diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..37de23b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# Changelog
+
+## v0.3.0-pre
+
+Current pre-v1 milestone for the licensed short-term FM/RDS transmitter project.
+
+### Included
+- Windows-first Go project scaffold
+- validated JSON config schema
+- HTTP status/control surface with dry-run endpoint
+- deterministic dry-run output
+- offline composite/IQ-style file generation
+- simulated transmit path in main CLI via Soapy-oriented backend abstraction
+- automated no-hardware tests and smoke scripts
+
+### Not yet included
+- real SoapySDR hardware driver integration
+- full RDS group framing/CRC/timing correctness
+- real audio ingestion pipeline
+- release CI / packaged distribution
diff --git a/RELEASE.md b/RELEASE.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3f07d80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/RELEASE.md
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+# Release Notes
+
+## Project status
+
+This repository is currently at a **pre-v1 no-hardware milestone**.
+
+What is true today:
+- the repo builds
+- automated tests pass
+- dry-run, offline generation, and simulated transmit paths run without hardware
+- core architecture for config/control/output is in place
+
+What is not yet true:
+- real SDR hardware transmission is not integrated
+- this should not yet be presented as a final v1.0 release
+
+## Recommended tag
+
+- `v0.3.0-pre`
diff --git a/docs/README.md b/docs/README.md
index 9c7ad33..bf66fb4 100644
--- a/docs/README.md
+++ b/docs/README.md
@@ -35,3 +35,9 @@ This is the current closest no-hardware stand-in for the future transmit pipelin
 
 `cmd/offline` generates a deterministic no-hardware IQ/composite-style file using the repository's output backend path.
 This is still an MVP path, but it is a more realistic offline artifact than the JSON-only dry-run.
+
+## Release posture
+
+Current honest release posture: **pre-v1**.
+Recommended milestone tag: `v0.3.0-pre`.
+See `CHANGELOG.md` and `RELEASE.md`.
diff --git a/scripts/release-check.ps1 b/scripts/release-check.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ca347b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release-check.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
+
+go test ./...
+go run ./cmd/fmrtx --dry-run --dry-output build/dryrun/frame.json
+go run ./cmd/fmrtx --simulate-tx --simulate-output build/sim/simulated-soapy.iqf32 --simulate-duration 250ms
+go run ./cmd/offline -duration 500ms -output build/offline/composite.iqf32
+
+Push-Location internal
+go test ./...
+Pop-Location
+
+Push-Location examples
+go test ./...
+Pop-Location
+
+Write-Host "release-check: OK"