diff --git a/.github/actions/publish-tag-and-release/action.yml b/.github/actions/publish-tag-and-release/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7499ccb27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/actions/publish-tag-and-release/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+#################################################################################
+#  Copyright (c) 2024 Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (BMW AG)
+#  Copyright (c) 2024 Contributors to the Eclipse Foundation
+#
+#  See the NOTICE file(s) distributed with this work for additional
+#  information regarding copyright ownership.
+#
+#  This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+#  terms of the Apache License, Version 2.0 which is available at
+#  https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.
+#
+#  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+#  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+#  WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+#  License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
+#  under the License.
+#
+#  SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#################################################################################
+
+
+---
+name: "Publish Github release and tag"
+description: "Publish Github release and tag"
+inputs:
+  version:
+    required: true
+    description: "The version to be used in the tag and release publication"
+  token:
+    required: true
+    description: "Github token"
+  is_latest:
+    required: true
+    description: "Boolean that defines if a release is latest or not"
+
+runs:
+  using: "composite"
+  steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+    - name: Prepare Git Config
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        # Prepare git env
+        git config user.name "eclipse-tractusx-bot"
+        git config user.email "tractusx-bot@eclipse.org"
+    - name: Create Release Tag
+      id: create_release_tag
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        # informative
+        git branch -a
+        git tag
+
+        # Create & push tag
+        git tag ${{ inputs.version }}
+        git push origin ${{ inputs.version }}
+    - name: Create GitHub Release
+      uses: ncipollo/release-action@v1
+      with:
+        generateReleaseNotes: true
+        tag: ${{ inputs.version }}
+        token: ${{ inputs.token }}
+        makeLatest: ${{ inputs.is_latest }}
+        removeArtifacts: true
+    - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-java
+    - name: Set new snapshot version
+      if: ${{ inputs.is_latest }}
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        # Extract release version
+        IFS=.- read -r RELEASE_VERSION_MAJOR RELEASE_VERSION_MINOR RELEASE_VERSION_PATCH SNAPSHOT<<<"${{ inputs.version}}"
+        INC=0
+        # Compute new snapshot version, do not increment snapshot on non-final releases, e.g. -rc1
+        if [ -z $SNAPSHOT ]; then
+          # snapshot
+          echo "${{ inputs.version }} is a final release version, increase patch for next snapshot"
+          INC=1
+        else
+          echo "${{ inputs.version }} is not a final release version (contains \"$SNAPSHOT\"), will not increase patch"
+        fi
+
+        VERSION="$RELEASE_VERSION_MAJOR.$((RELEASE_VERSION_MINOR+$INC)).0-SNAPSHOT"
+        SNAPSHOT_VERSION=$VERSION
+
+        # Persist the "version" in the gradle.properties
+        sed -i "s/version=.*/version=$SNAPSHOT_VERSION/g" gradle.properties
+
+        # Commit and push to origin main
+        git add gradle.properties
+        git commit --message "Introduce new snapshot version $SNAPSHOT_VERSION"
+
+        git push
diff --git a/.github/workflows/draft-new-release.yaml b/.github/workflows/draft-release.yaml
similarity index 57%
rename from .github/workflows/draft-new-release.yaml
rename to .github/workflows/draft-release.yaml
index 0eb2da28b..3cdf9e1d0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/draft-new-release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/draft-release.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 #################################################################################
+#  Copyright (c) 2024 Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (BMW AG)
 #  Copyright (c) 2021,2023 Contributors to the Eclipse Foundation
 #
 #  See the NOTICE file(s) distributed with this work for additional
@@ -19,19 +20,57 @@
 
 
 ---
-name: "Draft new release"
+name: "Draft Release"
+run-name: "Draft Release ${{ inputs.version }} from ${{ github.ref_name }}"
 
 on:
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
       version:
-        description: 'The version you want to release.'
+        description: 'The version you want to release. Ref should be either main for latest releases or a tag for bugfixes. '
         required: true
 
 jobs:
+  validate-and-prepare:
+    name: "Validate that tag does not already exist and prepare branch"
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: ${{ github.ref_name == 'main' || startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/') }}
+    outputs:
+      branch_name: ${{ steps.resolve_branch.outputs.branch_name }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+      - id: check-tag
+        name: "Check if tag exists"
+        run: |-
+
+          tag=$(git tag -l ${{ inputs.version }})
+
+          if [ ! -z $tag ];
+          then
+            echo "Tag already exists! Please choose another tag."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+      - id: resolve_branch
+        name: "Resolve branch prefix (release or bugfix)"
+        run: |
+          
+           if [[ ${{ github.ref_name }} == "main"]];
+           then
+             echo "branch_name=release/${{ inputs.version }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+           elif [[ ${{ github.ref }} == refs/tags/* ]]
+           then
+             echo "branch_name=bugfix/${{ inputs.version }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+           else
+             echo "Ref branch does not match required criteria. Should either be "main" or a tag."
+             exit 1
+           fi
+
   draft-new-release:
     name: "Draft a new release"
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: validate-and-prepare
     permissions:
       contents: write
       packages: write
@@ -39,8 +78,8 @@ jobs:
       pull-requests: write
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: Create release branch
-        run: git checkout -b release/${{ github.event.inputs.version }}
+      - name: Create Release or Bugfix branch
+        run: git checkout -b ${{ needs.validate-and-prepare.outputs.branch_name }}
       - name: Initialize mandatory git config
         run: |
           git config user.name "eclipse-tractusx-bot"
@@ -49,9 +88,9 @@ jobs:
       - name: Bump version in gradle.properties
         run: |-
           # replace the project's (default) version, could be overwritten later with the -Pversion=... flag
-          sed -i  's/version=.*/version=${{ github.event.inputs.version }}/g' gradle.properties
+          sed -i  's/version=.*/version=${{ inputs.version }}/g' gradle.properties
           # replace the openapi version with the upcoming one
-          sed -i 's#tractusx-edc/.*/swagger.yaml#tractusx-edc/${{ github.event.inputs.version }}/swagger.yaml#g' .tractusx
+          sed -i 's#tractusx-edc/.*/swagger.yaml#tractusx-edc/${{ inputs.version }}/swagger.yaml#g' .tractusx
         env:
           GITHUB_PACKAGE_USERNAME: ${{ github.actor }}
           GITHUB_PACKAGE_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
@@ -59,7 +98,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: mikefarah/yq@v4.44.3
         with:
           cmd: |-
-            find charts -name Chart.yaml -maxdepth 3 | xargs -n1 yq -i '.appVersion = "${{ github.event.inputs.version }}" | .version = "${{ github.event.inputs.version }}"'
+            find charts -name Chart.yaml -maxdepth 3 | xargs -n1 yq -i '.appVersion = "${{ inputs.version }}" | .version = "${{ inputs.version }}"'
       - name: Update Chart READMEs
         uses: addnab/docker-run-action@v3
         with:
@@ -71,22 +110,23 @@ jobs:
         id: make-commit
         run: |
           git add gradle.properties $(find charts -name Chart.yaml) $(find charts -name README.md)
-          git commit --message "Prepare release ${{ github.event.inputs.version }}"
+          git commit --message "Prepare release ${{ inputs.version }}"
 
           echo "commit=$(git rev-parse HEAD)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
       - name: Push new branch
-        run: git push origin release/${{ github.event.inputs.version }}
+        run: git push origin ${{ needs.validate-and-prepare.outputs.branch_name }}
       - name: Create pull request
+        if: ${{ github.ref_name == 'main' }}
         uses: thomaseizinger/create-pull-request@1.4.0
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         with:
-          head: release/${{ github.event.inputs.version }}
-          base: releases
-          title: Release version ${{ github.event.inputs.version }}
+          head: ${{ needs.validate-and-prepare.outputs.branch_name }}
+          base: main
+          title: Release version ${{ inputs.version }}
           reviewers: ${{ github.actor }}
           body: |-
-            This PR was created in response to a manual trigger of the [release workflow](https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}).
+            This PR was created in response to a manual trigger of the [draft release workflow](https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}).
             Versions have been bumped in [commit ${{ steps.make-commit.outputs.commit }}](${{ steps.make-commit.outputs.commit }}).
 
             Merging this PR will create a GitHub release and upload any assets that are created as part of the release build.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/manual-release-bugfix.yml b/.github/workflows/manual-release-bugfix.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a96199587
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/manual-release-bugfix.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+#################################################################################
+#  Copyright (c) 2024 Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (BMW AG)
+#  Copyright (c) 2021,2023 Contributors to the Eclipse Foundation
+#
+#  See the NOTICE file(s) distributed with this work for additional
+#  information regarding copyright ownership.
+#
+#  This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+#  terms of the Apache License, Version 2.0 which is available at
+#  https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.
+#
+#  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+#  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+#  WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+#  License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
+#  under the License.
+#
+#  SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#################################################################################
+
+
+---
+name: "Bugfix Release"
+run-name: "Release bugfix from ${{ github.ref_name }}"
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+  # Gate: Skip if base is not bugfix branch
+  check-head:
+    name: "Check if head is bugfix and delegate to release workflow"
+    if: startsWith(github.ref_name, 'bugfix/')
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/release.yml
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+      pages: write
+    secrets: inherit
diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish-bugfix-release.yml b/.github/workflows/publish-bugfix-release.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index ce02da52b..000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/publish-bugfix-release.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,211 +0,0 @@
-#################################################################################
-#  Copyright (c) 2024 Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (BMW AG)
-#
-#  See the NOTICE file(s) distributed with this work for additional
-#  information regarding copyright ownership.
-#
-#  This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
-#  terms of the Apache License, Version 2.0 which is available at
-#  https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.
-#
-#  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-#  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
-#  WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
-#  License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
-#  under the License.
-#
-#  SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
-#################################################################################
-
-
----
-name: "Publish bugfix release"
-
-# Temporary workflow to enable the release of bugfix versions.
-# Should be reworked as this file contains duplicate code from draft-new-release and publish-new-release
-# This workflow, as is, should be executed after the bugfix branch is created and all needed PRs are merged
-
-on:
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      version:
-        description: 'The bugfix version you want to release.'
-        required: true
-
-jobs:
-  # Gate: Check release version presence
-  validate-release:
-    name: Validate if bugfix version can be released
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    if: startsWith(github.ref_name, 'bugfix/')
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
-      - id: check-tag
-        name: Check if tag exists
-        run: |-
-          
-          tag=$(git tag -l ${{ inputs.version }})
-          
-          if [ ! -z $tag ];
-          then
-            echo "Tag already exists! Please choose another tag."
-            exit 1
-          fi
-
-  prepare-bugfix-release:
-    name: "Prepare bugfix release"
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [validate-release]
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: Initialize mandatory git config
-        run: |
-          git config user.name "eclipse-tractusx-bot"
-          git config user.email "tractusx-bot@eclipse.org"
-      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-java
-      - name: Bump version in gradle.properties
-        run: |-
-          # replace the project's (default) version, could be overwritten later with the -Pversion=... flag
-          sed -i  's/version=.*/version=${{ inputs.version }}/g' gradle.properties
-          # replace the openapi version with the upcoming one
-          sed -i 's#tractusx-edc/.*/swagger.yaml#tractusx-edc/${{ github.event.inputs.version }}/swagger.yaml#g' .tractusx
-        env:
-          GITHUB_PACKAGE_USERNAME: ${{ github.actor }}
-          GITHUB_PACKAGE_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-      - name: Bump version in /charts
-        uses: mikefarah/yq@v4.44.3
-        with:
-          cmd: |-
-            find charts -name Chart.yaml -maxdepth 3 | xargs -n1 yq -i '.appVersion = "${{ inputs.version }}" | .version = "${{ inputs.version }}"'
-      - name: Update Chart READMEs
-        uses: addnab/docker-run-action@v3
-        with:
-          image: jnorwood/helm-docs:v1.10.0
-          options: -v ${{ github.workspace }}/charts:/helm-docs
-          run: |
-            helm-docs --log-level debug
-      - name: Commit manifest files
-        id: make-commit
-        run: |
-          git add gradle.properties $(find charts -name Chart.yaml) $(find charts -name README.md)
-          git commit --message "Prepare release ${{ inputs.version }}"
-
-
-  # Release: Maven Artifacts
-  maven-release:
-    name: Publish extension's release version to maven repository
-    needs: [ prepare-bugfix-release, validate-release ]
-    permissions:
-      contents: read
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/trigger-maven-publish.yaml
-    secrets: inherit
-    with:
-      version: ${{ inputs.version }}
-
-  docker-release:
-    name: Publish Docker images
-    needs: [ prepare-bugfix-release, validate-release ]
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/trigger-docker-publish.yaml
-    secrets: inherit
-    with:
-      docker_tag: ${{ inputs.version }}
-
-  # Release: Helm Charts
-  helm-release:
-    name: Publish new helm release
-    needs: [ prepare-bugfix-release, validate-release ]
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-      pages: write
-
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: Install Helm
-        uses: azure/setup-helm@v4
-        with:
-          version: v3.8.1
-      - name: Package helm, update index.yaml and push to gh-pages
-        run: |
-          # Prepare git env
-          git config user.name "eclipse-tractusx-bot"
-          git config user.email "tractusx-bot@eclipse.org"
-
-          # Package all charts
-          find charts -name Chart.yaml -not -path "./edc-tests/*" | xargs -n1 dirname | xargs -n1 helm package -u -d helm-charts
-
-          git checkout gh-pages || git checkout -b gh-pages
-          git pull --rebase origin gh-pages
-
-          # Generate helm repo index.yaml
-          helm repo index . --merge index.yaml --url https://${GITHUB_REPOSITORY_OWNER}.github.io/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY#*/}/
-
-          # Commit and push to gh-pages
-          git add index.yaml helm-charts
-          git commit -s -m "Release ${{ inputs.version }}"
-
-          git push origin gh-pages
-
-  # Release: GitHub tag & release;
-  github-release:
-    name: Publish new github release
-    needs: [ prepare-bugfix-release, validate-release, maven-release, docker-release, helm-release ]
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          # 0 to fetch the full history due to upcoming merge of releases into main branch
-          fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: Create Release Tag
-        id: create_release_tag
-        run: |
-          # Prepare git env
-          git config user.name "eclipse-tractusx-bot"
-          git config user.email "tractusx-bot@eclipse.org"
-
-          # informative
-          git branch -a
-          git tag
-
-          # Create & push tag
-          git tag --force ${{ inputs.version }}
-          git push --force origin ${{ inputs.version }}
-      - name: Create GitHub Release
-        uses: ncipollo/release-action@v1
-        with:
-          generateReleaseNotes: true
-          tag: ${{ inputs.version }}
-          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          makeLatest: false
-          removeArtifacts: true
-
-  publish-to-swaggerhub:
-    name: "Publish OpenAPI spec to Swaggerhub"
-    permissions:
-      contents: read
-    needs: [ prepare-bugfix-release, validate-release ]
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/publish-swaggerhub.yaml
-    with:
-      downstream-version: ${{ inputs.version }}
-    secrets: inherit
-
-  publish-openapi-to-gh-pages:
-    name: "Publish OpenAPI UI spec GitHub Pages"
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-    needs: [ prepare-bugfix-release, validate-release ]
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/publish-openapi-ui.yml
-    secrets: inherit
-    with:
-      version: ${{ inputs.version }}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish-new-release.yml b/.github/workflows/publish-new-release.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index b7318042e..000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/publish-new-release.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,220 +0,0 @@
-#################################################################################
-#  Copyright (c) 2021,2023 Contributors to the Eclipse Foundation
-#
-#  See the NOTICE file(s) distributed with this work for additional
-#  information regarding copyright ownership.
-#
-#  This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
-#  terms of the Apache License, Version 2.0 which is available at
-#  https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.
-#
-#  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-#  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
-#  WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
-#  License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
-#  under the License.
-#
-#  SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
-#################################################################################
-
-
----
-name: "Publish new release"
-
-on:
-  pull_request:
-    branches:
-      - releases
-      - support/*
-    types:
-      - closed
-
-jobs:
-  # Gate: Check release version presence
-  release-version:
-    name: Determine release version
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    outputs:
-      RELEASE_VERSION: ${{ steps.release-version.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION }}
-    steps:
-      - name: Extract version from branch name (for release branches)
-        if: startsWith(github.event.pull_request.head.ref, 'release/')
-        run: |
-          BRANCH_NAME="${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }}"
-          VERSION=${BRANCH_NAME#release/}
-
-          echo "RELEASE_VERSION=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-      - name: Extract version from branch name (for hotfix branches)
-        if: startsWith(github.event.pull_request.head.ref, 'hotfix/')
-        run: |
-          BRANCH_NAME="${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }}"
-          VERSION=${BRANCH_NAME#hotfix/}
-
-          echo "RELEASE_VERSION=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-      - name: Output release version
-        id: release-version
-        run: |
-          echo "RELEASE_VERSION=${{ env.RELEASE_VERSION }}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-
-  # Release: Maven Artifacts
-  maven-release:
-    name: Publish extension's release version to maven repository
-    needs: [ release-version ]
-    permissions:
-      contents: read
-      packages: write
-    if: github.event.pull_request.merged == true && needs.release-version.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/trigger-maven-publish.yaml
-    secrets: inherit
-    with:
-      version: ${{ needs.release-version.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION }}
-
-  docker-release:
-    name: Publish Docker images
-    needs: [ release-version ]
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-    if: github.event.pull_request.merged == true && needs.release-version.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION
-
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/trigger-docker-publish.yaml
-    secrets: inherit
-    with:
-      docker_tag: ${{ needs.release-version.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION }}
-
-  # Release: Helm Charts
-  helm-release:
-    name: Publish new helm release
-    needs: [ release-version ]
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-      pages: write
-
-    if: github.event.pull_request.merged == true && needs.release-version.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION
-    steps:
-      - name: Export RELEASE_VERSION env
-        run: |
-          echo "RELEASE_VERSION=${{ needs.release-version.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION }}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: Install Helm
-        uses: azure/setup-helm@v4
-        with:
-          version: v3.8.1
-      - name: Package helm, update index.yaml and push to gh-pages
-        run: |
-          # Prepare git env
-          git config user.name "eclipse-tractusx-bot"
-          git config user.email "tractusx-bot@eclipse.org"
-
-          # Package all charts
-          find charts -name Chart.yaml -not -path "./edc-tests/*" | xargs -n1 dirname | xargs -n1 helm package -u -d helm-charts
-
-          git checkout gh-pages || git checkout -b gh-pages
-          git pull --rebase origin gh-pages
-
-          # Generate helm repo index.yaml
-          helm repo index . --merge index.yaml --url https://${GITHUB_REPOSITORY_OWNER}.github.io/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY#*/}/
-
-          # Commit and push to gh-pages
-          git add index.yaml helm-charts
-          git commit -s -m "Release ${{ env.RELEASE_VERSION }}"
-
-          git push origin gh-pages
-
-  # Release: GitHub tag & release; Merges back releases into main; Starts a new development cycle;
-  github-release:
-    name: Publish new github release
-    needs: [ release-version, maven-release, docker-release, helm-release ]
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-      packages: write
-      pages: write
-      pull-requests: write
-    if: github.event.pull_request.merged == true && needs.release-version.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION
-    steps:
-      - name: Export RELEASE_VERSION env
-        run: |
-          echo "RELEASE_VERSION=${{ needs.release-version.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION }}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          # 0 to fetch the full history due to upcoming merge of releases into main branch
-          fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: Create Release Tag
-        id: create_release_tag
-        run: |
-          # Prepare git env
-          git config user.name "eclipse-tractusx-bot"
-          git config user.email "tractusx-bot@eclipse.org"
-
-          # informative
-          git branch -a
-          git tag
-
-          # Create & push tag
-          git tag --force ${{ env.RELEASE_VERSION }}
-          git push --force origin ${{ env.RELEASE_VERSION }}
-      - name: Create GitHub Release
-        uses: ncipollo/release-action@v1
-        with:
-          generateReleaseNotes: true
-          tag: ${{ env.RELEASE_VERSION }}
-          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          makeLatest: true
-          removeArtifacts: true
-      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-java
-      - name: Merge releases back into main and set new snapshot version
-        if: github.event.pull_request.base.ref == 'releases'
-        run: |
-          # Prepare git env
-          git config user.name "eclipse-tractusx-bot"
-          git config user.email "tractusx-bot@eclipse.org"
-
-          # Merge releases into main
-          git checkout main && git merge -X theirs releases --no-commit --no-ff
-
-          # Extract release version
-          IFS=.- read -r RELEASE_VERSION_MAJOR RELEASE_VERSION_MINOR RELEASE_VERSION_PATCH SNAPSHOT<<<"${{ env.RELEASE_VERSION }}"
-          INC=0
-          # Compute new snapshot version, do not increment snapshot on non-final releases, e.g. -rc1
-          if [ -z $SNAPSHOT ]; then
-            # snapshot
-            echo "${{ env.RELEASE_VERSION }} is a final release version, increase patch for next snapshot"
-            INC=1
-          else
-            echo "${{ env.RELEASE_VERSION }} is not a final release version (contains \"$SNAPSHOT\"), will not increase patch"
-          fi
-          
-          VERSION="$RELEASE_VERSION_MAJOR.$RELEASE_VERSION_MINOR.$((RELEASE_VERSION_PATCH+$INC))-SNAPSHOT"
-          SNAPSHOT_VERSION=$VERSION
-
-          # Persist the "version" in the gradle.properties
-          sed -i "s/version=.*/version=$SNAPSHOT_VERSION/g" gradle.properties
-
-          # Commit and push to origin main
-          git add gradle.properties
-          git commit --message "Introduce new snapshot version $SNAPSHOT_VERSION"
-
-          git push origin main
-
-  publish-to-swaggerhub:
-    name: "Publish OpenAPI spec to Swaggerhub"
-    permissions:
-      contents: read
-    needs: [ release-version ]
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/publish-swaggerhub.yaml
-    with:
-      downstream-version: ${{ needs.release-version.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION }}
-    secrets: inherit
-
-  publish-openapi-to-gh-pages:
-    name: "Publish OpenAPI UI spec GitHub Pages"
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-    needs: [ release-version ]
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/publish-openapi-ui.yml
-    secrets: inherit
-    with:
-      version: ${{ needs.release-version.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..37fff07c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+#################################################################################
+#  Copyright (c) 2024 Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (BMW AG)
+#  Copyright (c) 2021,2023 Contributors to the Eclipse Foundation
+#
+#  See the NOTICE file(s) distributed with this work for additional
+#  information regarding copyright ownership.
+#
+#  This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+#  terms of the Apache License, Version 2.0 which is available at
+#  https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.
+#
+#  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+#  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+#  WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+#  License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
+#  under the License.
+#
+#  SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#################################################################################
+
+
+---
+name: "Release"
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    branches:
+      - main
+    types:
+      - closed
+
+  workflow_call:
+
+
+jobs:
+  # Gate
+  validation:
+    name: "Check if repository is not fork AND head is release OR base is bugfix"
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: ${{ github.repository == 'eclipse-tractusx/tractusx-edc' && (startsWith(github.ref_name, 'bugfix/') || startsWith(github.event.pull_request.head.ref, 'release/')) }}
+    outputs:
+      RELEASE_VERSION: ${{ steps.release-version.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Output release version
+        id: release-version
+        run: |
+          VERSION=$(grep "version" gradle.properties  | awk -F= '{print $2}')
+          echo "RELEASE_VERSION=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+  # Release: Maven Artifacts
+  maven-release:
+    name: Publish extension's release version to maven repository
+    needs: [ validation ]
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+    if: needs.validation.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/trigger-maven-publish.yaml
+    secrets: inherit
+    with:
+      version: ${{ needs.validation.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION }}
+
+  # Release: docker images
+  docker-release:
+    name: Publish Docker images
+    needs: [ validation ]
+    if: needs.validation.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/trigger-docker-publish.yaml
+    secrets: inherit
+    with:
+      docker_tag: ${{ needs.validation.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION }}
+
+  # Release: Helm charts
+  helm-release:
+    name: Publish helm charts
+    needs: [ validation ]
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+      pages: write
+
+    if: needs.validation.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+      - name: Install Helm
+        uses: azure/setup-helm@v4
+        with:
+          version: v3.8.1
+      - name: Package helm, update index.yaml and push to gh-pages
+        run: |
+          # Prepare git env
+          git config user.name "eclipse-tractusx-bot"
+          git config user.email "tractusx-bot@eclipse.org"
+
+          # Package all charts
+          find charts -name Chart.yaml -not -path "./edc-tests/*" | xargs -n1 dirname | xargs -n1 helm package -u -d helm-charts
+
+          git checkout gh-pages || git checkout -b gh-pages
+          git pull --rebase origin gh-pages
+
+          # Generate helm repo index.yaml
+          helm repo index . --merge index.yaml --url https://${GITHUB_REPOSITORY_OWNER}.github.io/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY#*/}/
+
+          # Commit and push to gh-pages
+          git add index.yaml helm-charts
+          git commit -s -m "Release ${{ needs.validation.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION }}"
+
+          git push origin gh-pages
+
+  # Release: GitHub tag & release; Starts a new development cycle if latest release;
+  github-release:
+    name: Publish new github release
+    needs: [ validation, maven-release, docker-release, helm-release ]
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+    if: needs.validation.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION
+    steps:
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/publish-tag-and-release
+        with:
+          version: ${{ needs.validation.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION }}
+          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          is_latest: ${{ github.ref_name == 'main' }}
+
+  # Release: Publish specs to SwaggerHub
+  publish-to-swaggerhub:
+    name: "Publish OpenAPI spec to Swaggerhub"
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+    needs: [ validation ]
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/publish-swaggerhub.yaml
+    with:
+      downstream-version: ${{ needs.validation.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION }}
+    secrets: inherit
+
+  # Release: Publish specs to GitHub Pages
+  publish-openapi-to-gh-pages:
+    name: "Publish OpenAPI UI spec GitHub Pages"
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+    needs: [ validation ]
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/publish-openapi-ui.yml
+    secrets: inherit
+    with:
+      version: ${{ needs.validation.outputs.RELEASE_VERSION }}