diff --git a/.github/workflows/python-app.yml b/.github/workflows/python-app.yml
index aaa8825..6a503db 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/python-app.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/python-app.yml
@@ -3,16 +3,17 @@ name: Python application
 on: [push, pull_request]
 
 jobs:
-  build:
-
+  test:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
     steps:
     - name: Checkout repository
-      uses: actions/checkout@v2
+      uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      with:
+        fetch-depth: 0  # Fetch all history for versioning
 
     - name: Set up Python
-      uses: actions/setup-python@v2
+      uses: actions/setup-python@v4
       with:
         python-version: '3.x'
 
@@ -37,14 +38,55 @@ jobs:
       run: |
         uv run pytest --reruns 3 # githubs playwright sometimes fails
 
+  publish:
+    needs: test
+    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && github.event_name == 'push'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write  # Allows pushing tags
+
+    steps:
+    - name: Checkout repository
+      uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      with:
+        fetch-depth: 0  # Fetch all history for versioning
+        token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+    - name: Set up Python
+      uses: actions/setup-python@v4
+      with:
+        python-version: '3.x'
+
+    - name: Install UV
+      run: |
+        curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
+        echo "$HOME/.cargo/bin" >> $GITHUB_PATH
+
+    - name: Install dependencies
+      run: |
+        uv sync
+
+    - name: Bump version and push tag
+      id: tag_version
+      uses: mathieudutour/github-tag-action@v6.1
+      with:
+        github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        default_bump: patch
+        tag_prefix: v
+
     - name: Build package
-      if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
       run: |
         uv build
 
     - name: Publish package to PyPI
-      if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
       env:
         UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.PYPI_TOKEN }}
       run: |
         uv publish
+
+    - name: Create GitHub Release
+      uses: ncipollo/release-action@v1
+      with:
+        tag: ${{ steps.tag_version.outputs.new_tag }}
+        name: Release ${{ steps.tag_version.outputs.new_tag }}
+        body: ${{ steps.tag_version.outputs.changelog }}
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ecc9912..56719c5 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 Dockerfile
 example.py
 
+# Auto-generated version file
+hstream/_version.py
+
 .*pyc
 # Byte-compiled / optimized / DLL files
 __pycache__/
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTE.md b/CONTRIBUTE.md
index 72ceb9a..ee15d7a 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTE.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTE.md
@@ -1,15 +1,54 @@
 ## Deploy
 
-1. increment version in `setup.py`
+We use automatic versioning and deployment with hatch-vcs and GitHub Actions.
 
-2. `rm -rf build/ hstream.egg-info/ dist/`
+### How It Works:
 
-3. `pip install twine build`
+```
+Push to main → Tests pass → Auto-create tag → Build with version → Publish to PyPI → Create GitHub release
+```
 
-4. `python -m build`
+Every push to the main branch will:
+1. Run all tests
+2. Automatically create a new git tag (patch version bump: v0.1.58 → v0.1.59)
+3. Build the package with the version from the tag
+4. Publish to PyPI automatically
+5. Create a GitHub release with changelog
+
+### Important: Initial Setup Needed
+
+Before the auto-versioning works, you need to create an initial tag:
+
+```bash
+# Switch to main branch and create initial tag
+git checkout main
+git tag v0.1.58  # Use the next version number
+git push origin v0.1.58
+```
+
+After that, every push to main will auto-increment the patch version.
+
+### Manual Version Bumps
 
+The default is to bump the patch version (0.1.X), but you can control the version bump with commit messages:
+
+- **Patch bump** (default): `git commit -m "fix: bug fix"`
+- **Minor bump**: `git commit -m "feat: new feature"`
+- **Major bump**: `git commit -m "feat!: breaking change"`
+
+### Old Manual Process (Deprecated)
+
+<details>
+<summary>Click to see the old manual deployment process (no longer used)</summary>
+
+1. increment version in `setup.py`
+2. `rm -rf build/ hstream.egg-info/ dist/`
+3. `pip install twine build`
+4. `python -m build`
 5. `twine upload dist/*`
 
+</details>
+
 ## Kill orphaned uvicorn processes
 
 `kill -9 $(lsof -t -i:8000)` (or whatever port they we're using)
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 989956d..f4170d7 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "hstream"
-version = "0.1.57"
+dynamic = ["version"]
 description = ""
 authors = [{ name = "Conrad", email = "conradbez1@gmail.com" }]
 readme = "README.md"
@@ -16,6 +16,12 @@ dependencies = [
 [project.scripts]
 hstream = "hstream.cli:cli"
 
+[tool.hatch.version]
+source = "vcs"
+
+[tool.hatch.build.hooks.vcs]
+version-file = "hstream/_version.py"
+
 [tool.uv]
 dev-dependencies = [
     "black>=24.4.2",
@@ -32,5 +38,5 @@ dev-dependencies = [
 ]
 
 [build-system]
-requires = ["hatchling"]
+requires = ["hatchling", "hatch-vcs"]
 build-backend = "hatchling.build"
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 24de1e9..fb7d564 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 version = 1
-revision = 2
+revision = 3
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 resolution-markers = [
     "python_full_version >= '3.12'",
@@ -364,7 +364,6 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "hstream"
-version = "0.1.57"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "beautifulsoup4" },