diff --git a/.github/workflows/java-release.yml b/.github/workflows/java-release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..195c2e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/java-release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+name: Publish Java package to Maven Central
+
+# A java-v* release tests every supported Java version, then signs the artifacts and
+# publishes them to Maven Central through the Central Portal, after approval.
+
+on:
+  release:
+    types: [published]
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
+# cancel-in-progress: false — cancelling mid-upload can leave a deployment half done.
+concurrency:
+  group: java-release-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+jobs:
+  # Source of truth for the test matrix: java.supported.versions in pom.xml.
+  # java-v* releases only — test/publish inherit this via `needs`.
+  versions:
+    name: java versions
+    if: startsWith(github.ref_name, 'java-v')
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 5
+    outputs:
+      data: ${{ steps.set.outputs.data }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Check out the repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
+
+      - name: Load supported versions from pom.xml
+        id: set
+        run: echo "data=$(python3 scripts/java_dev.py list-supported-versions)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+  # Full support matrix gates the release. Ubuntu only: the CI workflow already covers
+  # Windows and macOS. No dependency caching in release jobs.
+  test:
+    name: test (Java ${{ matrix.java-version }})
+    needs: versions
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 20
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false  # report every version, not just the first failure
+      matrix:
+        java-version: ${{ fromJson(needs.versions.outputs.data).all }}
+    defaults:
+      run:
+        working-directory: java
+    steps:
+      - name: Check out the repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
+
+      - name: Set up Java ${{ matrix.java-version }}
+        uses: actions/setup-java@c5195efecf7bdfc987ee8bae7a71cb8b11521c00 # v4.7.1
+        with:
+          distribution: corretto
+          java-version: ${{ matrix.java-version }}
+
+      - name: Build and test
+        run: mvn --batch-mode --no-transfer-progress install
+
+      - name: Run installed-artifact integration tests
+        run: mvn --batch-mode --no-transfer-progress --file integration-tests/pom.xml verify
+
+  publish:
+    name: publish to Maven Central
+    needs: [versions, test]
+    # A fork that copies this workflow and its tags cannot publish.
+    if: startsWith(github.ref_name, 'java-v') && github.repository_owner == 'aws'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    # Publishing can take up to 60 minutes and the smoke test up to ~45.
+    timeout-minutes: 120
+    # Holds the Central token and signing key. Its required-reviewer gate is the
+    # approval to publish.
+    environment: maven
+    steps:
+      - name: Check out the repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
+
+      # Tag must match the pom version, which must not be a SNAPSHOT, and the
+      # CHANGELOG must have an entry.
+      - name: Verify the tag matches the pom version
+        run: python3 scripts/java_dev.py verify "$GITHUB_REF_NAME"
+
+      # Writes a settings.xml whose `central` server and GPG passphrase read the
+      # environment variables named below, and imports the signing key.
+      - name: Set up Java with the Central credentials and signing key
+        uses: actions/setup-java@c5195efecf7bdfc987ee8bae7a71cb8b11521c00 # v4.7.1
+        with:
+          distribution: corretto
+          java-version: ${{ fromJson(needs.versions.outputs.data).max }}
+          server-id: central
+          server-username: CENTRAL_TOKEN_USERNAME
+          server-password: CENTRAL_TOKEN_PASSWORD
+          gpg-private-key: ${{ secrets.GPG_PRIVATE_KEY }}
+          gpg-passphrase: MAVEN_GPG_PASSPHRASE
+
+      # Tests already ran in the test job. The plugin uploads, waits for validation,
+      # publishes, and fails this step if any of that fails.
+      - name: Sign and publish to Maven Central
+        env:
+          CENTRAL_TOKEN_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.CENTRAL_TOKEN_USERNAME }}
+          CENTRAL_TOKEN_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.CENTRAL_TOKEN_PASSWORD }}
+          MAVEN_GPG_PASSPHRASE: ${{ secrets.GPG_PASSPHRASE }}
+        run: mvn --batch-mode --no-transfer-progress --file java/pom.xml -P release -DskipTests deploy
+
+      # Retries for up to ~45 minutes: Maven Central lags behind a publish.
+      - name: Smoke-test Maven Central
+        run: python3 scripts/java_dev.py smoke "${GITHUB_REF_NAME#java-v}"
diff --git a/java/pom.xml b/java/pom.xml
index 353bf6d..8406856 100644
--- a/java/pom.xml
+++ b/java/pom.xml
@@ -23,6 +23,22 @@
         </license>
     </licenses>
 
+    <developers>
+        <developer>
+            <id>amazonwebservices</id>
+            <organization>Amazon Web Services</organization>
+            <organizationUrl>https://aws.amazon.com</organizationUrl>
+            <roles>
+                <role>developer</role>
+            </roles>
+        </developer>
+    </developers>
+
+    <scm>
+        <connection>scm:git:https://github.com/aws/developer-toolkit-elasticache.git</connection>
+        <url>https://github.com/aws/developer-toolkit-elasticache/tree/main/java</url>
+    </scm>
+
     <properties>
         <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
         <maven.compiler.release>8</maven.compiler.release>
@@ -178,4 +194,48 @@
             </plugin>
         </plugins>
     </build>
+
+    <profiles>
+        <!-- Maven Central release: `mvn -P release deploy`. Signs every artifact,
+             uploads them to the Central Portal and publishes them once validation
+             passes. Run only by java-release.yml, behind approval. -->
+        <profile>
+            <id>release</id>
+            <build>
+                <plugins>
+                    <plugin>
+                        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                        <artifactId>maven-gpg-plugin</artifactId>
+                        <version>3.2.8</version>
+                        <executions>
+                            <execution>
+                                <id>sign-artifacts</id>
+                                <phase>verify</phase>
+                                <goals>
+                                    <goal>sign</goal>
+                                </goals>
+                                <configuration>
+                                    <bestPractices>true</bestPractices>
+                                </configuration>
+                            </execution>
+                        </executions>
+                    </plugin>
+                    <plugin>
+                        <groupId>org.sonatype.central</groupId>
+                        <artifactId>central-publishing-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+                        <version>0.11.0</version>
+                        <extensions>true</extensions>
+                        <configuration>
+                            <publishingServerId>central</publishingServerId>
+                            <autoPublish>true</autoPublish>
+                            <waitUntil>published</waitUntil>
+                            <!-- Publishing can take longer than the 30-minute default. -->
+                            <waitMaxTime>3600</waitMaxTime>
+                            <deploymentName>${project.artifactId} ${project.version}</deploymentName>
+                        </configuration>
+                    </plugin>
+                </plugins>
+            </build>
+        </profile>
+    </profiles>
 </project>
diff --git a/scripts/java_dev.py b/scripts/java_dev.py
index 1162329..62587d5 100644
--- a/scripts/java_dev.py
+++ b/scripts/java_dev.py
@@ -1,14 +1,40 @@
 # Copyright Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+# ruff: noqa: INP001, T201, S310, S314, PLR2004  # CLI: prints, parses our own pom, fixed https URLs
 
 import argparse
+import http.client
 import json
+import time
+import urllib.error
+import urllib.request
 import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
 from pathlib import Path
 
 ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
 POM = ROOT / "java" / "pom.xml"
+CHANGELOG = ROOT / "java" / "CHANGELOG.md"
+DEPENDENT_POMS = [
+    ROOT / "java" / "examples" / "pom.xml",
+    ROOT / "java" / "integration-tests" / "pom.xml",
+]
 MAVEN_NAMESPACE = {"m": "http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"}
+TAG_PREFIX = "java-v"
+CENTRAL = "https://repo1.maven.org/maven2"
+# Maven Central usually serves a newly published release within 10-30 minutes.
+SMOKE_ATTEMPTS = 45
+SMOKE_RETRY_SECONDS = 60
+
+
+def fail(message: str) -> None:
+    raise SystemExit(f"::error::{message}")
+
+
+def pom_field(name: str) -> str:
+    value = ET.parse(POM).getroot().findtext(f"m:{name}", namespaces=MAVEN_NAMESPACE)
+    if not value:
+        fail(f"<{name}> is missing from java/pom.xml")
+    return value
 
 
 def list_supported_versions() -> None:
@@ -25,20 +51,80 @@ def list_supported_versions() -> None:
         or not versions
         or not all(isinstance(version, str) and version for version in versions)
     ):
-        raise SystemExit(
-            "java.supported.versions must be a non-empty JSON string array"
-        )
+        raise SystemExit("java.supported.versions must be a non-empty JSON string array")
     result = {"all": versions, "min": versions[0], "max": versions[-1]}
     print(json.dumps(result, separators=(",", ":")))
 
 
+def verify(tag: str) -> None:
+    version = pom_field("version")
+    if tag != f"{TAG_PREFIX}{version}":
+        fail(f"Release tag version does not match java/pom.xml version {version}.")
+    if version.endswith("-SNAPSHOT"):
+        fail(f"java/pom.xml version {version} is a SNAPSHOT; set the release version.")
+    if not CHANGELOG.is_file() or f"## [{version}]" not in CHANGELOG.read_text():
+        fail(f"java/CHANGELOG.md has no [{version}] entry.")
+    # The examples and integration tests depend on the published artifact.
+    for pom in DEPENDENT_POMS:
+        depends_on = (
+            ET.parse(pom)
+            .getroot()
+            .findtext(
+                f"m:dependencies/m:dependency[m:artifactId='{pom_field('artifactId')}']/m:version",
+                namespaces=MAVEN_NAMESPACE,
+            )
+        )
+        if depends_on != version:
+            fail(f"{pom.relative_to(ROOT)} depends on {depends_on}, not {version}.")
+    print(f"Publishing version {version}.")
+
+
+def smoke(version: str) -> None:
+    group = pom_field("groupId")
+    artifact = pom_field("artifactId")
+    base = (
+        f"{CENTRAL}/{group.replace('.', '/')}/{artifact}/{version}/{artifact}-{version}"
+    )
+    artifacts = [".pom", ".jar", "-sources.jar", "-javadoc.jar"]
+    files = artifacts + [suffix + ".asc" for suffix in artifacts]
+    for attempt in range(1, SMOKE_ATTEMPTS + 1):
+        missing = [suffix for suffix in files if not exists(base + suffix)]
+        if not missing:
+            print(f"Smoke test passed for {group}:{artifact}:{version}.")
+            return
+        if attempt == SMOKE_ATTEMPTS:
+            fail(f"{group}:{artifact}:{version} is not on Maven Central: {missing}.")
+        print(
+            f"attempt {attempt}/{SMOKE_ATTEMPTS}: not on Maven Central yet "
+            f"({', '.join(missing)}); retrying in {SMOKE_RETRY_SECONDS}s",
+            flush=True,
+        )
+        time.sleep(SMOKE_RETRY_SECONDS)
+
+
+def exists(url: str) -> bool:
+    request = urllib.request.Request(url, method="HEAD")
+    try:
+        with urllib.request.urlopen(request, timeout=30) as response:
+            return response.status == 200
+    except (OSError, http.client.HTTPException):
+        return False
+
+
 def main() -> None:
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
-    parser.add_argument("command", choices=["list-supported-versions"])
+    commands = parser.add_subparsers(dest="command", required=True)
+    commands.add_parser("list-supported-versions")
+    commands.add_parser("verify").add_argument("tag")
+    commands.add_parser("smoke").add_argument("version")
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     if args.command == "list-supported-versions":
         list_supported_versions()
+    elif args.command == "verify":
+        verify(args.tag)
+    elif args.command == "smoke":
+        smoke(args.version)
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":