diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 64c46172fe..295b282c78 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -101,32 +101,20 @@ automatically checked during CI. You can run the check with `npm run check-licen
 
 ## Release process
 
-Our release process is currently manual and requires releasing different packages for different platforms. We're working on unifying and automating the process.
-
-Currently we maintain the following:
-
-* An executable for Windows and Linux, generated by [Pkg](https://github.com/zeit/pkg) and hosted on our [Github page](https://github.com/garden-io/garden/releases).
-* A [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/) package for macOS users.
-* An [NPM](https://www.npmjs.com/package/garden-cli) package that the Homebrew package depends on.
-
-To make a new release, set your current working directory to garden root and follow the steps below. The examples assume we're creating a release for `v0.8.0-rc2`:
-
-1. Checkout out to a new release branch, e.g. `git checkout -b release-0.8.0-rc2`.
-2. Update the `version` field in `./garden-service/package.json` to the new release name.
-3. Run `cd garden-service && npm install && cd ..` to update `package-lock.json`.
-4. Create a new tag for the version: `git tag -a v0.8.0-rc2 -m 'chore(release): release v0.8.0-rc2'`
-5. Get the changelog for the tag with: `git-chglog v0.8.0-rc2` and prepend the output to `CHANGELOG.md`. Alternatively you can generate the entire `CHANGELOG.md` file with `git-chglog -o=CHANGELOG.md v0.1.0..v0.8.0-rc2`, but make sure that older entries do not change (this can happen if you have local tags that do not match the remote release tags).
-6. Add the `CHANGELOG.md`, `garden/servicepackage.json` and `garden-service/package-lock.json` files, and commit:
-   `git add CHANGELOG.md garden-service/package.json garden-service/package-lock.json && git commit -m 'chore(release): bump version to 0.8.0-rc2'`
-7. Update the tag (this is so we can include the changelog in the same tag):
-   `git tag -f -a v0.8.0-rc2 -m 'chore(release): release v0.8.0-rc2'`
-8. Push the new tag: `git push origin v0.8.0-rc2 --no-verify`. This will trigger the dist build process in CircleCI.
-9. Open the [Garden project on CircleCI](https://circleci.com/gh/garden-io/garden),
-   browse to the job marked `release-service-pkg`, open the _Artifacts_ tab and download the listed artifacts.
-10. Go to our Github [Releases tab](https://github.com/garden-io/garden/releases) and click the **Draft a new release** button.
-11. Fill in the **Tag version** and **Release title** fields with the new release version (same as you used for the tag).
-12. Upload the downloaded artifacts.
-13. Write release notes (not necessary for RCs). The notes should _at least_ contain the changelog.
-14. Click the **Publish release** button.
-15. Push the branch and make a pull request.
-16. If you're making an RC, you're done! Otherwise, you need to update Homebrew package: `gulp update-brew`
+Our release process generates the following packages:
+
+* An executable for OSX, Linux, and Windows, generated by [Pkg](https://github.com/zeit/pkg) and hosted on our [Github page](https://github.com/garden-io/garden/releases).
+* A [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/) package for OSX users.
+
+To make a new release, set your current working directory to the garden root directory and follow the steps below. The examples assume we're creating a release for `0.8.0-rc2`:
+
+1. Checkout out to a new release branch: `git checkout -b release-0.8.0-rc2`.
+2. Run the release script: `./bin/release 0.8.0-rc2`. This will update the version, generate the changelog, create a tag for the version, and push the tag to Github. Pushing the tag triggers a CI process which creates the release artifacts.
+3. Open the [Garden project on CircleCI](https://circleci.com/gh/garden-io/garden) and browse to the job marked `release-service-pkg`. Open the **Artifacts** tab and download the listed artifacts.
+4. Go to our Github [Releases tab](https://github.com/garden-io/garden/releases) and click the **Draft a new release** button.
+5. Fill in the **Tag version** and **Release title** fields with the new release version (same as you used for the tag).
+6. Upload the downloaded artifacts.
+7. Write release notes (not necessary for RCs). The notes should _at least_ contain the changelog.
+8. Click the **Publish release** button.
+9. Push the branch and make a pull request.
+10. If you're making an RC, you're done! Otherwise, you need to update Homebrew package: `gulp update-brew`.
diff --git a/bin/prepare-publish b/bin/prepare-publish
deleted file mode 100755
index 2c54a131f1..0000000000
--- a/bin/prepare-publish
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-set -eo pipefail
-
-garden_root=$(cd `dirname $0` && cd $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel) && pwd)
-cd ${garden_root}
-
-npm install
-lerna bootstrap
-
-npm run clean
-./bin/check-if-clean
diff --git a/bin/publish b/bin/publish
deleted file mode 100755
index ef26ea8fe4..0000000000
--- a/bin/publish
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-set -eo pipefail
-
-garden_root=$(cd `dirname $0` && cd $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel) && pwd)
-cd ${garden_root}
-
-./bin/prepare-publish
-
-lerna version --no-push
-
-version=v$(node -p "require('./lerna.json').version")
-
-# Add the changelog to the release commit created by lerna
-git fetch --tags
-git reset HEAD~1
-git-chglog -o=CHANGELOG.md v0.1.0..${version}
-git add .
-git commit -m "chore(release): release ${version}"
-
-# We need to re-create the tag created by lerna since adding the changelog changes the commit hash
-git tag -d ${version}
-git tag -a ${version} -m "${version}"
-
-git push --tags --no-verify
-git push origin HEAD --no-verify
-
-# TODO: set this up to work with multiple packages
-cd garden-service
-npm publish
-cd ..
-gulp update-brew
diff --git a/bin/publish-canary b/bin/publish-canary
deleted file mode 100755
index a93387db58..0000000000
--- a/bin/publish-canary
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-set -eo pipefail
-
-garden_root=$(cd `dirname $0` && cd $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel) && pwd)
-cd ${garden_root}
-
-./prepare-publish
-
-lerna publish --npm-tag=alpha --canary
diff --git a/bin/release b/bin/release
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..8274f5fc79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/release
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail
+
+# Performs the following steps to prepare for a release:
+#
+# 1. Updates the version field in garden-service/package.json.
+# 2. Updates garden-service/package-lock.json by doing npm install.
+# 3. Creates a tag for the version (we need this for the changelog).
+# 4. Generates the changelog, based on the tag from the previous step. TODO: Use --next-tag flag when no longer experimental
+#    and skip step 3.
+# 5. Adds and commits CHANGELOG.md, garden-service/package.json and garden-service/package-lock.json
+# 6. Updates the tag after the commit
+# 7. Pushes the tag. This triggers CircleCI process that creates the release artifacts
+
+# Bumps garden-service/package.json version. Adapted from here: https://gist.github.com/timseverien/5c1ba6548df32ca3a16b
+function bump {
+  version=$1
+	search='("version":[[:space:]]*").+(")'
+	replace="\1${version}\2"
+
+	sed -i ".tmp" -E "s/${search}/${replace}/" "garden-service/package.json"
+	rm "garden-service/package.json.tmp"
+}
+
+# Runs the release steps documented above.
+function release {
+	echo "
+Preparing to release version ${version}...
+	"
+
+	# Updating garden-service/package.json version
+	bump ${version}
+
+	# Updating package-lock.json version
+	cd garden-service && npm install && cd ..
+
+	# Creating tag ${tag_name}
+	git tag -a ${tag_name} -m "chore(release): release ${tag_name}"
+
+	# Updating changelog
+	changelog=$(git-chglog ${tag_name})
+	printf '%s\n\n%s\n' "${changelog}}" "$(cat CHANGELOG.md)" > CHANGELOG.md
+
+	# Commiting changes
+	git add CHANGELOG.md garden-service/package.json garden-service/package-lock.json && git commit -m "chore(release): bump version to ${version}"
+
+	# Pushing tag
+	git push origin ${tag_name} --no-verify
+
+	echo "
+***
+Version ${version} has been tagged, committed, and pushed to Github! 🎉
+
+A CI job that creates the release artifcats is currently in process.
+
+Please refer to our contributing docs for the next steps: https://github.com/garden-io/garden/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md
+***
+	"
+}
+
+# Set variables and prompt user
+garden_root=$(cd `dirname $0` && cd .. && pwd)
+cd ${garden_root}
+
+version=$1
+tag_name="v${version}"
+
+if [[ -z $version ]]; then
+  echo "Error: Version missing"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+while true; do
+    read -p "Running this script will create a version tag for ${tag_name} and push it to Github.
+This triggers a CI process that creates the release artifacts.
+
+Are you sure you want to continue? " yn
+    case $yn in
+        [Yy]* ) release; break;;
+        [Nn]* ) exit;;
+        * ) echo "Please answer yes or no.";;
+    esac
+done