diff --git a/.github/scripts/trigger-release.sh b/.github/scripts/trigger-release.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d6e4183
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/trigger-release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eu
+
+bold=$(tput bold)
+normal=$(tput sgr0)
+
+if ! [ -x "$(command -v gh)" ]; then
+    echo "The GitHub CLI could not be found. To continue follow the instructions at https://github.com/cli/cli#installation"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+gh auth status
+
+# we need all of the git state to determine the next version. Since tagging is done by
+# the release pipeline it is possible to not have all of the tags from previous releases.
+git fetch --tags
+
+# populates the CHANGELOG.md and VERSION files
+echo "${bold}Generating changelog...${normal}"
+make changelog 2> /dev/null
+
+NEXT_VERSION=$(cat VERSION)
+
+if [[ "$NEXT_VERSION" == "" ||  "${NEXT_VERSION}" == "(Unreleased)" ]]; then
+    echo "Could not determine the next version to release. Exiting..."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+while true; do
+    read -p "${bold}Do you want to trigger a release for version '${NEXT_VERSION}'?${normal} [y/n] " yn
+    case $yn in
+        [Yy]* ) echo; break;;
+        [Nn]* ) echo; echo "Cancelling release..."; exit;;
+        * ) echo "Please answer yes or no.";;
+    esac
+done
+
+# TODO: kick off nightly quality gate if:... (could we do this in the release workflow instead?)
+# ... it's not already running
+# ... it's not already failed (use the check name)
+# ... it's not already succeeded (use the check name)
+
+echo "${bold}Kicking off release for ${NEXT_VERSION}${normal}..."
+echo
+gh workflow run release.yaml -f version=${NEXT_VERSION}
+
+echo
+echo "${bold}Waiting for release to start...${normal}"
+sleep 10
+
+set +e
+
+echo "${bold}Head to the release workflow to monitor the release:${normal} $(gh run list --workflow=release.yaml --limit=1 --json url --jq '.[].url')"
+id=$(gh run list --workflow=release.yaml --limit=1 --json databaseId --jq '.[].databaseId')
+gh run watch $id --exit-status || (echo ; echo "${bold}Logs of failed step:${normal}" && GH_PAGER="" gh run view $id --log-failed)