diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index 96ce6b81..7c158891 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -4,33 +4,74 @@ executors:
   java17:
     docker:
       - image: 'cimg/openjdk:17.0'
+    resource_class: small
 
 orbs:
-  maven: circleci/maven@1.3.0
+  slack: circleci/slack@4.10.1
+
+commands:
+  run_maven:
+    parameters:
+      maven_subcommand:
+        default: test
+        type: string
+    steps:
+      - checkout
+      - restore_cache:
+          keys:
+            - v1-dependencies-{{ checksum "pom.xml" }}
+      - run:
+          name: Run Maven
+          command: |
+            mvn -s .circleci/mvn-settings.xml << parameters.maven_subcommand >>
+      - run:
+          name: Save test results
+          command: |
+            mkdir -p ~/test-results/junit/
+            find . -type f -regex ".*/target/surefire-reports/.*xml" -exec cp {} ~/test-results/junit/ \;
+          when: always
+      - store_test_results:
+          path: ~/test-results
+      - save_cache:
+          paths:
+            - ~/.m2
+          key: v1-dependencies-{{ checksum "pom.xml" }}
+
+jobs:
+  mvn_test:
+    executor: java17
+    steps:
+      - run_maven:
+          maven_subcommand: test
+      - slack/notify:
+          event: fail
+
+  mvn_deploy:
+    executor: java17
+    steps:
+      - run_maven:
+          maven_subcommand: deploy
+      - slack/notify:
+          event: always
 
 workflows:
-  main:
+  test_only:
     jobs:
-      ##############################################################################
-      ## Job (from maven orb) to test the codebase.  Should run for all branches. ##
-      ##############################################################################
-      - maven/test:
-          name: run_tests
-          executor: java17
+      - mvn_test:
+          context: [ qqq-maven-registry-credentials, kingsrook-slack ]
           filters:
             branches:
-              ignore: circleci-project-setup ## todo - change to main
+              ignore: /dev/
+            tags:
+              ignore: /version-.*/
 
-      #############################################################################################
-      ## Job (from maven orb) to do a mvn deploy to publish jar to github qqq-maven-registry.    ##
-      ## Note: despite "/test" in the name, we specify the mvn sub-command w/ the command param. ##
-      #############################################################################################
-      - maven/test:
-          name: deploy_to_github
-          executor: java17
-          command: deploy
-          settings_file: .circleci/mvn-settings.xml
-          context: qqq-maven-registry-credentials
+  deploy:
+    jobs:
+      - mvn_deploy:
+          context: [ qqq-maven-registry-credentials, kingsrook-slack ]
           filters:
             branches:
-              only: circleci-project-setup ## todo - change to main
+              only: /dev/
+            tags:
+              only: /version-.*/
+
diff --git a/.github/workflows/maven.yml b/.github/workflows/maven.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 80d00dfd..00000000
--- a/.github/workflows/maven.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,35 +0,0 @@
-# This workflow will build a Java project with Maven, and cache/restore any dependencies to improve the workflow execution time
-# For more information see: https://help.github.com/actions/language-and-framework-guides/building-and-testing-java-with-maven
-
-name: Java CI with Maven
-
-on:
-  push:
-    branches: [ main ]
-  pull_request:
-    branches: [ main ]
-
-jobs:
-  build:
-
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-
-    steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v2
-    - name: Set up JDK 17
-      uses: actions/setup-java@v2
-      with:
-        java-version: '17'
-        distribution: 'adopt'
-        cache: maven
-    - name: maven-settings-xml-action
-      uses: whelk-io/maven-settings-xml-action@v20
-      with:
-        servers: '[{ "id": "github-qqq-maven-registry", "username": "${{ secrets.QQQ_MAVEN_REGISTRY_USERNAME }}", "password": "${{ secrets.QQQ_MAVEN_REGISTRY_PASSWORD }}" }]'
-        repositories: '[{ "id": "github-qqq-maven-registry", "url": "https://maven.pkg.github.com/Kingsrook/qqq-maven-registry", "snapshots": { "enabled": "true" }}]'
-    - name: Build with Maven
-      run: mvn -B package --file pom.xml
-    - name: Publish to GitHub Packages Apache Maven
-      run: mvn deploy
-      env:
-        GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e13fbeb1..fdfa850d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,10 +1,8 @@
 # qqq-backend-core
 
-[![Java CI with Maven](https://github.com/Kingsrook/qqq-backend-core/actions/workflows/maven.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/Kingsrook/qqq-backend-core/actions/workflows/maven.yml)
+This is the Core backend module of qqq.
 
-This is the Core backend module of qqq.  
-
-It defines the standard models (including how meta-data are modeled) and actions of the framework, along with interfaces for backend-modules to implement.  
+It defines the standard models (including how meta-data are modeled) and actions of the framework, along with interfaces for backend-modules to implement.
 
 ## License
 QQQ - Low-code Application Framework for Engineers. \
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 79af13c4..0176dd30 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -20,15 +20,19 @@
   ~ along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
   -->
 
-<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
-         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
-         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
    <groupId>com.kingsrook.qqq</groupId>
    <artifactId>qqq-backend-core</artifactId>
    <version>0.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
 
+   <scm>
+     <connection>scm:git:git@github.com:Kingsrook/qqq-backend-core.git</connection>
+     <developerConnection>scm:git:git@github.com:Kingsrook/qqq-backend-core.git</developerConnection>
+     <tag>HEAD</tag>
+   </scm>
+
    <properties>
       <!-- props specifically to this module -->
       <!-- none at this time -->
@@ -144,6 +148,22 @@
                </execution>
             </executions>
          </plugin>
+         <plugin>
+            <groupId>com.amashchenko.maven.plugin</groupId>
+            <artifactId>gitflow-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+            <version>1.18.0</version>
+            <configuration>
+               <gitFlowConfig>
+                  <productionBranch>main</productionBranch>
+                  <developmentBranch>dev</developmentBranch>
+                  <versionTagPrefix>version-</versionTagPrefix>
+               </gitFlowConfig>
+               <skipFeatureVersion>true</skipFeatureVersion> <!-- Keep feature names out of versions -->
+               <postReleaseGoals>install</postReleaseGoals>  <!-- Let CI run deploys -->
+               <commitDevelopmentVersionAtStart>true</commitDevelopmentVersionAtStart>
+               <versionDigitToIncrement>1</versionDigitToIncrement> <!-- In general, we update the minor -->
+            </configuration>
+         </plugin>
       </plugins>
    </build>