diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish.yml b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
index 2735923..8d1b7b6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -1,37 +1,96 @@
-name: Publish distributions to PyPI
+name: Build & Publish package to PyPI
 
-# if this workflow is modified to be a generic CI workflow then
-# add an if statement to the publish step so it only runs on tags.
+# CI setup instructions:
+# 1. Replace 'pvlib/twoaxistracking' and 'twoaxistracking' with your GitHub organization and repository name
+# 2. Create a new environment for additional protection and security in the GitHub UI:
+#    Settings > Environments
+#    Name: release
+# 3. Setup trusted publishing for the release environment:
+#    https://docs.pypi.org/trusted-publishers/
+# 4. Ensure your main development branch is named 'main'; if not, update the workflow or rename the branch
+
+# This workflow is triggered on pull requests that target the main branch
+# on pushes to the main branch new tags that start with 'v' (for example, 'v1.0.0').
+# Only the main branch is used for publishing to PyPI, in the second job.
 on:
+  pull_request:
+    branches:
+      - main
   push:
+    branches:
+      - main
     tags:
       - "v*"
 
+env:
+  python-version: "3.12"
+
 jobs:
-  build-n-publish:
-    name: Build and publish distributions to PyPI
-    if: github.repository == 'pvlib/twoaxistracking'
+  build-distribution:
+    name: Build distribution
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      id-token: write # This is required for requesting the JWT
-      contents: read  # This is required for actions/checkout
     steps:
-    # fetch all commits and tags so versioneer works
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      # Deep clone to fetch all commits and tags, by setting the fetch-depth to 0
       with:
         fetch-depth: 0
 
     - name: Set up Python
       uses: actions/setup-python@v5
       with:
-        python-version: "3.12"
+        python-version: ${{ env.python-version }}
 
     - name: Install build tools
       run: |
         python -m pip install --upgrade pip
-        python -m pip install --upgrade setuptools wheel build
+        python -m pip install --upgrade setuptools wheel build twine
+
     - name: Build packages
-      run: python -m build --sdist --wheel
+      # creates the necessary distribution files to /dist
+      run: python -m build
+
+    - name: Check metadata verification
+      # this step ensures the metadata is correct and complete
+      # it is a good practice to run this before publishing to PyPI
+      run: python -m twine check --strict dist/*
+
+    - name: Distribution files & installation sizes
+      # this step is useful to get some useful metrics and ensure changes do not break the size of the distribution
+      run: |
+        echo "Distribution files sizes"
+        du -sh dist/*
+        python -m pip install dist/*.whl --target /tmp/pvlib --quiet --quiet
+        echo "Installation size of wheel"
+        du -sh /tmp/pvlib/twoaxistracking
+
+    - name: Upload artifact with distribution files
+      # this step uploads the distribution files to the GitHub artifact store if they are needed later to publish to PyPI
+      if: github.repository == 'pvlib/twoaxistracking' && github.event_name == 'push' && startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v')
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      with:
+        name: distro-files
+        path: dist/
+        if-no-files-found: error  # files are required in the next job
+        retention-days: 1  # delete the artifact after 1 day, no need to keep it for too long
+        compression-level: 0  # no need to compress the files
+
+  publish-distribution:
+    name: Upload distribution to PyPI
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: build-distribution  # first build, then publish
+    # only publish distribution to PyPI in tagged commits
+    if: github.repository == 'pvlib/twoaxistracking' && github.event_name == 'push' && startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v')
+    environment: release
+    permissions:
+      id-token: write  # this permission mandatory for trusted publishing
+    steps:
+      - name: Download artifact with distribution files
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: distro-files
+          path: dist/
 
-    - name: Publish distribution to PyPI
-      uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1
+      - name: Publish distribution to PyPI
+        # this step publishes the distribution files to PyPI by using PyPI trusted publishers
+        # https://docs.pypi.org/trusted-publishers/
+        uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 50129fd..1f4d1ee 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+## .gititnore template file retrieved from
+## https://github.com/github/gitignore/blob/main/Python.gitignore in 2025-03-18
+
 .ipynb_checkpoints
 .vscode
 */.ipynb_checkpoints/*
@@ -12,3 +15,177 @@ dist/
 docs/source/generated
 
 .coverage
+# Byte-compiled / optimized / DLL files
+__pycache__/
+*.py[cod]
+*$py.class
+
+# C extensions
+*.so
+
+# Distribution / packaging
+.Python
+build/
+develop-eggs/
+dist/
+downloads/
+eggs/
+.eggs/
+lib/
+lib64/
+parts/
+sdist/
+var/
+wheels/
+share/python-wheels/
+*.egg-info/
+.installed.cfg
+*.egg
+MANIFEST
+
+# PyInstaller
+#  Usually these files are written by a python script from a template
+#  before PyInstaller builds the exe, so as to inject date/other infos into it.
+*.manifest
+*.spec
+
+# Installer logs
+pip-log.txt
+pip-delete-this-directory.txt
+
+# Unit test / coverage reports
+htmlcov/
+.tox/
+.nox/
+.coverage
+.coverage.*
+.cache
+nosetests.xml
+coverage.xml
+*.cover
+*.py,cover
+.hypothesis/
+.pytest_cache/
+cover/
+
+# Translations
+*.mo
+*.pot
+
+# Django stuff:
+*.log
+local_settings.py
+db.sqlite3
+db.sqlite3-journal
+
+# Flask stuff:
+instance/
+.webassets-cache
+
+# Scrapy stuff:
+.scrapy
+
+# Sphinx documentation
+docs/_build/
+
+# PyBuilder
+.pybuilder/
+target/
+
+# Jupyter Notebook
+.ipynb_checkpoints
+
+# IPython
+profile_default/
+ipython_config.py
+
+# pyenv
+#   For a library or package, you might want to ignore these files since the code is
+#   intended to run in multiple environments; otherwise, check them in:
+# .python-version
+
+# pipenv
+#   According to pypa/pipenv#598, it is recommended to include Pipfile.lock in version control.
+#   However, in case of collaboration, if having platform-specific dependencies or dependencies
+#   having no cross-platform support, pipenv may install dependencies that don't work, or not
+#   install all needed dependencies.
+#Pipfile.lock
+
+# UV
+#   Similar to Pipfile.lock, it is generally recommended to include uv.lock in version control.
+#   This is especially recommended for binary packages to ensure reproducibility, and is more
+#   commonly ignored for libraries.
+#uv.lock
+
+# poetry
+#   Similar to Pipfile.lock, it is generally recommended to include poetry.lock in version control.
+#   This is especially recommended for binary packages to ensure reproducibility, and is more
+#   commonly ignored for libraries.
+#   https://python-poetry.org/docs/basic-usage/#commit-your-poetrylock-file-to-version-control
+#poetry.lock
+
+# pdm
+#   Similar to Pipfile.lock, it is generally recommended to include pdm.lock in version control.
+#pdm.lock
+#   pdm stores project-wide configurations in .pdm.toml, but it is recommended to not include it
+#   in version control.
+#   https://pdm.fming.dev/latest/usage/project/#working-with-version-control
+.pdm.toml
+.pdm-python
+.pdm-build/
+
+# PEP 582; used by e.g. github.com/David-OConnor/pyflow and github.com/pdm-project/pdm
+__pypackages__/
+
+# Celery stuff
+celerybeat-schedule
+celerybeat.pid
+
+# SageMath parsed files
+*.sage.py
+
+# Environments
+.env
+.venv
+env/
+venv/
+ENV/
+env.bak/
+venv.bak/
+
+# Spyder project settings
+.spyderproject
+.spyproject
+
+# Rope project settings
+.ropeproject
+
+# mkdocs documentation
+/site
+
+# mypy
+.mypy_cache/
+.dmypy.json
+dmypy.json
+
+# Pyre type checker
+.pyre/
+
+# pytype static type analyzer
+.pytype/
+
+# Cython debug symbols
+cython_debug/
+
+# PyCharm
+#  JetBrains specific template is maintained in a separate JetBrains.gitignore that can
+#  be found at https://github.com/github/gitignore/blob/main/Global/JetBrains.gitignore
+#  and can be added to the global gitignore or merged into this file.  For a more nuclear
+#  option (not recommended) you can uncomment the following to ignore the entire idea folder.
+#.idea/
+
+# Ruff stuff:
+.ruff_cache/
+
+# PyPI configuration file
+.pypirc
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 194d75c..2aae426 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ description = "twoaxistracking is a python package for simulating two-axis track
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.9"
 keywords = ["solar energy", "photovoltaics", "solar collector", "shading"]
-license = {file = "LICENSE"}
+license = "BSD-3-Clause"
+license-files = ["LICEN[CS]E*"]
 classifiers = [
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3",
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9",
@@ -32,7 +33,6 @@ classifiers = [
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11",
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13",
-    "License :: OSI Approved :: BSD License",
     "Operating System :: OS Independent",
     "Topic :: Scientific/Engineering",
     "Intended Audience :: Science/Research",
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ doc = [
 Documentation = "https://twoaxistracking.readthedocs.io"
 Issues = "https://github.com/pvlib/twoaxistracking/issues"
 Repository = "https://github.com/pvlib/twoaxistracking.git"
+Changelog = "https://github.com/pvlib/twoaxistracking/blob/main/docs/source/whatsnew.md"
 
 [tool.pytest.ini_options]
 addopts = "--cov=twoaxistracking --cov-fail-under=100 --cov-report=term-missing"