diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index dacb95d0..2590b7c8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Create vsix package
         run: |
-          yarn package --target ${{ matrix.target }}
+          yarn run package --target ${{ matrix.target }} --yarn
 
       - name: Upload package
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@b7c566a772e6b6bfb58ed0dc250532a479d7789f # v6.0.0
diff --git a/.github/workflows/nightly.yml b/.github/workflows/nightly.yml
index bdeb4f64..1c3a62ec 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/nightly.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/nightly.yml
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Create vsix package
         run: |
-          yarn package --target ${{ matrix.target }}
+          yarn run package --target ${{ matrix.target }} --yarn
 
       - name: Upload package
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@b7c566a772e6b6bfb58ed0dc250532a479d7789f # v6.0.0
diff --git a/DEVELOPMENT.md b/DEVELOPMENT.md
index 30b020eb..26738126 100644
--- a/DEVELOPMENT.md
+++ b/DEVELOPMENT.md
@@ -58,6 +58,24 @@ Supported `<target>`s are:
     > yarn package [--target <target>]
     ```
 
+## Release versioning
+
+This repository follows the VS Code Marketplace pre-release recommendation:
+
+- **Odd** minor versions (`x.1.z`, `x.3.z`, ...) are pre-releases.
+- **Even** minor versions (`x.0.z`, `x.2.z`, ...) are full releases.
+
+To enforce this consistently, both packaging and publishing use `scripts/vsce-release.js`, which:
+
+- checks the current `package.json` version minor value.
+- automatically adds `--pre-release` to `vsce package` for odd minor versions.
+
+Use the following commands:
+
+```sh
+> yarn run package [--target <target>]
+```
+
 ## Developing
 
 1. If you are developing and debugging this extension, we recommend you run the following command
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 2ee1254f..2d04c736 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@
     "lint": "eslint .",
     "test": "jest --reporters=default --reporters=./node_modules/jest-html-reporter",
     "all": "yarn && yarn download-tools && yarn test",
-    "package": "vsce package --yarn",
+    "package": "node ./scripts/vsce-release.js --yarn",
     "tpip:report": "tsx scripts/tpip-reporter --header docs/tpip-header.md docs/third-party-licenses.json TPIP.md",
     "lint:md": "markdownlint **/*.md -c ./.github/markdownlint.jsonc -i ./node_modules -i ./dist -i ./coverage -i ./tools",
     "check:links": "tsx scripts/check-links.ts -i ./node_modules/** -i ./.github/** -c ./.github/markdown-link-check.jsonc",
diff --git a/scripts/vsce-release.js b/scripts/vsce-release.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4c341fdf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/vsce-release.js
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+/**
+ * Copyright 2026 Arm Limited
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+// generated with AI
+
+/**
+ * CLI usage:
+ * - Preferred: npm run package
+ * - With extra vsce flags: npm run package -- <vsce-args>
+ * - Direct invocation: node ./scripts/vsce-release.js [package] [vsce-args]
+ *
+ * Notes:
+ * - This helper only supports the `package` command.
+ * - `--pre-release` is appended automatically for odd minor versions.
+ */
+
+import fs from 'node:fs';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+
+const __filename = fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
+const __dirname = path.dirname(__filename);
+const rootPath = path.resolve(__dirname, '..');
+const packageJsonPath = path.join(rootPath, 'package.json');
+
+const packageJson = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(packageJsonPath, 'utf8'));
+const version = packageJson.version;
+
+const match = /^(\d+)\.(\d+)\.(\d+)(?:[-+].*)?$/.exec(version);
+if (!match) {
+  console.error(`Unsupported package.json version format: ${version}`);
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+
+const minor = Number(match[2]);
+const isPreReleaseChannel = minor % 2 === 1;
+
+const allowedCommands = new Set(['package']);
+const firstArg = process.argv[2];
+const command = firstArg && !firstArg.startsWith('-') ? firstArg : 'package';
+
+if (!allowedCommands.has(command)) {
+  console.error(`Unsupported vsce command: ${command}`);
+  console.error('Supported commands: package');
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+
+const passthroughArgs = command === firstArg ? process.argv.slice(3) : process.argv.slice(2);
+const args = [command, ...passthroughArgs];
+
+if (isPreReleaseChannel) {
+  args.push('--pre-release');
+}
+
+console.log(`Running: vsce ${args.join(' ')}`);
+
+const result = spawnSync('vsce', args, {
+  cwd: rootPath,
+  stdio: 'inherit',
+  shell: process.platform === 'win32'
+});
+
+if (result.error) {
+  console.error(result.error.message);
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+
+process.exit(result.status ?? 1);