diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
deleted file mode 100644
index 7aa9a8f..0000000
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-.git
-.github
-.venv
-__pycache__
-*.py[oc]
-build
-dist
-*.egg-info
-.dockerignore
-Dockerfile
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yaml b/.github/workflows/build.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index dde661b..0000000
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-name: Build image
-
-on:
-  - push
-
-jobs:
-  build:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
-
-      - name: Install uv
-        uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v7
-        with:
-          enable-cache: true
-
-      - name: Install deps
-        run: make install-dev
-
-      - name: Run codegen
-        run: make gen
-
-      - name: Set up Docker runtime
-        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
-
-      - name: Build image
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
-        with:
-          context: .
-          push: false
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e.yaml b/.github/workflows/e2e.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b66843b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+name: E2E wheel
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [main, master]
+  pull_request:
+
+jobs:
+  build-wheel:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v7
+        with:
+          enable-cache: true
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: "20"
+
+      - run: corepack enable
+
+      - name: Install Python deps
+        run: make install-dev
+
+      - name: Run codegen
+        run: make gen
+
+      - name: Build wheel
+        run: uv build
+
+      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: wheel
+          path: dist/*.whl
+
+  verify:
+    needs: build-wheel
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        os: [ubuntu-22.04, ubuntu-24.04]
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v7
+        with:
+          python-version: "3.13"
+
+      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: wheel
+          path: dist
+
+      - name: Verify uploader
+        run: |
+          set -e
+          WHEEL=$(ls dist/*.whl | head -n1)
+          uvx --python 3.13 --from "$WHEEL" uploader --no-browser &
+          PID=$!
+          sleep 8
+          curl -sf http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/tasks >/dev/null
+          curl -sf http://127.0.0.1:8000/ >/dev/null
+          kill $PID
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index 0a55dd8..32b0d9e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -1,49 +1,41 @@
-name: Release image
+name: Release wheel
 
 on:
-  workflow_dispatch:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - master
 
 jobs:
   release:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
-      contents: read
-      packages: write
+      contents: write
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: Install uv
-        uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v7
+      - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v7
         with:
           enable-cache: true
 
-      - name: Install deps
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: "20"
+
+      - run: corepack enable
+
+      - name: Install Python deps
         run: make install-dev
 
       - name: Run codegen
         run: make gen
 
-      - name: Set up Docker runtime
-        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
-
-      - name: Log in to GitHub Container Registry
-        uses: docker/login-action@v3
-        with:
-          registry: ghcr.io
-          username: ${{ github.actor }}
-          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-
-      - name: Set image name
-        run: echo "IMAGE_NAME=ghcr.io/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY,,}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-
-      - name: Set short SHA
-        run: echo "SHORT_SHA=${GITHUB_SHA::7}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+      - name: Build wheel
+        run: uv build
 
-      - name: Build and push image
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
+      - name: Publish GitHub release
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
         with:
-          context: .
-          push: true
-          tags: |
-            ${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}:${{ env.SHORT_SHA }}
-            ${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}:latest
+          tag_name: build-${{ github.sha }}
+          name: Wheel ${{ github.sha }}
+          files: dist/*.whl
+          generate_release_notes: true
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 7db5ac0..4709427 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -174,6 +174,8 @@ pyrightconfig.json
 
 .vizier_cache
 
+server/static/
+
 node_modules/
 
 history.jsonl
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
deleted file mode 100644
index 80bc43f..0000000
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-FROM python:3.12-slim AS builder
-RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends git && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-COPY --from=ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:latest /uv /uvx /usr/local/bin/
-WORKDIR /app
-COPY pyproject.toml uv.lock ./
-RUN uv sync --frozen --no-dev
-
-FROM python:3.12-slim AS runtime
-WORKDIR /app
-COPY --from=builder /app/.venv /app/.venv
-ENV PATH="/app/.venv/bin:$PATH"
-COPY . .
diff --git a/app/sources/vizier.py b/app/sources/vizier.py
index eaa45e2..524499b 100644
--- a/app/sources/vizier.py
+++ b/app/sources/vizier.py
@@ -12,10 +12,13 @@
 from astroquery import vizier
 
 import app
+import server.paths as paths
 from app.gen.client.adminapi import models, types
 
 VIZIER_URL = "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/votable/-tsv"
 
+_DEFAULT_VIZIER_CACHE = str(paths.DATA_DIR / "vizier_cache")
+
 
 def _coerce_row_to_schema(
     row_dict: dict[str, object],
@@ -58,7 +61,7 @@ def __init__(
         self,
         catalog_name: str,
         table_name: str,
-        cache_path: str = ".vizier_cache/",
+        cache_path: str = _DEFAULT_VIZIER_CACHE,
         batch_size: int = 100,
     ):
         self.cache_path = cache_path
diff --git a/app/sources/vizier_v2.py b/app/sources/vizier_v2.py
index 9fb40bd..77291f0 100644
--- a/app/sources/vizier_v2.py
+++ b/app/sources/vizier_v2.py
@@ -6,8 +6,11 @@
 from astroquery import vizier
 
 import app
+import server.paths as paths
 from app.gen.client.adminapi import models, types
 
+_DEFAULT_VIZIER_CACHE = str(paths.DATA_DIR / "vizier_cache")
+
 
 def _sanitize_filename(string: str) -> str:
     return (
@@ -59,7 +62,7 @@ def __init__(
         table_name: str,
         index_column: str,
         *constraints: str,
-        cache_path: str = ".vizier_cache/",
+        cache_path: str = _DEFAULT_VIZIER_CACHE,
         batch_size: int = 1000,
     ):
         if len(constraints) % 3 != 0:
diff --git a/hatch_build.py b/hatch_build.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f21135b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hatch_build.py
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+import subprocess
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from hatchling.builders.hooks.plugin.interface import BuildHookInterface
+
+
+class CustomHook(BuildHookInterface):
+    PLUGIN_NAME = "custom"
+
+    def initialize(self, version: str, build_data: dict) -> None:
+        frontend_dir = Path(self.root) / "frontend"
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["yarn", "install", "--frozen-lockfile"],
+            cwd=frontend_dir,
+            check=True,
+        )
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["yarn", "build"],
+            cwd=frontend_dir,
+            check=True,
+        )
diff --git a/makefile b/makefile
index 5c42b39..1125e71 100644
--- a/makefile
+++ b/makefile
@@ -68,11 +68,6 @@ fix-frontend:
 	@output=$$(cd frontend && yarn run --silent prettier --write src 2>&1) || { echo "$$output"; exit 1; }
 	@output=$$(cd frontend && yarn run --silent eslint --fix src 2>&1) || { echo "$$output"; exit 1; }
 
-# only for mac as this is faster
-build:
-	docker build . \
-		--platform linux/arm64
-
 new-branch:
 	@read -p "Branch name: " branch_name && \
 	branch_name=$${branch_name// /-} && \
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 71038dc..438169c 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
+[build-system]
+requires = ["hatchling"]
+build-backend = "hatchling.build"
+
 [project]
-name = "uploader"
+name = "hyperleda-uploader"
 version = "0.1.0"
 description = "Add your description here"
 readme = "README.md"
@@ -18,6 +22,18 @@ dependencies = [
     "psycopg[binary]>=3.2.0",
 ]
 
+[project.scripts]
+uploader = "server.cli:main"
+
+[tool.hatch.build.targets.wheel]
+packages = ["server", "app"]
+
+[tool.hatch.build.targets.wheel.force-include]
+"frontend/dist" = "server/static"
+
+[tool.hatch.build.hooks.custom]
+path = "hatch_build.py"
+
 [dependency-groups]
 dev = [
     "ruff~=0.15.0",
@@ -121,6 +137,7 @@ reportImplicitAbstractClass = "error"
 exclude = [
     "frontend/**",
     "app/gen/**",
+    "hatch_build.py",
     ".venv/**"
 ]
 
diff --git a/server/cli.py b/server/cli.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3d48f22
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/cli.py
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+import argparse
+import threading
+import webbrowser
+
+import uvicorn
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="HyperLEDA Uploader")
+    parser.add_argument("--port", type=int, default=8000)
+    parser.add_argument("--host", type=str, default="127.0.0.1")
+    parser.add_argument("--no-browser", action="store_true")
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    if not args.no_browser:
+        url = f"http://{args.host}:{args.port}/"
+        threading.Timer(1.5, webbrowser.open, args=[url]).start()
+
+    uvicorn.run("server.main:app", host=args.host, port=args.port)
diff --git a/server/credentials.py b/server/credentials.py
index 4891a80..b3e301a 100644
--- a/server/credentials.py
+++ b/server/credentials.py
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
-import pathlib
-
 import dotenv
 
-ENV_PATH = pathlib.Path(".env")
+import server.paths as paths
+
+ENV_PATH = paths.DATA_DIR / ".env"
 
 
 def save_credentials(db_user: str, db_password: str) -> None:
diff --git a/server/forms/upload_vizier.py b/server/forms/upload_vizier.py
index a4307fe..66bc016 100644
--- a/server/forms/upload_vizier.py
+++ b/server/forms/upload_vizier.py
@@ -5,16 +5,19 @@
 from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
 
 import app.report as report
+import server.paths as paths
 from app.endpoints import env_map
 from app.gen.client import adminapi
 from app.sources.vizier import VizierSource
 from app.upload import upload_for_web
 
+_DEFAULT_VIZIER_CACHE = str(paths.DATA_DIR / "vizier_cache")
+
 
 class UploadVizierForm(BaseModel):
     catalog_name: str = Field(..., title="VizieR catalog name")
     source_table_name: str = Field(..., title="VizieR table name")
-    cache_path: str = Field(default=".vizier_cache/", title="Cache path")
+    cache_path: str = Field(default=_DEFAULT_VIZIER_CACHE, title="Cache path")
     batch_size: int = Field(default=100, title="Batch size", ge=1)
     table_name: str = Field(
         default="",
diff --git a/server/forms/upload_vizier_v2.py b/server/forms/upload_vizier_v2.py
index 8aba0e4..666cb49 100644
--- a/server/forms/upload_vizier_v2.py
+++ b/server/forms/upload_vizier_v2.py
@@ -4,12 +4,15 @@
 from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
 
 import app.report as report
+import server.paths as paths
 from app.endpoints import env_map
 from app.gen.client import adminapi
 from app.sources.vizier_v2 import VizierV2Source
 from app.upload import upload_for_web
 from server.forms.upload_base import UploadBaseForm
 
+_DEFAULT_VIZIER_CACHE = str(paths.DATA_DIR / "vizier_cache")
+
 
 class UploadVizierV2Form(UploadBaseForm):
     catalog_name: str = Field(..., title="VizieR catalog name")
@@ -20,7 +23,7 @@ class UploadVizierV2Form(UploadBaseForm):
         title="Constraints",
         description="Provide as repeating triples: column, operator, value.",
     )
-    cache_path: str = Field(default=".vizier_cache/", title="Cache path")
+    cache_path: str = Field(default=_DEFAULT_VIZIER_CACHE, title="Cache path")
     batch_size: int = Field(default=1000, title="Batch size", ge=1)
 
 
diff --git a/server/history.py b/server/history.py
index 0c96f5e..228fcb0 100644
--- a/server/history.py
+++ b/server/history.py
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 import json
 import threading
-from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Literal
 
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
+import server.paths as paths
+
 HistoryStatus = Literal["success", "error"]
 
 
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@ class HistoryEntry(BaseModel):
     message: str
 
 
-HISTORY_PATH = Path("history.jsonl")
+HISTORY_PATH = paths.DATA_DIR / "history.jsonl"
 HISTORY_LOCK = threading.Lock()
 
 
diff --git a/server/main.py b/server/main.py
index 06699a7..4926611 100644
--- a/server/main.py
+++ b/server/main.py
@@ -1,11 +1,16 @@
 import asyncio
 import json
+import pathlib
 from typing import Any
 
 from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException
 from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
 from fastapi.responses import StreamingResponse
 from pydantic import ValidationError
+from starlette.exceptions import HTTPException as StarletteHTTPException
+from starlette.responses import Response
+from starlette.staticfiles import StaticFiles
+from starlette.types import Scope
 
 from server.history import load_history
 from server.task_registry import register_all_tasks
@@ -86,3 +91,18 @@ async def event_gen():
             await asyncio.sleep(0.15)
 
     return StreamingResponse(event_gen(), media_type="text/event-stream")
+
+
+class SPAStaticFiles(StaticFiles):
+    async def get_response(self, path: str, scope: Scope) -> Response:
+        try:
+            return await super().get_response(path, scope)
+        except StarletteHTTPException as exc:
+            if exc.status_code != 404:
+                raise
+            return await super().get_response("index.html", scope)
+
+
+_static_dir = pathlib.Path(__file__).parent / "static"
+if _static_dir.is_dir():
+    app.mount("/", SPAStaticFiles(directory=_static_dir, html=True), name="static")
diff --git a/server/paths.py b/server/paths.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6f8c2ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/paths.py
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+from pathlib import Path
+
+DATA_DIR = Path.home() / ".hyperleda-uploader"
+DATA_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index c0fd920..0b16dfe 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -369,6 +369,55 @@ wheels = [
     { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/2a/39/e50c7c3a983047577ee07d2a9e53faf5a69493943ec3f6a384bdc792deb2/httpx-0.28.1-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:d909fcccc110f8c7faf814ca82a9a4d816bc5a6dbfea25d6591d6985b8ba59ad", size = 73517, upload-time = "2024-12-06T15:37:21.509Z" },
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "hyperleda-uploader"
+version = "0.1.0"
+source = { editable = "." }
+dependencies = [
+    { name = "astropy" },
+    { name = "astroquery" },
+    { name = "fastapi" },
+    { name = "numpy" },
+    { name = "openapi-python-client" },
+    { name = "pandas" },
+    { name = "psycopg", extra = ["binary"] },
+    { name = "python-dotenv" },
+    { name = "pyvo" },
+    { name = "structlog" },
+    { name = "uvicorn", extra = ["standard"] },
+]
+
+[package.dev-dependencies]
+dev = [
+    { name = "basedpyright" },
+    { name = "pandas-stubs" },
+    { name = "pytest" },
+    { name = "ruff" },
+]
+
+[package.metadata]
+requires-dist = [
+    { name = "astropy", specifier = ">=7.1.0" },
+    { name = "astroquery", git = "https://github.com/astropy/astroquery.git?branch=main" },
+    { name = "fastapi", specifier = ">=0.115.0" },
+    { name = "numpy", specifier = ">=2.3.4" },
+    { name = "openapi-python-client", specifier = ">=0.27.1" },
+    { name = "pandas", specifier = ">=2.3.3" },
+    { name = "psycopg", extras = ["binary"], specifier = ">=3.2.0" },
+    { name = "python-dotenv", specifier = ">=1.0.0" },
+    { name = "pyvo", specifier = ">=1.8" },
+    { name = "structlog", specifier = ">=25.3.0" },
+    { name = "uvicorn", extras = ["standard"], specifier = ">=0.32.0" },
+]
+
+[package.metadata.requires-dev]
+dev = [
+    { name = "basedpyright", specifier = "~=1.38.3" },
+    { name = "pandas-stubs", specifier = ">=2.2.3.250308" },
+    { name = "pytest", specifier = "~=9.0.2" },
+    { name = "ruff", specifier = "~=0.15.0" },
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "idna"
 version = "3.11"
@@ -1114,55 +1163,6 @@ wheels = [
     { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/c7/b0/003792df09decd6849a5e39c28b513c06e84436a54440380862b5aeff25d/tzdata-2025.3-py2.py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:06a47e5700f3081aab02b2e513160914ff0694bce9947d6b76ebd6bf57cfc5d1", size = 348521, upload-time = "2025-12-13T17:45:33.889Z" },
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "uploader"
-version = "0.1.0"
-source = { virtual = "." }
-dependencies = [
-    { name = "astropy" },
-    { name = "astroquery" },
-    { name = "fastapi" },
-    { name = "numpy" },
-    { name = "openapi-python-client" },
-    { name = "pandas" },
-    { name = "psycopg", extra = ["binary"] },
-    { name = "python-dotenv" },
-    { name = "pyvo" },
-    { name = "structlog" },
-    { name = "uvicorn", extra = ["standard"] },
-]
-
-[package.dev-dependencies]
-dev = [
-    { name = "basedpyright" },
-    { name = "pandas-stubs" },
-    { name = "pytest" },
-    { name = "ruff" },
-]
-
-[package.metadata]
-requires-dist = [
-    { name = "astropy", specifier = ">=7.1.0" },
-    { name = "astroquery", git = "https://github.com/astropy/astroquery.git?branch=main" },
-    { name = "fastapi", specifier = ">=0.115.0" },
-    { name = "numpy", specifier = ">=2.3.4" },
-    { name = "openapi-python-client", specifier = ">=0.27.1" },
-    { name = "pandas", specifier = ">=2.3.3" },
-    { name = "psycopg", extras = ["binary"], specifier = ">=3.2.0" },
-    { name = "python-dotenv", specifier = ">=1.0.0" },
-    { name = "pyvo", specifier = ">=1.8" },
-    { name = "structlog", specifier = ">=25.3.0" },
-    { name = "uvicorn", extras = ["standard"], specifier = ">=0.32.0" },
-]
-
-[package.metadata.requires-dev]
-dev = [
-    { name = "basedpyright", specifier = "~=1.38.3" },
-    { name = "pandas-stubs", specifier = ">=2.2.3.250308" },
-    { name = "pytest", specifier = "~=9.0.2" },
-    { name = "ruff", specifier = "~=0.15.0" },
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "urllib3"
 version = "2.6.3"