diff --git a/src/params.lisp b/src/params.lisp
index 0ae80b46..9ceb6bd9 100644
--- a/src/params.lisp
+++ b/src/params.lisp
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
 
 (in-package :pgloader.params)
 
-(defparameter *release* nil
+(defparameter *release* t
   "non-nil when this build is a release build.")
 
 (defparameter *major-version* "3.6")