diff --git a/.github/workflows/build_template_zip.yml b/.github/workflows/build_template_zip.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eff826c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/build_template_zip.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,285 @@
+name: Build Joomla Tenplate ZIP from src folder
+
+on:
+	workflow_dispatch:
+		inputs:
+			target_folder:
+				description: "Folder to zip (relative to repo root)"
+				required: false
+				default: "src"
+			zip_name:
+				description: "Base ZIP name (default: repository name, lowercase)"
+				required: false
+				default: ""
+			version_suffix:
+				description: "Optional version suffix for filename (example 01.02.03)"
+				required: false
+				default: ""
+			publish_release:
+				description: "If true, upload ZIP and SHA256 as GitHub Release assets"
+				required: false
+				default: "false"
+				type: choice
+				options:
+					- "false"
+					- "true"
+			release_tag:
+				description: "Release tag to publish to (required if publish_release=true)"
+				required: false
+				default: ""
+			prerelease:
+				description: "If true, mark the release as prerelease"
+				required: false
+				default: "true"
+				type: choice
+				options:
+					- "false"
+					- "true"
+
+	workflow_call:
+		inputs:
+			target_folder:
+				description: "Folder to zip (relative to repo root)"
+				required: false
+				type: string
+				default: "src"
+			zip_name:
+				description: "Base ZIP name (default: repository name, lowercase)"
+				required: false
+				type: string
+				default: ""
+			version_suffix:
+				description: "Optional version suffix for filename (example 01.02.03)"
+				required: false
+				type: string
+				default: ""
+			publish_release:
+				description: "If true, upload ZIP and SHA256 as GitHub Release assets"
+				required: false
+				type: boolean
+				default: false
+			release_tag:
+				description: "Release tag to publish to (required if publish_release=true)"
+				required: false
+				type: string
+				default: ""
+			prerelease:
+				description: "If true, mark the release as prerelease"
+				required: false
+				type: boolean
+				default: false
+
+permissions:
+	contents: write
+
+jobs:
+	zip:
+		name: Package folder as ZIP
+		runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+		steps:
+			- name: Checkout repository
+				uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+			- name: Verify tooling
+				shell: bash
+				run: |
+					set -euo pipefail
+
+					if ! command -v zip >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+						echo "ERROR: zip is not installed on runner" >&2
+						exit 1
+					fi
+
+					if ! command -v sha256sum >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+						echo "ERROR: sha256sum is not available on runner" >&2
+						exit 1
+					fi
+
+			- name: Resolve and validate inputs
+				shell: bash
+				run: |
+					set -euo pipefail
+
+					# Prefer workflow_call inputs when present, otherwise use workflow_dispatch inputs.
+					TARGET_FOLDER="${{ inputs.target_folder }}"
+					ZIP_NAME_INPUT="${{ inputs.zip_name }}"
+					VERSION_SUFFIX="${{ inputs.version_suffix }}"
+					PUBLISH_RELEASE="${{ inputs.publish_release }}"
+					RELEASE_TAG="${{ inputs.release_tag }}"
+					PRERELEASE="${{ inputs.prerelease }}"
+
+					if [[ -z "$TARGET_FOLDER" ]]; then TARGET_FOLDER="${{ github.event.inputs.target_folder }}"; fi
+					if [[ -z "$ZIP_NAME_INPUT" ]]; then ZIP_NAME_INPUT="${{ github.event.inputs.zip_name }}"; fi
+					if [[ -z "$VERSION_SUFFIX" ]]; then VERSION_SUFFIX="${{ github.event.inputs.version_suffix }}"; fi
+					if [[ -z "$PUBLISH_RELEASE" ]]; then PUBLISH_RELEASE="${{ github.event.inputs.publish_release }}"; fi
+					if [[ -z "$RELEASE_TAG" ]]; then RELEASE_TAG="${{ github.event.inputs.release_tag }}"; fi
+					if [[ -z "$PRERELEASE" ]]; then PRERELEASE="${{ github.event.inputs.prerelease }}"; fi
+
+					TARGET_FOLDER="${TARGET_FOLDER//[[:space:]]/}"
+					ZIP_NAME_INPUT="${ZIP_NAME_INPUT//[[:space:]]/}"
+					VERSION_SUFFIX="${VERSION_SUFFIX//[[:space:]]/}"
+					RELEASE_TAG="${RELEASE_TAG//[[:space:]]/}"
+
+					if [[ -z "$TARGET_FOLDER" ]]; then
+						TARGET_FOLDER="src"
+					fi
+
+					if [[ "$PUBLISH_RELEASE" == "true" || "$PUBLISH_RELEASE" == "True" ]]; then
+						PUBLISH_RELEASE="true"
+					else
+						PUBLISH_RELEASE="false"
+					fi
+
+					if [[ "$PRERELEASE" == "true" || "$PRERELEASE" == "True" ]]; then
+						PRERELEASE="true"
+					else
+						PRERELEASE="false"
+					fi
+
+					if [[ ! -d "$TARGET_FOLDER" ]]; then
+						echo "ERROR: Folder does not exist: $TARGET_FOLDER" >&2
+						exit 1
+					fi
+
+					if [[ -n "$VERSION_SUFFIX" ]] && [[ ! "$VERSION_SUFFIX" =~ ^[0-9]{2}\.[0-9]{2}\.[0-9]{2}$ ]]; then
+						echo "ERROR: version_suffix must match NN.NN.NN (example 01.02.03)" >&2
+						exit 1
+					fi
+
+					if [[ -n "$ZIP_NAME_INPUT" ]]; then
+						ZIP_NAME_INPUT="$(echo "$ZIP_NAME_INPUT" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')"
+					fi
+
+					if [[ "$PUBLISH_RELEASE" == "true" ]] && [[ -z "$RELEASE_TAG" ]]; then
+						echo "ERROR: release_tag is required when publish_release=true" >&2
+						exit 1
+					fi
+
+					echo "TARGET_FOLDER=$TARGET_FOLDER" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+					echo "INPUT_ZIP_NAME=$ZIP_NAME_INPUT" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+					echo "INPUT_VERSION_SUFFIX=$VERSION_SUFFIX" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+					echo "PUBLISH_RELEASE=$PUBLISH_RELEASE" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+					echo "RELEASE_TAG=$RELEASE_TAG" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+					echo "PRERELEASE=$PRERELEASE" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
+			- name: Prepare dist folder
+				shell: bash
+				run: |
+					set -euo pipefail
+					rm -rf dist
+					mkdir -p dist
+
+			- name: Resolve version
+				shell: bash
+				run: |
+					set -euo pipefail
+
+					VERSION_SUFFIX="$INPUT_VERSION_SUFFIX"
+
+					if [[ -z "$VERSION_SUFFIX" ]]; then
+						XML_FILE=""
+						if [[ -f "$TARGET_FOLDER/templateDetails.xml" ]]; then
+							XML_FILE="$TARGET_FOLDER/templateDetails.xml"
+						elif [[ -f "$TARGET_FOLDER/manifest.xml" ]]; then
+							XML_FILE="$TARGET_FOLDER/manifest.xml"
+						fi
+
+						if [[ -n "$XML_FILE" ]]; then
+							VERSION_SUFFIX=$(grep -oPm1 '(?<=<version>)[^<]+' "$XML_FILE" || true)
+							VERSION_SUFFIX="${VERSION_SUFFIX//[[:space:]]/}"
+						fi
+					fi
+
+					if [[ -n "$VERSION_SUFFIX" ]] && [[ ! "$VERSION_SUFFIX" =~ ^[0-9]{2}\.[0-9]{2}\.[0-9]{2}$ ]]; then
+						echo "ERROR: Version found in XML is invalid: $VERSION_SUFFIX" >&2
+						exit 1
+					fi
+
+					if [[ -z "$VERSION_SUFFIX" ]]; then
+						VERSION_SUFFIX="$(echo "${GITHUB_REPOSITORY##*/}" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')"
+					fi
+
+					echo "VERSION_SUFFIX=$VERSION_SUFFIX" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
+			- name: Create ZIP archive and SHA256
+				shell: bash
+				run: |
+					set -euo pipefail
+
+					DEFAULT_REPO_NAME="$(echo "${GITHUB_REPOSITORY##*/}" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')"
+					BASE_ZIP_NAME="$INPUT_ZIP_NAME"
+
+					if [[ -z "$BASE_ZIP_NAME" ]]; then
+						BASE_ZIP_NAME="$DEFAULT_REPO_NAME"
+					fi
+
+					SAFE_FOLDER_NAME="$(echo "$TARGET_FOLDER" | tr '/' '-')"
+
+					ZIP_NAME="${BASE_ZIP_NAME}-${SAFE_FOLDER_NAME}-${VERSION_SUFFIX}.zip"
+					ZIP_PATH="dist/$ZIP_NAME"
+
+					cd "$TARGET_FOLDER"
+
+					zip -r "../$ZIP_PATH" . \
+						-x "*.DS_Store" \
+						-x "__MACOSX/*" \
+						-x "node_modules/*" \
+						-x "coverage/*" \
+						-x "*.log" \
+						-x "*.tmp"
+
+					cd - >/dev/null 2>&1
+
+					SHA_PATH="${ZIP_PATH}.sha256"
+					sha256sum "$ZIP_PATH" | awk '{print $1}' > "$SHA_PATH"
+
+					ZIP_ARTIFACT_NAME="${ZIP_NAME}"
+					echo "ZIP_NAME=$ZIP_NAME" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+					echo "ZIP_ARTIFACT_NAME=$ZIP_ARTIFACT_NAME" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+					echo "ZIP_PATH=$ZIP_PATH" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+					echo "SHA_PATH=$SHA_PATH" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
+			- name: Export artifact metadata
+				id: meta
+				shell: bash
+				run: |
+					set -euo pipefail
+					echo "zip_artifact_name=$ZIP_NAME" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+					echo "sha_artifact_name=${ZIP_NAME}.sha256" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+					echo "zip_file_name=$ZIP_NAME" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+					echo "sha_file_name=$(basename "$SHA_PATH")" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+			- name: Upload ZIP artifact
+				uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+				with:
+					name: ${{ env.ZIP_ARTIFACT_NAME }}
+					path: ${{ env.ZIP_PATH }}
+
+			- name: Upload SHA256 artifact
+				uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+				with:
+					name: ${{ env.ZIP_NAME }}.sha256
+					path: ${{ env.SHA_PATH }}
+
+			- name: Upload assets to GitHub Release
+				id: release_upload
+				if: ${{ env.PUBLISH_RELEASE == 'true' }}
+				uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
+				with:
+					tag_name: ${{ env.RELEASE_TAG }}
+					prerelease: ${{ env.PRERELEASE == 'true' }}
+					files: |
+						${{ env.ZIP_PATH }}
+						${{ env.SHA_PATH }}
+
+			- name: Export release upload status
+				id: release_status
+				shell: bash
+				run: |
+					set -euo pipefail
+					if [[ "$PUBLISH_RELEASE" == "true" ]]; then
+						echo "release_uploaded=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+					else
+						echo "release_uploaded=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+					fi