diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index a09b7bb..31b5927 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 
 	<groupId>de.mpg.biochem</groupId>
 	<artifactId>mars-minio</artifactId>
-	<version>0.4-SNAPSHOT</version>
+	<version>0.4</version>
 
 	<name>mars-minio</name>
 	<description>Mars N5 source and reader implementations.</description>
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@
 	<scm>
 		<connection>scm:git:git://github.com/duderstadt-lab/mars-minio</connection>
 		<developerConnection>scm:git:git@github.com:duderstadt-lab/mars-minio</developerConnection>
-		<tag>HEAD</tag>
+		<tag>mars-minio-0.4</tag>
 		<url>https://github.com/duderstadt-lab/mars-minio</url>
 	</scm>
 	<issueManagement>
diff --git a/release.properties b/release.properties
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..64ba76e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/release.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+#release configuration
+#Thu Aug 08 20:20:13 CEST 2024
+completedPhase=end-release
+exec.activateProfiles=deploy-to-scijava
+exec.additionalArguments=-Dgpg.skip\=true 
+exec.pomFileName=pom.xml
+exec.snapshotReleasePluginAllowed=false
+pinExternals=false
+preparationGoals=clean verify
+project.dev.de.mpg.biochem\:mars-minio=0.5-SNAPSHOT
+project.rel.de.mpg.biochem\:mars-minio=0.4
+project.scm.de.mpg.biochem\:mars-minio.connection=scm\:git\:git\://github.com/duderstadt-lab/mars-minio
+project.scm.de.mpg.biochem\:mars-minio.developerConnection=scm\:git\:git@github.com\:duderstadt-lab/mars-minio
+project.scm.de.mpg.biochem\:mars-minio.tag=HEAD
+project.scm.de.mpg.biochem\:mars-minio.url=https\://github.com/duderstadt-lab/mars-minio
+projectVersionPolicyConfig=<projectVersionPolicyConfig>${projectVersionPolicyConfig}</projectVersionPolicyConfig>\n
+projectVersionPolicyId=default
+pushChanges=false
+releaseStrategyId=default
+remoteTagging=true
+scm.branchCommitComment=@{prefix} prepare branch @{releaseLabel}
+scm.commentPrefix=[maven-release-plugin] 
+scm.developmentCommitComment=@{prefix} prepare for next development iteration
+scm.releaseCommitComment=@{prefix} prepare release @{releaseLabel}
+scm.rollbackCommitComment=@{prefix} rollback the release of @{releaseLabel}
+scm.tag=mars-minio-0.4
+scm.tagNameFormat=@{project.artifactId}-@{project.version}
+scm.url=scm\:git\:https\://github.com/duderstadt-lab/mars-minio