diff --git a/scripts/make-release.sh b/scripts/make-release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..42d726c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/make-release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# usage: make-release.sh release
+# Make a tarball of software excluding git history and leftover files
+
+name="$(basename "$(pwd)")"
+cd ../
+cp -R "$name" "$1"
+cd "$1"/
+rm -fr .git
+
+IFS="\n"
+if [ -e .gitignore ]; then
+	for file in $(cat .gitignore); do
+		rm -fr "$file"
+	done
+fi
+
+cd ../
+
+tar -czf "$1".tar.gz "$1"
+rm -r "$1"
+cd "$name"/