diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 98fdb71d5c..602f9f3152 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -123,4 +123,4 @@ jobs:
       - name: Create GitHub release
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ fromJSON(steps.secret-service.outputs.secrets).GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-        run: gh release create "v${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}" --target next --generate-notes --prerelease
+        run: gh release create "v${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}" --target ${{ github.sha }} --generate-notes --prerelease
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 0f5777a516..cfdeb278c9 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -134,39 +134,47 @@ Here are some things to keep in mind as you file pull requests to fix bugs, add
 
 ## Release process
 
-This guide is for maintainers who have:
+This guide is for maintainers who have access to the [Forgers](https://github.com/orgs/electron/teams/forgers)
+GitHub team.
 
-- Push access to the `electron/forge` repository.
-- Collaborator access to the `@electron-forge` packages on npm.
+> [!IMPORTANT]
+> These instructions are strictly for Electron Forge 8 pre-release versions.
+> Do not use against `main`!
 
-### 1. Prepare your local code checkout
+### 1. Run the version bump script
 
-- Switch to the tip of the `main` branch with `git switch main && git pull`.
-- Run tests locally with `yarn test`.
-- Check that the latest CI run passed on `main` on [GitHub](https://github.com/electron/forge/actions?query=workflow:CI).
-- Remove all untracked files and directories from your checkout with `git clean -fdx`.
-- Install dependencies with `yarn install`.
+Run the `yarn lerna:version` script from the root of this monorepo. This script will:
 
-### 2. Publish all npm packages
+1. Reset your current git state to `HEAD`.
+1. Run Lerna's [`version`](https://github.com/lerna/lerna/tree/main/libs/commands/version#readme)
+   command, which increments all packages to the next alpha pre-release version.
+   (You'll need to accept the version bump before proceeding.)
+1. Check out a new branch called `alpha-release/YYMMDD-hh-mm`.
+1. Commit your changes with the appropriate commit title and message.
 
-- Log into npm with `npm login`.
-- Run the `yarn lerna:publish` command.
-- Enter your npm account's time-based one-time password (TOTP).
+### 2. Merge the change into `next`
 
-The `lerna:publish` script will automatically increment the next package version based on the
-[Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/en/v1.0.0/) standard. From there, it does two things:
+Push your changes up and create a new PR. **When your PR is merged, ensure that you keep the original
+commit message and extended description from the original script.**
 
-1. It creates a tagged commit that bumps the version number in `package.json` at the root and package levels
-   and pushes the commit and tag to GitHub.
-1. It publishes every `@electron-forge/` package to npm.
+> [!NOTE]
+> Branch protection is configured so that only Forgers are allowed to push up commits that can
+> trigger a release.
+
+Once your PR is merged, the [`release.yml`](.github/workflows/release.yml) workflow should run.
+
+### 3. Approve the release job
 
-### 3. Publish release to GitHub
+Look for a pending [Publish](https://github.com/electron/forge/actions?query=event%3Apush+branch%3Anext)
+job in the Actions tab on the Forge repository. You need to get another Forger member to approve
+the job before the publish happens.
 
-- Go to the repo's [New Release](https://github.com/electron/forge/releases/new) page.
-- Select tag you just published.
-- Target the `main` branch.
-- [Automatically generated release notes](https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/releasing-projects-on-github/automatically-generated-release-notes)
-  against the previous Forge release.
+Once the job is completed, all `@electron-forge/` packages and `create-electron-app` should have
+new published versions under the `alpha` dist-tag.
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> If the Publish job fails for whatever reason, feel free to start over at step 1. Version numbers
+> aren't sacred, so we can just re-increment the release number and try again.
 
 ### Adding a new `@electron-forge` package
 
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index a6ae85495f..458190569f 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     "build": "tsc -b packages && ts-node tools/test-dist",
     "build:watch": "tsc -b packages --watch",
     "docs": "yarn build && typedoc",
-    "lerna:version": "lerna version prerelease --force-publish --preid=alpha --no-changelog --exact --no-git-tag-version --no-push",
+    "lerna:version": "./tools/version.sh",
     "lint:js": "prettier --check . --experimental-cli && eslint . --cache",
     "lint:markdown": "electron-markdownlint \"**/*.md\"",
     "lint:markdown-js": "electron-lint-markdown-standard --root . --ignore-path .markdownlintignore --semi \"**/*.md\"",
diff --git a/tools/version.sh b/tools/version.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..12c0b9ce38
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/version.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -e
+
+if [ -n "$(git status --porcelain)" ]; then
+  echo "Error: Working directory is not clean. Please commit or stash your changes before running lerna:version."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "Running lerna version..."
+lerna version prerelease \
+  --force-publish \
+  --preid=alpha \
+  --no-changelog \
+  --exact \
+  --no-git-tag-version \
+  --no-push
+
+# Releaser may decline to apply version changes. Exit early in that case.
+if [ -z "$(git status --porcelain)" ]; then
+  echo "No version changes were made. Exiting."
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+BRANCH_NAME="alpha-release/$(date +'%y%m%d-%I-%M')"
+echo "Creating branch: $BRANCH_NAME"
+git checkout -b "$BRANCH_NAME"
+
+echo "Committing changes..."
+git commit -a -m 'chore: version bump' -m '<trigger_release>'
+
+echo "Version bump complete! Branch $BRANCH_NAME created and changes committed."