diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index b2aaf69c2d3..270535db637 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ jobs:
           Name-Email: github-action@etcd.io
           Expire-Date: 0
           EOF
-          DRY_RUN=true ./scripts/release.sh --no-upload --no-docker-push --in-place 3.6.99
+          DRY_RUN=true ./scripts/release.sh --no-upload --no-docker-push --no-gh-release --in-place 3.6.99
       - name: test-image
         run: |
           VERSION=3.6.99 ./scripts/test_images.sh
diff --git a/Documentation/contributor-guide/release.md b/Documentation/contributor-guide/release.md
index 122f266be87..6875adaf1c9 100644
--- a/Documentation/contributor-guide/release.md
+++ b/Documentation/contributor-guide/release.md
@@ -62,6 +62,8 @@ which don't need to be executed before releasing each version.
 4. Authenticate the image registry, refer to [Authentication methods](https://cloud.google.com/container-registry/docs/advanced-authentication).
    - `gcloud auth login`
    - `gcloud auth configure-docker`
+5. Install gh, refer to [GitHub's documentation](https://github.com/cli/cli#installation). Ensure that running
+   `gh auth login` succeeds for the GitHub account you use to contribute to etcd.
 
 ### Release steps
 
@@ -85,13 +87,8 @@ which don't need to be executed before releasing each version.
    It generates all release binaries under the directory `/tmp/etcd-release-${VERSION}/etcd/release/` and images. Binaries are pushed to the Google Cloud bucket
    under project `etcd-development`, and images are pushed to `quay.io` and `gcr.io`.
 7. Publish the release page on GitHub
-   - Set the release title as the version name
-   - Choose the correct release tag (generated from step #4)
-   - Follow the format of previous release pages
-   - Attach the generated binaries and signature file
-   - Verify the historical binary size for each architecture. If there's a big difference, verify that it works for that architecture
-   - Select whether it's a pre-release
-   - Publish the release
+   - Open the **draft** release URL shown by the release script
+   - Review that it looks correct, then publish the release
 8. Announce to the etcd-dev googlegroup
 
    Follow the format of previous release emails sent to etcd-dev@googlegroups.com, see an example below. After sending out the email, ask one of the mailing list maintainers to approve the email from the pending list. Additionally, label the release email as `Release`.
diff --git a/scripts/release.sh b/scripts/release.sh
index c2940a1fcd1..d2aeb25fc96 100755
--- a/scripts/release.sh
+++ b/scripts/release.sh
@@ -33,15 +33,15 @@ help() {
   echo "WARNING: This does not perform the 'Add API capabilities', 'Performance testing' "
   echo "         or 'Documentation' steps. These steps must be performed manually BEFORE running this tool."
   echo ""
-  echo "WARNING: This script does not sign releases, publish releases to github or sent announcement"
-  echo "         emails. These steps must be performed manually AFTER running this tool."
+  echo "WARNING: This script does not send announcement emails. This step must be performed manually AFTER running this tool."
   echo ""
   echo "  args:"
   echo "    version: version of etcd to release, e.g. 'v3.2.18'"
   echo "  flags:"
-  echo "    --no-upload: skip gs://etcd binary artifact uploads."
-  echo "    --no-docker-push: skip docker image pushes."
   echo "    --in-place: build binaries using current branch."
+  echo "    --no-docker-push: skip docker image pushes."
+  echo "    --no-gh-release: skip creating the GitHub release using gh."
+  echo "    --no-upload: skip gs://etcd binary artifact uploads."
   echo ""
   echo "One can perform a (dry-run) test release from any (uncommitted) branch using:"
   echo "  DRY_RUN=true REPOSITORY=\`pwd\` BRANCH='local-branch-name' ./scripts/release 3.5.0-foobar.2"
@@ -119,6 +119,21 @@ main() {
     exit 1
   fi
 
+  if [ "${NO_GH_RELEASE}" == 1 ]; then
+    log_callout "Skipping gh verification, --no-gh-release is set"
+  else
+    # Check that gh is installed and logged in.
+    log_callout "Check gh installation"
+    if ! command -v gh >/dev/null; then
+      log_error "Cannot find gh. Please follow the installation instructions at https://github.com/cli/cli#installation"
+      exit 1
+    fi
+    if ! gh auth status &>/dev/null; then
+      log_error "GitHub authentication failed for gh. Please run gh auth login."
+      exit 1
+    fi
+  fi
+
   # If the release tag does not already exist remotely, create it.
   log_callout "Create tag if not present"
   if [ "${remote_tag_exists}" -eq 0 ]; then
@@ -314,10 +329,70 @@ main() {
     exit 1
   fi
 
-  # TODO: signing process
-  log_warning ""
-  log_warning "WARNING: The release has not been signed and published to github. This must be done manually."
-  log_warning ""
+  if [ "${DRY_RUN}" == "true" ] || [ "${NO_GH_RELEASE}" == 1 ]; then
+    log_warning ""
+    log_warning "WARNING: Skipping creating GitHub release, --no-gh-release is set."
+    log_warning "WARNING: If not running on DRY_MODE, please do the GitHub release manually."
+    log_warning ""
+  else
+    local gh_repo
+    local release_notes_temp_file
+    local release_url
+    local gh_release_args=()
+
+    # For the main branch (v3.6), we should mark the release as a prerelease.
+    # The release-3.5 (v3.5) branch, should be marked as latest. And release-3.4 (v3.4)
+    # should be left without any additional mark (therefore, it doesn't need a special argument).
+    if [ "${BRANCH}" = "main" ]; then
+      gh_release_args=(--prerelease)
+    elif [ "${BRANCH}" = "release-3.5" ]; then
+      gh_release_args=(--latest)
+    fi
+
+    if [ "${REPOSITORY}" = "$(pwd)" ]; then
+      gh_repo=$(git remote get-url origin)
+    else
+      gh_repo="${REPOSITORY}"
+    fi
+
+    gh_repo=$(echo "${gh_repo}" | sed 's/^[^@]\+@//' | sed 's/https\?:\/\///' | sed 's/\.git$//' | tr ':' '/')
+    log_callout "Creating GitHub release for ${RELEASE_VERSION} on ${gh_repo}"
+
+    release_notes_temp_file=$(mktemp)
+
+    local release_version=${RELEASE_VERSION#v} # Remove the v prefix from the release version (i.e., v3.6.1 -> 3.6.1)
+    local release_version_major_minor=${release_version%.*} # Remove the patch from the version (i.e., 3.6)
+    local release_version_major=${release_version_major_minor%.*} # Extract the major (i.e., 3)
+    local release_version_minor=${release_version_major_minor/*./} # Extract the minor (i.e., 6)
+
+    # Disable sellcheck SC2016, the single quoted syntax for sed is intentional.
+    # shellcheck disable=SC2016
+    sed 's/${RELEASE_VERSION}/'"${RELEASE_VERSION}"'/g' ./scripts/release_notes.tpl.txt |
+      sed 's/${RELEASE_VERSION_MAJOR_MINOR}/'"${release_version_major_minor}"'/g' |
+      sed 's/${RELEASE_VERSION_MAJOR}/'"${release_version_major}"'/g' |
+      sed 's/${RELEASE_VERSION_MINOR}/'"${release_version_minor}"'/g' > "${release_notes_temp_file}"
+
+    if ! gh --repo "${gh_repo}" release view "${RELEASE_VERSION}" &>/dev/null; then
+      maybe_run gh release create "${RELEASE_VERSION}" \
+          --repo "${gh_repo}" \
+          --draft \
+          --title "${RELEASE_VERSION}" \
+          --notes-file "${release_notes_temp_file}" \
+          "${gh_release_args[@]}"
+    fi
+
+    # Upload files one by one, as gh doesn't support passing globs as input.
+    maybe_run find ./release '(' -name '*.tar.gz' -o -name '*.zip' ')' -exec \
+      gh --repo "${gh_repo}" release upload "${RELEASE_VERSION}" {} --clobber \;
+    maybe_run gh --repo "${gh_repo}" release upload "${RELEASE_VERSION}" ./release/SHA256SUMS --clobber
+
+    release_url=$(gh --repo "${gh_repo}" release view "${RELEASE_VERSION}" --json url --jq '.url')
+
+    log_warning ""
+    log_warning "WARNING: The GitHub release for ${RELEASE_VERSION} has been created as a draft, please go to ${release_url} and release it."
+    log_warning ""
+  fi
+
   log_success "Success."
   exit 0
 }
@@ -326,6 +401,7 @@ POSITIONAL=()
 NO_UPLOAD=0
 NO_DOCKER_PUSH=0
 IN_PLACE=0
+NO_GH_RELEASE=0
 
 while test $# -gt 0; do
         case "$1" in
@@ -346,6 +422,10 @@ while test $# -gt 0; do
             NO_DOCKER_PUSH=1
             shift
             ;;
+          --no-gh-release)
+            NO_GH_RELEASE=1
+            shift
+            ;;
           *)
             POSITIONAL+=("$1") # save it in an array for later
             shift # past argument
diff --git a/scripts/release_notes.tpl.txt b/scripts/release_notes.tpl.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1038a504d6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release_notes.tpl.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+Please check out [CHANGELOG](https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/blob/main/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-${RELEASE_VERSION_MAJOR_MINOR}.md) for a full list of changes. And make sure to read [upgrade guide](https://etcd.io/docs/v${RELEASE_VERSION_MAJOR_MINOR}/upgrades/upgrade_${RELEASE_VERSION_MAJOR}_${RELEASE_VERSION_MINOR}/) before upgrading etcd (there may be breaking changes).
+
+For installation guides, please check out [play.etcd.io](http://play.etcd.io) and [operating etcd](https://etcd.io/docs/v${RELEASE_VERSION_MAJOR_MINOR}/op-guide/). Latest support status for common architectures and operating systems can be found at [supported platforms](https://etcd.io/docs/v${RELEASE_VERSION_MAJOR_MINOR}/op-guide/supported-platform/).
+
+###### Linux
+
+```sh
+ETCD_VER=${RELEASE_VERSION}
+
+# choose either URL
+GOOGLE_URL=https://storage.googleapis.com/etcd
+GITHUB_URL=https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases/download
+DOWNLOAD_URL=${GOOGLE_URL}
+
+rm -f /tmp/etcd-${ETCD_VER}-linux-amd64.tar.gz
+rm -rf /tmp/etcd-download-test && mkdir -p /tmp/etcd-download-test
+
+curl -L ${DOWNLOAD_URL}/${ETCD_VER}/etcd-${ETCD_VER}-linux-amd64.tar.gz -o /tmp/etcd-${ETCD_VER}-linux-amd64.tar.gz
+tar xzvf /tmp/etcd-${ETCD_VER}-linux-amd64.tar.gz -C /tmp/etcd-download-test --strip-components=1
+rm -f /tmp/etcd-${ETCD_VER}-linux-amd64.tar.gz
+
+/tmp/etcd-download-test/etcd --version
+/tmp/etcd-download-test/etcdctl version
+/tmp/etcd-download-test/etcdutl version
+
+# start a local etcd server
+/tmp/etcd-download-test/etcd
+
+# write,read to etcd
+/tmp/etcd-download-test/etcdctl --endpoints=localhost:2379 put foo bar
+/tmp/etcd-download-test/etcdctl --endpoints=localhost:2379 get foo
+```
+
+###### macOS (Darwin)
+
+```sh
+ETCD_VER=${RELEASE_VERSION}
+
+# choose either URL
+GOOGLE_URL=https://storage.googleapis.com/etcd
+GITHUB_URL=https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases/download
+DOWNLOAD_URL=${GOOGLE_URL}
+
+rm -f /tmp/etcd-${ETCD_VER}-darwin-amd64.zip
+rm -rf /tmp/etcd-download-test && mkdir -p /tmp/etcd-download-test
+
+curl -L ${DOWNLOAD_URL}/${ETCD_VER}/etcd-${ETCD_VER}-darwin-amd64.zip -o /tmp/etcd-${ETCD_VER}-darwin-amd64.zip
+unzip /tmp/etcd-${ETCD_VER}-darwin-amd64.zip -d /tmp && rm -f /tmp/etcd-${ETCD_VER}-darwin-amd64.zip
+mv /tmp/etcd-${ETCD_VER}-darwin-amd64/* /tmp/etcd-download-test && rm -rf mv /tmp/etcd-${ETCD_VER}-darwin-amd64
+
+/tmp/etcd-download-test/etcd --version
+/tmp/etcd-download-test/etcdctl version
+/tmp/etcd-download-test/etcdutl version
+```
+
+###### Docker
+
+etcd uses [`gcr.io/etcd-development/etcd`](https://gcr.io/etcd-development/etcd) as a primary container registry, and [`quay.io/coreos/etcd`](https://quay.io/coreos/etcd) as secondary.
+
+```sh
+ETCD_VER=${RELEASE_VERSION}
+
+rm -rf /tmp/etcd-data.tmp && mkdir -p /tmp/etcd-data.tmp && \
+  docker rmi gcr.io/etcd-development/etcd:${ETCD_VER} || true && \
+  docker run \
+  -p 2379:2379 \
+  -p 2380:2380 \
+  --mount type=bind,source=/tmp/etcd-data.tmp,destination=/etcd-data \
+  --name etcd-gcr-${ETCD_VER} \
+  gcr.io/etcd-development/etcd:${ETCD_VER} \
+  /usr/local/bin/etcd \
+  --name s1 \
+  --data-dir /etcd-data \
+  --listen-client-urls http://0.0.0.0:2379 \
+  --advertise-client-urls http://0.0.0.0:2379 \
+  --listen-peer-urls http://0.0.0.0:2380 \
+  --initial-advertise-peer-urls http://0.0.0.0:2380 \
+  --initial-cluster s1=http://0.0.0.0:2380 \
+  --initial-cluster-token tkn \
+  --initial-cluster-state new \
+  --log-level info \
+  --logger zap \
+  --log-outputs stderr
+
+docker exec etcd-gcr-${ETCD_VER}/usr/local/bin/etcd --version
+docker exec etcd-gcr-${ETCD_VER}/usr/local/bin/etcdctl version
+docker exec etcd-gcr-${ETCD_VER}/usr/local/bin/etcdutl version
+docker exec etcd-gcr-${ETCD_VER}/usr/local/bin/etcdctl endpoint health
+docker exec etcd-gcr-${ETCD_VER}/usr/local/bin/etcdctl put foo bar
+docker exec etcd-gcr-${ETCD_VER}/usr/local/bin/etcdctl get foo
+```