diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..05a30eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+name: Release
+
+# Fires when a v* tag is pushed — including tags created through Gitea's
+# "New Release" UI. Builds the distributable plugin zip and attaches it to
+# the release for that tag (creating the release if only a bare tag was
+# pushed). The attached zip is what UpdateChecker serves to WordPress
+# sites as the update package.
+
+on:
+  push:
+    tags:
+      - 'v*'
+
+jobs:
+  release:
+    name: Build and Publish Release
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup PHP
+        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
+        with:
+          php-version: '8.3'
+          tools: composer:v2
+
+      # A tag that disagrees with the plugin header would make sites see a
+      # phantom update forever (or never see a real one), so fail fast.
+      - name: Verify tag matches plugin version
+        id: meta
+        run: |
+          tag_version="${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}"
+          header_version="$(sed -nE 's/^[[:space:]]*\*?[[:space:]]*Version:[[:space:]]*([^[:space:]]+).*/\1/p' unsupervised-schedular.php | head -1)"
+          if [ "$tag_version" != "$header_version" ]; then
+            echo "Tag ${GITHUB_REF_NAME} does not match plugin header Version: ${header_version}" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "version=${header_version}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: composer install --prefer-dist --no-progress --no-interaction
+
+      - name: Run tests
+        run: composer test
+
+      - name: Build plugin zip
+        run: composer build
+
+      - name: Publish release with zip asset
+        env:
+          TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          api="${GITHUB_SERVER_URL}/api/v1/repos/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}"
+          version="${{ steps.meta.outputs.version }}"
+          zip="dist/unsupervised-schedular-${version}.zip"
+
+          # Pre-release versions (1.2.3-rc.1) are flagged so Gitea's
+          # /releases/latest endpoint — and therefore the update checker —
+          # skips them.
+          prerelease=false
+          case "$version" in *-*) prerelease=true ;; esac
+
+          # Reuse the release if the tag was created via Gitea's release UI.
+          release_id="$(curl -sS -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
+            "${api}/releases/tags/${GITHUB_REF_NAME}" | jq -r '.id // empty' || true)"
+
+          if [ -z "$release_id" ]; then
+            release_id="$(curl -fsS -X POST "${api}/releases" \
+              -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
+              -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
+              -d "{\"tag_name\":\"${GITHUB_REF_NAME}\",\"name\":\"${GITHUB_REF_NAME}\",\"prerelease\":${prerelease}}" \
+              | jq -r '.id')"
+          fi
+
+          echo "Attaching ${zip} to release ${release_id}"
+          curl -fsS -X POST \
+            "${api}/releases/${release_id}/assets?name=unsupervised-schedular-${version}.zip" \
+            -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
+            -F "attachment=@${zip}" > /dev/null
diff --git a/docs/features/plugin-self-update.md b/docs/features/plugin-self-update.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fb76ab5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/features/plugin-self-update.md
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+# Feature: Plugin Self-Update from Gitea Releases
+
+## Overview
+WordPress sites running this plugin receive updates directly from the Gitea
+repository's releases — no wordpress.org listing and no manual zip uploads.
+Publishing a release is the whole deploy: bump the version, merge to `main`,
+tag `vX.Y.Z` in Gitea. Every site sees the update on its next check and can
+install it with one click, or unattended if the site admin enables
+auto-updates for the plugin.
+
+## How It Works
+
+### Release side (`.gitea/workflows/release.yml`)
+Pushing a `v*` tag (including tags created through Gitea's "New Release" UI)
+triggers the release workflow, which:
+
+1. Fails if the tag does not match the `Version:` plugin header — a mismatch
+   would make sites see a phantom update forever, or never see a real one.
+2. Runs the test suite.
+3. Builds the distributable zip via `composer build` (`bin/build-zip.sh`):
+   a single top-level `unsupervised-schedular/` folder with a production
+   (no-dev) Composer autoloader.
+4. Creates the release for the tag (or reuses one created via the UI) and
+   attaches the zip as a release asset. Versions containing a hyphen
+   (e.g. `1.2.3-rc.1`) are flagged as pre-releases.
+
+The attached asset — not Gitea's auto-generated source archive — is the
+update package. Source archives have the wrong top-level folder name and no
+`vendor/` directory, so WordPress could not install them.
+
+### Site side (`src/Update/UpdateChecker.php`)
+The plugin header declares:
+
+```
+Update URI: https://git.unsupervised.ca/Unsupervised/unsupervised-scheduler
+```
+
+Since WP 5.8 that header both blocks wordpress.org from ever serving an
+update for a same-slug plugin and makes core fire the
+`update_plugins_git.unsupervised.ca` filter during update checks.
+`UpdateChecker` (registered in `Plugin::boot()`) answers that filter:
+
+1. Fetches `GET /api/v1/repos/Unsupervised/unsupervised-scheduler/releases/latest`
+   (anonymous — the repo is public). The `/latest` endpoint excludes drafts
+   and pre-releases, so `-rc` builds are never offered to sites.
+2. Caches the result (including failures) in the
+   `us_schedular_latest_release` transient for 6 hours.
+3. Strips the leading `v` from the tag and compares against `USC_VERSION`
+   with `version_compare`; PHP orders `1.0.0-rc.2 < 1.0.0` correctly.
+4. When newer, returns the release's first `.zip` asset as the update
+   package. Core takes over from there: Plugins-screen notice, one-click
+   update, and WP-Cron auto-updates if enabled.
+
+Any API failure, malformed response, or asset-less release degrades to
+"no update available" — never an error surfaced to the site.
+
+## Cutting a Release
+1. Bump the version in `unsupervised-schedular.php` (both the `Version:`
+   header and the `USC_VERSION` constant) and merge to `main`.
+2. Tag the merge commit `vX.Y.Z` — via Gitea's New Release UI or
+   `git tag vX.Y.Z && git push origin vX.Y.Z`.
+3. The release workflow attaches the zip; sites pick the update up on their
+   next check (twice daily via cron, or immediately from
+   Dashboard → Updates → Check again).
+
+## Classes
+
+| Class | Responsibility |
+|---|---|
+| `Update\UpdateChecker` | Answers core's `update_plugins_{hostname}` filter from the Gitea releases API |
+
+## Tests
+- `tests/Unit/Update/UpdateCheckerTest.php`
diff --git a/src/Plugin.php b/src/Plugin.php
index d883c96..f32b7eb 100644
--- a/src/Plugin.php
+++ b/src/Plugin.php
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ use Unsupervised\Schedular\Policy\PolicyVersionRepository;
 use Unsupervised\Schedular\Registration\AnswerRepository;
 use Unsupervised\Schedular\Registration\QuestionRepository;
 use Unsupervised\Schedular\Registration\RegistrationGate;
+use Unsupervised\Schedular\Update\UpdateChecker;
 
 class Plugin {
 
@@ -74,6 +75,7 @@ class Plugin {
 		$registrationPage = new RegistrationPage( $invites, $policies, $policyVersions, $acceptances, $settings, $registrationMailer );
 		$groupClassPage   = new GroupClassPage();
 
+		( new UpdateChecker() )->register();
 		( new RoleManager() )->register();
 		( new RegistrationLoginGate() )->register();
 		( new EmailConfirmationHandler( $settings, $registrationMailer ) )->register();
diff --git a/src/Update/UpdateChecker.php b/src/Update/UpdateChecker.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0e61430
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Update/UpdateChecker.php
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+<?php
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace Unsupervised\Schedular\Update;
+
+use Unsupervised\Schedular\Val;
+
+/**
+ * Serves plugin updates from the Gitea repository's releases.
+ *
+ * Core reads the plugin's `Update URI` header and, during every update
+ * check, fires the `update_plugins_{hostname}` filter for that host. This
+ * class answers the filter by fetching the latest published release from
+ * the Gitea API and returning its zip asset when it is newer than the
+ * installed version. Everything downstream — the Plugins-screen notice,
+ * one-click updates, and opt-in auto-updates — is handled by core.
+ *
+ * Drafts and releases marked "pre-release" in Gitea are never offered:
+ * the `/releases/latest` endpoint excludes both.
+ */
+class UpdateChecker {
+
+	public const HOSTNAME = 'git.unsupervised.ca';
+	public const REPO_URL = 'https://git.unsupervised.ca/Unsupervised/unsupervised-scheduler';
+	public const API_URL  = 'https://git.unsupervised.ca/api/v1/repos/Unsupervised/unsupervised-scheduler/releases/latest';
+
+	public const TRANSIENT = 'us_schedular_latest_release';
+
+	/**
+	 * How long a release lookup (including a failed one) is cached. Core
+	 * runs update checks on admin page loads as well as twice-daily cron,
+	 * so the cache keeps the plugin from hammering the Gitea API.
+	 */
+	private const CACHE_TTL = 6 * 3600;
+
+	public function register(): void {
+		add_filter( 'update_plugins_' . self::HOSTNAME, [ $this, 'provideUpdate' ], 10, 3 );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * `update_plugins_{hostname}` filter callback. Returns the incoming
+	 * value untouched unless a newer release with a zip asset exists, in
+	 * which case it returns the update array core expects.
+	 */
+	public function provideUpdate( mixed $update, mixed $plugin_data, mixed $plugin_file ): mixed {
+		if ( plugin_basename( USC_PLUGIN_FILE ) !== $plugin_file ) {
+			return $update;
+		}
+
+		$release = $this->latestRelease();
+
+		if ( '' === $release['version'] || '' === $release['package'] ) {
+			return $update;
+		}
+
+		if ( version_compare( $release['version'], USC_VERSION, '<=' ) ) {
+			return $update;
+		}
+
+		return [
+			'slug'    => 'unsupervised-schedular',
+			'version' => $release['version'],
+			'url'     => self::REPO_URL,
+			'package' => $release['package'],
+		];
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * The latest published release, from the transient cache when fresh.
+	 *
+	 * @return array{version: string, package: string} Empty strings when no
+	 *                                                 usable release exists.
+	 */
+	private function latestRelease(): array {
+		$cached = get_transient( self::TRANSIENT );
+		if ( is_array( $cached ) ) {
+			return [
+				'version' => Val::string( $cached['version'] ?? '' ),
+				'package' => Val::string( $cached['package'] ?? '' ),
+			];
+		}
+
+		$release = $this->fetchLatestRelease();
+		set_transient( self::TRANSIENT, $release, self::CACHE_TTL );
+
+		return $release;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Ask the Gitea API for the latest published release's version and zip asset.
+	 *
+	 * @return array{version: string, package: string}
+	 */
+	private function fetchLatestRelease(): array {
+		$none = [
+			'version' => '',
+			'package' => '',
+		];
+
+		$response = wp_remote_get(
+			self::API_URL,
+			[
+				'timeout' => 10,
+				'headers' => [ 'Accept' => 'application/json' ],
+			]
+		);
+
+		if ( is_wp_error( $response ) || 200 !== wp_remote_retrieve_response_code( $response ) ) {
+			return $none;
+		}
+
+		$body = json_decode( wp_remote_retrieve_body( $response ), true );
+		if ( ! is_array( $body ) ) {
+			return $none;
+		}
+
+		// Release tags are named v1.2.3; the plugin header carries the bare version.
+		$version = preg_replace( '/^v/i', '', Val::string( $body['tag_name'] ?? '' ) ) ?? '';
+
+		// The release workflow attaches the built plugin zip (top-level
+		// unsupervised-schedular/ folder, production autoloader) as an asset.
+		// Gitea's auto-generated source archives are not usable packages.
+		$package = '';
+		$assets  = $body['assets'] ?? null;
+		if ( is_array( $assets ) ) {
+			foreach ( $assets as $asset ) {
+				if ( ! is_array( $asset ) ) {
+					continue;
+				}
+				if ( str_ends_with( strtolower( Val::string( $asset['name'] ?? '' ) ), '.zip' ) ) {
+					$package = Val::string( $asset['browser_download_url'] ?? '' );
+					break;
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		if ( '' === $version || '' === $package ) {
+			return $none;
+		}
+
+		return [
+			'version' => $version,
+			'package' => $package,
+		];
+	}
+}
diff --git a/tests/Unit/Update/UpdateCheckerTest.php b/tests/Unit/Update/UpdateCheckerTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8bf0981
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Unit/Update/UpdateCheckerTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,177 @@
+<?php
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace Unsupervised\Schedular\Tests\Unit\Update;
+
+use Brain\Monkey\Filters;
+use Brain\Monkey\Functions;
+use Unsupervised\Schedular\Tests\Unit\TestCase;
+use Unsupervised\Schedular\Update\UpdateChecker;
+
+class UpdateCheckerTest extends TestCase
+{
+    private const PLUGIN_FILE = 'unsupervised-schedular/unsupervised-schedular.php';
+    private const PACKAGE_URL = 'https://git.unsupervised.ca/attachments/abc123';
+
+    /** Stub a successful Gitea API response with the given decoded body. */
+    private function stubApiResponse(int $code, mixed $body): void
+    {
+        Functions\when('wp_remote_get')->justReturn(['response' => ['code' => $code]]);
+        Functions\when('is_wp_error')->justReturn(false);
+        Functions\when('wp_remote_retrieve_response_code')->justReturn($code);
+        Functions\when('wp_remote_retrieve_body')->justReturn(json_encode($body));
+    }
+
+    private function release(string $tag, array $assets): array
+    {
+        return ['tag_name' => $tag, 'assets' => $assets];
+    }
+
+    private function zipAsset(string $name = 'unsupervised-schedular-9.9.9.zip'): array
+    {
+        return ['name' => $name, 'browser_download_url' => self::PACKAGE_URL];
+    }
+
+    public function testRegisterHooksHostnameFilter(): void
+    {
+        Filters\expectAdded('update_plugins_git.unsupervised.ca')->once();
+
+        (new UpdateChecker())->register();
+    }
+
+    public function testOffersUpdateWhenReleaseIsNewer(): void
+    {
+        Functions\when('plugin_basename')->justReturn(self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+        Functions\when('get_transient')->justReturn(false);
+        // USC_VERSION is 1.0.0 in the test bootstrap.
+        $this->stubApiResponse(200, $this->release('v9.9.9', [$this->zipAsset()]));
+        Functions\expect('set_transient')->once()->with(
+            UpdateChecker::TRANSIENT,
+            ['version' => '9.9.9', 'package' => self::PACKAGE_URL],
+            \Mockery::type('int')
+        );
+
+        $result = (new UpdateChecker())->provideUpdate(false, [], self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+
+        self::assertSame(
+            [
+                'slug'    => 'unsupervised-schedular',
+                'version' => '9.9.9',
+                'url'     => UpdateChecker::REPO_URL,
+                'package' => self::PACKAGE_URL,
+            ],
+            $result
+        );
+    }
+
+    public function testReturnsUpdateUnchangedForOtherPlugins(): void
+    {
+        Functions\when('plugin_basename')->justReturn(self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+        Functions\expect('wp_remote_get')->never();
+
+        $result = (new UpdateChecker())->provideUpdate(false, [], 'other-plugin/other-plugin.php');
+
+        self::assertFalse($result);
+    }
+
+    public function testNoUpdateWhenReleaseIsNotNewer(): void
+    {
+        Functions\when('plugin_basename')->justReturn(self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+        Functions\when('get_transient')->justReturn(false);
+        Functions\when('set_transient')->justReturn(true);
+        $this->stubApiResponse(200, $this->release('v1.0.0', [$this->zipAsset('unsupervised-schedular-1.0.0.zip')]));
+
+        $result = (new UpdateChecker())->provideUpdate(false, [], self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+
+        self::assertFalse($result);
+    }
+
+    public function testUsesCachedReleaseWithoutHittingApi(): void
+    {
+        Functions\when('plugin_basename')->justReturn(self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+        Functions\when('get_transient')->justReturn(['version' => '2.0.0', 'package' => self::PACKAGE_URL]);
+        Functions\expect('wp_remote_get')->never();
+        Functions\expect('set_transient')->never();
+
+        $result = (new UpdateChecker())->provideUpdate(false, [], self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+
+        self::assertIsArray($result);
+        self::assertSame('2.0.0', $result['version']);
+    }
+
+    public function testApiFailureIsCachedAndReturnsUpdateUnchanged(): void
+    {
+        Functions\when('plugin_basename')->justReturn(self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+        Functions\when('get_transient')->justReturn(false);
+        Functions\when('wp_remote_get')->justReturn('irrelevant');
+        Functions\when('is_wp_error')->justReturn(true);
+        // A failed lookup is cached too, so a down Gitea is not re-polled
+        // on every admin page load.
+        Functions\expect('set_transient')->once()->with(
+            UpdateChecker::TRANSIENT,
+            ['version' => '', 'package' => ''],
+            \Mockery::type('int')
+        );
+
+        $result = (new UpdateChecker())->provideUpdate(false, [], self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+
+        self::assertFalse($result);
+    }
+
+    public function testNon200ResponseReturnsUpdateUnchanged(): void
+    {
+        Functions\when('plugin_basename')->justReturn(self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+        Functions\when('get_transient')->justReturn(false);
+        Functions\when('set_transient')->justReturn(true);
+        $this->stubApiResponse(404, ['message' => 'Not Found']);
+
+        $result = (new UpdateChecker())->provideUpdate(false, [], self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+
+        self::assertFalse($result);
+    }
+
+    public function testPicksFirstZipAssetAndSkipsOthers(): void
+    {
+        Functions\when('plugin_basename')->justReturn(self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+        Functions\when('get_transient')->justReturn(false);
+        Functions\when('set_transient')->justReturn(true);
+        $this->stubApiResponse(200, $this->release('v9.9.9', [
+            ['name' => 'release-notes.pdf', 'browser_download_url' => 'https://example.test/notes.pdf'],
+            $this->zipAsset(),
+        ]));
+
+        $result = (new UpdateChecker())->provideUpdate(false, [], self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+
+        self::assertIsArray($result);
+        self::assertSame(self::PACKAGE_URL, $result['package']);
+    }
+
+    public function testReleaseWithoutZipAssetOffersNoUpdate(): void
+    {
+        Functions\when('plugin_basename')->justReturn(self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+        Functions\when('get_transient')->justReturn(false);
+        Functions\when('set_transient')->justReturn(true);
+        $this->stubApiResponse(200, $this->release('v9.9.9', [
+            ['name' => 'release-notes.pdf', 'browser_download_url' => 'https://example.test/notes.pdf'],
+        ]));
+
+        $result = (new UpdateChecker())->provideUpdate(false, [], self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+
+        self::assertFalse($result);
+    }
+
+    public function testMalformedApiBodyOffersNoUpdate(): void
+    {
+        Functions\when('plugin_basename')->justReturn(self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+        Functions\when('get_transient')->justReturn(false);
+        Functions\when('set_transient')->justReturn(true);
+        Functions\when('wp_remote_get')->justReturn(['response' => ['code' => 200]]);
+        Functions\when('is_wp_error')->justReturn(false);
+        Functions\when('wp_remote_retrieve_response_code')->justReturn(200);
+        Functions\when('wp_remote_retrieve_body')->justReturn('not json');
+
+        $result = (new UpdateChecker())->provideUpdate(false, [], self::PLUGIN_FILE);
+
+        self::assertFalse($result);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/uninstall.php b/uninstall.php
index 636bcbb..76cfba1 100644
--- a/uninstall.php
+++ b/uninstall.php
@@ -16,3 +16,4 @@ remove_role('us_instructor');
 remove_role('us_student');
 
 delete_option('us_schedular_version');
+delete_transient('us_schedular_latest_release');
diff --git a/unsupervised-schedular.php b/unsupervised-schedular.php
index 3b6b932..a14febd 100644
--- a/unsupervised-schedular.php
+++ b/unsupervised-schedular.php
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
  * Author:      Unsupervised
  * License:     GPL-2.0-or-later
  * Text Domain: unsupervised-schedular
+ * Update URI:  https://git.unsupervised.ca/Unsupervised/unsupervised-scheduler
  */
 
 declare(strict_types=1);