diff --git a/RELEASING.md b/RELEASING.md
index f43697da..174ac8ef 100644
--- a/RELEASING.md
+++ b/RELEASING.md
@@ -8,61 +8,63 @@
 Releasing a new version of the `git` gem requires these steps:
 
 - [How to release a new git.gem](#how-to-release-a-new-gitgem)
-  - [Prepare the release](#prepare-the-release)
-  - [Create a GitHub release](#create-a-github-release)
-  - [Build and release the gem](#build-and-release-the-gem)
-
-These instructions use an example where the current release version is `1.5.0`
-and the new release version to be created is `1.6.0.pre1`.
-
-## Prepare the release
-
-From a fork of ruby-git, create a PR containing changes to (1) bump the
-version number, (2) update the CHANGELOG.md, and (3) tag the release.
-
-- Bump the version number in lib/git/version.rb following [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org)
-  guidelines
-- Add a link in CHANGELOG.md to the release tag which will be created later
-  in this guide
-- Create a new tag using [git-extras](https://github.com/tj/git-extras/blob/master/Commands.md#git-release)
-  `git release` command
-  - For example: `git release v1.6.0.pre1`
-- These should be the only changes in the PR
-- An example of these changes for `v1.6.0.pre1` can be found in [PR #435](https://github.com/ruby-git/ruby-git/pull/435)
-- Get the PR reviewed, approved and merged to master.
-
-## Create a GitHub release
-
-On [the ruby-git releases page](https://github.com/ruby-git/ruby-git/releases),
-select `Draft a new release`
-
-- Select the tag corresponding to the version being released `v1.6.0.pre1`
-- The Target should be `master`
-- For the release description, use the output of [changelog-rs](https://github.com/perlun/changelog-rs)
-  - A Docker image is provided in [Dockerfile.changelog-rs](https://github.com/ruby-git/ruby-git/blob/master/Dockerfile.changelog-rs)
-    so you don't have to install changelog-rs or the Rust tool chain. To build the
-    Docker image, run this command from this project's root directory:
-    - `docker build --file Dockerfile.changelog-rs --tag changelog-rs .`
-  - To run the changelog-rs command using this image, run the following command
-    from this project's root directory (replace the tag names appropriate for the
-    current release):
-    - `docker run --rm --volume "$PWD:/worktree" changelog-rs v1.5.0 v1.6.0.pre1`
-  - Copy the output, omitting the tag header `## v1.6.0.pre1` and paste into
-    the release description
-  - The release description can be edited later if needed
-- Select the appropriate value for `This is a pre-release`
-  - Since `v1.6.0.pre1` is a pre-release, check `This is a pre-release`
-
-## Build and release the gem
-
-Clone [ruby-git/ruby-git](https://github.com/ruby-git/ruby-git) directly (not a
-fork) and ensure your local working copy is on the master branch
-
-- Verify that you are not on a fork with the command `git remote -v`
-- Verify that the version number is correct by running `rake -T` and inspecting
-  the output for the `release[remote]` task
-
-Build the git gem and push it to rubygems.org with the command `rake release`
-
-- Ensure that your `gem sources list` includes `https://rubygems.org` (in my
-  case, I usually have my work’s internal gem repository listed)
+  - [Install Prerequisites](#install-prerequisites)
+  - [Prepare the Release](#prepare-the-release)
+  - [Review and Merge the Release](#review-and-merge-the-release)
+  - [Build and Release the Gem](#build-and-release-the-gem)
+
+These instructions use an example where:
+
+- The default branch is `master`
+- The current release version is `1.5.0`
+- You want to create a new *minor* release, `1.6.0`
+
+## Install Prerequisites
+
+The following tools need to be installed in order to create the release:
+
+- [git](https://git-scm.com) is used to interact with the local and remote repositories
+- [gh](https://cli.github.com) is used to create the release and PR in GitHub
+- [Docker](https://www.docker.com) is used to run the script to create the release notes
+
+On a Mac, these tools can be installed using [brew](https://brew.sh):
+
+```shell
+$ brew install git
+...
+$ brew install gh
+...
+$ brew install --cask docker
+...
+$
+```
+
+## Prepare the Release
+
+Bump the version, create release notes, tag the release and create a GitHub release and PR which can be used to review the release.
+
+Steps:
+
+- Check out the code with `git clone https://github.com/ruby-git/ruby-git ruby-git-v1.6.0 && cd ruby-git-v1.6.0`
+- Install development dependencies using bundle `bundle install`
+- Based upon the nature of the changes, decide on the type of release: `major`, `minor`, or `patch` (in this example we will use `minor`)
+- Run the release script `bundle exec create-github-realese minor`
+
+## Review and Merge the Release
+
+Have the release PR approved and merge the changes into the `master` branch.
+
+**IMPORTANT** DO NOT merge to the `master` branch using the GitHub UI. Instead use the instructions below.
+
+Steps:
+
+- Get the release PR reviewed and approved in GitHub
+- Merge the changes with the command `git checkout master && git merge --ff-only v1.6.0 && git push`
+
+## Build and Release the Gem
+
+Build the gem and publish it to [rubygems.org](https://rubygems.org/gems/git)
+
+Steps:
+
+- Build and release the gem using rake `bundle exec rake release`
diff --git a/git.gemspec b/git.gemspec
index f53ea98d..50b9c140 100644
--- a/git.gemspec
+++ b/git.gemspec
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.add_runtime_dependency 'rchardet', '~> 1.8'
 
   s.add_development_dependency 'bump', '~> 0.10'
+  s.add_development_dependency 'create_github_release', '~> 0.2'
   s.add_development_dependency 'minitar', '~> 0.9'
   s.add_development_dependency 'rake', '~> 13.0'
   s.add_development_dependency 'test-unit', '~> 3.3'