publish to the Coulomb organization registry:
+
+```bash
+TWINE_USERNAME=<gitea-user> \
+TWINE_PASSWORD=<package-token> \
+make publish-gitea
+```
+
+The package endpoint is:
+
+```text
+https://gitea.coulomb.social/api/packages/coulomb/pypi
+```
+
+The matching simple index for consumers is:
+
+```text
+https://gitea.coulomb.social/api/packages/coulomb/pypi/simple/
+```
+
+Do not commit tokenized package index URLs. CI and local Docker builds should
+inject registry credentials through environment variables or BuildKit secrets.
+
+## Gitea Actions Release
+
+The `.gitea/workflows/publish-python-package.yml` workflow publishes on tags
+matching `v*`. Configure these repository secrets before cutting a release:
+
+- `GITEA_PACKAGE_USER`
+- `GITEA_PACKAGE_TOKEN`
+
+Release `0.2.0` with:
+
+```bash
+git tag v0.2.0
+git push origin v0.2.0
+```
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index ddaafd0..063c453 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [build-system]
-requires = ["setuptools>=45", "wheel", "setuptools-scm[toml]>=6.2"]
+requires = ["setuptools>=61,<77", "wheel"]
 build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [project]
@@ -37,9 +37,11 @@ dynamic = ["version"]
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 dev = [
+    "build>=1.3",
     "pytest>=6.0",
     "pytest-cov>=2.0",
     "pytest-mock>=3.0",
+    "twine>=6.0",
     "black>=22.0",
     "isort>=5.0",
     "flake8>=4.0",
@@ -48,7 +50,7 @@ dev = [
     "httpx>=0.27",
     "fastapi>=0.110,<1.0",
     "pydantic>=2.0,<3.0",
-]
+]
 docs = [
     "sphinx>=4.0",
     "sphinx-rtd-theme>=1.0",
@@ -170,4 +172,4 @@ exclude_lines = [
     "if __name__ == .__main__.:",
     "class .*\\bProtocol\\):",
     "@(abc\\.)?abstractmethod",
-]
\ No newline at end of file
+]
diff --git a/workplans/ISSUE-WP-0002-gitea-pypi-publication.md b/workplans/ISSUE-WP-0002-gitea-pypi-publication.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..65b522a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/workplans/ISSUE-WP-0002-gitea-pypi-publication.md
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+---
+id: ISSUE-WP-0002
+type: workplan
+title: "Publish issue-core to Gitea PyPI"
+domain: custodian
+repo: issue-core
+status: blocked
+owner: codex
+topic_slug: custodian
+created: "2026-05-23"
+updated: "2026-05-23"
+state_hub_workstream_id: "87a5dcb6-5b2c-4d3f-8d5c-e265889b0fc6"
+---
+
+# Publish issue-core to Gitea PyPI
+
+`issue-core` needs a first real Python package release in the Coulomb Gitea
+package registry so downstream applications can depend on a versioned package
+instead of a sibling checkout path.
+
+## Publish and verify the Gitea PyPI package
+
+```task
+id: ISSUE-WP-0002-T01
+status: blocked
+priority: high
+state_hub_task_id: "f0df7dbc-b55d-4835-a528-f44a329efb0e"
+```
+
+**Problem.** `vergabe-teilnahme` and future Railiance S5 apps need
+`issue-core` as a normal package dependency. A local dependency such as
+`issue-core @ file:///home/worsch/issue-core` makes Docker builds depend on a
+specific operator workstation and forces non-portable BuildKit named contexts.
+
+**Current state.** The repo has package release plumbing prepared:
+
+- `make package-check` builds and validates `issue-core==0.2.0`.
+- `make publish-gitea` uploads `dist/*` to the Coulomb Gitea PyPI endpoint.
+- `.gitea/workflows/publish-python-package.yml` can publish on `v*` tags once
+  package registry secrets exist.
+- `docs/package-release.md` documents local and tag-based publishing.
+
+**Blocker.** Publishing requires a Gitea package username/token with permission
+to upload to:
+
+```text
+https://gitea.coulomb.social/api/packages/coulomb/pypi
+```
+
+No publish credentials are currently available in the shell or standard package
+config files.
+
+**Implementation steps.**
+
+1. Configure Gitea repository or organization secrets:
+   `GITEA_PACKAGE_USER` and `GITEA_PACKAGE_TOKEN`.
+2. Publish `issue-core==0.2.0` either by pushing tag `v0.2.0` or by running:
+
+   ```bash
+   TWINE_USERNAME=<gitea-user> \
+   TWINE_PASSWORD=<package-token> \
+   make publish-gitea
+   ```
+
+3. Verify the simple index exposes the package:
+
+   ```bash
+   curl -fsS https://gitea.coulomb.social/api/packages/coulomb/pypi/simple/issue-core/
+   ```
+
+4. Verify a clean environment can install the package from the Gitea simple
+   index with credentials injected outside Git.
+5. Coordinate with `vergabe-teilnahme` to regenerate its `uv.lock` from the
+   published package and confirm its Docker build no longer needs the sibling
+   `issue-core` checkout.
+
+**Done when.**
+
+- `issue-core==0.2.0` is visible in the Coulomb Gitea PyPI simple index.
+- A clean Python environment can install `issue-core>=0.2,<0.3` from Gitea.
+- The publish workflow has the required secrets and a documented release path.
+- The Railiance app deployment blocker can be closed without relying on local
+  path dependencies.