diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index f849a3545..04ec04bb4 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -47,6 +47,26 @@ implementation("io.ably:ably-java:$ABLY_VERSION") {
 runtimeOnly("io.ably:network-client-okhttp:$ABLY_VERSION")
 ```
 
+### Publishing to local Maven repository for development and testing
+To publish the library to your local Maven repository, you can use the following command:
+
+    ./gradlew publishToMavenLocal
+
+
+Alternatively, to publish only the specific (LiveObjects) module:
+
+    ./gradlew :live-objects:publishToMavenLocal
+
+
+- To use the locally published library in your project, you can add the following dependency in your `build.gradle` file:
+
+```
+repositories {
+    mavenLocal()
+}
+```
+- Note - Place `mavenLocal()` before `mavenCentral()` for resolution precedence.
+
 ### How to Add a New Network Engine
 
 To add a new network engine, follow these steps:
diff --git a/build.gradle.kts b/build.gradle.kts
index 779cab77a..c741178c7 100644
--- a/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/build.gradle.kts
@@ -30,7 +30,14 @@ subprojects {
 configure(subprojects) {
     pluginManager.withPlugin("com.vanniktech.maven.publish") {
         extensions.configure<MavenPublishBaseExtension> {
-            signAllPublications()
+            // Check if we're running a local publish task
+            val isLocalPublish = gradle.startParameter.taskNames.any {
+                it.contains("publishToMavenLocal") || it.contains("ToMavenLocal")
+            }
+
+            if (!isLocalPublish) {
+                signAllPublications()
+            }
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/live-objects/build.gradle.kts b/live-objects/build.gradle.kts
index ce6642496..e4219840d 100644
--- a/live-objects/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/live-objects/build.gradle.kts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import org.gradle.api.tasks.testing.logging.TestExceptionFormat
 plugins {
     `java-library`
     alias(libs.plugins.kotlin.jvm)
+    alias(libs.plugins.maven.publish)
 }
 
 repositories {