diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e3e94a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+name: CI
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [master]
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [master]
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
+concurrency:
+  group: ci-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' }}
+
+jobs:
+  build:
+    name: Build (JDK 21)
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Set up JDK 21
+        uses: actions/setup-java@v4
+        with:
+          java-version: '21'
+          distribution: temurin
+
+      - name: Validate Gradle wrapper
+        uses: gradle/actions/wrapper-validation@v4
+
+      - name: Setup Gradle
+        uses: gradle/actions/setup-gradle@v4
+
+      - name: Build
+        run: ./gradlew build -x test --stacktrace
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index c1de5c5..b51e920 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -20,4 +20,6 @@ secrets/
 !**/src/test/**/out/
 
 ### VS Code ###
-.vscode/
\ No newline at end of file
+.vscode/
+
+.DS_Store
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/build.gradle.kts b/build.gradle.kts
index 2222fea..c1bbe84 100644
--- a/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/build.gradle.kts
@@ -6,28 +6,31 @@ plugins {
   alias(libs.plugins.versions)
 }
 
-group = "com.myapp"
-version = "1.1.0"
+val mainClassName = "com.myapp.ApplicationKt"
+val fatJarName = "vapi4k-template.jar"
+val jvmVersion = libs.versions.jvm.get().toInt()
+
+val buildFatJarTask = "buildFatJar"
+val cleanTask = "clean"
+val stageTask = "stage"
+
+val preReleaseSuffixes = listOf("-RC", "-BETA", "-ALPHA", "-M")
 
 application {
-  mainClass.set("com.myapp.ApplicationKt")
+  mainClass.set(mainClassName)
 }
 
 ktor {
   fatJar {
     // Change this to whatever name you want
     // It also has to be changed in the Dockerfile
-    archiveFileName.set("vapi4k-template.jar")
+    archiveFileName.set(fatJarName)
   }
 }
 
 // This must match the version defined in system.properties
 kotlin {
-  jvmToolchain(21)
-}
-
-repositories {
-  mavenCentral()
+  jvmToolchain(jvmVersion)
 }
 
 dependencies {
@@ -36,20 +39,20 @@ dependencies {
 }
 
 // Required for heroku deployments
-tasks.register("stage") {
-  dependsOn("buildFatJar", "clean")
+tasks.register(stageTask) {
+  dependsOn(buildFatJarTask, cleanTask)
   doLast {
     println("Stage task completed")
   }
 }
 
 // Required for heroku deployments
-tasks.named("buildFatJar") {
-  mustRunAfter("clean")
+tasks.named(buildFatJarTask) {
+  mustRunAfter(cleanTask)
 }
 
 tasks.withType<DependencyUpdatesTask> {
   rejectVersionIf {
-    listOf("-RC", "-BETA", "-ALPHA", "-M").any { candidate.version.uppercase().contains(it) }
+    preReleaseSuffixes.any { candidate.version.uppercase().contains(it) }
   }
 }
diff --git a/gradle.properties b/gradle.properties
index 6f3aa1a..687e6ee 100644
--- a/gradle.properties
+++ b/gradle.properties
@@ -1,2 +1,6 @@
+group = "com.myapp"
+version=1.1.0
+
 kotlin.code.style=official
-# Version properties have been moved to gradle/libs.versions.toml
+org.gradle.configuration-cache=true
+org.gradle.jvmargs=-Xmx2048m -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -XX:MaxMetaspaceSize=1024m -Xss10m -Dkotlin.daemon.jvm.options=-Xss10m
diff --git a/gradle/libs.versions.toml b/gradle/libs.versions.toml
index 214b044..d14c82f 100644
--- a/gradle/libs.versions.toml
+++ b/gradle/libs.versions.toml
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 [versions]
-kotlin = "2.3.20"
-ktor = "3.4.2"
-versions = "0.53.0"
+gradle = "9.5.0"
+jvm = "21"
+kotlin = "2.3.21"
+ktor = "3.4.3"
+versions = "0.54.0"
 vapi4k = "1.7.0"
 
 [libraries]
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar
index f8e1ee3..d997cfc 100644
Binary files a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar and b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar differ
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index c61a118..1a70468 100644
--- a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-9.4.1-bin.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-9.5.0-bin.zip
 networkTimeout=10000
 validateDistributionUrl=true
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
diff --git a/gradlew b/gradlew
index adff685..739907d 100755
--- a/gradlew
+++ b/gradlew
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@
 #       Darwin, MinGW, and NonStop.
 #
 #   (3) This script is generated from the Groovy template
-#       https://github.com/gradle/gradle/blob/HEAD/platforms/jvm/plugins-application/src/main/resources/org/gradle/api/internal/plugins/unixStartScript.txt
+#       https://github.com/gradle/gradle/blob/2d6327017519d23b96af35865dc997fcb544fb40/platforms/jvm/plugins-application/src/main/resources/org/gradle/api/internal/plugins/unixStartScript.txt
 #       within the Gradle project.
 #
 #       You can find Gradle at https://github.com/gradle/gradle/.
diff --git a/settings.gradle.kts b/settings.gradle.kts
index 7d12264..18adfb6 100644
--- a/settings.gradle.kts
+++ b/settings.gradle.kts
@@ -1,6 +1,20 @@
+pluginManagement {
+  repositories {
+    gradlePluginPortal()
+    mavenCentral()
+  }
+}
+
 plugins {
   id("org.gradle.toolchains.foojay-resolver-convention").version("1.0.0")
 }
 
+dependencyResolutionManagement {
+  repositoriesMode.set(RepositoriesMode.FAIL_ON_PROJECT_REPOS)
+  repositories {
+    mavenCentral()
+  }
+}
+
 rootProject.name = "vapi4k-template"