diff --git a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
index ff1b8f1b..eeb0dff2 100644
--- a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
+++ b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
@@ -4,4 +4,4 @@
     "dockerfile": "Dockerfile"
   },
   "postCreateCommand": "code --install-extension /tmp/compact.vsix && compact update 0.26.0"
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/.github/actions/setup/action.yml b/.github/actions/setup/action.yml
index b13c757d..08af71c2 100644
--- a/.github/actions/setup/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/setup/action.yml
@@ -1,10 +1,30 @@
 name: "Setup Environment"
-description: "Sets up the environment with yarn, Node.js, and turbo"
+description: "Sets up the environment with yarn, Node.js, turbo, and Compact compiler"
+
+inputs:
+  skip-compact:
+    description: "Skip Compact compiler installation"
+    required: false
+    default: "false"
+
+outputs:
+  compact-home:
+    description: "Path to Compact compiler installation"
+    value: ${{ steps.compact-outputs.outputs.compact-home }}
+  compact-version:
+    description: "Installed Compact compiler version"
+    value: ${{ steps.compact-outputs.outputs.version }}
 
 runs:
   using: "composite"
   steps:
-    - name: Enable Corepack
+    - name: Set shared environment variables
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        echo "COMPILER_VERSION=0.26.0" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+        echo "LANGUAGE_VERSION=0.18.0" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+
+    - name: Get yarn cache directory path
       shell: bash
       run: corepack enable
 
@@ -16,8 +36,17 @@ runs:
         restore-keys: |
           ${{ runner.os }}-turbo-${{ hashFiles('.turbo/*') }}
 
+    - name: Cache Compact compiler
+      if: inputs.skip-compact != 'true'
+      uses: actions/cache@v4
+      id: compact-cache
+      with:
+        path: |
+          ~/.local/bin/compact
+        key: compact-compiler-${{ env.COMPILER_VERSION }}-${{ runner.os }}
+
     - name: Setup Node.js
-      uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+      uses: actions/setup-node@v6
       with:
         node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
         cache: "yarn"
@@ -31,5 +60,80 @@ runs:
       env:
         TURBO_MAJOR_VERSION: 2
         TURBO_TELEMETRY_DISABLED: 1
+      run: npm install turbo@${{ env.TURBO_MAJOR_VERSION }} -g
+
+    - name: Install Compact compiler
+      if: inputs.skip-compact != 'true' && steps.compact-cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+      shell: bash
       run: |
-        npm install turbo@${{ env.TURBO_MAJOR_VERSION }} -g
+        set -euo pipefail
+        COMPACT_HOME="$HOME/.local/bin"
+        mkdir -p "$COMPACT_HOME"
+
+        # Require COMPACT_INSTALLER_URL to be provided by the caller
+        if [ -z "${COMPACT_INSTALLER_URL:-}" ]; then
+          echo "::error::COMPACT_INSTALLER_URL is required but not set. Provide it via env or secrets."
+          exit 1
+        fi
+
+        echo "🔧 Installing Compact compiler from $COMPACT_INSTALLER_URL ..."
+        curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf "$COMPACT_INSTALLER_URL" | sh
+
+        echo "🔧 Updating Compact compiler to $COMPILER_VERSION..."
+        "$COMPACT_HOME/compact" update "$COMPILER_VERSION"
+
+        echo "✅ Compact compiler installed"
+
+    - name: Setup Compact environment
+      if: inputs.skip-compact != 'true'
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        COMPACT_HOME="$HOME/.local/bin"
+        echo "📁 Setting Compact environment variables..."
+        echo "COMPACT_HOME=$COMPACT_HOME" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+        echo "$COMPACT_HOME" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
+
+        if [ -f "$COMPACT_HOME/compact" ]; then
+          echo "✅ Compact compiler is installed at $COMPACT_HOME"
+        else
+          echo "::error::❌ Compact compiler not found in $COMPACT_HOME"
+          exit 1
+        fi
+
+    - name: Set Compact outputs
+      if: inputs.skip-compact != 'true'
+      id: compact-outputs
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        echo "compact-home=$HOME/.local/bin" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        echo "version=$COMPILER_VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+    - name: Check compiler and language version
+      if: inputs.skip-compact != 'true'
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        set -euo pipefail
+
+        echo "🔧 Updating Compact compiler to $COMPILER_VERSION..."
+        "$COMPACT_HOME/compact" update "$COMPILER_VERSION"
+
+        echo "🔍 Checking Compact compiler version..."
+        COMPILER_OUTPUT=$("$COMPACT_HOME/compact" compile --version)
+        COMPUTED_COMPILER_VERSION=$(echo "$COMPILER_OUTPUT" | grep -oP '\b0\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\b' | head -n 1)
+
+        if [ "$COMPUTED_COMPILER_VERSION" != "$COMPILER_VERSION" ]; then
+          echo "::error::❌ Compiler version mismatch!%0AExpected: $COMPILER_VERSION%0AGot: $COMPUTED_COMPILER_VERSION"
+          exit 1
+        fi
+        echo "✅ Compiler version matches: $COMPUTED_COMPILER_VERSION"
+
+        echo "🔍 Checking Compact language version..."
+        LANGUAGE_OUTPUT=$("$COMPACT_HOME/compact" compile --language-version)
+        COMPUTED_LANGUAGE_VERSION=$(echo "$LANGUAGE_OUTPUT" | grep -oP '\b0\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\b' | tail -n 1)
+
+        if [ "$COMPUTED_LANGUAGE_VERSION" != "$LANGUAGE_VERSION" ]; then
+          echo "::error::❌ Language version mismatch!%0AExpected: $LANGUAGE_VERSION%0AGot: $COMPUTED_LANGUAGE_VERSION"
+          exit 1
+        fi
+        echo "✅ Language version matches: $COMPUTED_LANGUAGE_VERSION"
+    
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/checks.yml b/.github/workflows/checks.yml
index 944d14a1..c42bc97c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/checks.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/checks.yml
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ jobs:
     name: Run Checks
     runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
+    env:
+      COMPACT_INSTALLER_URL: ${{ vars.COMPACT_INSTALLER_URL }}
+
     steps:
       - name: Check out code
         uses: actions/checkout@v5
diff --git a/.github/workflows/codeql.yml b/.github/workflows/codeql.yml
index 5f726e24..992ea100 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/codeql.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/codeql.yml
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@ jobs:
       matrix:
         language: ["javascript", "typescript"]
 
+    env:
+      COMPACT_INSTALLER_URL: ${{ vars.COMPACT_INSTALLER_URL }}
+
     steps:
       - name: Check out code
         uses: actions/checkout@v5
diff --git a/.github/workflows/prepare-release.yml b/.github/workflows/prepare-release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5d187507
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/prepare-release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+name: Update version on new release branch
+
+on:
+  create:
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
+
+jobs:
+  update_version:
+    if: github.ref_type == 'branch' && startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/release-v')
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+
+    steps:
+    - name: Checkout repository
+      uses: actions/checkout@v5
+
+    - name: Setup Node.js
+      uses: actions/setup-node@v6
+      with:
+        node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
+        cache: "yarn"
+
+    - name: Extract current version
+      run: |
+        CURRENT_VERSION=$(node -p "require('./contracts/package.json').version")
+        echo "CURRENT_VERSION=$CURRENT_VERSION" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
+    - name: Extract new version number
+      run: echo "NEW_VERSION=${GITHUB_REF#refs/heads/release-v}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
+    - name: Validate new version
+      run: |
+        BRANCH="${GITHUB_REF#refs/heads/}"
+        echo "Branch: $BRANCH"
+        echo "Current version: $CURRENT_VERSION"
+        echo "New version: $NEW_VERSION"
+
+        # 1) Branch must match release-v<semver>
+        if ! echo "$BRANCH" | grep -Eq '^release-v(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\.(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\.(0|[1-9][0-9]*)(-[0-9A-Za-z-]+(\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*)?(\+[0-9A-Za-z-]+(\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*)?$'; then
+          echo "Error: Branch '$BRANCH' must match 'release-v<semver>' (e.g., release-v1.2.3)." >&2
+          exit 1
+        fi
+
+        # 2) NEW_VERSION must be valid semver
+        node -e "const v=process.env.NEW_VERSION; const semver=/^(0|[1-9]\\d*)\\.(0|[1-9]\\d*)\\.(0|[1-9]\\d*)(?:-([0-9A-Za-z-]+(?:\\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*))?(?:\\+([0-9A-Za-z-]+(?:\\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*))?$/; if(!semver.test(v)){ console.error('Error: NEW_VERSION is not valid semver:', v); process.exit(1); }"
+        if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+          exit 1
+        fi
+
+        # 3) NEW_VERSION must differ from CURRENT_VERSION
+        if [ "$NEW_VERSION" = "$CURRENT_VERSION" ]; then
+          echo "Error: NEW_VERSION equals CURRENT_VERSION ($CURRENT_VERSION). Nothing to release." >&2
+          exit 1
+        fi
+
+    - name: Replace version in files
+      env:
+        NEW_VERSION: ${{ env.NEW_VERSION }}
+      run: |
+        echo "Current version: $CURRENT_VERSION"
+        echo "New version: $NEW_VERSION"
+
+        # Update package.json version field manually
+        yarn workspace @openzeppelin-compact/contracts version "$NEW_VERSION"
+
+        # Escape special characters for sed
+        ESCAPED_CURRENT=$(printf '%s' "$CURRENT_VERSION" | sed -e 's/[\/&]/\\&/g')
+        ESCAPED_NEW=$(printf '%s' "$NEW_VERSION" | sed -e 's/[\/&]/\\&/g')
+
+        # Replace version in contracts/src/
+        find ./contracts/src/ -type d -name '.*' -prune -o \
+          -type f -exec sed -i "s#$ESCAPED_CURRENT#$ESCAPED_NEW#g" {} +
+
+        # Replace version in docs/, excluding package-lock.json
+        find ./docs/ -type d -name '.*' -prune -o \
+          -type f ! -name 'package-lock.json' -exec sed -i "s#$ESCAPED_CURRENT#$ESCAPED_NEW#g" {} +
+
+    - name: Auto-commit changes
+      uses: stefanzweifel/git-auto-commit-action@778341af668090896ca464160c2def5d1d1a3eb0 #v6.0.1
+      with:
+        commit_message: Bump version to ${{ env.NEW_VERSION }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4e1a335b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+name: Publish Package on Release
+
+on:
+  release:
+    types: [published]
+
+jobs:
+  publish:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      id-token: write
+
+    env:
+      COMPACT_INSTALLER_URL: ${{ vars.COMPACT_INSTALLER_URL }}
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v5
+
+      - name: Setup Environment
+        uses: ./.github/actions/setup
+
+      - name: Build contracts
+        run: turbo build --filter=!'docs'
+
+      - name: Validate version consistency
+        run: |
+          RELEASE_VERSION=${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/v}
+          PACKAGE_VERSION=$(node -p "require('./contracts/package.json').version")
+          if [ "$RELEASE_VERSION" != "$PACKAGE_VERSION" ]; then
+            echo "❌ Version mismatch: Release $RELEASE_VERSION vs Package $PACKAGE_VERSION"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "✅ Version consistency validated: $RELEASE_VERSION"
+
+      - name: Setup npm registry
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v6
+        with:
+          registry-url: "https://registry.npmjs.org"
+
+      - name: Pack tarball
+        id: pack
+        run: |
+          cd contracts/dist
+          TARBALL=$(npm pack | tail -1)
+          echo "tarball_name=$TARBALL" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "tarball=$(pwd)/$TARBALL" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+          # Determine dist-tag based on semver prerelease
+          PACKAGE_VERSION=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")
+          if [[ "$PACKAGE_VERSION" =~ -.*$ ]]; then
+            # Has prerelease suffix (anything after -)
+            if [[ "$PACKAGE_VERSION" =~ -(alpha|beta|rc) ]]; then
+              echo "tag=beta" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            else
+              echo "tag=next" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            fi
+          else
+            # Stable release
+            echo "tag=latest" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          fi
+
+      - name: Verify tarball integrity
+        run: |
+          echo "=== Verifying tarball contents ==="
+          PACKAGE_NAME=$(tar xfO "${{ steps.pack.outputs.tarball }}" package/package.json | jq -r .name)
+          PACKAGE_VERSION=$(tar xfO "${{ steps.pack.outputs.tarball }}" package/package.json | jq -r .version)
+          PRIVATE_FIELD=$(tar xfO "${{ steps.pack.outputs.tarball }}" package/package.json | jq -r '.private // "not found"')
+
+          echo "📦 Package: $PACKAGE_NAME@$PACKAGE_VERSION"
+          echo "🏷️  Tag: ${{ steps.pack.outputs.tag }}"
+          echo "🔒 Private field: $PRIVATE_FIELD"
+
+          # Ensure no private field
+          if [ "$PRIVATE_FIELD" = "true" ]; then
+            echo "❌ Tarball contains private: true - cannot publish"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+      - name: Publish to npm
+        run: |
+          # Publish the tarball with appropriate tag
+          npm publish "${{ steps.pack.outputs.tarball }}" --tag "${{ steps.pack.outputs.tag }}" --access public --provenance
+        env:
+          NPM_CONFIG_PROVENANCE: true
+
+      - name: Log success
+        run: |
+          PACKAGE_NAME=$(tar xfO "${{ steps.pack.outputs.tarball }}" package/package.json | jq -r .name)
+          PACKAGE_VERSION=$(tar xfO "${{ steps.pack.outputs.tarball }}" package/package.json | jq -r .version)
+          echo "✅ Successfully published $PACKAGE_NAME@$PACKAGE_VERSION to npm with tag ${{ steps.pack.outputs.tag }}"
+          echo "📦 Install with: npm install $PACKAGE_NAME@${{ steps.pack.outputs.tag }}"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 264f8d03..8d02dc73 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -16,8 +16,9 @@ jobs:
     name: Run Test Suite
     runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     timeout-minutes: 15
+
     env:
-      GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+      COMPACT_INSTALLER_URL: ${{ vars.COMPACT_INSTALLER_URL }}
 
     steps:
       - name: Check out code
@@ -28,58 +29,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Setup Environment
         uses: ./.github/actions/setup
 
-      - name: Install Compact developer tools
-        shell: bash
-        run: |
-          curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://github.com/midnightntwrk/compact/releases/latest/download/compact-installer.sh | sh
-          echo "$HOME/.compact/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
-
-      - name: Install and verify toolchain
-        run: |
-          compact update ${{ env.COMPILER_VERSION }}
-          echo "🤖 Testing installation..."
-          compact compile --version
-          compact compile --language-version
-
-      - name: Check compiler and language version
-        run: |
-          # Check toolchain version
-          COMPILER_OUTPUT=$(compact compile --version)
-          COMPUTED_COMPILER_VERSION=$(echo "$COMPILER_OUTPUT" | grep -oP '\b[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\b' | head -n 1)
-          if [ "$COMPUTED_COMPILER_VERSION" != "$COMPILER_VERSION" ]; then
-            errMsg="❌ Compiler version mismatch!%0AExpected: $COMPILER_VERSION%0AGot: $COMPUTED_COMPILER_VERSION"
-            echo "::error::$errMsg"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-          echo "✅ Compiler version matches: $COMPUTED_COMPILER_VERSION"
-
-          # Check language version using new command
-          LANGUAGE_OUTPUT=$(compact compile --language-version)
-          COMPUTED_LANGUAGE_VERSION=$(echo "$LANGUAGE_OUTPUT" | grep -oP '\b[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\b' | tail -n 1)
-          if [ "$COMPUTED_LANGUAGE_VERSION" != "$LANGUAGE_VERSION" ]; then
-              errMsg="❌ Language version mismatch!%0AExpected: $LANGUAGE_VERSION%0AGot: $COMPUTED_LANGUAGE_VERSION"
-              echo "::error::$errMsg"
-              exit 1
-          fi
-          echo "✅ Language version matches: $COMPUTED_LANGUAGE_VERSION"
-
-      - name: Compile contracts (with retry on hash mismatch)
-        shell: bash
-        run: |
-          compile() {
-            if ! output=$(turbo compact --concurrency=1 2>&1); then
-              if echo "$output" | grep -q "Hash mismatch" && [ -d "$HOME/.cache/midnight/zk-params" ]; then
-                echo "Hash mismatch detected. Clearing zk-params cache..."
-                rm -rf "$HOME/.cache/midnight/zk-params"
-                echo "Retrying compilation..."
-                turbo compact --concurrency=1
-              else
-                echo "$output"
-                exit 1
-              fi
-            fi
-          }
-          compile
+      - name: Compile contracts (with retry)
+        run: turbo compact --filter=@openzeppelin-compact/contracts --concurrency=1
 
       - name: Run type checks
         run: turbo types
diff --git a/RELEASING.md b/RELEASING.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..93a7b172
--- /dev/null
+++ b/RELEASING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+# Releasing
+
+(1) Checkout the branch to be released.
+This will usually be `main` except in the event of a hotfix.
+For hotfixes, checkout the release branch you want to fix.
+
+(2) Create a new release branch.
+
+```sh
+git checkout -b release-v0.2.0
+```
+
+(3) Push and open a PR targeting `main` to carefully review the release changes.
+This will trigger a GitHub workflow that automatically bumps the version number throughout the project.
+
+```sh
+git push origin release-v0.2.0
+```
+
+(4) Once merged, pull the changes from the release branch.
+Then, create a tag on the release branch and push it to the main repository.
+Note that the version changes must be pulled *before* the tag is created;
+otherwise, the version validation check will fail in the release workflow.
+
+```sh
+git pull
+git tag v0.2.0
+git push origin v0.2.0
+```
+
+(5) After that, go to the repo's [releases page](https://github.com/OpenZeppelin/compact-contracts/releases/).
+[Create a new release](https://github.com/OpenZeppelin/compact-contracts/releases/new) with the new tag and the base branch as target (`main` except in the event of a hotfix).
+Make sure to write a detailed release description and a short changelog.
+Once published, this will trigger a workflow to upload the release tarball to npm.
+
+(6) Finally, from the released tag,
+create and push a doc branch to deploy the corresponding version to the doc-site.
+
+```sh
+git checkout -b docs-v0.2.0
+git push origin docs-v0.2.0
+```
diff --git a/contracts/package.json b/contracts/package.json
index e6fa4f9f..78e7a0fc 100644
--- a/contracts/package.json
+++ b/contracts/package.json
@@ -1,18 +1,25 @@
 {
   "name": "@openzeppelin-compact/contracts",
-  "private": true,
-  "type": "module",
-  "main": "dist/index.js",
-  "module": "dist/index.js",
-  "types": "./dist/index.d.ts",
-  "exports": {
-    ".": {
-      "types": "./dist/index.d.ts",
-      "require": "./dist/index.js",
-      "import": "./dist/index.js",
-      "default": "./dist/index.js"
-    }
+  "version": "0.0.1",
+  "description": "OpenZeppelin Compact contract library",
+  "keywords": [
+    "openzeppelin",
+    "compact",
+    "midnight",
+    "contracts",
+    "security"
+  ],
+  "repository": {
+    "type": "git",
+    "url": "https://github.com/OpenZeppelin/compact-contracts.git"
+  },
+  "license": "MIT",
+  "author": "OpenZeppelin Community <maintainers@openzeppelin.org>",
+  "bugs": {
+    "url": "https://github.com/OpenZeppelin/compact-contracts/issues"
   },
+  "homepage": "https://docs.openzeppelin.com/contracts-compact/",
+  "type": "module",
   "scripts": {
     "compact": "compact-compiler",
     "compact:access": "compact-compiler --dir access",
@@ -20,7 +27,7 @@
     "compact:security": "compact-compiler --dir security",
     "compact:token": "compact-compiler --dir token",
     "compact:utils": "compact-compiler --dir utils",
-    "build": "compact-builder && tsc",
+    "build": "compact-builder",
     "test": "compact-compiler --skip-zk && vitest run",
     "types": "tsc -p tsconfig.json --noEmit",
     "clean": "git clean -fXd"
diff --git a/contracts/src/utils/test/utils.test.ts b/contracts/src/utils/test/utils.test.ts
index 1398d4d9..0d768441 100644
--- a/contracts/src/utils/test/utils.test.ts
+++ b/contracts/src/utils/test/utils.test.ts
@@ -19,15 +19,18 @@ describe('Utils', () => {
   describe('isKeyOrAddressZero', () => {
     it('should return zero for the zero address', () => {
       expect(contract.isKeyOrAddressZero(contractUtils.ZERO_KEY)).toBe(true);
-      expect(contract.isKeyOrAddressZero(contractUtils.ZERO_ADDRESS)).toBe(
-        true,
-      );
     });
 
     it('should not return zero for nonzero addresses', () => {
       expect(contract.isKeyOrAddressZero(Z_SOME_KEY)).toBe(false);
       expect(contract.isKeyOrAddressZero(SOME_CONTRACT)).toBe(false);
     });
+
+    it('should not return zero for a zero contract address', () => {
+      expect(contract.isKeyOrAddressZero(contractUtils.ZERO_ADDRESS)).toBe(
+        true,
+      );
+    });
   });
 
   describe('isKeyOrAddressEqual', () => {
diff --git a/contracts/tsconfig.json b/contracts/tsconfig.json
index e6a0e5f7..56f85e46 100644
--- a/contracts/tsconfig.json
+++ b/contracts/tsconfig.json
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 {
   "extends": "@tsconfig/node24/tsconfig.json",
   "include": [
-    "src/**/*.ts"
+    "src/**/witnesses/**/*.ts"
   ],
+  "exclude": ["src/archive/"],
   "compilerOptions": {
     "rootDir": "src",
     "outDir": "dist",
@@ -11,7 +12,6 @@
     "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
     "noImplicitAny": true,
     "isolatedModules": true,
-    "sourceMap": true,
     "resolveJsonModule": true,
   }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/compact/src/Builder.ts b/packages/compact/src/Builder.ts
index 43c2f40b..d6150a2c 100755
--- a/packages/compact/src/Builder.ts
+++ b/packages/compact/src/Builder.ts
@@ -13,8 +13,9 @@ const execAsync = promisify(exec);
 /**
  * A class to handle the build process for a project.
  * Runs CompactCompiler as a prerequisite, then executes build steps (TypeScript compilation,
- * artifact copying, etc.)
- * with progress feedback and colored output for success and error states.
+ * artifact copying, etc.) with progress feedback and colored output for success and error states.
+ *
+ * Creates a clean distribution structure without src/ paths for professional import experience.
  *
  * @notice `cmd` scripts discard `stderr` output and fail silently because this is
  * handled in `executeStep`.
@@ -59,18 +60,43 @@ export class CompactBuilder {
   private readonly compilerFlags: string;
   private readonly steps: Array<{ cmd: string; msg: string; shell?: string }> =
     [
+      // Step 1: Clean dist directory
+      {
+        cmd: 'rm -rf dist && mkdir -p dist',
+        msg: 'Cleaning dist directory',
+        shell: '/bin/bash',
+      },
+
+      // Step 2: TypeScript compilation (witnesses/ -> dist/witnesses/)
       {
         cmd: 'tsc --project tsconfig.build.json',
         msg: 'Compiling TypeScript',
       },
+
+      // Step 3: Copy .compact files preserving structure (excludes Mock* files and archive/)
       {
-        cmd: 'mkdir -p dist/artifacts && cp -Rf src/artifacts/* dist/artifacts/ 2>/dev/null || true',
-        msg: 'Copying artifacts',
+        // biome-ignore-start lint/suspicious/noUselessEscapeInString: Needed inside JS template literal
+        cmd: `
+        find src -type f -name "*.compact" ! -name "Mock*" ! -path "*/archive/*" | while read file; do
+          # Remove src/ prefix from path
+          rel_path="\${file#src/}"
+          mkdir -p "dist/\$(dirname "\$rel_path")"
+          cp "\$file" "dist/\$rel_path"
+        done
+      `,
+        // biome-ignore-end lint/suspicious/noUselessEscapeInString: Needed inside JS template literal
+        msg: 'Copying .compact files (excluding mocks and archive)',
         shell: '/bin/bash',
       },
+
+      // Step 4: Copy essential files for distribution
       {
-        cmd: 'mkdir -p dist && find src -type f -name "*.compact" -exec cp {} dist/ \\; 2>/dev/null && rm dist/Mock*.compact 2>/dev/null || true',
-        msg: 'Copying and cleaning .compact files',
+        cmd: `
+        # Copy package.json and README
+        cp package.json dist/ 2>/dev/null || true
+        cp ../README.md dist/  # Go up one level to monorepo root
+      `,
+        msg: 'Copying package metadata',
         shell: '/bin/bash',
       },
     ];
@@ -99,6 +125,8 @@ export class CompactBuilder {
     for (const [index, step] of this.steps.entries()) {
       await this.executeStep(step, index, this.steps.length);
     }
+
+    console.log(chalk.green('\n✅ Build complete!'));
   }
 
   /**
@@ -155,6 +183,8 @@ export class CompactBuilder {
       .split('\n')
       .filter((line: string): boolean => line.trim() !== '')
       .map((line: string): string => `    ${line}`);
-    console.log(colorFn(lines.join('\n')));
+    if (lines.length > 0) {
+      console.log(colorFn(lines.join('\n')));
+    }
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/compact/src/Compiler.ts b/packages/compact/src/Compiler.ts
index de57236c..29b91528 100755
--- a/packages/compact/src/Compiler.ts
+++ b/packages/compact/src/Compiler.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import {
   DirectoryNotFoundError,
   isPromisifiedChildProcessError,
 } from './types/errors.ts';
+import { COMPACT_VERSION } from './versions.ts';
 
 /** Source directory containing .compact files */
 const SRC_DIR: string = 'src';
@@ -549,6 +550,11 @@ export class CompactCompiler {
       }
     }
 
+    // Apply default toolchain version if none provided; allow env to override
+    if (!version) {
+      version = env.COMPACT_TOOLCHAIN_VERSION ?? COMPACT_VERSION;
+    }
+
     return new CompactCompiler(flags.join(' '), targetDir, version);
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/compact/src/versions.ts b/packages/compact/src/versions.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..efb582eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/compact/src/versions.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+export const COMPACT_VERSION = '0.26.0';
+export const LANGUAGE_VERSION = '0.18.0';
diff --git a/packages/compact/test/Compiler.test.ts b/packages/compact/test/Compiler.test.ts
index e6377400..1a7cbdc0 100644
--- a/packages/compact/test/Compiler.test.ts
+++ b/packages/compact/test/Compiler.test.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import {
   CompilationError,
   DirectoryNotFoundError,
 } from '../src/types/errors.js';
+import { COMPACT_VERSION } from '../src/versions.js';
 
 // Mock Node.js modules
 vi.mock('node:fs');
@@ -479,7 +480,7 @@ describe('CompactCompiler', () => {
 
       expect(compiler.testFlags).toBe('');
       expect(compiler.testTargetDir).toBeUndefined();
-      expect(compiler.testVersion).toBeUndefined();
+      expect(compiler.testVersion).toBe(COMPACT_VERSION);
     });
 
     it('should handle SKIP_ZK environment variable', () => {