diff --git a/.github/scripts/generate_release_notes.sh b/.github/scripts/generate_release_notes.sh
index 056744d..27279e4 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/generate_release_notes.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/generate_release_notes.sh
@@ -2,23 +2,59 @@
 set -e
 
 # Script to auto-generate release notes using Gemini AI
-# Usage: ./generate_release_notes.sh <version> <gemini_api_key>
+# Usage: ./generate_release_notes.sh -v <version> -k <gemini_api_key> [-p]
+# -p: production mode (default is dry run)
 
-VERSION="$1"
-GEMINI_API_KEY="$2"
+VERSION=""
+GEMINI_API_KEY=""
+DRY_RUN="true"
+
+while getopts 'v:k:p' flag; do
+  case "${flag}" in
+    v) VERSION="$OPTARG" ;;
+    k) GEMINI_API_KEY="$OPTARG" ;;
+    p) DRY_RUN="false" ;;
+    *) 
+       echo "❌ Error: Unknown option -${flag}"
+       echo "Usage: $0 -v <version> -k <gemini_api_key> [-p]"
+       echo "  -p: production mode (default is dry run)"
+       exit 1 ;;
+  esac
+done
 
 if [ -z "$VERSION" ]; then
   echo "❌ Error: Version argument required"
-  echo "Usage: $0 <version> <gemini_api_key>"
+  echo "Usage: $0 -v <version> -k <gemini_api_key> [-p]"
   exit 1
 fi
 
 if [ -z "$GEMINI_API_KEY" ]; then
   echo "❌ Error: GEMINI_API_KEY argument required"
-  echo "Usage: $0 <version> <gemini_api_key>"
+  echo "Usage: $0 -v <version> -k <gemini_api_key> [-p]"
   exit 1
 fi
 
+# check if dry run
+if [ "$DRY_RUN" = "true" ]; then
+  echo "🔍 Running in dry run mode. No files will be modified."
+# are we in CI? check CI env var
+elif [ "$CI" = "true" ]; then
+  echo "⚠️ Running in CI production mode. RELEASE_NOTES.md will be updated if needed."
+else
+  echo "🚨🚨 DANGEROUS 🚨🚨"
+  echo "Running in non-CI production mode. RELEASE_NOTES.md will be updated if needed."
+  echo "Make sure you know what you're doing!"
+  sleep 2
+  # need second confirmation
+  read -r -p "Type 'CONFIRM' to proceed: " CONFIRMATION
+  if [ "$CONFIRMATION" != "CONFIRM" ]; then
+    echo "❌ Aborting."
+    exit 1
+  else
+    echo "✅ Confirmation received. Proceeding..."
+  fi
+fi
+
 # Check if release notes exist for this version
 NEEDS_GENERATION=false
 
@@ -33,95 +69,107 @@ else
   fi
 fi
 
-if [ "$NEEDS_GENERATION" = "true" ]; then
-  echo "🤖 Generating release notes using Gemini AI..."
-
-  # Get commit history since last tag
-  if ! PREV_TAG=$(git describe --tags $(git rev-list --tags --max-count=1) 2>/dev/null); then
-    echo "❌ Error: No git tags found. Something went wrong."
-    exit 1
-  fi
-
-  echo "Previous tag found: $PREV_TAG"
-  # verify PREV_TAG is semver-like (allow prerelease/build metadata, e.g. v1.2.3-beta.1+exp.sha.5114f85)
-  if ! [[ "$PREV_TAG" =~ ^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+(-[a-zA-Z0-9]+(\.[a-zA-Z0-9]+)*)?(\+[a-zA-Z0-9]+(\.[a-zA-Z0-9]+)*)?$ ]]; then
-    echo "❌ Error: Previous tag '$PREV_TAG' is not in semver format (vX.Y.Z)"
-    exit 1
-  fi
-  echo "Previous tag '$PREV_TAG' is in valid semver format."
-  COMMITS=$(git log $PREV_TAG..HEAD --pretty=format:"- %s (%h)" | sed 's/"/\\"/g' | sed ':a;N;$!ba;s/\n/\\n/g')
-
-  # Prepare the prompt
-  PROMPT="You are a technical writer creating user-friendly release notes for Twitch Drops Miner, an application that automatically mines Twitch drops.
-
-    Based on the following git commits, create release notes in this EXACT format:
-
-    # Release Notes - v$VERSION
-
-    [Overall summary of the release in 1-2 sentences, highlighting key improvements and new features.]
-
-    [Organize changes into relevant sections with emojis, such as:]
-    ### 🌍 [Feature Category Name]
-    [User-friendly description of the feature, what it does, and why users will like it]
-
-    ### 🎮 [Another Feature Category if applicable]
-    - **Bold Feature Name**: Description
-    - **Another Feature**: Description
-
-    ### 🐛 Bug Fixes
-    - **Issue Description**: What was fixed and how it helps users
-    - **Another Issue**: Description
-
-    ### 📚 [Other relevant sections]
-    [Any other improvements worth mentioning, like performance enhancements, UI tweaks, etc.]
-
-    Ensure the notes are clear, concise, yet casual, attractive, and helpful for end-users. Use bullet points and emojis to enhance readability.
-
-    Git commits:
-    $COMMITS"
-
-  # Call Gemini API
-  RESPONSE=$(curl -s -X POST \
-    "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/gemini-2.5-flash-preview-09-2025:generateContent?key=$GEMINI_API_KEY" \
-    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-    -d "{
-      \"contents\": [{
-        \"parts\": [{
-          \"text\": $(echo "$PROMPT" | jq -Rs .)
-        }]
-      }],
-      \"generationConfig\": {
-        \"temperature\": 0.7,
-        \"maxOutputTokens\": 2048
-      }
-    }")
-
-  # Extract the generated text
-  GENERATED_NOTES=$(echo "$RESPONSE" | jq -r '.candidates[0].content.parts[0].text // empty')
-
-  if [ -z "$GENERATED_NOTES" ]; then
-    echo "❌ Error: Failed to generate release notes with Gemini AI"
-    echo "API Response: $RESPONSE"
-    exit 1
-  fi
-
-  # Write to RELEASE_NOTES.md
-  if [ -f "RELEASE_NOTES.md" ]; then
-    # Prepend to existing file
-    echo -e "$GENERATED_NOTES\n\n$(cat RELEASE_NOTES.md)" > RELEASE_NOTES.md
-  else
-    # Create new file
-    echo "$GENERATED_NOTES" > RELEASE_NOTES.md
-  fi
-
-  # Commit the generated release notes
-  # git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
-  # git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
-  # git add RELEASE_NOTES.md
-  # git commit -m "docs: auto-generate release notes for v$VERSION"
-  # git push origin HEAD
-
-  echo "✅ Generated and committed release notes for v$VERSION"
-else
+if [ "$NEEDS_GENERATION" = "false" ]; then
   echo "✅ Release notes already exist for v$VERSION"
+  exit 0
 fi
+
+echo "🤖 Generating release notes using Gemini AI..."
+
+# Get commit history since last version tag
+LAST_VERSION=$(sed -n 's/^__version__ = "\([^"]*\)"/\1/p' src/last_version.py)
+echo "Last version from src/last_version.py: $LAST_VERSION"
+
+PREV_TAG="v$LAST_VERSION"
+echo "Looking for last version tag: $PREV_TAG"
+
+if ! git rev-parse "$PREV_TAG" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "❌ Error: Could not find previous tag for $PREV_TAG"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "✅ Previous tag found: $PREV_TAG"
+echo "Collecting commits since $PREV_TAG..."
+COMMITS=$(git log $PREV_TAG..HEAD --pretty=format:"- %h%n%w(0,2,2)%B" | sed 's/"/\\"/g' | sed ':a;N;$!ba;s/\n/\\n/g')
+echo "✅ Collected $(echo "$COMMITS" | egrep -o -e "- \w{7}\\\\n" | wc -l) commits since $PREV_TAG"
+
+# Prepare the prompt
+PROMPT=\
+"You are a technical writer creating user-friendly release notes for Twitch Drops Miner, an application that automatically mines Twitch drops.
+
+Based on the following git commits, create release notes in this EXACT format:
+
+# Release Notes - v$VERSION
+
+[Overall summary of the release in 1-2 sentences, highlighting key improvements and new features.]
+
+[Organize changes into relevant sections with emojis, such as:]
+### 🌍 [Feature Category Name]
+[User-friendly description of the feature, what it does, and why users will like it]
+
+### 🎮 [Another Feature Category if applicable]
+- **Bold Feature Name**: Description
+- **Another Feature**: Description
+
+### 🐛 Bug Fixes
+- **Issue Description**: What was fixed and how it helps users
+- **Another Issue**: Description
+
+### 📚 [Other relevant sections]
+[Any other improvements worth mentioning, like performance enhancements, UI tweaks, etc.]
+
+Ensure the notes are clear, concise, yet casual, attractive, and helpful for end-users. Use bullet points and emojis to enhance readability.
+
+Git commits:
+$COMMITS"
+
+# Call Gemini API
+echo "Calling Gemini API..."
+RESPONSE=$(curl -s -X POST \
+  "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/gemini-2.5-flash-preview-09-2025:generateContent?key=$GEMINI_API_KEY" \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d "{
+    \"contents\": [{
+      \"parts\": [{
+        \"text\": $(echo "$PROMPT" | jq -Rs .)
+      }]
+    }],
+    \"generationConfig\": {
+      \"temperature\": 0.7,
+      \"maxOutputTokens\": 2048
+    }
+  }")
+
+# Extract the generated text
+GENERATED_NOTES=$(echo "$RESPONSE" | jq -r '.candidates[0].content.parts[0].text // empty')
+
+if [ -z "$GENERATED_NOTES" ]; then
+  echo "❌ Error: Failed to generate release notes with Gemini AI"
+  echo "API Response: $RESPONSE"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# if dry run, just output the notes
+if [ "$DRY_RUN" = "true" ]; then
+  echo "✅ Dry run mode - generated release notes:"
+  echo "$GENERATED_NOTES"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+# # Write to RELEASE_NOTES.md
+if [ -f "RELEASE_NOTES.md" ]; then
+  # Prepend to existing file
+  echo -e "$GENERATED_NOTES\n\n$(cat RELEASE_NOTES.md)" > RELEASE_NOTES.md
+else
+  # Create new file
+  echo "$GENERATED_NOTES" > RELEASE_NOTES.md
+fi
+
+# # Commit the generated release notes
+git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+git add RELEASE_NOTES.md
+git commit -m "docs: auto-generate release notes for v$VERSION"
+git push origin HEAD
+
+echo "✅ Generated and committed release notes for v$VERSION"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish.yml b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
index c8ac8f4..48a0649 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -128,21 +128,8 @@ jobs:
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
 
-      - name: Create and push git tag
-        run: |
-          VERSION="${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.version }}"
-
-          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
-          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
-
-          # Create tag
-          git tag "v$VERSION"
-          git push origin "v$VERSION"
-
-          echo "✅ Created and pushed tag v$VERSION"
-
       - name: Auto-generate release notes if missing
-        run: .github/scripts/generate_release_notes.sh "${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.version }}" "${{ secrets.GEMINI_API_KEY }}"
+        run: .github/scripts/generate_release_notes.sh -v "${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.version }}" -k "${{ secrets.GEMINI_API_KEY }}" -p
 
       - uses: DavidAnson/markdownlint-cli2-action@v20
         with:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index f002f86..05a5a75 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-name: Create Release Branch
+name: Create Release
 
 on:
   workflow_dispatch:
@@ -11,11 +11,13 @@ on:
 permissions:
   contents: write
 
+env:
+  CURRENT_BRANCH_NAME: ${{ github.head_ref || github.ref_name }}
+
 jobs:
   create-release-branch:
     name: Create Release Branch
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    environment: release
 
     steps:
       - name: Validate SemVer format
@@ -64,22 +66,30 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Create release branch and update version
         run: |
-          BRANCH_NAME="release/${{ steps.validate.outputs.version }}"
+
           VERSION="${{ steps.validate.outputs.version }}"
-
-          # Create and checkout new branch
-          git checkout -b "$BRANCH_NAME"
-
           # Update version.py
+          mv -f src/version.py src/last_version.py
           echo "__version__ = \"$VERSION\"" > src/version.py
 
           # Commit changes
           git add src/version.py
           git commit -m "chore: bump version to $VERSION"
+          git push origin $CURRENT_BRANCH_NAME
+
+          BRANCH_NAME="release/${{ steps.validate.outputs.version }}"
+
+          # Create and checkout new branch
+          git checkout -b "$BRANCH_NAME"
 
           # Push branch (this will trigger the publish workflow)
           git push origin "$BRANCH_NAME"
 
-          echo "✅ Created branch '$BRANCH_NAME'"
+          # Create tag
+          git tag "v$VERSION"
+          git push origin "v$VERSION"
+
           echo "✅ Updated version to $VERSION"
+          echo "✅ Created branch '$BRANCH_NAME'"
+          echo "✅ Created and pushed tag v$VERSION"
           echo "✅ The publish workflow will now build Docker images and create the GitHub release"