diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 151dedd..3f4707a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -125,6 +125,27 @@ clean:
 	go clean
 	@echo "${OK} Cleaned"
 
+# Thorough cleanup for release
+clean-release: clean
+	@echo "Release cleanup..."
+	rm -rf bin/ cli/zig-out/ cli/.zig-cache/
+	rm -rf dist/ coverage/ tests/bin/ native/build/
+	go clean -cache -testcache
+	find . -type d -name "__pycache__" -exec rm -rf {} + 2>/dev/null || true
+	find . -name "*.pyc" -delete 2>/dev/null || true
+	@./scripts/release/cleanup-testdata.sh 2>/dev/null || true
+	@./scripts/release/cleanup-logs.sh 2>/dev/null || true
+	@./scripts/release/cleanup-state.sh 2>/dev/null || true
+	@echo "${OK} Release cleanup complete"
+
+# Run release verification checks
+release-check:
+	@./scripts/release/verify-release.sh
+
+# Full release preparation
+prepare-release: clean-release release-check
+	@echo "${OK} Release preparation complete"
+
 clean-docs:
 	rm -rf docs/_site/
 	@echo "${OK} Cleaned docs"
@@ -360,6 +381,8 @@ help:
 	@echo "  make prod-with-native - Build production binaries with native C++ libs"
 	@echo "  make dev              - Build development binaries (faster)"
 	@echo "  make clean            - Remove build artifacts"
+	@echo "  make clean-release    - Thorough cleanup for release"
+	@echo "  make prepare-release  - Full release preparation (cleanup + verify)"
 	@echo ""
 	@echo "Native Library Targets:"
 	@echo "  make native-build     - Build native C++ libraries"
diff --git a/api-server b/api-server
deleted file mode 100755
index 2a285e2..0000000
Binary files a/api-server and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/scripts/release/cleanup-docker.sh b/scripts/release/cleanup-docker.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..4634c8c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release/cleanup-docker.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+echo "=== Docker Compose Cleanup ==="
+
+# Stop all project-related containers
+docker-compose -f deployments/docker-compose.dev.yml down --volumes --remove-orphans 2>/dev/null || true
+docker-compose -f deployments/docker-compose.local.yml down --volumes --remove-orphans 2>/dev/null || true
+docker-compose -f tests/e2e/docker-compose.logs-debug.yml down --volumes --remove-orphans 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Remove project-specific images (keep base images)
+docker images --filter "reference=fetchml*" --format "{{.ID}}" | xargs -r docker rmi -f 2>/dev/null || true
+docker images --filter "reference=*/fetchml*" --format "{{.ID}}" | xargs -r docker rmi -f 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Remove dangling volumes
+docker volume ls -q --filter dangling=true | xargs -r docker volume rm 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Prune build cache (keep for 24h)
+docker builder prune --keep-duration 24h --force 2>/dev/null || true
+
+echo "✓ Docker cleanup complete"
diff --git a/scripts/release/cleanup-logs.sh b/scripts/release/cleanup-logs.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..df06d2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release/cleanup-logs.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+echo "=== Log Cleanup ==="
+
+# Remove old logs (keep last 30 days)
+find . -name "*.log" -mtime +30 -delete 2>/dev/null || true
+find . -name "audit*.log" -mtime +30 -delete 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Truncate current logs (keep file, clear content)
+find . -name "fetchml*.log" -size +100M -exec sh -c '> {}' \; 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Remove crash dumps
+rm -f core.* 2>/dev/null || true
+rm -f *.prof 2>/dev/null || true
+rm -f /tmp/fetchml_*.prof 2>/dev/null || true
+
+echo "✓ Log cleanup complete"
diff --git a/scripts/release/cleanup-podman.sh b/scripts/release/cleanup-podman.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..ea5c4a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release/cleanup-podman.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+echo "=== Podman Cleanup ==="
+
+# Stop all fetchml containers
+podman ps -a --filter "name=fetchml" --format "{{.Names}}" 2>/dev/null | xargs -r podman stop 2>/dev/null || true
+podman ps -a --filter "name=ml-*" --format "{{.Names}}" 2>/dev/null | xargs -r podman stop 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Remove stopped containers
+podman ps -a --filter "name=fetchml" --format "{{.ID}}" 2>/dev/null | xargs -r podman rm 2>/dev/null || true
+podman ps -a --filter "name=ml-*" --format "{{.ID}}" 2>/dev/null | xargs -r podman rm 2>/dev/null || true
+podman ps -a --filter "name=jupyter-*" --format "{{.ID}}" 2>/dev/null | xargs -r podman rm 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Remove project images
+podman images --filter "reference=fetchml*" --format "{{.ID}}" 2>/dev/null | xargs -r podman rmi -f 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Remove unused volumes
+podman volume ls -q 2>/dev/null | grep -E "(fetchml|jupyter|ml-)" | xargs -r podman volume rm 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Clean up pods
+podman pod ls --filter "name=ml-" --format "{{.Name}}" 2>/dev/null | xargs -r podman pod rm -f 2>/dev/null || true
+
+echo "✓ Podman cleanup complete"
diff --git a/scripts/release/cleanup-secrets.sh b/scripts/release/cleanup-secrets.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..d7b009d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release/cleanup-secrets.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+echo "=== Secret Cleanup ==="
+
+# Remove any Podman secrets created during testing
+podman secret ls --format "{{.Name}}" 2>/dev/null | grep -E "(fetchml|test|dev)" | xargs -r podman secret rm 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Clear temporary credential files
+rm -f /tmp/fetchml_*_key 2>/dev/null || true
+rm -f /tmp/test_*_secret 2>/dev/null || true
+rm -f /tmp/*.pem 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Reset example config permissions (ensure they're not world-readable)
+find configs/ -name "*.yaml" -o -name "*.yml" -o -name "*.toml" 2>/dev/null | while read f; do
+    if [[ "$f" != *example* ]]; then
+        chmod 600 "$f" 2>/dev/null || true
+    fi
+done
+
+echo "✓ Secret cleanup complete"
diff --git a/scripts/release/cleanup-state.sh b/scripts/release/cleanup-state.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e953a70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release/cleanup-state.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+echo "=== State File Cleanup ==="
+
+# Remove local state files
+rm -f data/active/jupyter/fetch_ml_jupyter_*.json 2>/dev/null || true
+rm -f data/active/jupyter/fetch_ml_jupyter_workspaces.json 2>/dev/null || true
+rm -rf data/active/jupyter/trash/* 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Clean queue state
+rm -f data/queue/*.tmp 2>/dev/null || true
+rm -f data/queue/.*.lock 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Remove pid files
+rm -f /tmp/fetchml*.pid 2>/dev/null || true
+
+echo "✓ State cleanup complete"
diff --git a/scripts/release/cleanup-testdata.sh b/scripts/release/cleanup-testdata.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..bfbdc61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release/cleanup-testdata.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+echo "=== Test Data Cleanup ==="
+
+# Remove test experiment data
+rm -rf data/experiments/test_* 2>/dev/null || true
+rm -rf data/active/workspaces/test_* 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Clean up benchmark artifacts
+if [ -f ./scripts/maintenance/cleanup-benchmarks.sh ]; then
+    ./scripts/maintenance/cleanup-benchmarks.sh all 2>/dev/null || true
+fi
+
+# Remove temporary test databases
+rm -f /tmp/fetchml_test_*.sqlite 2>/dev/null || true
+rm -f /tmp/fetchml_test_*.db 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Clean Jupyter service test data
+rm -rf /tmp/jupyter-test-* 2>/dev/null || true
+rm -f /tmp/fetch_ml_jupyter_*.json 2>/dev/null || true
+
+echo "✓ Test data cleanup complete"
diff --git a/scripts/release/prepare-release.sh b/scripts/release/prepare-release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..8db20f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release/prepare-release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "${SCRIPT_DIR}/../.." && pwd)"
+
+cd "$PROJECT_ROOT"
+
+echo "========================================"
+echo "FetchML Release Preparation"
+echo "========================================"
+echo ""
+
+# Run all cleanup phases
+"${SCRIPT_DIR}/cleanup-docker.sh"
+"${SCRIPT_DIR}/cleanup-podman.sh"
+"${SCRIPT_DIR}/cleanup-secrets.sh"
+"${SCRIPT_DIR}/sanitize-configs.sh"
+"${SCRIPT_DIR}/cleanup-testdata.sh"
+"${SCRIPT_DIR}/cleanup-logs.sh"
+"${SCRIPT_DIR}/cleanup-state.sh"
+
+# Run verification
+echo ""
+"${SCRIPT_DIR}/verify-release.sh"
+
+echo ""
+echo "========================================"
+echo "Release preparation complete!"
+echo "========================================"
diff --git a/scripts/release/sanitize-configs.sh b/scripts/release/sanitize-configs.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..68d2fbc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release/sanitize-configs.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+echo "=== Config File Sanitization ==="
+
+# Remove any accidentally committed passwords/keys (check only, don't auto-fix)
+echo "Checking for potential passwords in configs..."
+if grep -r "password:.*[^*]" configs/ --include="*.yaml" --include="*.yml" 2>/dev/null | grep -v "example\|dummy\|changeme\|your_\|\[REDACTED\]"; then
+    echo "WARNING: Potential passwords found in configs (review above)"
+fi
+
+# Ensure all non-example configs have secure permissions
+find configs/ -type f \( -name "*.yaml" -o -name "*.yml" -o -name "*.toml" \) ! -name "*example*" ! -name "*schema*" -exec chmod 600 {} \; 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Remove temp config files
+rm -f configs/.tmp.* 2>/dev/null || true
+rm -f configs/api/.local.* 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Validate no real credentials in examples
+if grep -rE "(sk-[a-zA-Z0-9]{20,}|password: [^\"'*]+[^*])" configs/examples/ 2>/dev/null | grep -v "example\|dummy\|changeme\|your_"; then
+    echo "WARNING: Potential real credentials found in example configs!"
+fi
+
+echo "✓ Config sanitization complete"
diff --git a/scripts/release/verify-release.sh b/scripts/release/verify-release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..2c685ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release/verify-release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+FAILED=0
+echo "=== Release Verification ==="
+
+# Check 1: No real credentials in configs (allow empty strings)
+echo "Checking for credentials in configs..."
+if grep -r "password:.*[^*\"' ]" configs/ --include="*.yaml" --include="*.yml" 2>/dev/null | grep -v "example\|schema\|changeme\|your_\|\[REDACTED\]\|password: \"\"\|password: ''"; then
+    echo "✗ FAIL: Potential passwords found in configs"
+    FAILED=1
+fi
+
+# Check 2: Config file permissions
+echo "Checking config permissions..."
+find configs/ -name "*.yaml" ! -name "*example*" ! -name "*schema*" -print0 2>/dev/null | while IFS= read -r -d '' f; do
+    PERM=$(stat -c %a "$f" 2>/dev/null || stat -f %A "$f")
+    if [ "$PERM" != "600" ]; then
+        echo "✗ FAIL: $f has permissions $PERM (expected 600)"
+        FAILED=1
+    fi
+done
+
+# Check 3: No uncommitted changes in configs
+echo "Checking for uncommitted config changes..."
+if git diff --name-only 2>/dev/null | grep -q "configs/"; then
+    echo "WARNING: Uncommitted changes in configs/"
+fi
+
+# Check 4: Docker containers stopped
+echo "Checking Docker containers..."
+if docker ps --filter "name=fetchml" --format "{{.Names}}" 2>/dev/null | grep -q .; then
+    echo "WARNING: Running FetchML Docker containers detected"
+fi
+
+# Check 5: Podman containers stopped
+echo "Checking Podman containers..."
+if podman ps --filter "name=fetchml" --format "{{.Names}}" 2>/dev/null | grep -q .; then
+    echo "WARNING: Running FetchML Podman containers detected"
+fi
+
+# Check 6: No .env files committed
+echo "Checking for .env files in git..."
+if git ls-files 2>/dev/null | grep -E "^\.env" | grep -v "example"; then
+    echo "✗ FAIL: .env files found in git"
+    FAILED=1
+fi
+
+# Check 7: Binary is not committed
+echo "Checking for committed binaries..."
+if git ls-files 2>/dev/null | grep -E "^(api-server|worker|bin/)"; then
+    echo "✗ FAIL: Binaries found in git"
+    FAILED=1
+fi
+
+# Check 8: Security audit passes
+echo "Running security audit..."
+if [ -f ./api-server ]; then
+    ./api-server --security-audit 2>&1 | grep -q "All security checks passed" || {
+        echo "✗ FAIL: Security audit did not pass"
+        FAILED=1
+    }
+fi
+
+if [ $FAILED -eq 0 ]; then
+    echo "✓ All release checks passed"
+    exit 0
+else
+    echo "✗ Release checks failed"
+    exit 1
+fi