diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish-release-from-tag.yml b/.github/workflows/publish-release-from-tag.yml
index 38f9f32e..d75cda2b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish-release-from-tag.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish-release-from-tag.yml
@@ -91,14 +91,16 @@ jobs:
         run: ./gradlew check
 
       - name: Build release artifacts
-        run: ./gradlew build publishToMavenLocal -Pversion=${{ steps.determine-tag.outputs.tag }}
+        run: ./gradlew build publishToMavenLocal
 
       - name: Find built artifacts
         id: find-artifacts
         run: |
-          VERSION="${{ steps.determine-tag.outputs.tag }}"
+          TAG="${{ steps.determine-tag.outputs.tag }}"
+          # Strip 'v' prefix to get the actual version used by Gradle
+          VERSION="${TAG#v}"
 
-          # Find the built JAR files (version includes 'v' prefix from generateVersion())
+          # Find the built JAR files (version does NOT include 'v' prefix)
           MAIN_JAR=$(find build/libs -name "*-${VERSION}.jar" ! -name "*-sources.jar" ! -name "*-javadoc.jar" | head -1)
           SOURCES_JAR=$(find build/libs -name "*-${VERSION}-sources.jar" | head -1)
           JAVADOC_JAR=$(find build/libs -name "*-${VERSION}-javadoc.jar" | head -1)
@@ -163,3 +165,11 @@ jobs:
           SONATYPE_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.SONATYPE_PASSWORD }}
           GPG_SIGNING_KEY: ${{ secrets.GPG_SIGNING_KEY }}
           GPG_SIGNING_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.GPG_SIGNING_PASSWORD }}
+
+      - name: Wait for Maven Central sync
+        run: |
+          TAG="${{ steps.determine-tag.outputs.tag }}"
+          # Strip 'v' prefix to get the Maven version
+          VERSION="${TAG#v}"
+          echo "Waiting for version $VERSION to sync to Maven Central. THIS CAN TAKE MANY HOURS! Godspeed"
+          ./scripts/wait-for-maven.sh "$VERSION"
diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index fd63e259..5c2876bf 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -89,15 +89,15 @@ dependencies {
  *
  * This is written into braintrust.properties at build time and shipped into the distributed sdk jar
  *
- * - if we are on a tag (i.e. v0.0.3), use the tag
- * - otherwise, use $mostRecentTag-$currentCommitSha
+ * - if we are on a tag (i.e. v0.0.3), use the tag WITHOUT the 'v' prefix (0.0.3)
+ * - otherwise, use $mostRecentTag-$currentCommitSha (without 'v' prefix)
  *
  * Additionally, if the git workspace is not clean, append -DIRTY to the version
  *
  * Examples
- * - v0.0.3
- * - v0.0.3-c4af682
- * - v0.0.3-c4af682-DIRTY
+ * - 0.0.3 (from tag v0.0.3)
+ * - 0.0.3-c4af682 (from tag v0.0.3)
+ * - 0.0.3-c4af682-DIRTY
  */
 def generateVersion() {
   // Check if workspace is clean
@@ -125,8 +125,8 @@ def generateVersion() {
 
   def version
   if (currentTag != null) {
-    // We're on a tag, use the tag name
-    version = currentTag
+    // We're on a tag, use the tag name (strip 'v' prefix if present)
+    version = currentTag.startsWith('v') ? currentTag.substring(1) : currentTag
   } else {
     // Not on a tag, find the most recent tag
     def mostRecentTag = null
@@ -142,7 +142,9 @@ def generateVersion() {
     }
 
     if (mostRecentTag != null) {
-      version = "${mostRecentTag}-${gitSha}"
+      // Strip 'v' prefix if present
+      def cleanTag = mostRecentTag.startsWith('v') ? mostRecentTag.substring(1) : mostRecentTag
+      version = "${cleanTag}-${gitSha}"
     } else {
       version = gitSha
     }
diff --git a/scripts/release.sh b/scripts/release.sh
index f5413896..4cdf6c8b 100755
--- a/scripts/release.sh
+++ b/scripts/release.sh
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#!/bin/bash
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
diff --git a/scripts/wait-for-maven.sh b/scripts/wait-for-maven.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..06d23701
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/wait-for-maven.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Script to wait for a Maven artifact to become available on Maven Central
+# Usage: ./scripts/wait-for-maven.sh <version>
+# Example: ./scripts/wait-for-maven.sh 0.0.3
+
+VERSION="${1:-}"
+
+if [[ -z "$VERSION" ]]; then
+    echo "Error: Version is required" >&2
+    echo "Usage: $0 <version>" >&2
+    echo "Example: $0 0.0.3" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Configuration
+GROUP_ID="dev.braintrust"
+ARTIFACT_ID="braintrust-sdk-java"
+MAX_DURATION_SECONDS=18000  # 5 hours
+SLEEP_DURATION=300  # 5 minutes
+
+# Convert group ID to path format (dev.braintrust -> dev/braintrust)
+GROUP_PATH="${GROUP_ID//./\/}"
+
+# Maven Central artifact URL
+MAVEN_CENTRAL_URL="https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/${GROUP_PATH}/${ARTIFACT_ID}/${VERSION}/${ARTIFACT_ID}-${VERSION}.pom"
+
+echo "================================================"
+echo " Waiting for Maven Central"
+echo "================================================"
+echo "Group ID:    ${GROUP_ID}"
+echo "Artifact ID: ${ARTIFACT_ID}"
+echo "Version:     ${VERSION}"
+echo "Max time:    5 hours"
+echo ""
+echo "Checking: ${MAVEN_CENTRAL_URL}"
+echo ""
+
+# Record start time
+START_TIME=$(date +%s)
+attempt=0
+
+while true; do
+    # Calculate elapsed time
+    CURRENT_TIME=$(date +%s)
+    ELAPSED_SECONDS=$((CURRENT_TIME - START_TIME))
+    ELAPSED_MINUTES=$((ELAPSED_SECONDS / 60))
+
+    # Check if we've exceeded the max duration
+    if [[ $ELAPSED_SECONDS -ge $MAX_DURATION_SECONDS ]]; then
+        break
+    fi
+
+    attempt=$((attempt + 1))
+    echo "[Attempt ${attempt}] Checking Maven Central... (${ELAPSED_MINUTES} minutes elapsed)"
+
+    # Check if the artifact exists (HTTP 200)
+    http_code=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "${MAVEN_CENTRAL_URL}")
+
+    if [[ "$http_code" == "200" ]]; then
+        echo ""
+        echo "✓ Success! Artifact is available on Maven Central"
+        echo ""
+
+        # Trigger javadoc.io to update
+        JAVADOC_URL="https://javadoc.io/doc/${GROUP_ID}/${ARTIFACT_ID}/${VERSION}"
+        echo "Triggering javadoc.io update..."
+        echo "URL: ${JAVADOC_URL}"
+
+        # Fire and forget - we don't wait for javadoc.io
+        curl -s -o /dev/null "${JAVADOC_URL}" || true
+
+        echo ""
+        echo "================================================"
+        echo " Maven Central Sync Complete!"
+        echo "================================================"
+        echo "Maven Central: https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/${GROUP_ID}/${ARTIFACT_ID}/${VERSION}"
+        echo "Javadoc:       ${JAVADOC_URL}"
+        echo ""
+
+        exit 0
+    elif [[ "$http_code" == "404" ]]; then
+        echo "  → Not found yet (HTTP 404)"
+    else
+        echo "  → Unexpected HTTP status: ${http_code}"
+    fi
+
+    # Calculate remaining time
+    REMAINING_SECONDS=$((MAX_DURATION_SECONDS - ELAPSED_SECONDS))
+
+    # If we have time left, sleep for 5 minutes (or less if timeout is near)
+    if [[ $REMAINING_SECONDS -gt 0 ]]; then
+        SLEEP_TIME=$SLEEP_DURATION
+        if [[ $REMAINING_SECONDS -lt $SLEEP_DURATION ]]; then
+            SLEEP_TIME=$REMAINING_SECONDS
+        fi
+        echo "  → Sleeping for $((SLEEP_TIME / 60)) minutes..."
+        echo ""
+        sleep "$SLEEP_TIME"
+    fi
+done
+
+echo ""
+echo "================================================"
+echo " Timeout!"
+echo "================================================"
+echo "Artifact did not appear on Maven Central after 5 hours."
+echo "This might indicate a publishing issue."
+echo ""
+echo "Please check:"
+echo "1. Sonatype Central Portal: https://central.sonatype.com/publishing"
+echo "2. Build logs for errors"
+echo "3. Maven Central manually: ${MAVEN_CENTRAL_URL}"
+echo ""
+
+exit 1