diff --git a/.github/workflows/add-backport-label.yaml b/.github/workflows/add-backport-label.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 5f033f3cd2..0000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/add-backport-label.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,91 +0,0 @@
-name: Add backport label
-
-on:
-  pull_request:
-    types:
-      - opened
-      - synchronize
-      - reopened
-      - edited
-      - labeled
-      - unlabeled
-
-concurrency:
-  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.ref }}
-  cancel-in-progress: true
-
-jobs:
-  check-issues:
-    if: ${{ github.event.label.name != 'auto-backport' }}
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout code to get gh-utils script
-        if: ${{ !contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'force-skip-ci') }}
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-
-      - name: Determine whether to add label
-        if: ${{ !contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'force-skip-ci') }}
-        env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          CONTAINS_AUTO_BACKPORT: ${{ contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'auto-backport') }}
-        id: add_label
-        run: |
-          pr=${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
-          linked_issues=$(./ci/gh-util.sh \
-            list-issues-for-pr "$pr" |\
-            grep -v "^\#" || true)
-          [ -z "${linked_issues}" ] && {
-            echo "::error::No linked issues for PR $pr"
-            exit 1
-          }
-          has_bug=false
-          for issue in $(echo "$linked_issues")
-          do
-            labels=$(./ci/gh-util.sh list-labels-for-issue "$issue")
-
-            label_names=$(echo $labels | jq -r '.labels[].name' || true)
-            if [[ "$label_names" =~ "bug" ]]; then
-              has_bug=true
-              break
-            fi
-          done
-
-          has_backport_needed_label=${{ contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'needs-backport') }}
-          has_no_backport_needed_label=${{ contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'no-backport-needed') }}
-
-          echo "add_backport_label=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          if [ $has_backport_needed_label  = true ] || [ $has_bug  = true ]; then
-            if [[ $has_no_backport_needed_label = false ]]; then
-              echo "add_backport_label=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-            fi
-          fi
-
-          # Do not spam comment, only if auto-backport label is going to be newly added.
-          echo "auto_backport_added=$CONTAINS_AUTO_BACKPORT" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-
-      - name: Add comment
-        if: ${{ !contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'force-skip-ci') && steps.add_label.outputs.add_backport_label == 'true' && steps.add_label.outputs.auto_backport_added == 'false' }}
-        uses: actions/github-script@v6
-        with:
-          script: |
-            github.rest.issues.createComment({
-              issue_number: context.issue.number,
-              owner: context.repo.owner,
-              repo: context.repo.repo,
-              body: 'This issue has been marked for auto-backporting. Add label(s) backport-to-BRANCHNAME to backport to them'
-            })
-
-      # Allow label to be removed by adding no-backport-needed label
-      - name: Remove auto-backport label
-        if: ${{ !contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'force-skip-ci') && steps.add_label.outputs.add_backport_label == 'false' }}
-        uses: andymckay/labeler@e6c4322d0397f3240f0e7e30a33b5c5df2d39e90
-        with:
-          remove-labels: "auto-backport"
-          repo-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-
-      - name: Add auto-backport label
-        if: ${{ !contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'force-skip-ci') && steps.add_label.outputs.add_backport_label == 'true' }}
-        uses: andymckay/labeler@e6c4322d0397f3240f0e7e30a33b5c5df2d39e90
-        with:
-          add-labels: "auto-backport"
-          repo-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/auto-backport.yaml b/.github/workflows/auto-backport.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index e2be390227..0000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/auto-backport.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,33 +0,0 @@
-on:
-  pull_request_target:
-    types: ["labeled", "closed"]
-
-concurrency:
-  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.ref }}
-  cancel-in-progress: true
-
-jobs:
-  backport:
-    name: Backport PR
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    if: |
-      github.event.pull_request.merged == true
-      && contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'auto-backport')
-      && (
-        (github.event.action == 'labeled' && github.event.label.name == 'auto-backport')
-        || (github.event.action == 'closed')
-      )
-    steps:
-      - name: Backport Action
-        uses: sqren/backport-github-action@v8.9.2
-        with:
-          github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          auto_backport_label_prefix: backport-to-
-
-      - name: Info log
-        if: ${{ success() }}
-        run: cat /home/runner/.backport/backport.info.log
-        
-      - name: Debug log
-        if: ${{ failure() }}
-        run: cat /home/runner/.backport/backport.debug.log
diff --git a/.github/workflows/payload-after-push.yaml b/.github/workflows/payload-after-push.yaml
index 7f8d32fb5d..cb0ecdef33 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/payload-after-push.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/payload-after-push.yaml
@@ -103,9 +103,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Push multi-arch manifest
         run: |
-          docker manifest create quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy-ci:kata-containers-latest \
-          --amend quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy-ci:kata-containers-amd64 \
-          --amend quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy-ci:kata-containers-arm64 \
-          --amend quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy-ci:kata-containers-s390x \
-          --amend quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy-ci:kata-containers-ppc64le
-          docker manifest push quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy-ci:kata-containers-latest
+          ./tools/packaging/release/release.sh publish-multiarch-manifest
+        env:
+          KATA_DEPLOY_IMAGE_TAGS="kata-containers-latest"
+          KATA_DEPLOY_REGISTRIES="quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy-ci"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-major.yaml b/.github/workflows/release-major.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6cdc71cb2e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-major.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+name: Major Release
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch
+
+jobs:
+  major-release:
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/release.yaml
+    with:
+      release-type: major
+    secrets: inherit
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-minor.yaml b/.github/workflows/release-minor.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9b285d03c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-minor.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+name: Minor Release
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch
+
+jobs:
+  minor-release:
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/release.yaml
+    with:
+      release-type: minor
+    secrets: inherit
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index 39360b14c1..e54c356f2b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -1,14 +1,37 @@
-name: Publish Kata release artifacts
+name: Release Kata Containers
 on:
-  push:
-    tags:
-      - '[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+*'
-
-concurrency:
-  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.ref }}
-  cancel-in-progress: true
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      release-type:
+        required: true
+        type: string
 
 jobs:
+  release:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Get the new release version
+        run: |
+          release_version=$(./tools/packaging/release/release.sh next-release-version)
+          echo "RELEASE_VERSION=$release_version" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+        env:
+          RELEASE_TYPE: ${{ inputs.release-type }}
+
+      - name: Update VERSION file
+        run: |
+          ./tools/packaging/release/release.sh update-version-file
+
+      - name: Create a new release
+        run: |
+          ./tools/packaging/release/release.sh create-new-release
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+
   build-and-push-assets-amd64:
     uses: ./.github/workflows/release-amd64.yaml
     with:
@@ -55,27 +78,12 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Push multi-arch manifest
         run: |
-          # tag the container image we created and push to DockerHub
-          tag=$(echo $GITHUB_REF | cut -d/ -f3-)
-          tags=($tag)
-          tags+=($([[ "$tag" =~ "alpha"|"rc" ]] && echo "latest" || echo "stable"))
-          # push to quay.io and docker.io
-          for tag in ${tags[@]}; do
-            docker manifest create quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy:${tag} \
-              --amend quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy:${tag}-amd64 \
-              --amend quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy:${tag}-arm64 \
-              --amend quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy:${tag}-s390x \
-              --amend quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy:${tag}-ppc64le
+          tags="$(cat VERSION) latest"
+          echo "KATA_DEPLOY_IMAGE_TAGS=\"${tags}\"" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
 
-            docker manifest create docker.io/katadocker/kata-deploy:${tag} \
-              --amend docker.io/katadocker/kata-deploy:${tag}-amd64 \
-              --amend docker.io/katadocker/kata-deploy:${tag}-arm64 \
-              --amend docker.io/katadocker/kata-deploy:${tag}-s390x \
-              --amend docker.io/katadocker/kata-deploy:${tag}-ppc64le
-
-            docker manifest push quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy:${tag}
-            docker manifest push docker.io/katadocker/kata-deploy:${tag}
-          done
+          ./tools/packaging/release/release.sh publish-multiarch-manifest
+        env:
+          KATA_DEPLOY_REGISTRIES: "quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy docker.io/katadocker/kata-deploy"
 
   upload-multi-arch-static-tarball:
     needs: publish-multi-arch-images
@@ -83,19 +91,21 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
+      - name: Set KATA_STATIC_TARBALL env var
+        run: |
+          tarball=$(pwd)/kata-static.tar.xz
+          echo "KATA_STATIC_TARBALL=${tarball}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
       - name: download-artifacts-amd64
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
         with:
           name: kata-static-tarball-amd64
       - name: push amd64 static tarball to github
         run: |
-          tag=$(echo $GITHUB_REF | cut -d/ -f3-)
-          tarball="kata-static-$tag-amd64.tar.xz"
-          mv kata-static.tar.xz "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/${tarball}"
-          pushd $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
-          echo "uploading asset '${tarball}' for tag: ${tag}"
-          GITHUB_TOKEN=${{ secrets.GIT_UPLOAD_TOKEN }} gh release upload "${tag}" "${tarball}"
-          popd
+          ./tools/packaging/release/release.sh upload-kata-static-tarball
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          ARCHITECTURE: amd64
 
       - name: download-artifacts-arm64
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
@@ -103,13 +113,10 @@ jobs:
           name: kata-static-tarball-arm64
       - name: push arm64 static tarball to github
         run: |
-          tag=$(echo $GITHUB_REF | cut -d/ -f3-)
-          tarball="kata-static-$tag-arm64.tar.xz"
-          mv kata-static.tar.xz "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/${tarball}"
-          pushd $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
-          echo "uploading asset '${tarball}' for tag: ${tag}"
-          GITHUB_TOKEN=${{ secrets.GIT_UPLOAD_TOKEN }} gh release upload "${tag}" "${tarball}"
-          popd
+          ./tools/packaging/release/release.sh upload-kata-static-tarball
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          ARCHITECTURE: arm4
 
       - name: download-artifacts-s390x
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
@@ -117,13 +124,10 @@ jobs:
           name: kata-static-tarball-s390x
       - name: push s390x static tarball to github
         run: |
-          tag=$(echo $GITHUB_REF | cut -d/ -f3-)
-          tarball="kata-static-$tag-s390x.tar.xz"
-          mv kata-static.tar.xz "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/${tarball}"
-          pushd $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
-          echo "uploading asset '${tarball}' for tag: ${tag}"
-          GITHUB_TOKEN=${{ secrets.GIT_UPLOAD_TOKEN }} gh release upload "${tag}" "${tarball}"
-          popd
+          ./tools/packaging/release/release.sh upload-kata-static-tarball
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          ARCHITECTURE: s390x
 
       - name: download-artifacts-ppc64le
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
@@ -131,28 +135,20 @@ jobs:
           name: kata-static-tarball-ppc64le
       - name: push ppc64le static tarball to github
         run: |
-          tag=$(echo $GITHUB_REF | cut -d/ -f3-)
-          tarball="kata-static-$tag-ppc64le.tar.xz"
-          mv kata-static.tar.xz "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/${tarball}"
-          pushd $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
-          echo "uploading asset '${tarball}' for tag: ${tag}"
-          GITHUB_TOKEN=${{ secrets.GIT_UPLOAD_TOKEN }} hub release edit -m "" -a "${tarball}" "${tag}"
-          popd
+          ./tools/packaging/release/release.sh upload-kata-static-tarball
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          ARCHITECTURE: ppc64le
 
   upload-versions-yaml:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - name: upload versions.yaml
-        env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GIT_UPLOAD_TOKEN }}
         run: |
-          tag=$(echo $GITHUB_REF | cut -d/ -f3-)
-          pushd $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
-          versions_file="kata-containers-$tag-versions.yaml"
-          cp versions.yaml ${versions_file}
-          gh release upload "${tag}" "${versions_file}"
-          popd
+          ./tools/packaging/release/release.sh upload-versions-yaml-file
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
 
   upload-cargo-vendored-tarball:
     needs: upload-multi-arch-static-tarball
@@ -161,12 +157,9 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - name: generate-and-upload-tarball
         run: |
-          tag=$(echo $GITHUB_REF | cut -d/ -f3-)
-          tarball="kata-containers-$tag-vendor.tar.gz"
-          pushd $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
-          bash -c "tools/packaging/release/generate_vendor.sh ${tarball}"
-          GITHUB_TOKEN=${{ secrets.GIT_UPLOAD_TOKEN }} gh release upload "${tag}" "${tarball}"
-          popd
+          ./tools/packaging/release/release.sh upload-vendored-code-tarball
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
 
   upload-libseccomp-tarball:
     needs: upload-cargo-vendored-tarball
@@ -174,21 +167,7 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - name: download-and-upload-tarball
-        env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GIT_UPLOAD_TOKEN }}
-          GOPATH: ${HOME}/go
         run: |
-          pushd $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
-          ./ci/install_yq.sh
-          tag=$(echo $GITHUB_REF | cut -d/ -f3-)
-          versions_yaml="versions.yaml"
-          version=$(${GOPATH}/bin/yq read ${versions_yaml} "externals.libseccomp.version")
-          repo_url=$(${GOPATH}/bin/yq read ${versions_yaml} "externals.libseccomp.url")
-          download_url="${repo_url}/releases/download/v${version}"
-          tarball="libseccomp-${version}.tar.gz"
-          asc="${tarball}.asc"
-          curl -sSLO "${download_url}/${tarball}"
-          curl -sSLO "${download_url}/${asc}"
-          gh release upload "${tag}" "${tarball}"
-          gh release upload "${tag}" "${asc}"
-          popd
+          ./tools/packaging/release/release.sh upload-libseccomp-tarball
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/require-pr-porting-labels.yaml b/.github/workflows/require-pr-porting-labels.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index e1b0c9c7d8..0000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/require-pr-porting-labels.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,68 +0,0 @@
-# Copyright (c) 2020 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
-#
-
-name: Ensure PR has required porting labels
-
-on:
-  pull_request_target:
-    types:
-      - opened
-      - reopened
-      - labeled
-      - unlabeled
-    branches:
-      - main
-
-concurrency:
-  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.ref }}
-  cancel-in-progress: true
-
-jobs:
-  check-pr-porting-labels:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - name: Install hub
-        if: ${{ !contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'force-skip-ci') }}
-        run: |
-          HUB_ARCH="amd64"
-          HUB_VER=$(curl -sL "https://api.github.com/repos/github/hub/releases/latest" |\
-            jq -r .tag_name | sed 's/^v//')
-          curl -sL \
-            "https://github.com/github/hub/releases/download/v${HUB_VER}/hub-linux-${HUB_ARCH}-${HUB_VER}.tgz" |\
-          tar xz --strip-components=2 --wildcards '*/bin/hub' && \
-          sudo install hub /usr/local/bin
-
-      - name: Checkout code to allow hub to communicate with the project
-        if: ${{ !contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'force-skip-ci') }}
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          ref: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}
-          fetch-depth: 0
-
-      - name: Rebase atop of the latest target branch
-        if: ${{ !contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'force-skip-ci') }}
-        run: |
-          ./tests/git-helper.sh "rebase-atop-of-the-latest-target-branch"
-        env:
-          TARGET_BRANCH: ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.ref }}
-
-      - name: Install porting checker script
-        run: |
-          # Clone into a temporary directory to avoid overwriting
-          # any existing github directory.
-          pushd $(mktemp -d) &>/dev/null
-          git clone --single-branch --depth 1 "https://github.com/kata-containers/.github" && cd .github/scripts
-          sudo install pr-porting-checks.sh /usr/local/bin
-          popd &>/dev/null
-
-      - name: Stop PR being merged unless it has a correct set of porting labels
-        if: ${{ !contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'force-skip-ci') }}
-        env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.KATA_GITHUB_ACTIONS_TOKEN }}
-        run: |
-          pr=${{ github.event.number }}
-          repo=${{ github.repository }}
-
-          pr-porting-checks.sh "$pr" "$repo"
diff --git a/docs/Release-Process.md b/docs/Release-Process.md
index a0d08e58b8..3d9c34c3ac 100644
--- a/docs/Release-Process.md
+++ b/docs/Release-Process.md
@@ -1,71 +1,42 @@
 # How to do a Kata Containers Release
-  This document lists the tasks required to create a Kata Release.
+This document lists the tasks required to create a Kata Release.
 
 ## Requirements
 
-- [gh](https://cli.github.com)
-  * Install and configure the GitHub CLI (gh) as detailed at https://docs.github.com/en/github-cli/github-cli/quickstart#prerequisites .
-
-- GitHub permissions to push tags and create releases in the Kata repository.
-
-- GPG configured to sign git tags. https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/managing-commit-signature-verification/generating-a-new-gpg-key
-
-- `gh auth login` should have configured `git push` and `git pull` to use HTTPS along with your GitHub credentials,
-  * As an alternative, you can still rely on SSH keys to push branches. See https://help.github.com/articles/adding-a-new-ssh-key-to-your-github-account .
+- GitHub permissions to run workflows.
 
 ## Release Process
 
+### Check GitHub Actions
 
-### Bump the Kata repository
+We make use of [GitHub actions](https://github.com/features/actions) in the
+[minor](../.github/workflows/release-minor.yaml) and
+[major](../.github/workflows/release-major.yaml) files from the
+`kata-containers/kata-containers` repository to build and upload release
+artifacts.
 
-  Bump the repository using the `./update-repository-version.sh` script in the Kata [release](../tools/packaging/release) directory, where:
-  - `BRANCH=<the-branch-you-want-to-bump>`
-  - `NEW_VERSION=<the-new-kata-version>`
-  ```
-  $ cd ${GOPATH}/src/github.com/kata-containers/kata-containers/tools/packaging/release
-  $ export NEW_VERSION=<the-new-kata-version>
-  $ export BRANCH=<the-branch-you-want-to-bump>
-  $ ./update-repository-version.sh -p "$NEW_VERSION" "$BRANCH"
-  ```
+Those actions are manually triggered and are responsible for generating a new
+release (including a new tag), pushing those to the
+`kata-containers/kata-containers` repository.
 
-### Merge the bump version Pull request
+Check the [actions status
+page](https://github.com/kata-containers/kata-containers/actions) to verify all
+steps in the actions workflow have completed successfully. On success, a static
+tarball containing Kata release artifacts will be uploaded to the [Release
+page](https://github.com/kata-containers/kata-containers/releases).
 
-  - The above step will create a GitHub pull request in the Kata repository. Trigger the CI using `/test` command on the bump Pull request.
-  - Check any failures and fix if needed.
-  - Work with the Kata approvers to verify that the CI works and the pull request is merged.
+### Improve the release notes
 
-### Tag the Kata repository
+Release notes are auto-generated by the GitHub CLI tool used as part of our
+release workflow.  However, some manual tweaking may still be necessary in
+order to highlight the most important features and bug fixes in a specific
+release.
 
-  Once the pull request to bump version in the Kata repository is merged,
-  tag the repository as shown below.
-  ```
-  $ cd ${GOPATH}/src/github.com/kata-containers/kata-containers/tools/packaging/release
-  $ git checkout  <kata-branch-to-release>
-  $ git pull
-  $ ./tag_repos.sh -p -b "$BRANCH" tag
-  ```
-
-### Check Git-hub Actions
-
-  We make use of [GitHub actions](https://github.com/features/actions) in this [file](../.github/workflows/release.yaml) in the `kata-containers/kata-containers` repository to build and upload release artifacts. This action is auto triggered with the above step when a new tag is pushed to the `kata-containers/kata-containers` repository.
-
-  Check the [actions status page](https://github.com/kata-containers/kata-containers/actions) to verify all steps in the actions workflow have completed successfully. On success, a static tarball containing Kata release artifacts will be uploaded to the [Release page](https://github.com/kata-containers/kata-containers/releases).
-
-### Create release notes
-
-  We have the `./release-notes.sh` script in the [release](../tools/packaging/release) directory to create release notes that include a short-log of the commits.
-
-  Run the script as shown below:
-
-  ```
-  $ cd ${GOPATH}/src/github.com/kata-containers/kata-containers/tools/packaging/release
-  # Note: OLD_VERSION is where the script should start to get changes.
-  $ ./release-notes.sh ${OLD_VERSION} ${NEW_VERSION} > notes.md
-  # Edit the `notes.md` file to review and make any changes to the release notes.
-  # Add the release notes in the project's GitHub.
-  $ gh release edit "${NEW_VERSION}" -F notes.md
-  ```
+With this in mind, please, poke @channel on #kata-dev and people who worked on
+the release will be able to contribute to that.
 
 ### Announce the release
 
-  Publish in [Slack and Kata mailing list](https://github.com/kata-containers/community#join-us) that new release is ready.
+Publish in [Slack and Kata mailing
+list](https://github.com/kata-containers/community#join-us) that new release is
+ready.
diff --git a/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/kata-cleanup/base/kata-cleanup-stable.yaml b/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/kata-cleanup/base/kata-cleanup-stable.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index a36ea3b9c7..0000000000
--- a/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/kata-cleanup/base/kata-cleanup-stable.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,45 +0,0 @@
----
-apiVersion: apps/v1
-kind: DaemonSet
-metadata:
-  name: kubelet-kata-cleanup
-  namespace: kube-system
-spec:
-  selector:
-    matchLabels:
-      name: kubelet-kata-cleanup
-  template:
-    metadata:
-      labels:
-        name: kubelet-kata-cleanup
-    spec:
-      serviceAccountName: kata-deploy-sa
-      hostPID: true
-      nodeSelector:
-        katacontainers.io/kata-runtime: cleanup
-      containers:
-        - name: kube-kata-cleanup
-          image: quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy:stable
-          imagePullPolicy: Always
-          command: ["bash", "-c", "/opt/kata-artifacts/scripts/kata-deploy.sh reset"]
-          env:
-            - name: NODE_NAME
-              valueFrom:
-                fieldRef:
-                  fieldPath: spec.nodeName
-            - name: DEBUG
-              value: "false"
-            - name: SHIMS
-              value: "clh dragonball fc qemu-nvidia-gpu qemu-sev qemu-snp qemu-tdx qemu"
-            - name: DEFAULT_SHIM
-              value: "qemu"
-            - name: CREATE_RUNTIMECLASSES
-              value: "false"
-            - name: CREATE_DEFAULT_RUNTIMECLASS
-              value: "false"
-          securityContext:
-            privileged: true
-  updateStrategy:
-    rollingUpdate:
-      maxUnavailable: 1
-    type: RollingUpdate
diff --git a/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/kata-deploy/base/kata-deploy-stable.yaml b/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/kata-deploy/base/kata-deploy-stable.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index cf78b8e5c7..0000000000
--- a/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/kata-deploy/base/kata-deploy-stable.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,70 +0,0 @@
----
-apiVersion: apps/v1
-kind: DaemonSet
-metadata:
-  name: kata-deploy
-  namespace: kube-system
-spec:
-  selector:
-    matchLabels:
-      name: kata-deploy
-  template:
-    metadata:
-      labels:
-        name: kata-deploy
-    spec:
-      serviceAccountName: kata-deploy-sa
-      hostPID: true
-      containers:
-        - name: kube-kata
-          image: quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy:stable
-          imagePullPolicy: Always
-          lifecycle:
-            preStop:
-              exec:
-                command: ["bash", "-c", "/opt/kata-artifacts/scripts/kata-deploy.sh cleanup"]
-          command: ["bash", "-c", "/opt/kata-artifacts/scripts/kata-deploy.sh install"]
-          env:
-            - name: NODE_NAME
-              valueFrom:
-                fieldRef:
-                  fieldPath: spec.nodeName
-            - name: DEBUG
-              value: "false"
-            - name: SHIMS
-              value: "clh cloud-hypervisor dragonball fc qemu qemu-nvidia-gpu qemu-sev qemu-snp qemu-tdx"
-            - name: DEFAULT_SHIM
-              value: "qemu"
-            - name: CREATE_RUNTIMECLASSES
-              value: "false"
-            - name: CREATE_DEFAULT_RUNTIMECLASS
-              value: "false"
-          securityContext:
-            privileged: true
-          volumeMounts:
-            - name: crio-conf
-              mountPath: /etc/crio/
-            - name: containerd-conf
-              mountPath: /etc/containerd/
-            - name: kata-artifacts
-              mountPath: /opt/kata/
-            - name: local-bin
-              mountPath: /usr/local/bin/
-      volumes:
-        - name: crio-conf
-          hostPath:
-            path: /etc/crio/
-        - name: containerd-conf
-          hostPath:
-            path: /etc/containerd/
-        - name: kata-artifacts
-          hostPath:
-            path: /opt/kata/
-            type: DirectoryOrCreate
-        - name: local-bin
-          hostPath:
-            path: /usr/local/bin/
-  updateStrategy:
-    rollingUpdate:
-      maxUnavailable: 1
-    type: RollingUpdate
diff --git a/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/kata-deploy/overlays/stable/env_stable_conf.yaml b/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/kata-deploy/overlays/stable/env_stable_conf.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 6f14f28842..0000000000
--- a/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/kata-deploy/overlays/stable/env_stable_conf.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-apiVersion: apps/v1
-kind: DaemonSet
-metadata: 
-  name: kata-deploy
-  namespace: kube-system
-spec:
-  template:
-    spec:
-      containers:
-      - name: kube-kata
-        env:
-          - name: SHIMS
-            value: "clh cloud-hypervisor dragonball fc qemu qemu-nvidia-gpu qemu-sev qemu-snp qemu-tdx"
diff --git a/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/kata-deploy/overlays/stable/kustomization.yaml b/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/kata-deploy/overlays/stable/kustomization.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 6225193ee5..0000000000
--- a/tools/packaging/kata-deploy/kata-deploy/overlays/stable/kustomization.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
-kind: Kustomization
-resources:
-- ../../base
-
-images:
-- name: quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy
-  newTag: stable
-
-patches:
-- path: env_stable_conf.yaml
diff --git a/tools/packaging/release/release.sh b/tools/packaging/release/release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..46675c1bd9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/packaging/release/release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# Copyright (c) 2024 Intel Corporation
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
+
+set -o errexit
+set -o nounset
+set -o pipefail
+set -o errtrace
+
+[ -n "${DEBUG:-}" ] && set -o xtrace
+
+this_script_dir="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+repo_root_dir="$(cd "$this_script_dir/../../../" && pwd)"
+
+IFS=' ' read -a IMAGE_TAGS <<< "${KATA_DEPLOY_IMAGE_TAGS:-}"
+IFS=' ' read -a REGISTRIES <<< "${KATA_DEPLOY_REGISTRIES:-}"
+GH_TOKEN="${GH_TOKEN:-}"
+ARCHITECTURE="${ARCHITECURE:-}"
+KATA_STATIC_TARBALL="${KATA_STATIC_TARBALL:-}"
+RELEASE_VERSION="${RELEASE_VERSION:-}"
+RELEASE_TYPE="${RELEASE_TYPE:-minor}"
+
+function _die()
+{
+	echo >&2 "ERROR: $*"
+	exit 1
+}
+
+function _check_required_env_var()
+{
+	local env_var
+
+	case ${1} in
+		KATA_DEPLOY_IMAGE_TAGS) env_var="${KATA_DEPLOY_IMAGE_TAGS}" ;;
+		KATA_DEPLOY_REGISTRIES) env_var="${KATA_DEPLOY_REGISTRIES}" ;;
+		*) >&2 _die "Invalid environment variable \"${1}\"" ;;
+	esac
+
+	[ -z "${env_var}" ] && \
+		_die "\"${1}\" environment variable is required but was not set"
+}
+
+function _next_release_version()
+{
+	local current_release=$(cat "${repo_root_dir}/VERSION")
+	local current_major
+	local current_everything_else
+	local next_major
+	local next_minor
+
+	IFS="." read current_major current_minor current_everything_else <<< ${current_release}
+
+	case ${RELEASE_TYPE} in
+		major)
+			next_major=$(expr $current_major + 1)
+			next_minor=0
+			;;
+		minor)
+			next_major=${current_major}
+			# TODO: As we're moving from an alpha release to the
+			# new scheme, this check is needed for the very first
+			# release, after that it can be dropped and only the
+			# else part can be kept.
+			if grep -qE "alpha|rc" <<< ${current_everything_else}; then
+				next_minor=${current_minor}
+			else
+				next_minor=$(expr $current_minor + 1)
+			fi
+			;;
+		*)
+			_die "${RELEASE_TYPE} is not a valid release type, it must be: major or minor"
+			;;
+	esac
+
+	next_release_number="${next_major}.${next_minor}.0"
+	echo "test-${next_release_number}"
+}
+
+function _update_version_file()
+{
+	_check_required_env_var "RELEASE_VERSION"
+
+	git config user.email "katacontainersbot@gmail.com"
+	git config user.name "Kata Containers Bot"
+
+	echo "${RELEASE_VERSION}" > "${repo_root_dir}/VERSION"
+	git diff
+	git add "${repo_root_dir}/VERSION"
+	git commit -s -m "release: Kata Containers ${RELEASE_VERSION}"
+	git push
+}
+
+function _create_new_release()
+{
+	_check_required_env_var "RELEASE_VERSION"
+	_check_required_env_var "GH_TOKEN"
+
+	gh release create ${RELEASE_VERSION} --generate-notes --title "Kata Containers ${RELEASE_VERSION}"
+}
+
+function _publish_multiarch_manifest()
+{
+	_check_required_env_var "KATA_DEPLOY_IMAGE_TAGS"
+	_check_required_env_var "KATA_DEPLOY_REGISTRIES"
+
+	for registry in ${REGISTRIES[@]}; do
+		for tag in ${IMAGE_TAGS[@]}; do
+			docker manifest create ${registry}:${tag} \
+				--amend ${registry}:${tag}-amd64 \
+				--amend ${registry}:${tag}-arm64 \
+				--amend ${registry}:${tag}-s390x \
+				--amend ${registry}:${tag}-ppc64le
+
+			docker manifest push ${registry}:${tag}
+		done
+	done
+}
+
+function _upload_kata_static_tarball()
+{
+	_check_required_env_var "GH_TOKEN"
+	_check_required_env_var "ARCHITECTURE"
+	_check_required_env_var "KATA_STATIC_TARBALL"
+
+	[ -z "${RELEASE_VERSION}" ] && RELEASE_VERSION=$(cat "${repo_root_dir}/VERSION")
+
+	new_tarball_name="kata-static-${RELEASE_VERSION}-${ARCHITECTURE}.tar.xz"
+	mv ${KATA_STATIC_TARBALL} "${new_tarball_name}"
+	echo "uploading asset '${new_tarball_name}' (${ARCHITECTURE}) for tag: ${RELEASE_VERSION}"
+	gh release upload "${RELEASE_VERSION}" "${new_tarball_name}"
+}
+
+function _upload_versions_yaml_file()
+{
+	[ -z "${RELEASE_VERSION}" ] && RELEASE_VERSION=$(cat "${repo_root_dir}/VERSION")
+
+	versions_file="kata-containers-${RELEASE_VERSION}-versions.yaml"
+	cp "${repo_root_dir}/versions.yaml" ${versions_file}
+	gh release upload "${RELEASE_VERSION}" "${versions_file}"
+}
+
+function _upload_vendored_code_tarball()
+{
+	_check_required_env_var "GH_TOKEN"
+
+	[ -z "${RELEASE_VERSION}" ] && RELEASE_VERSION=$(cat "${repo_root_dir}/VERSION")
+
+	vendored_code_tarball="kata-containers-${RELEASE_VERSION}-vendor.tar.gz"
+	bash -c "${repo_root_dir}/tools/packaging/release/generate_vendor.sh ${vendored_code_tarball}"
+	gh release upload "${RELEASE_VERSION}" "${vendored_code_tarball}"
+}
+
+function _upload_libseccomp_tarball()
+{
+	_check_required_env_var "GH_TOKEN"
+
+	[ -z "${RELEASE_VERSION}" ] && RELEASE_VERSION=$(cat "${repo_root_dir}/VERSION")
+
+	INSTALL_IN_GO_PATH=false ${repo_root_dir}/ci/install_yq.sh
+
+	versions_yaml="versions.yaml"
+	version=$(/usr/local/bin/yq read ${versions_yaml} "externals.libseccomp.version")
+	repo_url=$(/usr/local/bin/yq read ${versions_yaml} "externals.libseccomp.url")
+	download_url="${repo_url}releases/download/v${version}"
+	tarball="libseccomp-${version}.tar.gz"
+	asc="${tarball}.asc"
+	curl -sSLO "${download_url}/${tarball}"
+	curl -sSLO "${download_url}/${asc}"
+	gh release upload "${RELEASE_VERSION}" "${tarball}"
+	gh release upload "${RELEASE_VERSIOB}" "${asc}"
+}
+
+function main()
+{
+	action="${1:-}"
+
+	case "${action}" in
+		publish-multiarch-manifest) _publish_multiarch_manifest ;;
+		update-version-file) _update_version_file ;;
+		next-release-version) _next_release_version;;
+		create-new-release) _create_new_release ;;
+		upload-kata-static-tarball) _upload_kata_static_tarball ;;
+		upload-versions-yaml-file) _upload_versions_yaml_file ;;
+		upload-vendored-code-tarball) _upload_vendored_code_tarball ;;
+		upload-libseccomp-tarball) _upload_libseccomp_tarball ;;
+		*) >&2 _die "Invalid argument" ;;
+	esac
+}
+
+main "$@"
diff --git a/tools/packaging/release/tag_repos.sh b/tools/packaging/release/tag_repos.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index ece0cd561d..0000000000
--- a/tools/packaging/release/tag_repos.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,239 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-#
-# Copyright (c) 2018 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
-#
-
-set -o errexit
-set -o nounset
-set -o pipefail
-
-tmp_dir=$(mktemp -d -t tag-repos-tmp.XXXXXXXXXX)
-script_dir="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
-script_name="$(basename "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")"
-OWNER=${OWNER:-"kata-containers"}
-PROJECT="Kata Containers"
-PUSH="${PUSH:-"false"}"
-branch="main"
-readonly URL_RAW_FILE="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/${OWNER}"
-#The runtime version is used as reference of latest release
-# This is set to the right value later.
-kata_version=""
-# Set if a new stable branch is created
-stable_branch=""
-
-source "${script_dir}/../scripts/lib.sh"
-
-function usage() {
-
-	cat <<EOF
-Usage: ${script_name} [options] <args>
-This script creates a new release for ${PROJECT}.
-It tags and create release for:
-EOF
-	for r in "${repos[@]}"; do
-		echo "  - ${r}"
-	done
-
-	cat <<EOF
-
-Args:
-status : Get Current ${PROJECT} tags status
-pre-release <target-version>:  Takes a version to check all the components match with it (but not the runtime)
-tag    : Create tags for ${PROJECT}
-
-Options:
--b <branch>: branch were will check the version.
--h         : Show this help
--p         : push tags
-
-EOF
-
-}
-
-finish() {
-	rm -rf "$tmp_dir"
-}
-
-trap finish EXIT
-
-die() {
-	echo >&2 "ERROR: $*"
-	exit 1
-}
-
-info() {
-	echo "INFO: $*"
-}
-
-repos=(
-	"kata-containers"
-)
-
-
-# The pre-release option at the check_versions function receives
-# the runtime VERSION in order to check all the components match with it,
-# this has the purpose that all the components have the same version before
-# merging the runtime version
-check_versions() {
-	version_to_check=${1:-}
-	if [ -z "${version_to_check}" ];then
-		info "Query the version from latest runtime in branch ${branch}"
-	else
-		kata_version="${version_to_check}"
-	fi
-
-	info "Tagging ${PROJECT} with version ${kata_version}"
-	info "Check all repos has version ${kata_version} in VERSION file"
-
-	for repo in "${repos[@]}"; do
-		if [ ! -z "${version_to_check}" ] && [ "${repo}" == "runtime" ]; then
-			info "Not checking runtime because we want the rest of repos are in ${version_to_check}"
-			continue
-		fi
-		repo_version=$(curl -Ls "${URL_RAW_FILE}/${repo}/${branch}/VERSION" | grep -v -P "^#")
-		info "${repo} is in $repo_version"
-		[ "${repo_version}" == "${kata_version}" ] || die "${repo} is not in version ${kata_version}"
-	done
-}
-
-do_tag(){
-	local tag=${1:-}
-	[ -n "${tag}" ] || die "No tag not provided"
-	if git rev-parse -q --verify "refs/tags/${tag}"; then
-		info "$repo already has tag"
-	else
-		info "Creating tag ${tag} for ${repo}"
-		git tag -a "${tag}" -s -m "${PROJECT} release ${tag}"
-	fi
-}
-
-tag_repos() {
-
-	info "Creating tag ${kata_version} in all repos"
-	for repo in "${repos[@]}"; do
-		git clone --quiet "https://github.com/${OWNER}/${repo}.git"
-		pushd "${repo}" >>/dev/null
-		git fetch origin
-		git checkout "${branch}"
-		version_from_file=$(cat ./VERSION)
-		info "Check VERSION file has ${kata_version}"
-		if [ "${version_from_file}" != "${kata_version}" ];then
-			die "mismatch: VERSION file (${version_from_file}) and runtime version ${kata_version}"
-		else
-			echo "OK"
-		fi
-		git fetch origin --tags
-		tag="$kata_version"
-		if [[ "packaging" == "${repo}" ]];then
-			do_tag "${tag}-kernel-config"
-		fi
-
-		do_tag "${tag}"
-
-		if [ "${branch}" == "main" ]; then
-			if echo "${tag}" | grep -oP '.*-rc0$'; then
-				info "This is a rc0 for main - creating stable branch"
-				stable_branch=$(echo ${tag} | awk 'BEGIN{FS=OFS="."}{print $1 "." $2}')
-				stable_branch="stable-${stable_branch}"
-				info "creating branch ${stable_branch} for ${repo}"
-				git checkout -b  "${stable_branch}" "${branch}"
-
-			fi
-		fi
-
-		popd >>/dev/null
-	done
-}
-
-push_tags() {
-	info "Pushing tags to repos"
-	get_gh
-	for repo in "${repos[@]}"; do
-		pushd "${repo}" >>/dev/null
-		${gh_cli} repo set-default "${OWNER}/${repo}"
-		if [ $(${gh_cli} config get git_protocol) = ssh ]; then
-			git remote set-url --push origin "git@github.com:${OWNER}/${repo}.git"
-		fi
-		tag="$kata_version"
-		if [[ "packaging" == "${repo}" ]];then
-			ktag="${tag}-kernel-config"
-			info "Push tag ${ktag} for ${repo}"
-			git push origin "${ktag}"
-		fi
-		info "Push tag ${tag} for ${repo}"
-		git push origin "${tag}"
-		create_github_release "${PWD}" "${tag}"
-		if [ "${stable_branch}" != "" ]; then
-			info "Pushing stable ${stable_branch} branch for ${repo}"
-			git push origin ${stable_branch}
-		fi
-		popd >>/dev/null
-	done
-}
-
-create_github_release() {
-	repo_dir=${1:-}
-	tag=${2:-}
-	[ -d "${repo_dir}" ] || die "No repository directory"
-	[ -n "${tag}" ] || die "No tag specified"
-	if ! "${gh_cli}" release view "${tag}"; then
-		info "Creating Github release"
-		if [[ "$tag" =~ "-rc" ]]; then
-			rc_args="-p"
-		fi
-		rc_args=${rc_args:-}
-		pushd "${repo_dir}"
-		"${gh_cli}" release create ${rc_args} --title "${PROJECT} ${tag}" "${tag}" --notes ""
-		popd
-	else
-		info "Github release already created"
-	fi
-}
-
-main () {
-	while getopts "b:hp" opt; do
-		case $opt in
-		b) branch="${OPTARG}" ;;
-		h) usage && exit 0 ;;
-		p) PUSH="true" ;;
-		esac
-	done
-	shift $((OPTIND - 1))
-
-	subcmd=${1:-""}
-	shift || true
-	kata_version=$(curl -Ls "${URL_RAW_FILE}/kata-containers/${branch}/VERSION" | grep -v -P "^#")
-
-	[ -z "${subcmd}" ] && usage && exit 0
-
-	pushd "${tmp_dir}" >>/dev/null
-
-	case "${subcmd}" in
-	status)
-		check_versions
-		;;
-	pre-release)
-		local target_version=${1:-}
-		[ -n "${target_version}" ] || die "No version provided"
-		check_versions "${target_version}"
-		;;
-	tag)
-		check_versions
-		tag_repos
-		if [ "${PUSH}" == "true" ]; then
-			push_tags
-		else
-			info "tags not pushed, use -p option to push the tags"
-		fi
-		;;
-	*)
-		usage && die "Invalid argument ${subcmd}"
-		;;
-
-	esac
-
-	popd >>/dev/null
-}
-main "$@"
diff --git a/tools/packaging/release/tag_repos_test.sh b/tools/packaging/release/tag_repos_test.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index b88161e9ac..0000000000
--- a/tools/packaging/release/tag_repos_test.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-#
-# Copyright (c) 2018 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
-#
-
-set -o errexit
-set -o nounset
-set -o pipefail
-
-echo "Check tag_repos.sh show help"
-./release/tag_repos.sh | grep Usage
-
-echo "Check tag_repos.sh -h option"
-./release/tag_repos.sh -h | grep Usage
-
-echo "Check tag_repos.sh status"
-./release/tag_repos.sh status | grep kata-containers
-
-echo "Check tag_repos.sh pre-release"
-./release/tag_repos.sh pre-release $(curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kata-containers/kata-containers/main/VERSION) | grep "Not checking runtime"
-
-echo "Check tag_repos.sh pre-release with invalid information"
-./release/tag_repos.sh pre-release 1000000 | grep "ERROR" || true
-
diff --git a/tools/packaging/release/update-repository-version.sh b/tools/packaging/release/update-repository-version.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index d9509dca1a..0000000000
--- a/tools/packaging/release/update-repository-version.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,339 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-#
-# Copyright (c) 2018 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
-#
-
-set -o errexit
-set -o nounset
-set -o pipefail
-
-readonly script_dir="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
-readonly script_name="$(basename "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")"
-
-readonly tmp_dir=$(mktemp -t -d pr-bump.XXXX)
-OWNER="${OWNER:-kata-containers}"
-readonly organization="$OWNER"
-PUSH="false"
-GOPATH=${GOPATH:-${HOME}/go}
-
-source "${script_dir}/../scripts/lib.sh"
-
-cleanup() {
-	[ -d "${tmp_dir}" ] && rm -rf "${tmp_dir}"
-}
-
-trap cleanup EXIT
-
-handle_error() {
-	local exit_code="${?}"
-	local line_number="${1:-}"
-	echo "Failed at $line_number: ${BASH_COMMAND}"
-	exit "${exit_code}"
-}
-trap 'handle_error $LINENO' ERR
-
-get_changes() {
-	local current_version="$1"
-	[ -n "${current_version}" ] || die "current version not provided"
-
-	# If for some reason there is not a tag this could fail
-	# better fail and write the error in the PR
-	if ! changes=$(git log --oneline "${current_version}..HEAD"); then
-		echo "failed to get logs"
-	fi
-	if [ "${changes}" == "" ]; then
-		echo "Version bump no changes"
-		return
-	fi
-
-	# list all PRs merged from $current_version to HEAD
-	git log --merges "${current_version}..HEAD" | awk '/Merge pull/{getline; getline;print }' | while read pr; do
-		echo "- ${pr}"
-	done
-
-	echo ""
-
-	# list all commits added in this new version.
-	git log --oneline "${current_version}..HEAD" --no-merges
-}
-
-generate_kata_deploy_commit() {
-       local new_version="$1"
-       [ -n "$new_version" ] || die "no new version"
-
-       printf "release: Adapt kata-deploy for %s" "${new_version}"
-
-       printf "\n
-kata-deploy files must be adapted to a new release.  The cases where it
-happens are when the release goes from -> to:
-* main -> stable:
-  * kata-deploy-stable / kata-cleanup-stable: are removed
-
-* stable -> stable:
-  * kata-deploy / kata-cleanup: bump the release to the new one.
-
-There are no changes when doing an alpha release, as the files on the
-\"main\" branch always point to the \"latest\" and \"stable\" tags."
-}
-
-generate_revert_kata_deploy_commit() {
-       local new_version="$1"
-       [ -n "$new_version" ] || die "no new version"
-
-       printf "release: Revert kata-deploy changes after %s release" "${new_version}"
-
-       printf "\n
-As %s has been released, let's switch the kata-deploy / kata-cleanup
-tags back to \"latest\", and re-add the kata-deploy-stable and the
-kata-cleanup-stable files." "${new_version}"
-}
-
-generate_commit() {
-	local new_version="$1"
-	local current_version="$2"
-
-	[ -n "$new_version" ] || die "no new version"
-	[ -n "$current_version" ] || die "no current version"
-
-	printf "release: Kata Containers %s\n\n" "${new_version}"
-
-	get_changes "$current_version"
-}
-
-bump_repo() {
-	local repo="${1:-}"
-	local new_version="${2:-}"
-	local target_branch="${3:-}"
-	[ -n "${repo}" ] || die "repository not provided"
-	[ -n "${new_version}" ] || die "no new version"
-	[ -n "${target_branch}" ] || die "no target branch"
-	local remote_repo="${organization}/${repo}"
-	local remote_github="https://github.com/${remote_repo}.git"
-	info "Update $repo to version $new_version"
-
-	info "remote: ${remote_github}"
-
-	git clone --quiet "${remote_github}"
-
-	pushd "${repo}" >>/dev/null
-
-	local kata_deploy_dir="tools/packaging/kata-deploy"
-	local kata_deploy_base="${kata_deploy_dir}/kata-deploy/base"
-	local kata_cleanup_base="${kata_deploy_dir}/kata-cleanup/base"
-	local kata_deploy_yaml="${kata_deploy_base}/kata-deploy.yaml"
-	local kata_cleanup_yaml="${kata_cleanup_base}/kata-cleanup.yaml"
-	local kata_deploy_stable_yaml="${kata_deploy_base}/kata-deploy-stable.yaml"
-	local kata_cleanup_stable_yaml="${kata_cleanup_base}/kata-cleanup-stable.yaml"
-
-	local tests_dir="tests"
-	local kubernetes_tests_dir="${tests_dir}/integration/kubernetes"
-	local kubernetes_tests_runner="${kubernetes_tests_dir}/gha-run.sh"
-	local kata_deploy_tests_dir="${tests_dir}/functional/kata-deploy"
-	local kata_deploy_tests_runner="${kata_deploy_tests_dir}/kata-deploy.bats"
-
-	branch="${new_version}-branch-bump"
-	git fetch origin "${target_branch}"
-	git checkout "origin/${target_branch}" -b "${branch}"
-
-	local current_version="$(egrep -v '^(#|$)' ./VERSION)"
-
-	info "Updating VERSION file"
-	echo "${new_version}" >VERSION
-	if git diff --exit-code; then
-		info "${repo} already in version ${new_version}"
-		return 0
-	fi
-
-	if [ "${repo}" == "kata-containers" ]; then
-		# Here there are 3 scenarios of what we can do, based on
-	        # which branch we're targetting:
-		#
-		# 1) [main] ------> [main]        NO-OP
-		#   "alpha0"       "alpha1"
-		#
-		#                     +----------------+----------------+
-		#                     |      from      |       to       |
-		#  -------------------+----------------+----------------+
-		#  kata-deploy        | "latest"       | "latest"       |
-		#  -------------------+----------------+----------------+
-		#  kata-deploy-stable | "stable        | "stable"       |
-		#  -------------------+----------------+----------------+
-		#
-		#
-		# 2) [main] ------> [stable]  Update kata-deploy and
-		#   "alpha2"         "rc0"    get rid of kata-deploy-stable
-		#
-		#                     +----------------+----------------+
-		#                     |      from      |       to       |
-		#  -------------------+----------------+----------------+
-		#  kata-deploy        | "latest"       | "latest"       |
-		#  -------------------+----------------+----------------+
-		#  kata-deploy-stable | "stable"       | REMOVED        |
-		#  -------------------+----------------+----------------+
-		#
-		#
-		# 3) [stable] ------> [stable]    Update kata-deploy
-		#    "x.y.z"         "x.y.(z+1)"
-		#
-		#                     +----------------+----------------+
-		#                     |      from      |       to       |
-		#  -------------------+----------------+----------------+
-		#  kata-deploy        | "x.y.z"        | "x.y.(z+1)"    |
-		#  -------------------+----------------+----------------+
-		#  kata-deploy-stable | NON-EXISTENT   | NON-EXISTENT   |
-		#  -------------------+----------------+----------------+
-
-		local registry="quay.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy"
-
-		info "Updating kata-deploy / kata-cleanup image tags"
-		local version_to_replace="${current_version}"
-		local replacement="${new_version}"
-		local need_commit=false
-		if [ "${target_branch}" == "main" ];then
-			if [[ "${new_version}" =~ "rc" ]]; then
-				## We are bumping from alpha to RC, should drop kata-deploy-stable yamls.
-				git rm "${kata_deploy_stable_yaml}"
-				git rm "${kata_cleanup_stable_yaml}"
-
-				need_commit=true
-			fi
-		elif [[ ! "${new_version}" =~ "rc" ]]; then
-			## We are on a stable branch and creating new stable releases.
-			## Need to change kata-deploy / kata-cleanup to use the stable tags.
-			if [[ "${version_to_replace}" =~ "rc" ]]; then
-				## Coming from "rcX" so from the latest tag.
-				version_to_replace="latest"
-			fi
-			sed -i "s#${registry}:${version_to_replace}#${registry}:${replacement}#g" "${kata_deploy_yaml}"
-			sed -i "s#${registry}:${version_to_replace}#${registry}:${replacement}#g" "${kata_cleanup_yaml}"
-
-			sed -i "s#${registry}:${version_to_replace}#${registry}:${replacement}#g" "${kubernetes_tests_runner}"
-			sed -i "s#${registry}:${version_to_replace}#${registry}:${replacement}#g" "${kata_deploy_tests_runner}"
-
-			git diff
-
-			git add "${kata_deploy_yaml}"
-			git add "${kata_cleanup_yaml}"
-			git add "${kubernetes_tests_runner}"
-			git add "${kata_deploy_tests_runner}"
-
-			need_commit=true
-		fi
-
-		if [ "${need_commit}" == "true" ]; then
-			info "Creating the commit with the kata-deploy changes"
-			local commit_msg="$(generate_kata_deploy_commit $new_version)"
-			git commit -s -m "${commit_msg}"
-			local kata_deploy_commit="$(git rev-parse HEAD)"
-		fi
-	fi
-
-	info "Creating PR message"
-	local pr_title="# Kata Containers ${new_version}"
-	local notes_file="${tmp_dir}/notes.md"
-	cat <<EOF >"${notes_file}"
-$(get_changes "$current_version")
-
-EOF
-	printf "%s\n\n" "${pr_title}"
-	cat "${notes_file}"
-
-	if (echo "${current_version}" | grep "alpha") && (echo "${new_version}" | grep -v "alpha");then
-		info "update move from alpha, check if new version is rc0"
-		if echo "$new_version" | grep -v "rc0"; then
-			die "bump should be from alpha to rc0"
-		fi
-		info "OK"
-	fi
-
-	git add VERSION
-	info "Creating commit with new changes"
-	commit_msg="$(generate_commit $new_version $current_version)"
-	git commit -s -m "${commit_msg}"
-
-	if [[ ${PUSH} == "true" ]]; then
-		get_gh
-		gh_id=$(${gh_cli} auth status --hostname github.com | awk 'match($0, /Logged in to github.com as ([^ ]+)/, line) { print substr($0, line[1, "start"], line[1, "length"]) }')
-		info "Forking remote"
-		${gh_cli} repo set-default "${remote_repo}"
-		${gh_cli} repo fork --remote --remote-name=fork
-		info "Push to fork"
-		git push fork -f "${branch}"
-		info "Create PR"
-		out=""
-		out=$(LC_ALL=C LANG=C "${gh_cli}" pr create --base "${target_branch}" --title "${pr_title}" --body-file "${notes_file}" --head "${gh_id}:${branch}" 2>&1) || echo "$out" | grep "already exists"
-	fi
-
-	if [ "${repo}" == "kata-containers" ] && [ "${target_branch}" == "main" ] && [[ "${new_version}" =~ "rc" ]]; then
-		reverting_kata_deploy_changes_branch="revert-kata-deploy-changes-after-${new_version}-release"
-		git checkout -b "${reverting_kata_deploy_changes_branch}"
-
-		git revert --no-edit ${kata_deploy_commit} >>/dev/null
-		commit_msg="$(generate_revert_kata_deploy_commit $new_version)"
-		info "Creating the commit message reverting the kata-deploy changes"
-		git commit --amend -s -m "${commit_msg}"
-
-		pr_title=$(echo "${commit_msg}" | head -1)
-		echo "${commit_msg}" | tail -n +3 >"${notes_file}"
-		echo "" >>"${notes_file}"
-		echo "Only merge this commit after ${new_version} release is successfully tagged!" >>"${notes_file}"
-
-		if [[ ${PUSH} == "true" ]]; then
-			info "Push \"${reverting_kata_deploy_changes_branch}\" to fork"
-			git push fork -f "${reverting_kata_deploy_changes_branch}"
-			info "Create \"${reverting_kata_deploy_changes_branch}\" PR"
-			out=""
-			out=$(LC_ALL=C LANG=C "${gh_cli}" pr create --base "${target_branch}" --title "${pr_title}" --body-file "${notes_file}" --head "${gh_id}:${reverting_kata_deploy_changes_branch}" 2>&1) || echo "$out" | grep "already exists"
-		fi
-	fi
-
-	popd >>/dev/null
-}
-
-usage() {
-	exit_code="$1"
-	cat <<EOF
-Usage:
-	${script_name} [options] <args>
-Args:
-	<new-version>     : New version to bump the repository
-	<target-branch>   : The base branch to create to PR
-Example:
-	${script_name} 1.10
-Options
-	-h        : Show this help
-	-p        : create a PR
-EOF
-	exit "$exit_code"
-}
-
-repos=(
-	"kata-containers"
-)
-
-main(){
-	while getopts "hp" opt; do
-		case $opt in
-			h) usage 0 ;;
-			p) PUSH="true" ;;
-		esac
-	done
-
-	shift $((OPTIND - 1))
-
-
-	new_version="${1:-}"
-	target_branch="${2:-}"
-	[ -n "${new_version}" ] || { echo "ERROR: no new version" && usage 1; }
-	[ -n "${target_branch}" ] || die "no target branch"
-	for repo in "${repos[@]}"
-	do
-		pushd "$tmp_dir" >>/dev/null
-		bump_repo "${repo}" "${new_version}" "${target_branch}"
-		popd >>/dev/null
-	done
-
-}
-main $@
diff --git a/tools/packaging/release/update-repository-version_test.sh b/tools/packaging/release/update-repository-version_test.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 2274541bb5..0000000000
--- a/tools/packaging/release/update-repository-version_test.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,54 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-#
-#Copyright (c) 2018 Intel Corporation
-#
-#SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
-#
-
-set -o errexit
-set -o nounset
-set -o pipefail
-
-readonly script_dir="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
-out=""
-
-handle_error() {
-	echo "not ok"
-	echo "output: ${out}"
-}
-
-OK() {
-	echo "ok"
-}
-output_should_contain() {
-	local output="$1"
-	local text_to_find="$2"
-	[ -n "$output" ]
-	[ -n "$text_to_find" ]
-	echo "${output}" | grep "${text_to_find}"
-}
-
-trap handle_error ERR
-
-echo "Missing args show help"
-out=$("${script_dir}/update-repository-version.sh" 2>&1) || (($? != 0))
-echo "${out}" | grep Usage >>/dev/null
-output_should_contain "${out}" "Usage"
-OK
-
-echo "Missing version show help"
-out=$("${script_dir}/update-repository-version.sh" 2>&1) || (($? != 0))
-echo "${out}" | grep Usage >>/dev/null
-echo "${out}" | grep "no new version" >>/dev/null
-OK
-
-echo "help option"
-out=$("${script_dir}/update-repository-version.sh" -h)
-output_should_contain "${out}" "Usage"
-OK
-
-echo "Local update version update should work"
-new_version="50.0.0-rc0"
-out=$("${script_dir}/update-repository-version.sh" "${new_version}" "main" 2>&1)
-output_should_contain "${out}" "release: Kata Containers ${new_version}"
-OK