diff --git a/tools/release b/tools/release
index 8efb264..48bff39 100755
--- a/tools/release
+++ b/tools/release
@@ -27,6 +27,9 @@ GEM_SPEC="jekyll-theme-chirpy.gemspec"
 
 NODE_CONFIG="package.json"
 
+JS_DIST="assets/js/dist"
+BACKUP_PATH="$(mktemp -d)"
+
 FILES=(
   "_sass/jekyll-theme-chirpy.scss"
   "$GEM_SPEC"
@@ -150,7 +153,10 @@ build_gem() {
   echo -e "Build the gem package for v$_version\n"
   cleanup_config
   rm -f ./*.gem
+  git add "$JS_DIST" -f # add JS dist to gem
   gem build "$GEM_SPEC"
+  cp "$JS_DIST"/* "$BACKUP_PATH"
+  git restore --staged "$JS_DIST" # resume the git status
   resume_config
 }
 
@@ -202,6 +208,9 @@ main() {
   else
     release "$_version"
   fi
+
+  # restore the dist files for future development
+  mkdir -p "$JS_DIST" && cp "$BACKUP_PATH"/* "$JS_DIST"
 }
 
 while (($#)); do