diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index bae9b30..ea38d75 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Go
         uses: actions/setup-go@v5
         with:
-          go-version: "1.24"
+          go-version: "1.25"
 
       - name: Run tests
         run: go test -v ./...
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Go
         uses: actions/setup-go@v5
         with:
-          go-version: "1.24"
+          go-version: "1.25"
 
       - name: Build binaries for all platforms
         run: |
@@ -57,6 +57,10 @@ jobs:
           echo "Building Linux amd64..."
           GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -ldflags="${LDFLAGS}" -o dist/devenv-linux-amd64 ./cmd/devenv
 
+          # Linux arm64
+          echo "Building Linux arm64..."
+          GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64 go build -ldflags="${LDFLAGS}" -o dist/devenv-linux-arm64 ./cmd/devenv
+
           # macOS amd64 (Intel)
           echo "Building macOS amd64..."
           GOOS=darwin GOARCH=amd64 go build -ldflags="${LDFLAGS}" -o dist/devenv-darwin-amd64 ./cmd/devenv
@@ -72,14 +76,21 @@ jobs:
           echo "✅ All binaries built successfully"
           ls -lh dist/
 
+      - name: Generate checksums
+        run: |
+          cd dist
+          sha256sum * > checksums.txt
+
       - name: Create Release
         uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
         with:
           files: |
             dist/devenv-linux-amd64
+            dist/devenv-linux-arm64
             dist/devenv-darwin-amd64
             dist/devenv-darwin-arm64
             dist/devenv-windows-amd64.exe
+            dist/checksums.txt
           generate_release_notes: true
           draft: false
           prerelease: false
diff --git a/internal/config/types.go b/internal/config/types.go
index 1b2c7e5..6609cf4 100644
--- a/internal/config/types.go
+++ b/internal/config/types.go
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ type BaseConfig struct {
 	// Package management
 	Packages PackageConfig `yaml:"packages,omitempty"`
 
+	// Git repos to be cloned
+	GitRepos []GitRepo `yaml:"gitRepos,omitempty" validate:"dive"`
+
 	// Storage configuration
 	Volumes []VolumeMount `yaml:"volumes,omitempty" validate:"dive"`
 
@@ -68,9 +71,18 @@ type GitConfig struct {
 type PackageConfig struct {
 	Python []string `yaml:"python,omitempty" validate:"dive,min=1"`
 	APT    []string `yaml:"apt,omitempty" validate:"dive,min=1"`
+	Brew   []string `yaml:"brew,omitempty" validate:"dive,min=1"`
 	// Consider adding other package managers such as NPM, Yarn, etc.
 }
 
+type GitRepo struct {
+	URL        string `yaml:"url" validate:"required,min=1,url"`
+	Branch     string `yaml:"branch,omitempty" validate:"omitempty,min=1"`
+	Tag        string `yaml:"tag,omitempty" validate:"omitempty,min=1"`
+	CommitHash string `yaml:"commitHash,omitempty" validate:"omitempty,min=1"`
+	Directory  string `yaml:"directory,omitempty" validate:"omitempty,min=1,filepath"`
+}
+
 // ResourceConfig represents resource allocation
 type ResourceConfig struct {
 	CPU     any    `yaml:"cpu,omitempty" validate:"omitempty,k8s_cpu"`
@@ -112,7 +124,9 @@ func NewBaseConfigWithDefaults() BaseConfig {
 		Packages: PackageConfig{
 			Python: []string{}, // Empty slice - no default packages
 			APT:    []string{}, // Empty slice - no default packages
+			Brew:   []string{}, // Empty slice - no default packages
 		},
+		GitRepos:        []GitRepo{},     // Empty slice - no default git repositories
 		Volumes:         []VolumeMount{}, // Empty slice - no default volumes
 		Namespace:       "devenv",        // Default namespace
 		EnvironmentName: "development",   // Default environment name
diff --git a/internal/config/validation.go b/internal/config/validation.go
index 989cdad..9df4428 100644
--- a/internal/config/validation.go
+++ b/internal/config/validation.go
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ func init() {
 	if err := validate.RegisterValidation("k8s_memory", validateKubernetesMemory); err != nil {
 		panic(fmt.Errorf("register validator k8s_memory: %w", err))
 	}
+	validate.RegisterStructValidation(validateGitRepo, GitRepo{})
 }
 
 // validateSSHKeys implements the "ssh_keys" tag.
@@ -79,6 +80,35 @@ func validateSSHKeys(fl validator.FieldLevel) bool {
 	return true
 }
 
+// validateGitRepo implements the "git_repo" tag.
+// Ensures that if both Branch and CommitHash are specified, an error is raised.
+func validateGitRepo(sl validator.StructLevel) {
+	repo := sl.Current().Interface().(GitRepo)
+	// Both Ref and CommitHash cannot be specified simultaneously.
+	targets := []string{}
+	if repo.Branch != "" {
+		targets = append(targets, repo.Branch)
+	}
+	if repo.Tag != "" {
+		targets = append(targets, repo.Tag)
+	}
+	if repo.CommitHash != "" {
+		targets = append(targets, repo.CommitHash)
+	}
+
+	if len(targets) > 1 {
+		if repo.Branch != "" {
+			sl.ReportError(repo.Branch, "branch", "Branch", "too many target specifications", "")
+		}
+		if repo.Tag != "" {
+			sl.ReportError(repo.Tag, "tag", "Tag", "too many target specifications", "")
+		}
+		if repo.CommitHash != "" {
+			sl.ReportError(repo.CommitHash, "commitHash", "CommitHash", "too many target specifications", "")
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 // validateKubernetesCPU implements the "k8s_cpu" tag for *raw* CPU fields.
 // Accepts:
 //   - Strings: "", "unlimited", plain number ("2", "2.5"), or millicores ("500m")
diff --git a/internal/templates/template_files/dev/scripts/templated/startup.sh b/internal/templates/template_files/dev/scripts/templated/startup.sh
index d72e25c..48aa35b 100644
--- a/internal/templates/template_files/dev/scripts/templated/startup.sh
+++ b/internal/templates/template_files/dev/scripts/templated/startup.sh
@@ -145,6 +145,11 @@ echo "Installing Python packages: {{range $i, $pkg := .Packages.Python}}{{if gt
 /bin/bash /scripts/run_with_git.sh ${DEV_USERNAME} ${PYTHON_PATH} -m pip install --no-user --no-cache-dir{{range .Packages.Python}} {{.}}{{end}}
 {{- end}}
 
+{{- if gt (len .Packages.Brew) 0}}
+echo "Installing Homebrew packages: {{range $i, $pkg := .Packages.Brew}}{{if gt $i 0}} {{end}}{{$pkg}}{{end}}"
+sudo -u ${DEV_USERNAME} brew install{{range .Packages.Brew}} {{.}}{{end}}
+{{- end}}
+
 echo "Section 6: Package installation complete"
 
 # === USER ENVIRONMENT SETUP ===
@@ -181,6 +186,47 @@ chown -R ${DEV_USERNAME}:${DEV_USERNAME} /home/${DEV_USERNAME}/.vscode-server
 
 echo "Section 8: VSCode configuration complete"
 
+# === GIT REPO CLONING ===
+{{- if gt (len .GitRepos) 0}}
+echo "Cloning Git repositories"
+{{- range .GitRepos}}
+echo "Cloning repository: {{.URL}}"
+
+{{- /* Determine target directory */ -}}
+{{- $targetDir := "" -}}
+{{- if .Directory -}}
+  {{- $targetDir = .Directory -}}
+{{- else -}}
+  {{- $targetDir = printf "/home/%s" $.Name -}}
+{{- end }}
+
+# Clone the complete repository
+git clone {{.URL}} {{$targetDir}}
+cd {{$targetDir}}
+
+{{- /* Checkout specific reference */ -}}
+{{- if .Tag}}
+echo "Checking out tag: {{.Tag}}"
+git checkout tags/{{.Tag}}
+{{- else if .CommitHash}}
+echo "Checking out commit: {{.CommitHash}}"
+git checkout {{.CommitHash}}
+{{- else if .Branch}}
+echo "Checking out branch: {{.Branch}}"
+git checkout {{.Branch}}
+{{- else}}
+echo "Staying on default branch"
+{{- end}}
+
+echo "Repository cloned successfully to: {{$targetDir}}"
+echo "Current commit: $(git rev-parse --short HEAD)"
+echo "Current branch/ref: $(git branch --show-current 2>/dev/null || git describe --tags --exact-match 2>/dev/null || echo 'detached HEAD')"
+
+{{- end}}
+{{- else}}
+echo "No Git repositories to clone"
+{{- end}}
+
 # === SSH SERVER LAUNCH ===
 echo "Starting SSH server"
 /usr/sbin/sshd -D
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/internal/templates/template_files/system/manifests/namespace.tmpl b/internal/templates/template_files/system/manifests/namespace.tmpl
index b0ac03b..19fb4cd 100644
--- a/internal/templates/template_files/system/manifests/namespace.tmpl
+++ b/internal/templates/template_files/system/manifests/namespace.tmpl
@@ -2,6 +2,6 @@ apiVersion: v1
 kind: Namespace
 metadata:
   name: {{.Namespace}}
-  environment: {{.EnvironmentName}}
   annotations:
-    description: "Namespace for DevENV resources"
\ No newline at end of file
+    description: "Namespace for DevENV resources"
+    environment: {{.EnvironmentName}}
diff --git a/internal/templates/testdata/golden/startup-scripts.yaml b/internal/templates/testdata/golden/startup-scripts.yaml
index b55ae86..c7eac05 100644
--- a/internal/templates/testdata/golden/startup-scripts.yaml
+++ b/internal/templates/testdata/golden/startup-scripts.yaml
@@ -151,6 +151,9 @@ data:
     
     echo "Section 8: VSCode configuration complete"
     
+    # === GIT REPO CLONING ===
+    echo "No Git repositories to clone"
+    
     # === SSH SERVER LAUNCH ===
     echo "Starting SSH server"
     /usr/sbin/sshd -D