diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 30fde5a..d8e1b2b 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@ bin/
 /virtctl
 *.exe
 
+# Test coverage
+coverage.out
+*.coverprofile
+
 # Audit database
 virtwork.db
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f1eaaf9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+# Container runtime (podman by default, override with CONTAINER_RUNTIME=docker)
+CONTAINER_RUNTIME ?= podman
+
+.PHONY: help
+help: ## Display this help message
+	@echo "Available targets:"
+	@grep -E '^[a-zA-Z_-]+:.*?## .*$$' $(MAKEFILE_LIST) | sort | awk 'BEGIN {FS = ":.*?## "}; {printf "  \033[36m%-20s\033[0m %s\n", $$1, $$2}'
+
+.PHONY: test
+test: ## Run unit tests (excludes integration and e2e tests)
+	@echo "Running unit tests..."
+	go test -v -race -coverprofile=coverage.out -covermode=atomic ./...
+
+.PHONY: test-integration
+test-integration: ## Run integration tests (requires live OpenShift cluster with KubeVirt)
+	@echo "Running integration tests..."
+	go test -v -race -tags=integration ./...
+
+.PHONY: test-e2e
+test-e2e: ## Run end-to-end tests (requires live OpenShift cluster with KubeVirt)
+	@echo "Running e2e tests..."
+	go test -v -race -tags=e2e ./tests/e2e/...
+
+.PHONY: test-all
+test-all: test test-integration test-e2e ## Run all tests (unit, integration, and e2e)
+
+.PHONY: vet
+vet: ## Run go vet
+	@echo "Running go vet..."
+	go vet ./...
+
+.PHONY: lint
+lint: ## Run golangci-lint
+	@echo "Running golangci-lint..."
+	@which golangci-lint > /dev/null || (echo "golangci-lint not found. Install from https://golangci-lint.run/usage/install/" && exit 1)
+	golangci-lint run
+
+.PHONY: fmt
+fmt: ## Format Go code
+	@echo "Formatting code..."
+	go fmt ./...
+
+.PHONY: build
+build: ## Build the virtwork binary
+	@echo "Building virtwork..."
+	go build -o bin/virtwork ./cmd/virtwork
+
+.PHONY: clean
+clean: ## Remove build artifacts and test coverage files
+	@echo "Cleaning build artifacts..."
+	rm -rf bin/
+	rm -f coverage.out
+
+.PHONY: ci
+ci: vet test build ## Run CI validation locally (vet, test, build)
+
+.PHONY: install-tools
+install-tools: ## Install development tools (golangci-lint)
+	@echo "Installing development tools..."
+	@which golangci-lint > /dev/null || go install github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint@latest
+
+.PHONY: container-build
+container-build: ## Build container image locally (uses podman by default, override with CONTAINER_RUNTIME=docker)
+	@echo "Building container image with $(CONTAINER_RUNTIME)..."
+	$(CONTAINER_RUNTIME) build -t virtwork:local -f Dockerfile .
+
+.PHONY: verify
+verify: fmt vet lint test ## Run all verification checks (fmt, vet, lint, test)
+
+.DEFAULT_GOAL := help
diff --git a/docs/development.md b/docs/development.md
index a96b10e..792dc85 100644
--- a/docs/development.md
+++ b/docs/development.md
@@ -154,6 +154,99 @@ VIRTWORK_BINARY=./virtwork go test -tags e2e ./tests/e2e/...
 go test -tags "integration e2e" ./...
 ```
 
+## Makefile Targets
+
+A `Makefile` provides convenient shortcuts for common development tasks:
+
+```bash
+# Show all available targets
+make help
+
+# Run unit tests (excludes integration/e2e)
+make test
+
+# Run integration tests (requires cluster)
+make test-integration
+
+# Run e2e tests (requires cluster)
+make test-e2e
+
+# Run all tests (unit + integration + e2e)
+make test-all
+
+# Run go vet
+make vet
+
+# Run golangci-lint
+make lint
+
+# Format code
+make fmt
+
+# Build the binary
+make build
+
+# Run full CI validation locally (vet + test + build)
+make ci
+
+# Run all verification checks (fmt + vet + lint + test)
+make verify
+
+# Clean build artifacts
+make clean
+
+# Install development tools (golangci-lint)
+make install-tools
+
+# Build container image locally (uses podman by default)
+make container-build
+
+# Build with docker instead of podman
+CONTAINER_RUNTIME=docker make container-build
+```
+
+## CI/CD Pipeline
+
+The project uses GitHub Actions for automated validation on push and pull requests:
+
+### Workflows
+
+- **Build & Test** (`.github/workflows/build.yml`) — Runs on every push/PR to main
+  - Go vet checks
+  - Unit tests with race detector
+  - Binary build verification
+  - Only runs unit tests (integration/e2e require live cluster)
+
+- **Linting** (`.github/workflows/lint.yml`) — Runs golangci-lint on every push/PR
+  - Code quality checks
+  - Static analysis
+  - Best practices enforcement
+
+- **Container Image** (`.github/workflows/image.yml`) — Builds and pushes container images
+  - Triggered on main branch pushes and tags
+
+- **Release** (`.github/workflows/release.yml`) — Automated releases via GoReleaser
+  - Triggered on version tags (e.g., `v1.0.0`)
+  - Builds multi-platform binaries
+  - Generates release notes
+
+### Running CI Checks Locally
+
+Before pushing code, run the same checks that CI will execute:
+
+```bash
+# Quick validation (vet + test + build)
+make ci
+
+# Full verification (includes fmt and lint)
+make verify
+
+# Or run individual checks
+make vet
+make test
+make lint
+```
+
 ## Project Layout
 
 ```