diff --git a/.claude/skills/release-info/SKILL.md b/.claude/skills/release-info/SKILL.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f5603d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.claude/skills/release-info/SKILL.md
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+---
+name: release-info
+description: |
+  Display the current state of an Eclipse Che release across all phases.
+  Shows workflow status, artifact publication, branch creation, and PR status
+  for each component in the release process.
+  Triggers: "release info", "release status", "show release status",
+  "what's the status of release", "release-info 7.120.0"
+version: 1.0.0
+tools:
+  - Read
+  - Bash
+---
+
+# Eclipse Che Release Status
+
+This skill displays comprehensive release status for all Eclipse Che components across all release phases.
+
+## Usage
+
+The user should provide a version number in the format `X.Y.Z` (e.g., 7.120.0).
+
+**Examples**:
+- `release-info 7.120.0`
+- "Show release status for 7.120.0"
+- "What's the status of release 7.75.0?"
+
+## Execution
+
+### Step 1: Extract and Validate Version
+
+Extract the version from the user's input:
+- Expected format: `MAJOR.MINOR.BUGFIX` (e.g., 7.120.0)
+- Pattern: `\d+\.\d+\.\d+`
+- If no version provided or invalid format, ask the user to provide one
+
+### Step 2: Check Environment
+
+Verify required environment variables are set:
+- `CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN` - required
+- `CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN` - optional (falls back to CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN)
+
+If `CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN` is not set, check if `GITHUB_TOKEN` is available and use that:
+
+```bash
+if [[ -z "${CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN:-}" ]]; then
+    if [[ -n "${GITHUB_TOKEN:-}" ]]; then
+        export CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN="$GITHUB_TOKEN"
+    else
+        echo "Error: No GitHub token available."
+        echo "Set CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN or GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable."
+    fi
+fi
+```
+
+### Step 3: Run release-info.sh
+
+Execute the main script from the repository root:
+
+```bash
+cd /home/mkuznets/projects/claude/che-release
+./scripts/release-info.sh <VERSION>
+```
+
+For debug output:
+```bash
+./scripts/release-info.sh <VERSION> --debug
+```
+
+### Step 4: Present Results
+
+Display the script output directly to the user. The script produces formatted output with:
+- Per-phase grouping with descriptions
+- Per-project status (DONE / IN PROGRESS / FAILED / NOT STARTED)
+- Detailed item status for workflows (currently disabled), branches, artifacts, and PRs
+- Summary with counts and blocking issues
+
+**Note**: Workflow status checking is currently disabled. The script will show workflows as "(checking disabled)" and determine project status based only on artifacts, branches, and PRs.
+
+## Error Handling
+
+- If the script is not found, report that the release-info scripts need to be set up
+- If tokens are missing, guide the user on how to set them
+- If the script fails, show the error output and suggest running with `--debug`
+
+## Configuration
+
+All project and phase configuration is in `che-release.yaml` at the repository root.
+To add or modify projects, edit the `release-config` section in `che-release.yaml`.
+
+The configuration defines:
+- **Phases**: Release phases with descriptions and dependencies
+- **Projects**: For each project - name, repo, workflow ID, artifacts, branches, and PRs
+- **Artifacts**: Images (Quay.io), NPM packages, GitHub releases, websites, and website version verification
+  - `image`: Quay.io container image (checks if tag exists)
+  - `npmjs`: NPM package (checks if version is published)
+  - `github-release`: GitHub release (checks if tag exists)
+  - `website`: Website URL (checks if accessible via HTTP 200)
+  - `website-version`: Website with version verification (checks if HTML element with class "version-menu-toggle" contains the release version or branch format)
+- **Pull Requests**: Expected PRs with title patterns, target branches, and completion requirements
diff --git a/.github/CODEOWNERS b/.github/CODEOWNERS
index ef0d284..f0a3fa0 100644
--- a/.github/CODEOWNERS
+++ b/.github/CODEOWNERS
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 # Global Owners
-* @mkuznyetsov @SDawley
+* @mkuznyetsov @SDawley @svor
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f49fd6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+name: CI
+
+on: [push, pull_request]
+
+jobs:
+  check:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    steps:
+    - name: Clone source code
+      uses: actions/checkout@v6
+      with:
+        fetch-depth: 1
+        persist-credentials: false
+    - name: Run ShellCheck
+      run: |
+        find . -type f -name "*.sh" | xargs shellcheck --external-sources
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-announce.yml b/.github/workflows/release-announce.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index ba14b5d..0000000
--- a/.github/workflows/release-announce.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,45 +0,0 @@
-# This Workflow announces a release in Eclipse Mattermost to https://mattermost.eclipse.org/eclipse/channels/eclipse-che-releases
-name: Release - Send notification
-on:
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      version:
-        description: 'The version that is going to be announced. Should be in format 7.y.z'
-        required: true
-        default: ''
-jobs:
-  build:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
-    steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-      with: 
-        fetch-depth: 0
-    - name: Verify branches
-      id: check
-      run: |
-        BRANCH=${{ github.event.inputs.version }}
-        BRANCH=${BRANCH%.*}.x
-        SCRIPT_OUTPUT=$(./utils/check-branches.sh "${BRANCH}")
-        if [[ "${SCRIPT_OUTPUT}" == *"[ERROR]"* ]]; then
-          #TODO find a working solution to output multiline text in the next step
-          exit 1
-        fi
-    - name: Create success message
-      run: |
-        milestone=${{ github.event.inputs.version }}
-        milestone=${milestone%.*}; echo "milestone: ${milestone}"
-        echo "{\"text\":\":che-logo: Che ${{ github.event.inputs.version }} has been released.\n\n Please resolve or move unresolved issues assigned to this milestone: https://github.com/eclipse/che/milestones/${milestone}\"}" 
-        echo "{\"text\":\":che-logo: Che ${{ github.event.inputs.version }} has been released.\n\n Please resolve or move unresolved issues assigned to this milestone: https://github.com/eclipse/che/milestones/${milestone}\"}" > mattermost.json
-    - name: Create failure message
-      if: ${{ failure() }}
-      run: |
-        echo "{\"text\":\":che-logo: Che ${{ github.event.inputs.version }} release final checks have failed:\n\n failed: https://github.com/eclipse-che/che-release/actions/workflows/release-send-mattermost-announcement.yml.\"}" 
-        echo "{\"text\":\":che-logo: Che ${{ github.event.inputs.version }} release final checks have failed:\n\n failed: https://github.com/eclipse-che/che-release/actions/workflows/release-send-mattermost-announcement.yml.\"}" > mattermost.json
-    # TODO send to slack as MM no longer exists
-    # - name: Send message
-    #   if: ${{ success() }} || ${{ failure() }}
-    #   uses: mattermost/action-mattermost-notify@1.1.0
-    #   env:
-    #     MATTERMOST_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.MATTERMOST_WEBHOOK_URL }}
-    #     MATTERMOST_CHANNEL: eclipse-che-releases
-    #     MATTERMOST_USERNAME: che-bot
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-orchestrate-overall.yml b/.github/workflows/release-orchestrate-overall.yml
index 78ae7cf..2e76b04 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-orchestrate-overall.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-orchestrate-overall.yml
@@ -7,22 +7,14 @@ on:
         description: 'The version that is going to be released. Should be in format 7.y.z'
         required: true
         default: ''
-      releaseParent:
-        description: 'If true, will also release Che Parent.'
-        required: false
-        default: 'false'
-      versionParent:
-        description: 'The version of Che Parent'
-        required: false
-        default: '7.15.0'
       phases:
         description: '
 # Comma-separated phases to perform (see README.md).
-# Default: 1,2,3
+# Default: 1,2,3,4
 # Omit phases that have successfully run.
 '
         required: true
-        default: '1,2,3'
+        default: '1,2,3,4'
 jobs:
   pre_job:
     runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
@@ -44,15 +36,9 @@ jobs:
     if: ${{ needs.pre_job.outputs.should_skip != 'true' }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
         with: 
-          fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: Login to docker.io
-        uses: docker/login-action@v2
-        with:
-          username: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_USERNAME }}
-          password: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_PASSWORD }}
-          registry: docker.io
+          credentials: false
       - name: Login to quay.io
         uses: docker/login-action@v2
         with:
@@ -63,12 +49,6 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/setup-python@v3
         with:
           python-version: 3.9
-      - uses: actions/setup-java@v3
-        with:
-          java-version: '11'
-          java-package: jdk
-          architecture: x64
-          distribution: adopt
       - name: Set up environment
         run: |
           python -m pip install --upgrade pip
@@ -81,34 +61,21 @@ jobs:
           sudo apt-get update -y || true
           # install more dependencies
           sudo apt-get -y -q install wget curl bash git hub
-          java -version
 
           # want git >=2.24, hub >=2
           hub --version # hub reports git version too
 
           # want >=5
           bash --version
-
-          # do we need any of these?
-          # docker-ce          x86_64  3:19.03.14-3.el7            docker-ce-stable   24 M
-          # gcc-c++            x86_64  4.8.5-44.el7                base              7.2 M
-          # nodejs             x86_64  2:10.23.0-1nodesource       nodesource         20 M
-          # yarn               noarch  1.22.5-1                    yarn              1.2 M
       - name: Release
         run: |
           CHE_VERSION="${{ github.event.inputs.version }}"
           echo "CHE_VERSION=${CHE_VERSION}"
           PHASES="${{ github.event.inputs.phases }}"
-          PARENT_VERSION="${{ github.event.inputs.versionParent }}"
-          PARENT_RELEASE="${{ github.event.inputs.releaseParent }}"
-          export CHE_GITHUB_SSH_KEY=${{ secrets.CHE_GITHUB_SSH_KEY }}
 
-          export QUAY_ECLIPSE_CHE_USERNAME=${{ secrets.QUAY_USERNAME }}
-          export QUAY_ECLIPSE_CHE_PASSWORD=${{ secrets.QUAY_PASSWORD }}
           git config --global user.name "Mykhailo Kuznietsov"
           git config --global user.email "mkuznets@redhat.com"
-          export GITHUB_TOKEN=${{ secrets.CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           export CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN=${{ secrets.CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           export CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN=${{ secrets.CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           set -e
-          ./make-release.sh -v ${CHE_VERSION} -p ${PHASES} --parent-version ${PARENT_VERSION}
+          ./scripts/make-release.sh -v ${CHE_VERSION} -p ${PHASES} --parent-version ${PARENT_VERSION}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/update-base-images.yml b/.github/workflows/update-base-images.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 4688aae..0000000
--- a/.github/workflows/update-base-images.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,154 +0,0 @@
-name: Update base images
-on:
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      branch:
-        description: 'The branch to update, eg., main or 7.56.x (or 20221111 for che-incubator/jetbrains-editor-images)'
-        required: true
-        default: 'main'
-      repos:
-        description: 'List of repos to check for updates, comma-separated'
-        required: true
-        #TODO when adding/removing from this list, see lists below in this file and also in ../../utils/approvePRs.sh and ../../utils/check-branches.sh
-        default: '
-        che-incubator/chectl, 
-        che-incubator/che-code, 
-        che-incubator/configbump, 
-        che-incubator/jetbrains-editor-images, 
-        che-incubator/jetbrains-ide-dev-server,
-        che-incubator/kubernetes-image-puller, 
-        che-incubator/kubernetes-image-puller-operator, 
-        devfile/devworkspace-operator, 
-        devfile/developer-images, 
-        eclipse-che/che-dashboard,
-        eclipse-che/che-machine-exec, 
-        eclipse-che/che-operator, 
-        eclipse-che/che-plugin-registry, 
-        eclipse-che/che-server, 
-        eclipse/che
-        '
-  schedule:
-  - cron: "0 0 * * 6"
-
-jobs:
-  build:
-    name: Check
-    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
-    strategy: 
-      fail-fast: false
-      matrix: 
-        projects:
-          - { repo: "che-incubator/chectl", user: "CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 3 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-          - { repo: "che-incubator/che-code", user: "CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 3 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-          - { repo: "che-incubator/configbump", user: "CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 3 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-          - { repo: "che-incubator/jetbrains-editor-images", user: "CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 3 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-          - { repo: "che-incubator/jetbrains-ide-dev-server", user: "CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 3 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-          - { repo: "che-incubator/kubernetes-image-puller", user: "CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 3 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-          - { repo: "che-incubator/kubernetes-image-puller-operator", user: "CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 3 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-          - { repo: "devfile/devworkspace-operator", user: "CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 3 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-          - { repo: "devfile/developer-images", user: "CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 3 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-          - { repo: "eclipse-che/che-dashboard", user: "CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 3 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-          - { repo: "eclipse-che/che-machine-exec", user: "CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 3 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-          - { repo: "eclipse-che/che-operator", user: "CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 1 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-          - { repo: "eclipse-che/che-plugin-registry", user: "CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 3 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-          - { repo: "eclipse-che/che-server", user: "CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 3 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-          - { repo: "eclipse/che", user: "CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN", commandFlags: "-maxdepth 3 -f *Dockerfile --pr" }
-    steps:
-      - name: Set defaults (for use in crontab or workflow_dispatch) and check if we have a matching repo value 
-        id: SETUP_REPOS
-        shell: bash
-        env:
-          DEFAULT_BRANCH: 'main'
-          DEFAULT_REPOS: '
-          che-incubator/chectl, 
-          che-incubator/che-code, 
-          che-incubator/configbump, 
-          che-incubator/jetbrains-editor-images, 
-          che-incubator/jetbrains-ide-dev-server,
-          che-incubator/kubernetes-image-puller, 
-          che-incubator/kubernetes-image-puller-operator, 
-          devfile/devworkspace-operator, 
-          devfile/developer-images, 
-          eclipse-che/che-dashboard, 
-          eclipse-che/che-devfile-registry, 
-          eclipse-che/che-machine-exec, 
-          eclipse-che/che-operator, 
-          eclipse-che/che-plugin-registry, 
-          eclipse-che/che-server, 
-          eclipse/che
-          '
-        run: |
-            echo "BRANCH=${{ github.event.inputs.branch || env.DEFAULT_BRANCH }}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-            echo "REPOS=${{ github.event.inputs.repos || env.DEFAULT_REPOS }}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-            echo GOT_REPO=false >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-            for r in $(echo ${{ github.event.inputs.repos || env.DEFAULT_REPOS }} | tr "," "\n"); do
-              if [[ $r == "${{ matrix.projects.repo }}" ]]; then
-                echo GOT_REPO=true >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-                break
-              fi
-            done
-      - name: "Checkout source code"
-        if: steps.SETUP_REPOS.outputs.GOT_REPO == 'true'
-        uses: actions/checkout@v3
-        with:
-          repository: ${{ matrix.projects.repo }}
-          token: ${{ secrets[matrix.projects.user] }}
-          fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: Login to registry.redhat.io 
-        if: steps.SETUP_REPOS.outputs.GOT_REPO == 'true'
-        uses: docker/login-action@v2
-        with:
-          registry: registry.redhat.io
-          username: ${{ secrets.CRW_BUILD_USER }}
-          password: ${{ secrets.CRW_BUILD_TOKEN }}
-      - name: Init
-        if: steps.SETUP_REPOS.outputs.GOT_REPO == 'true'
-        run: |
-          checkVersion() {
-            if [[  "$1" = "$(echo -e "$1\n$2" | sort -V | head -n1)" ]]; then
-              # echo "[INFO] $3 version $2 >= $1, can proceed."
-              true
-            else
-              echo "[INFO] Installing $3 version >= $1 ..."
-              if [[ "$3" == "yq" ]]; then
-                pip install "$3"
-              else
-                sudo apt-get -y install "$3"
-              fi
-            fi
-          }
-          repos=$(echo ${{ env.REPOS }} | tr "," "\n")
-          for r in $repos; do
-            if [[ $r == "${{ matrix.projects.repo }}" ]]; then
-              # Install skopeo + yq
-              checkVersion 1.1 "$(skopeo --version | sed -e "s/skopeo version //")" skopeo
-              checkVersion 2.0 "$(yq --version | sed -e "s/yq //")" yq
-              pushd /tmp >/dev/null || exit 1
-              curl -sSLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/redhat-developer/codeready-workspaces/devspaces-3-rhel-8/product/updateBaseImages.sh
-              chmod +x updateBaseImages.sh
-              popd >/dev/null || exit 1
-              export GITHUB_TOKEN=${{ secrets[matrix.projects.user] }}
-              git config --global user.name "Nick Boldt"
-              git config --global user.email "nboldt@redhat.com"
-              echo "running job for ${{ matrix.projects.repo }}"
-              mkdir -p /tmp/${{ matrix.projects.repo }}
-              /tmp/updateBaseImages.sh -b ${{ env.BRANCH }} ${{ matrix.projects.commandFlags }} | tee /tmp/${{ matrix.projects.repo }}/log.txt
-              break
-            fi
-          done
-          if [[ ! -d /tmp/${{ matrix.projects.repo }} ]]; then 
-            echo "SKIP running job for ${{ matrix.projects.repo }} - not included in $repos"
-          fi
-      - name: PR link
-        id: SETUP_PR_LINK
-        shell: bash
-        run: |
-            echo GOT_PR=false >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-            if [[ -f /tmp/${{ matrix.projects.repo }}/log.txt ]]; then
-              URL=$(grep "${{ matrix.projects.repo }}/pull/" /tmp/${{ matrix.projects.repo }}/log.txt 2>/dev/null || true)
-              if [[ $URL ]]; then 
-                echo "$URL"
-                echo "PR_URL=\"$URL\"" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-                echo GOT_PR=true >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-              fi
-            fi
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f294942
--- /dev/null
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+# AGENTS.md
+
+This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.
+
+## Repository Purpose
+
+This is the Eclipse Che release orchestration repository. It automates the coordinated release of Eclipse Che components across multiple GitHub repositories in a specific order based on dependencies.
+
+## Release Commands
+
+### Orchestrate full release
+```bash
+./make-release.sh --version 7.75.0 --phases 1,2,3
+```
+- `--version` (-v): Version to release in format 7.y.z
+- `--phases` (-p): Comma-separated list of phases to run (default: 1,2,3)
+
+### Create a release branch
+```bash
+./make-branch.sh --branch 7.75.x --branchfrom main --repo <GITHUB_REPO_URL>
+```
+- Use `--force` to delete and recreate an existing branch
+
+## Release Architecture
+
+### Release Configuration
+
+The release configuration is defined in `che-release.yaml` at the repository root. This YAML file contains:
+- **Phases**: All release phases with descriptions
+- **Projects**: Project metadata including repository, workflow ID, expected artifacts
+- **Workflows**: GitHub Actions workflow names and IDs to trigger
+- **Artifacts**: Container images, NPM packages, GitHub releases, and websites to verify
+- **Branches**: Expected branches for each project
+- **Pull Requests**: Expected PRs with patterns, targets, and completion requirements
+
+The `scripts/release-info.sh` script reads this configuration to display comprehensive release status.
+
+### Multi-Phase Release Process
+
+The release process is divided into phases based on project dependencies:
+
+**Phase 1** - Independent projects (no Che dependencies):
+- che-code
+- jetbrains-ide-dev-server
+- configbump
+- che-machine-exec
+- che-server
+- devworkspace-generator (NPM package)
+- kubernetes-image-puller (branch creation only)
+
+**Phase 2** - Projects depending on Phase 1:
+- che-e2e (depends on che-server, devworkspace-generator)
+- che-plugin-registry (depends on che-machine-exec)
+- che-dashboard
+
+**Phase 3** - Operator (depends on all previous phases):
+- che-operator
+
+**Phase 4+** - Downstream releases (manual steps required):
+- community-operators PRs
+- chectl CLI
+- che-docs
+
+**Phase 5+** - Website and verification:
+- che-website-publish
+- release-check-unmerged-PRs
+
+### Version and Branch Strategy
+
+- **Version format**: 7.yy.z (e.g., 7.75.0, 7.75.1)
+- **Branch format**: 7.yy.x (e.g., 7.75.x)
+- **For .0 releases** (7.yy.0): Release from `main` branch
+- **For bugfix releases** (7.yy.1+): Release from the corresponding .x branch (e.g., 7.75.x)
+
+### GitHub Action Invocation
+
+The `make-release.sh` script triggers GitHub Actions workflows in each project repository using the GitHub API. The `invokeAction()` function in `utils/util.sh`:
+
+1. Computes the workflow ID from the action name
+2. Determines the correct branch to run from (main for .0 releases, .x branch for bugfixes)
+3. Uses personal GitHub token `GITHUB_TOKEN` for authentication
+4. Dispatches the workflow with version parameters
+
+### Verification Steps
+
+After each phase, the script verifies that artifacts were published before proceeding:
+
+- **Container images**: Checks Quay.io using `verifyContainerExistsWithTimeout()`
+- **NPM packages**: Checks npmjs.org using `verifyNpmJsPackageExistsWithTimeout()`
+- **Git branches**: Checks GitHub using `verifyBranchExistsWithTimeout()`
+- **GitHub releases**: Checks for release tags via GitHub API
+- **Websites**: Checks HTTP accessibility (status 200)
+- **Website version**: Checks that the HTML element with class "version-menu-toggle" displays the correct version
+
+Verification retries every 20 seconds for the specified timeout period (30-60 minutes depending on the artifact).
+
+## Key Files
+
+- `che-release.yaml`: Release configuration defining all phases, projects, workflows, artifacts, and PRs
+- `make-release.sh`: Main orchestration script
+- `utils/util.sh`: Reusable functions for GitHub API calls, verification, error handling
+- `.github/workflows/release-orchestrate-overall.yml`: GitHub workflow that runs make-release.sh
+- `scripts/release-info.sh`: Status reporting script that reads from che-release.yaml
+- `README.md`: Detailed release procedure and project status
+
+## Environment Variables Required
+
+When running manually (outside GitHub Actions):
+
+- `CHE_VERSION`: Version being released
+- `CHE_GITHUB_SSH_KEY`: SSH key for Git operations (base64 encoded)
+- `CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN`: Token for eclipse-che/* repos
+- `CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN`: Token for che-incubator/* and devfile/* repos
+- `QUAY_ECLIPSE_CHE_USERNAME`: Quay.io username
+- `QUAY_ECLIPSE_CHE_PASSWORD`: Quay.io password
+
+## Blocker Issue Check
+
+For .0 releases, the script checks for open blocker issues in eclipse/che before proceeding:
+```bash
+curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/eclipse/che/issues?labels=severity/blocker&state=open"
+```
+
+## Lint and Type-Check Commands
+
+### Single-file bash script checks
+
+**Syntax check**:
+```bash
+bash -n <script.sh>
+```
+Validates bash syntax without executing the script.
+
+**ShellCheck** (if installed):
+```bash
+shellcheck <script.sh>
+```
+Static analysis for shell scripts. Install with: `dnf install ShellCheck` or `apt-get install shellcheck`
+
+**Format check** (if shfmt installed):
+```bash
+shfmt -d <script.sh>
+```
+Check formatting. Install from: https://github.com/mvdan/sh
+
+**All scripts at once**:
+```bash
+find . -name "*.sh" -type f -exec bash -n {} \;
+```
+
+## Common Troubleshooting
+
+- If a workflow fails, you can restart individual workflows or re-run specific phases by providing the phase number to `--phases`
+- Sometimes you may need to regenerate tags or skip certain steps
+- Modified workflow files can be tested from feature branches by triggering the workflow on that branch
+- Che Operator PRs must be manually approved and merged before Phase 4+ can proceed
+
+## Red Hat Compliance and Responsible AI Rules
+
+See [redhat-compliance-and-responsible-ai.md](redhat-compliance-and-responsible-ai.md) and the Cursor rules file under `.cursor/rules/`.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..89635ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# CLAUDE.md
+
+This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.
+
+See [AGENTS.md](AGENTS.md) for full project guidance, architecture, and conventions.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/che-release.yaml b/che-release.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..57d7230
--- /dev/null
+++ b/che-release.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,279 @@
+---
+# Eclipse Che Release Configuration
+#
+# This file defines the multi-phase release process for Eclipse Che components.
+# Used by:
+# - scripts/release-info.sh: Display comprehensive release status
+# - make-release.sh: Orchestrate releases (future enhancement)
+#
+# Structure:
+# - phases: Release phases with dependencies (phase-1 through phase-6)
+# - projects: For each project - repo, workflow, artifacts, branches, PRs
+# - artifacts: Container images (Quay), NPM packages, GitHub releases, websites, website-version
+#   - image: Quay.io container image (checks if tag exists)
+#   - npmjs: NPM package (checks if version published)
+#   - github-release: GitHub release (checks if tag exists)
+#   - website: Website URL (checks if accessible)
+#   - website-version: Website with version verification (checks if HTML element with class
+#     "version-menu-toggle" contains the release version)
+# - pull-requests: Expected PRs with title patterns and merge requirements
+#
+release-config:
+  phases:
+    phase-1:
+      description: "Independent projects (no Che dependencies)"
+      projects:
+        - name: che-code
+          repo: che-incubator/che-code
+          workflow:
+            name: "Release Che Code"
+            id: 34764281
+            parameters:
+              - key: version
+                value: "{version}"
+          artifacts:
+            - type: image
+              name: quay.io/che-incubator/che-code
+              timeout: 60
+          branches:
+            - "{branch}"
+          pull-requests: []
+
+        - name: jetbrains-ide-dev-server
+          repo: che-incubator/jetbrains-ide-dev-server
+          workflow:
+            name: "Release JetBrains IDE Dev Server"
+            id: 120670986
+            parameters:
+              - key: version
+                value: "{version}"
+          artifacts:
+            - type: image
+              name: quay.io/che-incubator/che-idea-dev-server
+              timeout: 60
+          branches:
+            - "{branch}"
+          pull-requests: []
+
+        - name: configbump
+          repo: che-incubator/configbump
+          workflow:
+            name: "Release Che Configbump"
+            id: 69757177
+            parameters:
+              - key: version
+                value: "{version}"
+          artifacts:
+            - type: image
+              name: quay.io/che-incubator/configbump
+              timeout: 60
+          branches:
+            - "{branch}"
+          pull-requests: []
+
+        - name: che-machine-exec
+          repo: eclipse-che/che-machine-exec
+          workflow:
+            name: "Release Che Machine Exec"
+            id: 7369994
+            parameters:
+              - key: version
+                value: "{version}"
+          artifacts:
+            - type: image
+              name: quay.io/eclipse/che-machine-exec
+              timeout: 60
+          branches:
+            - "{branch}"
+          pull-requests: []
+
+        - name: che-server
+          repo: eclipse-che/che-server
+          workflow:
+            name: "Release Che Server"
+            id: 9230035
+            parameters:
+              - key: version
+                value: "{version}"
+          artifacts:
+            - type: image
+              name: quay.io/eclipse/che-server
+              timeout: 60
+          branches:
+            - "{branch}"
+          pull-requests: []
+
+        - name: devworkspace-generator
+          repo: devfile/devworkspace-generator
+          workflow:
+            name: "Release Che Devworkspace Generator"
+            id: 102323522
+            parameters:
+              - key: version
+                value: "{version}"
+          artifacts:
+            - type: npmjs
+              name: "@eclipse-che/che-devworkspace-generator"
+              timeout: 60
+          branches:
+            - "{branch}"
+          pull-requests: []
+
+        - name: kubernetes-image-puller
+          repo: che-incubator/kubernetes-image-puller
+          workflow:
+            name: "Create branch"
+            id: 5409996
+            parameters:
+              - key: branch
+                value: "{branch}"
+          artifacts: []
+          branches:
+            - "{branch}"
+          pull-requests: []
+
+    phase-2:
+      description: "Projects depending on Phase 1"
+      projects:
+        - name: che-e2e
+          repo: eclipse/che
+          workflow:
+            name: "Release Che E2E"
+            id: 5536792
+            parameters:
+              - key: version
+                value: "{version}"
+          artifacts:
+            - type: image
+              name: quay.io/eclipse/che-e2e
+              timeout: 30
+          branches:
+            - "{branch}"
+          pull-requests: []
+
+        - name: che-plugin-registry
+          repo: eclipse-che/che-plugin-registry
+          workflow:
+            name: "Release Che Plugin Registry"
+            id: 4191251
+            parameters:
+              - key: version
+                value: "{version}"
+          artifacts:
+            - type: image
+              name: quay.io/eclipse/che-plugin-registry
+              timeout: 30
+          branches:
+            - "{branch}"
+          pull-requests: []
+
+        - name: che-dashboard
+          repo: eclipse-che/che-dashboard
+          workflow:
+            name: "Release Che Dashboard"
+            id: 3152474
+            parameters:
+              - key: version
+                value: "{version}"
+          artifacts:
+            - type: image
+              name: quay.io/eclipse/che-dashboard
+              timeout: 60
+          branches:
+            - "{branch}"
+          pull-requests: []
+
+    phase-3:
+      description: "Operator (depends on all previous phases)"
+      projects:
+        - name: che-operator
+          repo: eclipse-che/che-operator
+          workflow:
+            name: "Release Che Operator"
+            id: 3593082
+            parameters:
+              - key: version
+                value: "{version}"
+            pause: true
+          artifacts:
+            - type: image
+              name: quay.io/eclipse/che-operator
+          branches:
+            - "{branch}"
+          pull-requests:
+            - title-pattern: "{version} release"
+              target-branch: "{branch}"
+              required-for-completion: true
+            - title-pattern: "Copy {version} csv to main"
+              target-branch: main
+              required-for-completion: true
+
+    phase-4:
+      description: "Downstream releases (manual steps required)"
+      projects:
+        - name: community-operator
+          repo: redhat-openshift-ecosystem/community-operators-prod
+          workflow:
+            name: "Release Community Operator PRs"
+          artifacts: []
+          branches: []
+          pull-requests:
+            - title-pattern: "operator eclipse-che ({version})"
+              target-repo: redhat-openshift-ecosystem/community-operators-prod
+              required-for-completion: true
+
+        - name: chectl
+          repo: che-incubator/chectl
+          workflow:
+            name: "Release"
+          artifacts:
+            - type: github-release
+              repo: che-incubator/chectl
+          branches:
+            - "{branch}"
+          pull-requests:
+            - title-pattern: "{version}"
+              target-branch: "{branch}"
+              required-for-completion: true
+
+        - name: che-docs
+          repo: eclipse-che/che-docs
+          workflow:
+            name: "Release Che Docs"
+          artifacts: []
+          branches:
+            - publication
+          pull-requests:
+            - title-pattern: "chore: Bump to {version} in main"
+              target-branch: "main"
+              required-for-completion: true
+            - title-pattern: "chore: Bump to {version} in publication-builder"
+              target-branch: "publication-builder"
+              required-for-completion: true
+            - title-pattern: "chore: Bump to {version} in 7.121.x "
+              target-branch: "{branch}"
+              required-for-completion: true
+
+    phase-5:
+      description: "Website and verification"
+      projects:
+        - name: che-website-publish
+          repo: eclipse-che/che-website-publish
+          workflow:
+            name: "Publish"
+          artifacts:
+            - type: website-version
+              url: "https://eclipse.dev/che/docs/stable/"
+          branches: []
+          pull-requests: []
+    phase-6:
+      description: "Final verification"
+      projects:
+        - name: release-check-unmerged-PRs
+          repo: eclipse-che/che-release
+          workflow:
+            name: "Check Unmerged PRs"
+          artifacts: []
+          branches: []
+          pull-requests: []
+---
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/make-branch.sh b/make-branch.sh
index f9b8342..09bb254 100755
--- a/make-branch.sh
+++ b/make-branch.sh
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ if [[ "${BASEBRANCH}" != "${BRANCH}" ]]; then
   git branch -D "${BRANCH}" || true
   git checkout "${BASEBRANCH}" || true
   # if branch exists and FORCENEWBRANCH true, delete from remote before creating new branch
-  if [[ $(git ls-remote --heads ${REPO} "refs/heads/${BRANCH}" || true) != "" ]] && [[ ${FORCENEWBRANCH} -eq 1 ]]; then
+  if [[ $(git ls-remote --heads "${REPO}" "refs/heads/${BRANCH}" || true) != "" ]] && [[ ${FORCENEWBRANCH} -eq 1 ]]; then
     git push origin ":${BRANCH}"
   fi
   git branch "${BRANCH}"
diff --git a/make-release.sh b/make-release.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index a891deb..0000000
--- a/make-release.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,226 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-# overall Che release orchestration script
-# see README.md for more info 
-
-REGISTRY="quay.io"
-ORGANIZATION="eclipse"
-
-SCRIPTS_DIR=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"; pwd)
-source ${SCRIPTS_DIR}/utils/util.sh
-
-usage ()
-{
-  echo "Usage: $0  --version [CHE VERSION TO RELEASE] --parent-version [CHE PARENT VERSION] --phases [LIST OF PHASES]
-
-# Comma-separated phases to perform.
-#1: Code, JetBrainsIdeDevServer, Configbump, MachineExec, Server, devworkspace-generator, createBranches (kubernetes-image-puller);
-#2: E2E, PluginRegistry, Dashboard;
-#3: Operator;
-# Default: 1,2,3
-# Omit phases that have successfully run.
-"
-  echo "Example: $0 --version 7.75.0 --phases 1,2,3"; echo
-  exit 1
-}
-
-#################### SETUP ####################
-
-checkForBlockerIssues()
-{
-    # check for blockers only if doing a 7.yy.0 release
-    if [[ ${CHE_VERSION} == *".0" ]]; then 
-        # If in future we want to find blockers for a given milestone, here's how:
-        ## OPTION 1: gh cli
-            # BLOCKERS_THIS_MILESTONE="$(gh issue list -R eclipse/che -l "severity/blocker" -s "open" -m "${CHE_VERSION%.*}" --json "createdAt,updatedAt,author,title,url,milestone" | jq -r '.[]')"
-        ## OPTION 2: gh api
-            # milestone="${CHE_VERSION%.*}"
-            # 7.39 :: 151
-            # milestoneID="$(curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/eclipse/che/milestones?sort_on=due_on&direction=desc&state=open" | jq -r --arg milestone $milestone '.[]|select(.title==$milestone)|.number' 2>&1)" 
-            # BLOCKERS_THIS_MILESTONE="$(curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/eclipse/che/issues?labels=severity/blocker&state=open&milestone=${milestoneID}" | jq -r '.[]|[.created_at,.updated_at,.milestone.title,.url,.user.login,.title] | @tsv')"
-        # if [[ $BLOCKERS_THIS_MILESTONE ]]; then
-        #     echo "[ERROR] Blocker issue(s) found for this milestone ${CHE_VERSION%.*}!"
-        #     echo $BLOCKERS_THIS_MILESTONE
-        #     exit 1
-        # fi
-
-        # Mario and Florent would prefer to search for ANY open blockers, including those unassigned to milestones
-        ## OPTION 1: gh cli
-            # BLOCKERS_ANY="$(gh issue list -R eclipse/che -l "severity/blocker" -s "open" --json "createdAt,updatedAt,author,title,url,milestone" | jq -r '.[]')"
-        ## OPTION 2: gh api
-        BLOCKERS_ANY="$(curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/eclipse/che/issues?labels=severity/blocker&state=open" | jq -r '.[]|[.created_at,.updated_at,.milestone.title,.url,.user.login,.title] | @tsv')"
-        if [[ $BLOCKERS_ANY ]]; then
-            echo "[ERROR] Blocker issue(s) found!"
-            echo "$BLOCKERS_ANY"
-            exit 1
-        fi
-    fi
-}
-
-setupGitconfig() {
-  ne else?
-  git config --global user.name "Mykhailo Kuznietsov"
-  git config --global user.email mkuznets@redhat.com
-
-  # hub CLI configuration
-  git config --global push.default matching
-
-  # suppress warnings about how to reconcile divergent branches
-  git config --global pull.ff only 
-
-  # NOTE when invoking action from che-incubator/* repos (not eclipse/che* repos), must use CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN
-  # default to CHE_BOT GH token
-  export GITHUB_TOKEN="${CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN}"
-}
-
-evaluateCheVariables() {
-    echo "Che version: ${CHE_VERSION}"
-    # derive branch from version
-    BRANCH=${CHE_VERSION%.*}.x
-    echo "Branch: ${BRANCH}"
-
-    if [[ ${CHE_VERSION} == *".0" ]]; then
-        BASEBRANCH="master"
-    else
-        BASEBRANCH="${BRANCH}"
-    fi
-
-    echo "Basebranch: ${BASEBRANCH}" 
-    echo "Release Process Phases: '${PHASES}'"
-}
-
-#################### PHASE 1 ####################
-
-releaseCheCode() {
-    invokeAction che-incubator/che-code "Release Che Code" "34764281" "version=${CHE_VERSION}"
-}
-
-releaseJetBrainsIDE() {
-    invokeAction che-incubator/jetbrains-ide-dev-server "Release JetBrains IDE Dev Server" "120670986" "version=${CHE_VERSION}"
-}
-
-releaseConfigbump() {
-    invokeAction che-incubator/configbump "Release Che Configbump" "69757177" "version=${CHE_VERSION}"
-}
-
-releaseMachineExec() {
-    invokeAction eclipse-che/che-machine-exec "Release Che Machine Exec" "7369994" "version=${CHE_VERSION}"
-}
-
-releaseCheServer() {
-    invokeAction eclipse-che/che-server "Release Che Server" "9230035" "version=${CHE_VERSION}"
-}
-
-releaseDevworkspaceGenerator() {
-    invokeAction devfile/devworkspace-generator "Release Che Devworkspace Generator" "102323522" "version=${CHE_VERSION}"
-}
-
-createBranches() {
-    invokeAction che-incubator/kubernetes-image-puller "Create branch" "5409996" "branch=${BRANCH}"
-}
-
-#################### PHASE 2 ####################
-
-releaseCheE2E() {
-    invokeAction eclipse/che "Release Che E2E" "5536792" "version=${CHE_VERSION}"
-}
-
-releasePluginRegistry() {
-    invokeAction eclipse-che/che-plugin-registry "Release Che Plugin Registry" "4191251" "version=${CHE_VERSION}"
-}
-
-releaseDashboard() {
-    invokeAction eclipse-che/che-dashboard "Release Che Dashboard" "3152474" "version=${CHE_VERSION}"
-}
-
-#################### PHASE 4 ####################
-
-releaseCheOperator() {
-    invokeAction eclipse-che/che-operator "Release Che Operator" "3593082" "version=${CHE_VERSION}"
-}
-
-while [[ "$#" -gt 0 ]]; do
-  case $1 in
-    '-v'|'--version') CHE_VERSION="$2"; shift 1;;
-    '-p'|'--phases') PHASES="$2"; shift 1;;
-  esac
-  shift 1
-done
-
-if [[ ! ${CHE_VERSION} ]] || [[ ! ${PHASES} ]] ; then
-  usage
-fi
-
-set +x
-mkdir "$HOME/.ssh/"
-echo "$CHE_GITHUB_SSH_KEY" | base64 -d > "$HOME/.ssh/id_rsa"
-chmod 0400 "$HOME/.ssh/id_rsa"
-ssh-keyscan github.com >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts
-set -x
-
-#################### SETUP ####################
-
-checkForBlockerIssues
-setupGitconfig
-evaluateCheVariables
-echo "BASH VERSION = $BASH_VERSION"
-set -e
-
-#################### PHASE 1 ####################
-
-# Release projects that don't depend on other projects
-set +x 
-if [[ ${PHASES} == *"1"* ]]; then
-    releaseCheCode
-    releaseJetBrainsIDE
-    releaseConfigbump
-    releaseMachineExec
-    releaseCheServer
-    releaseDevworkspaceGenerator
-    createBranches
-fi
-wait
-# shellcheck disable=SC2086
-verifyContainerExistsWithTimeout ${REGISTRY}/che-incubator/che-code:${CHE_VERSION} 60
-# shellcheck disable=SC2086
-verifyContainerExistsWithTimeout ${REGISTRY}/che-incubator/che-idea-dev-server:${CHE_VERSION} 60
-# shellcheck disable=SC2086
-verifyContainerExistsWithTimeout ${REGISTRY}/che-incubator/configbump:${CHE_VERSION} 60
-# shellcheck disable=SC2086
-verifyContainerExistsWithTimeout ${REGISTRY}/${ORGANIZATION}/che-machine-exec:${CHE_VERSION} 60
-# shellcheck disable=SC2086
-verifyContainerExistsWithTimeout ${REGISTRY}/${ORGANIZATION}/che-server:${CHE_VERSION} 60
-# shellcheck disable=SC2086
-verifyBranchExistsWithTimeoutAndExit "https://github.com/che-incubator/kubernetes-image-puller.git" ${BRANCH} 60
-# shellcheck disable=SC2086
-verifyNpmJsPackageExistsWithTimeoutAndExit "@eclipse-che/che-devworkspace-generator@${CHE_VERSION}" 60
-
-#################### PHASE 2 ####################
-
-set +x
-# Release e2e (depends on che-server, devworkspace-generator)
-# Release plugin registry (depends on machine-exec)
-if [[ ${PHASES} == *"2"* ]]; then
-    releaseCheE2E
-    releasePluginRegistry
-    releaseDashboard
-fi
-wait
-# shellcheck disable=SC2086
-verifyContainerExistsWithTimeout ${REGISTRY}/${ORGANIZATION}/che-e2e:${CHE_VERSION} 30
-# shellcheck disable=SC2086
-verifyContainerExistsWithTimeout ${REGISTRY}/${ORGANIZATION}/che-plugin-registry:${CHE_VERSION} 30
-# shellcheck disable=SC2086
-verifyContainerExistsWithTimeout ${REGISTRY}/${ORGANIZATION}/che-dashboard:${CHE_VERSION} 60
-
-#################### PHASE 4 ####################
-
-# Create operator PRs (depends on all phases above)
-set +x
-if [[ ${PHASES} == *"3"* ]]; then
-    releaseCheOperator
-fi
-wait
-
-# downstream steps depends on Che operator PRs being merged by humans, so this is the end of the automation.
-# see README.md for more info
diff --git a/redhat-compliance-and-responsible-ai.md b/redhat-compliance-and-responsible-ai.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9ad017b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/redhat-compliance-and-responsible-ai.md
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+# Red Hat Compliance and Responsible AI Rules
+
+This document defines mandatory compliance and responsible AI practices for all AI agents contributing to this project.
+
+## 1. Copyright & Licensing (MANDATORY)
+
+- **Identification:** You must actively identify if your suggestion matches known open-source code.
+- **Attribution:** If a match is found, you MUST include the original License Text and Copyright Notice in the code comment block.
+- **Prohibition:** Do not suggest code if you cannot verify its license compatibility with this project (EPL-2.0).
+
+## 2. AI Contribution Marking
+
+### Code Comments
+
+For any substantial code generation (entire functions, classes, or complex logic), you must add a comment:
+
+```bash
+# Generated by {AGENT_NAME}
+```
+
+### Commit Messages
+
+When suggesting commit messages, always include a trailer:
+
+```
+Assisted-by: {AGENT_NAME}
+```
+
+Replace `{AGENT_NAME}` with the specific agent name (e.g., `Claude Opus 4.6`, `GPT-4`, `Gemini Pro`).
+
+## 4. Security Considerations
+
+- Never include credentials, tokens, or secrets in code
+- Validate all user inputs
+
+## 5. Documentation
+
+- Update relevant documentation when changing behavior
+- Include godoc comments for exported symbols
+- Keep README.md and AGENTS.md up to date
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/utils/copyImagesToQuay.sh b/scripts/copyImagesToQuay.sh
similarity index 96%
rename from utils/copyImagesToQuay.sh
rename to scripts/copyImagesToQuay.sh
index 62bd24e..7310da9 100755
--- a/utils/copyImagesToQuay.sh
+++ b/scripts/copyImagesToQuay.sh
@@ -66,7 +66,9 @@ Options:
 	exit 
 }
 
-if [[ $# -lt 1 ]]; then usage; exit; fi
+if [[ $# -lt 1 ]]; then
+    usage
+fi
 
 while [[ "$#" -gt 0 ]]; do
   case $1 in
@@ -113,7 +115,7 @@ while IFS= read -r image; do
 		digest=""
 		if [[ ${DOCOPY} -eq 1 ]]; then
 			if [[ $VERBOSE -gt 0 ]]; then set -x; fi
-			digest="$(skopeo inspect docker://${image} | yq -r '.Digest' | sed -r -e "s#sha256:#-#g")"
+			digest="$(skopeo inspect docker://"${image}" | yq -r '.Digest' | sed -r -e "s#sha256:#-#g")"
 			echo "
 [INFO] Skopeo copy $image to
         ${imageNew}${digest} ... "
@@ -139,4 +141,4 @@ while IFS= read -r image; do
 		fi
 		digest=""
 	fi
-done < <(grep -v '^ *#' < ${LISTFILE}) # exclude commented lines
+done < <(grep -v '^ *#' < "${LISTFILE}") # exclude commented lines
diff --git a/utils/copyImagesToQuay.txt b/scripts/copyImagesToQuay.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from utils/copyImagesToQuay.txt
rename to scripts/copyImagesToQuay.txt
diff --git a/scripts/lib/artifact-checker.sh b/scripts/lib/artifact-checker.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0f3ac11
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/lib/artifact-checker.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,216 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# for a given container URL, check if it exists and its digest can be read
+# verifyContainerExists quay.io/crw/pluginregistry-rhel8:2.6 # schemaVersion = 1, look for tag
+# verifyContainerExists quay.io/eclipse/che-plugin-registry:7.24.2 # schemaVersion = 2, look for arches
+verifyContainerExists()
+{
+    this_containerURL="${1}"
+    this_image=""; this_tag=""
+    this_image=${this_containerURL#*/}
+    this_tag=${this_image##*:}
+    this_image=${this_image%%:*}
+    this_url="https://quay.io/v2/${this_image}/manifests/${this_tag}"
+    # echo $this_url
+
+    # get result=tag if tag found, result="null" if not
+    result="$(curl -sSL "${this_url}"  -H "Accept: application/vnd.docker.distribution.manifest.list.v2+json" 2>&1 || true)"
+    if [[ $(echo "$result" | jq -r '.schemaVersion' || true) == "1" ]] && [[ $(echo "$result" | jq -r '.tag' || true) == "$this_tag" ]]; then
+        echo "[INFO] Found ${this_containerURL} (tag = $this_tag)"
+        containerExists=1
+    elif [[ $(echo "$result" | jq -r '.schemaVersion' || true) == "2" ]]; then
+        arches=$(echo "$result" | jq -r '[.manifests[].platform.architecture]|@csv' | tr -d "\"")
+        if [[ $arches ]]; then
+            echo "[INFO] Found ${this_containerURL} (arches = $arches)"
+        fi
+        containerExists=1
+    else
+        # echo "[INFO] Did not find ${this_containerURL}"
+        containerExists=0
+    fi
+}
+
+verifyContainerExistsWithTimeout()
+{
+    this_containerURL=$1
+    this_timeout=$2
+    containerExists=0
+    count=1
+    (( timeout_intervals=this_timeout*3 ))
+    while [[ $count -le $timeout_intervals ]]; do # echo $count
+        echo "       [$count/$timeout_intervals] Verify ${1} exists..."
+        # check if the container exists
+        verifyContainerExists "$1"
+        if [[ ${containerExists} -eq 1 ]]; then break; fi
+        (( count=count+1 ))
+        sleep 20s
+    done
+    # or report an error
+    if [[ ${containerExists} -eq 0 ]]; then
+        echo "[ERROR] Did not find ${1} after ${this_timeout} minutes - script must exit!"
+        exit 1;
+    fi
+}
+
+# for a given url of project hosten on NPMJS, check if it exists
+# package name must be in format "<scope>/name@version"
+# e.g. "@eclipse-che/che-devworkspace-generator@7.70.0"
+verifyNpmJsPackageExists()
+{
+    this_package=${1}
+    this_name="${this_package%@*}"
+    this_version="${this_package##*@}"
+    registry_json="$(curl -s https://registry.npmjs.org/"${this_name}"/)"
+    if echo "$registry_json" | jq -e '."versions"."'"${this_version}"'"' > /dev/null; then
+        echo "[INFO] Found ${this_package}"
+        packageExists=1
+    else
+        # echo "[INFO] Did not find ${this_package}"
+        packageExists=0
+    fi
+}
+
+verifyNpmJsPackagexistsWithTimeout()
+{
+    this_package=$1
+    this_timeout=$2
+    packageExists=0
+    count=1
+    (( timeout_intervals=this_timeout*3 ))
+    while [[ $count -le $timeout_intervals ]]; do # echo $count
+        echo "       [$count/$timeout_intervals] Verify ${1} exists..."
+        # check if the package exists
+        verifyNpmJsPackageExists "$1"
+        if [[ ${containerExists} -eq 1 ]]; then break; fi
+        (( count=count+1 ))
+        sleep 20s
+    done
+    # or report an error
+    if [[ ${packageExists} -eq 0 ]]; then
+        echo "[ERROR] Did not find ${1} after ${this_timeout} minutes - script must exit!"
+        exit 1;
+    fi
+}
+
+verifyNpmJsPackageExistsWithTimeoutAndExit() {
+    if ! verifyNpmJsPackagexistsWithTimeout "$@"; then
+        exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+check_quay_image() {
+    local image_with_tag="$1"
+    _source_util
+    containerExists=0
+    verifyContainerExists "$image_with_tag" 2>/dev/null
+    if [[ "$containerExists" -eq 1 ]]; then
+        return 0
+    else
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+check_npm_package() {
+    local package_at_version="$1"
+    _source_util
+    packageExists=0
+    verifyNpmJsPackageExists "$package_at_version" 2>/dev/null
+    if [[ "$packageExists" -eq 1 ]]; then
+        return 0
+    else
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+check_github_release() {
+    local repo="$1"
+    local tag="$2"
+    local token
+    token=$(get_github_token "$repo")
+
+    if [[ -z "$token" ]]; then
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    local http_code
+    http_code=$(curl -sSL -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
+        -H "Authorization: token ${token}" \
+        -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
+        "https://api.github.com/repos/${repo}/releases/tags/${tag}" 2>/dev/null || echo "000")
+
+    if [[ "$http_code" == "200" ]]; then
+        return 0
+    else
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+check_website() {
+    local url="$1"
+    local http_code
+    http_code=$(curl -sSL -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" --max-time 10 "$url" 2>/dev/null || echo "000")
+
+    if [[ "$http_code" == "200" ]]; then
+        return 0
+    else
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+check_website_version() {
+    local url="$1"
+    local expected_version="$2"
+
+    # Fetch the HTML content (curl -L follows HTTP redirects)
+    local html_content
+    html_content=$(curl -sSL --max-time 10 "$url" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+
+    if [[ -z "$html_content" ]]; then
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    # Extract content from element with class "version-menu-toggle"
+    # Pattern: <button class="version-menu-toggle" ...>VERSION</button>
+    local version_text
+    version_text=$(echo "$html_content" | grep 'version-menu-toggle' | sed -n 's/.*version-menu-toggle[^>]*>\([^<]*\)<.*/\1/p' | head -1 | xargs)
+
+    # If version not found, check if this is a redirect page with canonical link
+    if [[ -z "$version_text" ]]; then
+        local canonical_url
+        canonical_url=$(echo "$html_content" | grep -o '<link rel="canonical" href="[^"]*"' | sed -n 's/.*href="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/p')
+
+        if [[ -n "$canonical_url" ]]; then
+            # Fetch the canonical URL
+            html_content=$(curl -sSL --max-time 10 "$canonical_url" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+            version_text=$(echo "$html_content" | grep 'version-menu-toggle' | sed -n 's/.*version-menu-toggle[^>]*>\([^<]*\)<.*/\1/p' | head -1 | xargs)
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    if [[ -z "$version_text" ]]; then
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    # Calculate the branch format from version (e.g., 7.121.0 -> 7.121.x)
+    local expected_branch
+    expected_branch="${expected_version%.*}.x"
+
+    # Check if the website shows either the full version or the branch format
+    if [[ "$version_text" == "$expected_version" ]] || [[ "$version_text" == "$expected_branch" ]]; then
+        return 0
+    else
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+check_branch() {
+    local repo="$1"
+    local branch="$2"
+    local count
+    count=$(git ls-remote --heads "https://github.com/${repo}.git" "$branch" 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
+
+    if [[ "$count" -ge 1 ]]; then
+        return 0
+    else
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
diff --git a/scripts/lib/github-api.sh b/scripts/lib/github-api.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..18e92da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/lib/github-api.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,199 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# for a given GH repo and action name, compute workflow_id
+# warning: variable workflow_id is a global, so don't call this in parallel executions!
+computeWorkflowId() {
+    this_repo=$1
+    this_action_name=$2
+    workflow_id=$(curl -sSL "https://api.github.com/repos/${this_repo}/actions/workflows" -H "Authorization: token ${GITHUB_TOKEN}" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" | jq --arg search_field "${this_action_name}" '.workflows[] | select(.name == $search_field).id');
+    # echo "workflow_id = $workflow_id"
+    if [[ ! $workflow_id ]]; then
+        echo "[ERROR] Could not compute workflow id from https://api.github.com/repos/${this_repo}/actions/workflows - check your GITHUB_TOKEN is active"
+        exit 1;
+    fi
+    echo "[INFO] Got workflow_id $workflow_id for $this_repo action '$this_action_name'"
+}
+
+# generic method to call a GH action and pass in a single var=val parameter
+invokeAction() {
+    this_repo=$1
+    this_action_name=$2
+    this_workflow_id=$3
+    #params is a comma-separated list of key=value entries
+    this_params=$4
+
+    # if provided, use previously computed workflow_id; otherwise compute it from the action's name so we can invoke the GH action by id
+    # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+    if [[ $this_workflow_id ]]; then
+        workflow_id=$this_workflow_id
+    else
+        computeWorkflowId $this_repo "$this_action_name"
+        # now we have a global value for $workflow_id
+    fi
+
+    WORKFLOW_MAIN_BRANCH="main"
+    WORKFLOW_BUGFIX_BRANCH=${BRANCH}
+
+    if [[ ${CHE_VERSION} == *".0" ]]; then
+        workflow_ref=${WORKFLOW_MAIN_BRANCH}
+    else
+        workflow_ref=${WORKFLOW_BUGFIX_BRANCH}
+    fi
+
+    inputsJson="{}"
+
+    IFS=',' read -ra paramMap <<< "${this_params}"
+    for keyvalue in "${paramMap[@]}"
+    do
+        key=${keyvalue%=*}
+        value=${keyvalue#*=}
+        inputsJson=$(echo "${inputsJson}" | jq ". + {\"${key}\": \"${value}\"}")
+    done
+
+    if [[ ${this_repo} == "che-incubator"* ]] || [[ ${this_repo} == "devfile"* ]] || [[ ${this_repo} == "che-dockerfiles"* ]]; then
+        this_github_token=${CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN}
+    else
+        this_github_token=${GITHUB_TOKEN}
+    fi
+
+    curl -sSL "https://api.github.com/repos/${this_repo}/actions/workflows/${workflow_id}/dispatches" -X POST -H "Authorization: token ${this_github_token}" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" -d "{\"ref\":\"${workflow_ref}\",\"inputs\": ${inputsJson} }" || die_with "[ERROR] Problem invoking action https://github.com/${this_repo}/actions?query=workflow%3A%22${this_action_name// /+}%22"
+    echo "[INFO] Invoked '${this_action_name}' action ($workflow_id) - see https://github.com/${this_repo}/actions?query=workflow%3A%22${this_action_name// /+}%22"
+}
+
+verifyBranchExistsWithTimeout()
+{
+    this_repo=$1
+    this_branch=$2
+    this_timeout=$3
+    branchExists=0
+    count=1
+    (( timeout_intervals=this_timeout*3 ))
+    while [[ $count -le $timeout_intervals ]]; do # echo $count
+        echo -n "       [$count/$timeout_intervals] Check ${this_repo%.git}/tree/${this_branch} ..."
+        # check if the branch exists
+        branchExists=$(git ls-remote --heads "${this_repo}" "${this_branch}" | wc -l)
+        if [[ ${branchExists} -eq 1 ]]; then echo " found."; return 0; fi
+        (( count=count+1 ))
+        sleep 20s
+        echo ""
+    done
+    # or report an error
+    if [[ ${branchExists} -eq 0 ]]; then
+        echo "[ERROR] Branch ${this_repo%.git}/tree/${this_branch} not found after ${this_timeout} minutes"
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+verifyBranchExistsWithTimeoutAndExit()
+{
+    if ! verifyBranchExistsWithTimeout "$@"; then
+        exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+get_github_token() {
+    local repo="$1"
+    if [[ "$repo" == "che-incubator"* ]] || [[ "$repo" == "devfile"* ]] || [[ "$repo" == "che-dockerfiles"* ]]; then
+        echo "${CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN:-}"
+    else
+        echo "${CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN:-}"
+    fi
+}
+
+check_rate_limit() {
+    local token="$1"
+    local response
+    response=$(curl -sSL -H "Authorization: token ${token}" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
+        "https://api.github.com/rate_limit" 2>/dev/null || echo '{}')
+    local remaining
+    remaining=$(echo "$response" | jq -r '.rate.remaining // "unknown"')
+    echo "$remaining"
+    if [[ "$remaining" == "0" ]]; then
+        return 1
+    fi
+    return 0
+}
+
+get_workflow_status() {
+    local repo="$1"
+    local workflow_name="$2"
+    local version="$3"
+    local workflow_id="${4:-}"
+    local token
+    token=$(get_github_token "$repo")
+
+    if [[ -z "$token" ]]; then
+        echo '{"status":"error","conclusion":null,"run_url":"","run_id":"","error":"no token"}'
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    local api_url
+    if [[ -n "$workflow_id" ]]; then
+        api_url="https://api.github.com/repos/${repo}/actions/workflows/${workflow_id}/runs?per_page=20"
+    else
+        api_url="https://api.github.com/repos/${repo}/actions/runs?per_page=50"
+    fi
+
+    local response
+    response=$(curl -sSL -H "Authorization: token ${token}" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
+        "$api_url" 2>/dev/null || echo '{"workflow_runs":[]}')
+
+    local run_json
+    run_json=$(echo "$response" | jq -r --arg version "$version" --arg wf_name "$workflow_name" '
+        [.workflow_runs[] |
+         select(
+            (.name == $wf_name or .display_title == $wf_name) and
+            ((.display_title | test($version)) or
+             (.name | test($version)) or
+             (.head_branch | test($version)))
+         )] |
+        if length == 0 then
+            [.workflow_runs[] | select(.name == $wf_name)] |
+            [.[] | select(.display_title | test($version))] |
+            if length > 0 then .[0] else null end
+        else .[0] end
+    ' 2>/dev/null)
+
+    if [[ -z "$run_json" ]] || [[ "$run_json" == "null" ]]; then
+        echo '{"status":"not_found","conclusion":null,"run_url":"","run_id":""}'
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    echo "$run_json" | jq '{
+        status: .status,
+        conclusion: .conclusion,
+        run_url: .html_url,
+        run_id: (.id | tostring)
+    }'
+}
+
+find_pull_requests() {
+    local repo="$1"
+    local title_pattern="$2"
+    local target_branch="${3:-}"
+    local token
+    token=$(get_github_token "$repo")
+
+    if [[ -z "$token" ]]; then
+        echo '[]'
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    local api_url="https://api.github.com/repos/${repo}/pulls?state=all&sort=created&direction=desc&per_page=30"
+    local response
+    response=$(curl -sSL -H "Authorization: token ${token}" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
+        "$api_url" 2>/dev/null || echo '[]')
+
+    echo "$response" | jq -r --arg pattern "$title_pattern" --arg branch "$target_branch" '
+        [.[] | select(
+            (.title | test($pattern)) and
+            (if $branch != "" then .base.ref == $branch else true end)
+        )] | map({
+            number: .number,
+            title: .title,
+            state: .state,
+            merged: (.merged_at != null),
+            url: .html_url
+        })
+    ' 2>/dev/null || echo '[]'
+}
diff --git a/scripts/lib/status-aggregator.sh b/scripts/lib/status-aggregator.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..69b3190
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/lib/status-aggregator.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+aggregate_status() {
+    local workflow_status="$1"
+    local workflow_conclusion="$2"
+    local artifacts_total="$3"
+    local artifacts_found="$4"
+    local branches_total="$5"
+    local branches_found="$6"
+    local prs_required="$7"
+    local prs_merged="$8"
+
+    # If workflow checking is disabled, base status only on artifacts/branches/PRs
+    if [[ "$workflow_status" == "not_checked" ]]; then
+        # All artifacts, branches, and PRs complete
+        if [[ "$artifacts_total" -eq "$artifacts_found" ]] && \
+           [[ "$branches_total" -eq "$branches_found" ]] && \
+           [[ "$prs_required" -eq "$prs_merged" ]]; then
+            echo "done"
+            return 0
+        fi
+        # Some progress made
+        if [[ "$artifacts_found" -gt 0 ]] || [[ "$branches_found" -gt 0 ]] || [[ "$prs_merged" -gt 0 ]]; then
+            echo "in_progress"
+            return 0
+        fi
+        # No progress
+        echo "not_started"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    # Failed takes precedence
+    if [[ "$workflow_status" == "completed" ]] && [[ "$workflow_conclusion" == "failure" ]]; then
+        echo "failed"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    # Workflow running or queued
+    if [[ "$workflow_status" == "in_progress" ]] || [[ "$workflow_status" == "queued" ]]; then
+        echo "in_progress"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    # No workflow found
+    if [[ "$workflow_status" == "not_found" ]]; then
+        if [[ "$artifacts_found" -gt 0 ]] || [[ "$branches_found" -gt 0 ]]; then
+            echo "in_progress"
+        else
+            echo "not_started"
+        fi
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    # Workflow completed successfully
+    if [[ "$workflow_status" == "completed" ]] && [[ "$workflow_conclusion" == "success" ]]; then
+        if [[ "$artifacts_found" -lt "$artifacts_total" ]]; then
+            echo "in_progress"
+            return 0
+        fi
+        if [[ "$branches_found" -lt "$branches_total" ]]; then
+            echo "in_progress"
+            return 0
+        fi
+        if [[ "$prs_required" -gt "$prs_merged" ]]; then
+            echo "in_progress"
+            return 0
+        fi
+        echo "done"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    # Unknown state
+    echo "in_progress"
+}
diff --git a/scripts/lib/util.sh b/scripts/lib/util.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..461c453
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/lib/util.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+die_with()
+{
+	echo "$*" >&2
+	exit 1
+}
diff --git a/scripts/lib/yaml-parser.sh b/scripts/lib/yaml-parser.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4bc4b57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/lib/yaml-parser.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+RELEASE_CONFIG_FILE=""
+
+parse_release_config() {
+    local release_config="$1"
+
+    if [[ ! -f "$release_config" ]]; then
+        echo "[ERROR] File not found: $release_config" >&2
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    RELEASE_CONFIG_FILE=$(mktemp /tmp/release-config-XXXXXX.yaml)
+    yq --front-matter=extract '.' "$release_config" > "$RELEASE_CONFIG_FILE"
+
+    if [[ ! -s "$RELEASE_CONFIG_FILE" ]]; then
+        echo "[ERROR] No YAML frontmatter found in $release_config" >&2
+        rm -f "$RELEASE_CONFIG_FILE"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    local phase_count
+    phase_count=$(yq '.release-config.phases | keys | length' "$RELEASE_CONFIG_FILE")
+    if [[ "$phase_count" -eq 0 ]]; then
+        echo "[ERROR] No phases found in release-config" >&2
+        rm -f "$RELEASE_CONFIG_FILE"
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+get_phase_keys() {
+    yq '.release-config.phases | keys | .[]' "$RELEASE_CONFIG_FILE"
+}
+
+get_phase_description() {
+    local phase_key="$1"
+    yq ".release-config.phases.${phase_key}.description" "$RELEASE_CONFIG_FILE"
+}
+
+get_phase_projects_json() {
+    local phase_key="$1"
+    yq -o=json ".release-config.phases.${phase_key}.projects" "$RELEASE_CONFIG_FILE"
+}
+
+get_project_count() {
+    local phase_key="$1"
+    yq ".release-config.phases.${phase_key}.projects | length" "$RELEASE_CONFIG_FILE"
+}
+
+expand_placeholders() {
+    local template="$1"
+    local version="$2"
+    local branch="$3"
+    echo "$template" | sed "s/{version}/$version/g; s/{branch}/$branch/g"
+}
diff --git a/scripts/make-release.sh b/scripts/make-release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..2195529
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/make-release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,243 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# shellcheck disable=SC1091,SC2155
+# SC1091: Source files are in lib/ directory
+# SC2155: Declare and assign separately - acceptable here as jq/yq failures are caught by set -e
+
+# overall Che release orchestration script
+# see README.md for more info
+
+SCRIPTS_DIR=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"; pwd)
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPTS_DIR/.."; pwd)"
+source "${SCRIPTS_DIR}"/lib/util.sh
+source "${SCRIPTS_DIR}"/lib/github-api.sh
+source "${SCRIPTS_DIR}"/lib/artifact-checker.sh
+source "${SCRIPTS_DIR}"/lib/yaml-parser.sh
+
+usage ()
+{
+  echo "Usage: $0  --version [CHE VERSION TO RELEASE] --parent-version [CHE PARENT VERSION] --phases [LIST OF PHASES]
+
+# Comma-separated phases to perform.
+# Default: 1,2,3
+# Omit phases that have successfully run.
+"
+  echo "Example: $0 --version 7.75.0 --phases 1,2,3"; echo
+  exit 1
+}
+
+#################### SETUP ####################
+
+checkForBlockerIssues()
+{
+    # check for blockers only if doing a 7.yy.0 release
+    if [[ ${CHE_VERSION} == *".0" ]]; then 
+        BLOCKERS_ANY="$(curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/eclipse/che/issues?labels=severity/blocker&state=open" | jq -r '.[]|[.created_at,.updated_at,.milestone.title,.url,.user.login,.title] | @tsv')"
+        if [[ $BLOCKERS_ANY ]]; then
+            echo "[ERROR] Blocker issue(s) found!"
+            echo "$BLOCKERS_ANY"
+            exit 1
+        fi
+    fi
+}
+
+setupGitconfig() {
+  ne else?
+  git config --global user.name "Mykhailo Kuznietsov"
+  git config --global user.email mkuznets@redhat.com
+
+  # hub CLI configuration
+  git config --global push.default matching
+
+  # suppress warnings about how to reconcile divergent branches
+  git config --global pull.ff only 
+
+  # NOTE when invoking action from che-incubator/* repos (not eclipse/che* repos), must use CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN
+  # default to CHE_BOT GH token
+  export GITHUB_TOKEN="${CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN}"
+}
+
+evaluateCheVariables() {
+    echo "Che version: ${CHE_VERSION}"
+    # derive branch from version
+    BRANCH=${CHE_VERSION%.*}.x
+    echo "Branch: ${BRANCH}"
+
+    if [[ ${CHE_VERSION} == *".0" ]]; then
+        BASEBRANCH="master"
+    else
+        BASEBRANCH="${BRANCH}"
+    fi
+
+    echo "Basebranch: ${BASEBRANCH}" 
+    echo "Release Process Phases: '${PHASES}'"
+}
+
+#################### YAML-DRIVEN PHASE EXECUTION ####################
+
+executePhaseWorkflows() {
+    local phase_key="$1"
+    local version="$2"
+    local branch="$3"
+
+    echo "[INFO] Executing workflows for ${phase_key}..."
+
+    local projects_json=$(get_phase_projects_json "$phase_key")
+    local project_count=$(echo "$projects_json" | jq -r 'length')
+
+    local i=0
+    while [[ $i -lt $project_count ]]; do
+        local project=$(echo "$projects_json" | jq -c ".[$i]")
+        local name=$(echo "$project" | jq -r '.name')
+        local repo=$(echo "$project" | jq -r '.repo')
+        local wf_name=$(echo "$project" | jq -r '.workflow.name')
+        local wf_id=$(echo "$project" | jq -r '.workflow.id')
+
+        # Build parameters from YAML
+        local params=""
+        local param_array=$(echo "$project" | jq -c '.workflow.parameters // []')
+        local param_count=$(echo "$param_array" | jq -r 'length')
+
+        local j=0
+        while [[ $j -lt $param_count ]]; do
+            local key=$(echo "$param_array" | jq -r ".[$j].key")
+            local value_template=$(echo "$param_array" | jq -r ".[$j].value")
+            local value=$(expand_placeholders "$value_template" "$version" "$branch")
+
+            if [ -n "$params" ]; then params="${params},"; fi
+            params="${params}${key}=${value}"
+            j=$((j + 1))
+        done
+
+        # Invoke workflow in background
+        echo "[INFO] Invoking ${name} workflow..."
+        invokeAction "$repo" "$wf_name" "$wf_id" "$params" &
+
+        i=$((i + 1))
+    done
+
+    wait
+    echo "[INFO] All ${phase_key} workflows invoked."
+}
+
+verifyPhaseArtifacts() {
+    local phase_key="$1"
+    local version="$2"
+    local branch="$3"
+
+    echo "[INFO] Verifying artifacts for ${phase_key}..."
+
+    local projects_json=$(get_phase_projects_json "$phase_key")
+    local project_count=$(echo "$projects_json" | jq -r 'length')
+
+    local i=0
+    while [[ $i -lt $project_count ]]; do
+        local project=$(echo "$projects_json" | jq -c ".[$i]")
+        local name=$(echo "$project" | jq -r '.name')
+        local repo=$(echo "$project" | jq -r '.repo')
+
+        # Verify artifacts
+        local artifacts_json=$(echo "$project" | jq -c '.artifacts // []')
+        local artifact_count=$(echo "$artifacts_json" | jq -r 'length')
+
+        local j=0
+        while [[ $j -lt $artifact_count ]]; do
+            local artifact=$(echo "$artifacts_json" | jq -c ".[$j]")
+            local type=$(echo "$artifact" | jq -r '.type')
+            local artifact_name=$(echo "$artifact" | jq -r '.name')
+            local timeout=$(echo "$artifact" | jq -r '.timeout // 30')
+
+            case "$type" in
+                image)
+                    # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+                    verifyContainerExistsWithTimeout "${artifact_name}:${version}" $timeout
+                    ;;
+                npmjs)
+                    # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+                    verifyNpmJsPackageExistsWithTimeoutAndExit "${artifact_name}@${version}" $timeout
+                    ;;
+            esac
+            j=$((j + 1))
+        done
+
+        # Verify branches
+        local branches_json=$(echo "$project" | jq -c '.branches // []')
+        local branch_count=$(echo "$branches_json" | jq -r 'length')
+
+        local k=0
+        while [[ $k -lt $branch_count ]]; do
+            local branch_pattern=$(echo "$branches_json" | jq -r ".[$k]")
+            local expanded_branch=$(expand_placeholders "$branch_pattern" "$version" "$branch")
+            local timeout=60
+
+            # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+            verifyBranchExistsWithTimeoutAndExit "https://github.com/${repo}.git" $expanded_branch $timeout
+            k=$((k + 1))
+        done
+
+        i=$((i + 1))
+    done
+
+    echo "[INFO] All ${phase_key} artifacts verified."
+}
+
+while [[ "$#" -gt 0 ]]; do
+  case $1 in
+    '-v'|'--version') CHE_VERSION="$2"; shift 1;;
+    '-p'|'--phases') PHASES="$2"; shift 1;;
+  esac
+  shift 1
+done
+
+if [[ ! ${CHE_VERSION} ]] || [[ ! ${PHASES} ]] ; then
+  usage
+fi
+
+set +x
+mkdir "$HOME/.ssh/"
+echo "$CHE_GITHUB_SSH_KEY" | base64 -d > "$HOME/.ssh/id_rsa"
+chmod 0400 "$HOME/.ssh/id_rsa"
+ssh-keyscan github.com >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts
+set -x
+
+#################### SETUP ####################
+
+checkForBlockerIssues
+setupGitconfig
+evaluateCheVariables
+echo "BASH VERSION = $BASH_VERSION"
+set -e
+
+# Parse YAML config
+parse_release_config "$REPO_ROOT/che-release.yaml"
+
+#################### DYNAMIC PHASE EXECUTION ####################
+
+# Execute requested phases, stopping after any phase with a "pause" workflow
+for phase_key in $(get_phase_keys); do
+    phase_num="${phase_key#phase-}"
+    phase_desc=$(get_phase_description "$phase_key")
+
+    # Check if this phase is requested
+    if [[ ${PHASES} == *"${phase_num}"* ]]; then
+        echo "[INFO] =========================================="
+        echo "[INFO] Phase ${phase_num}: ${phase_desc}"
+        echo "[INFO] =========================================="
+
+        set +x
+        executePhaseWorkflows "$phase_key" "$CHE_VERSION" "$BRANCH"
+        verifyPhaseArtifacts "$phase_key" "$CHE_VERSION" "$BRANCH"
+
+        # Check if any workflow in this phase has pause:true
+        projects_json=$(get_phase_projects_json "$phase_key")
+        if echo "$projects_json" | jq -e '.[] | select(.workflow.pause == true)' > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "[INFO] Phase ${phase_num} contains a workflow with pause=true, stopping here."
+            break
+        fi
+    fi
+done
+
+# Cleanup
+rm -f "$RELEASE_CONFIG_FILE"
+
+# downstream steps depends on Che operator PRs being merged by humans, so this is the end of the automation.
+# see README.md for more info
diff --git a/scripts/release-info.sh b/scripts/release-info.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..320b68c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release-info.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,467 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# shellcheck disable=SC1091
+# SC1091: Source files are in lib/ directory
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# NOTE: Workflow status checking is currently DISABLED (see line ~111)
+# To re-enable: uncomment the get_workflow_status call and comment out the hardcoded wf_status="not_checked"
+
+SCRIPTS_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"; pwd)"
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPTS_DIR/.."; pwd)"
+
+source "$SCRIPTS_DIR/lib/yaml-parser.sh"
+source "$SCRIPTS_DIR/lib/github-api.sh"
+source "$SCRIPTS_DIR/lib/artifact-checker.sh"
+source "$SCRIPTS_DIR/lib/status-aggregator.sh"
+
+DEBUG=false
+
+usage() {
+    echo "Usage: $0 <version> [--debug]"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Display release status for all Eclipse Che components."
+    echo ""
+    echo "Arguments:"
+    echo "  version    Version in format X.Y.Z (e.g., 7.120.0)"
+    echo "  --debug    Show detailed API call information"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Example: $0 7.120.0"
+    exit 1
+}
+
+debug_log() {
+    if [[ "$DEBUG" == "true" ]]; then
+        echo "[DEBUG] $*" >&2
+    fi
+}
+
+validate_version() {
+    local version="$1"
+    if [[ ! "$version" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+        echo "[ERROR] Invalid version format: '$version'. Expected X.Y.Z (e.g., 7.120.0)" >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+calculate_branch() {
+    local version="$1"
+    echo "${version%.*}.x"
+}
+
+# Counters for summary
+TOTAL_PROJECTS=0
+COUNT_DONE=0
+COUNT_IN_PROGRESS=0
+COUNT_FAILED=0
+COUNT_NOT_STARTED=0
+BLOCKERS=()
+
+print_header() {
+    local version="$1"
+    local branch="$2"
+    echo "Eclipse Che Release Status: ${version}"
+    echo "Branch: ${branch}"
+    echo "================================================================================"
+    echo ""
+}
+
+status_icon() {
+    case "$1" in
+        done)        echo "✓" ;;
+        in_progress) echo "⚙" ;;
+        failed)      echo "✗" ;;
+        not_started) echo "○" ;;
+        waiting)     echo "⧗" ;;
+        *)           echo "?" ;;
+    esac
+}
+
+status_label() {
+    case "$1" in
+        done)        echo "DONE" ;;
+        in_progress) echo "IN PROGRESS" ;;
+        failed)      echo "FAILED" ;;
+        not_started) echo "NOT STARTED" ;;
+        *)           echo "UNKNOWN" ;;
+    esac
+}
+
+item_icon() {
+    local found="$1"
+    local parent_status="$2"
+    if [[ "$found" == "true" ]]; then
+        echo "✓"
+    elif [[ "$parent_status" == "not_started" ]]; then
+        echo "○"
+    elif [[ "$parent_status" == "failed" ]]; then
+        echo "✗"
+    else
+        echo "⧗"
+    fi
+}
+
+process_project() {
+    local project_json="$1"
+    local version="$2"
+    local branch="$3"
+
+    local name repo wf_name
+    name=$(echo "$project_json" | jq -r '.name')
+    repo=$(echo "$project_json" | jq -r '.repo')
+    wf_name=$(echo "$project_json" | jq -r '.workflow.name')
+    # wf_id is unused since workflow checking is disabled
+    # wf_id=$(echo "$project_json" | jq -r '.workflow.id // empty')
+    debug_log "Processing project: $name ($repo)"
+
+    # --- Check workflow status ---
+    # TEMPORARILY DISABLED - workflow checking is skipped
+    local wf_status wf_conclusion
+    # wf_result=$(get_workflow_status "$repo" "$wf_name" "$version" "$wf_id")
+    # wf_status=$(echo "$wf_result" | jq -r '.status')
+    # wf_conclusion=$(echo "$wf_result" | jq -r '.conclusion // empty')
+    wf_status="not_checked"
+    wf_conclusion=""
+
+    debug_log "  workflow: status=$wf_status (checking disabled)"
+
+    # --- Check branches ---
+    local branches_json branches_total branches_found branch_details
+    branches_json=$(echo "$project_json" | jq -r '.branches // []')
+    branches_total=$(echo "$branches_json" | jq -r 'length')
+    branches_found=0
+    branch_details=()
+
+    local i=0
+    while [[ $i -lt $branches_total ]]; do
+        local branch_pattern expanded_branch
+        branch_pattern=$(echo "$branches_json" | jq -r ".[$i]")
+        expanded_branch=$(expand_placeholders "$branch_pattern" "$version" "$branch")
+        debug_log "  checking branch: $expanded_branch in $repo"
+        if check_branch "$repo" "$expanded_branch" 2>/dev/null; then
+            branch_details+=("found:${expanded_branch}")
+            branches_found=$((branches_found + 1))
+        else
+            branch_details+=("missing:${expanded_branch}")
+        fi
+        i=$((i + 1))
+    done
+
+    # --- Check artifacts ---
+    local artifacts_json artifacts_total artifacts_found artifact_details
+    artifacts_json=$(echo "$project_json" | jq -r '.artifacts // []')
+    artifacts_total=$(echo "$artifacts_json" | jq -r 'length')
+    artifacts_found=0
+    artifact_details=()
+
+    i=0
+    while [[ $i -lt $artifacts_total ]]; do
+        local art_type art_name art_repo art_url
+        art_type=$(echo "$artifacts_json" | jq -r ".[$i].type")
+        art_name=$(echo "$artifacts_json" | jq -r ".[$i].name // empty")
+        art_repo=$(echo "$artifacts_json" | jq -r ".[$i].repo // empty")
+        art_url=$(echo "$artifacts_json" | jq -r ".[$i].url // empty")
+
+        debug_log "  checking artifact: type=$art_type name=$art_name"
+
+        case "$art_type" in
+            image)
+                local full_image="${art_name}:${version}"
+                if check_quay_image "$full_image" 2>/dev/null; then
+                    artifact_details+=("found:image:${full_image}")
+                    artifacts_found=$((artifacts_found + 1))
+                else
+                    artifact_details+=("missing:image:${full_image}")
+                fi
+                ;;
+            npmjs)
+                local full_package="${art_name}@${version}"
+                if check_npm_package "$full_package" 2>/dev/null; then
+                    artifact_details+=("found:npmjs:${full_package}")
+                    artifacts_found=$((artifacts_found + 1))
+                else
+                    artifact_details+=("missing:npmjs:${full_package}")
+                fi
+                ;;
+            github-release)
+                local release_repo="${art_repo:-$repo}"
+                if check_github_release "$release_repo" "$version" 2>/dev/null; then
+                    artifact_details+=("found:github-release:${release_repo}@${version}")
+                    artifacts_found=$((artifacts_found + 1))
+                else
+                    artifact_details+=("missing:github-release:${release_repo}@${version}")
+                fi
+                ;;
+            website)
+                if check_website "$art_url" 2>/dev/null; then
+                    artifact_details+=("found:website:${art_url}")
+                    artifacts_found=$((artifacts_found + 1))
+                else
+                    artifact_details+=("missing:website:${art_url}")
+                fi
+                ;;
+            website-version)
+                if check_website_version "$art_url" "$version" 2>/dev/null; then
+                    artifact_details+=("found:website-version:${art_url} (version ${version})")
+                    artifacts_found=$((artifacts_found + 1))
+                else
+                    artifact_details+=("missing:website-version:${art_url} (version ${version})")
+                fi
+                ;;
+        esac
+        i=$((i + 1))
+    done
+
+    # --- Check pull requests ---
+    local prs_json prs_count prs_required prs_merged pr_details
+    prs_json=$(echo "$project_json" | jq -r '.["pull-requests"] // []')
+    prs_count=$(echo "$prs_json" | jq -r 'length')
+    prs_required=0
+    prs_merged=0
+    pr_details=()
+
+    i=0
+    while [[ $i -lt $prs_count ]]; do
+        local pr_title_pattern pr_target_branch pr_target_repo pr_expected_count pr_required_flag
+        pr_title_pattern=$(echo "$prs_json" | jq -r ".[$i][\"title-pattern\"]")
+        pr_target_branch=$(echo "$prs_json" | jq -r ".[$i][\"target-branch\"] // empty")
+        pr_target_repo=$(echo "$prs_json" | jq -r ".[$i][\"target-repo\"] // empty")
+        pr_expected_count=$(echo "$prs_json" | jq -r ".[$i].count // 1")
+        pr_required_flag=$(echo "$prs_json" | jq -r ".[$i][\"required-for-completion\"] // false")
+
+        local expanded_title expanded_target_branch search_repo
+        expanded_title=$(expand_placeholders "$pr_title_pattern" "$version" "$branch")
+        expanded_target_branch=$(expand_placeholders "${pr_target_branch}" "$version" "$branch")
+        search_repo="${pr_target_repo:-$repo}"
+
+        debug_log "  checking PRs: pattern='$expanded_title' target='$expanded_target_branch' repo='$search_repo'"
+
+        if [[ "$pr_required_flag" == "true" ]]; then
+            prs_required=$((prs_required + 1))
+        fi
+
+        local found_prs
+        found_prs=$(find_pull_requests "$search_repo" "$expanded_title" "$expanded_target_branch")
+        local found_count merged_count
+        found_count=$(echo "$found_prs" | jq -r 'length')
+        merged_count=$(echo "$found_prs" | jq -r '[.[] | select(.merged == true)] | length')
+
+        if [[ "$found_count" -gt 0 ]]; then
+            if [[ "$merged_count" -ge "$pr_expected_count" ]]; then
+                pr_details+=("merged|${search_repo}|${expanded_title}|$(echo "$found_prs" | jq -r '.[0].number')|$(echo "$found_prs" | jq -r '.[0].url')|${pr_required_flag}")
+                if [[ "$pr_required_flag" == "true" ]]; then
+                    prs_merged=$((prs_merged + 1))
+                fi
+            else
+                local first_pr_number first_pr_url
+                first_pr_number=$(echo "$found_prs" | jq -r '.[0].number')
+                first_pr_url=$(echo "$found_prs" | jq -r '.[0].url')
+                pr_details+=("open|${search_repo}|${expanded_title}|#${first_pr_number}|${first_pr_url}|${expanded_target_branch}|${pr_required_flag}")
+            fi
+        else
+            pr_details+=("not_found|${search_repo}|${expanded_title}|${pr_required_flag}")
+        fi
+        i=$((i + 1))
+    done
+
+    # --- Aggregate status ---
+    local overall_status
+    overall_status=$(aggregate_status "$wf_status" "$wf_conclusion" "$artifacts_total" "$artifacts_found" \
+        "$branches_total" "$branches_found" "$prs_required" "$prs_merged")
+
+    TOTAL_PROJECTS=$((TOTAL_PROJECTS + 1))
+    case "$overall_status" in
+        done)        COUNT_DONE=$((COUNT_DONE + 1)) ;;
+        in_progress) COUNT_IN_PROGRESS=$((COUNT_IN_PROGRESS + 1)) ;;
+        failed)      COUNT_FAILED=$((COUNT_FAILED + 1)) ;;
+        not_started) COUNT_NOT_STARTED=$((COUNT_NOT_STARTED + 1)) ;;
+    esac
+
+    # --- Print project status ---
+    local icon label
+    icon=$(status_icon "$overall_status")
+    label=$(status_label "$overall_status")
+    printf "%s %s (%s) %*s\n" "$icon" "$name" "$repo" $((60 - ${#name} - ${#repo})) "$label"
+
+    # Workflow line
+    local wf_detail_icon
+    if [[ "$wf_status" == "not_checked" ]]; then
+        wf_detail_icon="○"
+        echo "  $wf_detail_icon Workflow: $wf_name (checking disabled)"
+    elif [[ "$wf_status" == "completed" ]] && [[ "$wf_conclusion" == "success" ]]; then
+        wf_detail_icon="✓"
+        echo "  $wf_detail_icon Workflow: $wf_name (completed)"
+    elif [[ "$wf_status" == "completed" ]] && [[ "$wf_conclusion" == "failure" ]]; then
+        wf_detail_icon="✗"
+        echo "  $wf_detail_icon Workflow: $wf_name (failed)"
+        BLOCKERS+=("$name workflow failed - requires attention")
+    elif [[ "$wf_status" == "in_progress" ]]; then
+        wf_detail_icon="⚙"
+        echo "  $wf_detail_icon Workflow: $wf_name (running)"
+    elif [[ "$wf_status" == "queued" ]]; then
+        wf_detail_icon="⧗"
+        echo "  $wf_detail_icon Workflow: $wf_name (queued)"
+    else
+        wf_detail_icon=$(item_icon "false" "$overall_status")
+        echo "  $wf_detail_icon Workflow: $wf_name (no runs found)"
+    fi
+
+    # Branch lines
+    for bd in "${branch_details[@]+"${branch_details[@]}"}"; do
+        local bd_status bd_name
+        bd_status="${bd%%:*}"
+        bd_name="${bd#*:}"
+        if [[ "$bd_status" == "found" ]]; then
+            echo "  ✓ Branch: $bd_name"
+        else
+            local bd_icon
+            bd_icon=$(item_icon "false" "$overall_status")
+            echo "  $bd_icon Branch: $bd_name (not found)"
+        fi
+    done
+
+    # Artifact lines
+    for ad in "${artifact_details[@]+"${artifact_details[@]}"}"; do
+        local ad_status ad_type ad_value
+        ad_status="${ad%%:*}"
+        ad_type="${ad#*:}"
+        ad_type="${ad_type%%:*}"
+        ad_value="${ad#*:*:}"
+        if [[ "$ad_status" == "found" ]]; then
+            case "$ad_type" in
+                image)   echo "  ✓ Image: $ad_value" ;;
+                npmjs)   echo "  ✓ NPM: $ad_value" ;;
+                github-release) echo "  ✓ GitHub Release: $ad_value" ;;
+                website) echo "  ✓ Website: $ad_value" ;;
+                website-version) echo "  ✓ Website Version: $ad_value" ;;
+            esac
+        else
+            local ad_icon
+            ad_icon=$(item_icon "false" "$overall_status")
+            case "$ad_type" in
+                image)   echo "  $ad_icon Image: $ad_value (not found)" ;;
+                npmjs)   echo "  $ad_icon NPM: $ad_value (not found)" ;;
+                github-release) echo "  $ad_icon GitHub Release: $ad_value (not found)" ;;
+                website) echo "  $ad_icon Website: $ad_value (not accessible)" ;;
+                website-version) echo "  $ad_icon Website Version: $ad_value (mismatch)" ;;
+            esac
+        fi
+    done
+
+    # PR lines
+    for pd in "${pr_details[@]+"${pr_details[@]}"}"; do
+        local pd_status pd_rest
+        pd_status="${pd%%|*}"
+        pd_rest="${pd#*|}"
+        if [[ "$pd_status" == "merged" ]]; then
+            local pd_title pd_num pd_required
+            IFS='|' read -r _ pd_title pd_num _ pd_required <<< "$pd_rest"
+            echo "  ✓ PR #${pd_num}: ${pd_title} (merged)"
+        elif [[ "$pd_status" == "open" ]]; then
+            local pd_title pd_num pd_branch pd_required
+            IFS='|' read -r _ pd_title pd_num _ pd_branch pd_required <<< "$pd_rest"
+            if [[ "$pd_required" == "true" ]]; then
+                echo "  ⧗ PR ${pd_num}: ${pd_title} → ${pd_branch} (open, required)"
+                BLOCKERS+=("$name PR ${pd_num} must be merged")
+            else
+                echo "  ⧗ PR ${pd_num}: ${pd_title} → ${pd_branch} (open)"
+            fi
+        else
+            local pd_title pd_required
+            IFS='|' read -r _ pd_title pd_required <<< "$pd_rest"
+            local pd_icon
+            pd_icon=$(item_icon "false" "$overall_status")
+            echo "  $pd_icon PR: ${pd_title} (not found)"
+        fi
+    done
+
+    echo ""
+}
+
+print_summary() {
+    echo "================================================================================"
+    echo "Summary"
+    echo "────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────"
+    echo "Total Projects: ${TOTAL_PROJECTS}"
+    echo "  ✓ Done: ${COUNT_DONE}"
+    echo "  ⚙ In Progress: ${COUNT_IN_PROGRESS}"
+    echo "  ✗ Failed: ${COUNT_FAILED}"
+    echo "  ○ Not Started: ${COUNT_NOT_STARTED}"
+
+    if [[ ${#BLOCKERS[@]} -gt 0 ]]; then
+        echo ""
+        echo "Blocking Issues:"
+        for blocker in "${BLOCKERS[@]}"; do
+            echo "  - $blocker"
+        done
+    fi
+}
+
+# --- Main ---
+
+VERSION=""
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+    case $1 in
+        --debug) DEBUG=true ;;
+        --help|-h) usage ;;
+        *) VERSION="$1" ;;
+    esac
+    shift
+done
+
+if [[ -z "$VERSION" ]]; then
+    usage
+fi
+
+validate_version "$VERSION"
+BRANCH=$(calculate_branch "$VERSION")
+
+# Check tokens
+if [[ -z "${CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN:-}" ]]; then
+    echo "[ERROR] CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN is not set" >&2
+    echo "Set it with: export CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN=<your-token>" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+if [[ -z "${CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN:-}" ]]; then
+    echo "[WARN] CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN is not set, using CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN for all repos" >&2
+    export CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN="$CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN"
+fi
+
+# Check rate limit
+remaining=$(check_rate_limit "$CHE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN") || true
+if [[ "$remaining" == "0" ]]; then
+    echo "[ERROR] GitHub API rate limit exhausted. Try again later." >&2
+    exit 1
+elif [[ "$remaining" != "unknown" ]] && [[ "$remaining" -lt 100 ]]; then
+    echo "[WARN] GitHub API rate limit low: ${remaining} requests remaining" >&2
+fi
+
+# Parse config
+parse_release_config "$REPO_ROOT/che-release.yaml"
+
+# Print header
+print_header "$VERSION" "$BRANCH"
+
+# Process each phase
+for phase_key in $(get_phase_keys); do
+    local_phase_num="${phase_key#phase-}"
+    local_phase_desc=$(get_phase_description "$phase_key")
+    echo "Phase ${local_phase_num}: ${local_phase_desc}"
+    echo "────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────"
+
+    local_projects_json=$(get_phase_projects_json "$phase_key")
+    local_project_count=$(echo "$local_projects_json" | jq -r 'length')
+
+    local_i=0
+    while [[ $local_i -lt $local_project_count ]]; do
+        local_project=$(echo "$local_projects_json" | jq -c ".[$local_i]")
+        process_project "$local_project" "$VERSION" "$BRANCH"
+        local_i=$((local_i + 1))
+    done
+done
+
+# Print summary
+print_summary
+
+# Cleanup
+rm -f "$RELEASE_CONFIG_FILE"
diff --git a/updateBaseImagesInChe.sh b/updateBaseImagesInChe.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 20714d7..0000000
--- a/updateBaseImagesInChe.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,36 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-CLONE_PROJECTS=0
-
-while [[ "$#" -gt 0 ]]; do	
-  case $1 in	
-    '-c'|'--clone') CLONE_PROJECTS=1; shift 0;;	
-  esac	
-  shift 1	
-done	
-
-updateImagesInProject() 
-{
-    this_project=$1
-    this_branch=$2
-    this_command=$3
-
-    if [[ $CLONE_PROJECTS -eq 1 ]]; then	
-        git clone https://github.com/$this_project
-    fi
-
-    cd ${this_project#*/}
-    checkout $this_branch
-    cd ..
-    
-    $this_command
-
-}
-
-updateImagesInProject "eclipse-che/che-machine-exec" "main" "" &
-updateImagesInProject "eclipse-che/che-plugin-registry" "main" "" &
-updateImagesInProject "eclipse-che/che-dashboard" "main" "" &
-updateImagesInProject "che-incubator/chectl" "main" "" &
-updateImagesInProject "eclipse/che" "main" "" &
-updateImagesInProject "eclipse-che/che-operator" "main" "" &
-wait
diff --git a/utils/approvePRs.sh b/utils/approvePRs.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 57a4ca6..0000000
--- a/utils/approvePRs.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,97 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-#
-# Copyright (c) 2022-2023 Red Hat, Inc.
-# This program and the accompanying materials are made
-# available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License 2.0
-# which is available at https://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0/
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0
-#
-# attempt to approve generated PRs via GH api
-# will fail if GH token not exported first
-
-# list copied from .github/workflows/update-base-images.yml
-DEFAULT_REPOS="\
-che-incubator/chectl \
-che-incubator/che-code \
-che-incubator/configbump \
-che-incubator/jetbrains-editor-images \
-che-incubator/jetbrains-ide-dev-server \
-che-incubator/kubernetes-image-puller \
-che-incubator/kubernetes-image-puller-operator \
-devfile/devworkspace-operator \
-devfile/developer-images \
-eclipse-che/che-dashboard \
-eclipse-che/che-machine-exec \
-eclipse-che/che-operator \
-eclipse-che/che-plugin-registry \
-eclipse-che/che-server \
-eclipse/che \
-"
-
-usageGHT() {
-    echo 'Setup:
-
-First, export your GITHUB_TOKEN:
-
-  export GITHUB_TOKEN="...github-token..."'
-  usage
-}
-usage () {
-    echo "
-Usage:
-
-  $0 -b BRANCH [--quiet]
-"
-}
-
-QUIET=0
-while [[ "$#" -gt 0 ]]; do
-  case $1 in
-    '-q'|'--quiet') QUIET=1;;
-    '-b') BRANCH="$2"; shift 1;;
-    '-h') usage; exit 0;;
-  esac
-  shift 1
-done
-
-if [[ ! "${GITHUB_TOKEN}" ]]; then usageGHT; exit 1; fi
-if [[ ! "${BRANCH}" ]]; then usage; exit 1; fi
-
-for ownerRepo in $DEFAULT_REPOS; do
-    if [[ $QUIET -eq 0 ]]; then echo "Check for open $ownerRepo PRs in branch ${BRANCH}"; fi
-    # get open PRs, reported by che-incubator bot, with head.ref like pr-update-base-images-1651279364
-    curl -sSL -H "Authorization: token ${GITHUB_TOKEN}" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
-        "https://api.github.com/repos/${ownerRepo}/pulls?state=open&base=${BRANCH}" | jq -r \
-        '.[] | select((.user.login == "che-incubator-bot") or (.user.login == "che-bot")) | select(.head.ref|test("pr-update-base-images-.|pr-main-to-")) | [.user.login, .head.ref, ._links.self.href, ._links.html.href] | @tsv'
-    # process PRs
-    unmerged_PRs_string="$(curl -sSL -H "Authorization: token ${GITHUB_TOKEN}" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
-        "https://api.github.com/repos/${ownerRepo}/pulls?state=open&base=${BRANCH}" | jq -r \
-        '.[] | select((.user.login == "che-incubator-bot") or (.user.login == "che-bot")) | select(.head.ref|test("pr-update-base-images-.|pr-main-to-")) | ._links.self.href')"
-    unmerged_PRs=($unmerged_PRs_string); # echo $unmerged_PRs_string; echo "${#unmerged_PRs[@]}"
-
-    if [[ ${#unmerged_PRs[@]} -gt 0 ]]; then
-        PR_URL=${unmerged_PRs[0]}
-        # approve it
-        reviewResult="$(curl -sSL -X POST -H "Authorization: token ${GITHUB_TOKEN}" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" -d '{"event":"APPROVE"}' ${PR_URL}/reviews)"
-        if [[ $QUIET -eq 0 ]]; then 
-            echo -n "${PR_URL}: "
-            echo $reviewResult | jq -r '[.state, .commit_id] | @tsv'
-        fi
-        # squash-merge it
-        mergeResult="$(curl -sSL -X PUT -H "Authorization: token ${GITHUB_TOKEN}" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" -d '{"merge_method":"squash"}' ${PR_URL}/merge)"
-        echo -n "${PR_URL}: "
-        echo $mergeResult | jq -r '[.message, .sha] | @tsv'
-
-        # if more than one, approve the first and close the older ones
-        if [[ ${#unmerged_PRs[@]} -gt 1 ]]; then
-            unset "unmerged_PRs[0]"
-            for PR_URL in "${unmerged_PRs[@]}"; do 
-                closeResult="$(curl -sSL -X PATCH -H "Authorization: token ${GITHUB_TOKEN}" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" -d '{"state":"closed"}' ${PR_URL})"
-                echo -n "${PR_URL}: "
-                echo $closeResult | jq -r '[.state, .closed_at] | @tsv'
-            done
-        fi
-        echo
-    fi
-done
diff --git a/utils/base32 b/utils/base32
deleted file mode 100755
index aa2afe1..0000000
--- a/utils/base32
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-usage () {
-    echo "This is a replacement for base32 (from GNU coreutils), which is not easily available on ci-centos machines.
-
-Usage:
-  pipe content to be encoded into this executable, or pipe content with -d to decode.
-
-Examples:
-  echo 'some string that I used to know' | $0 # ONXW2ZJAON2HE2LOM4QHI2DBOQQESIDVONSWIIDUN4QGW3TPO4======
-  echo 'ONXW2ZJAON2HE2LOM4QHI2DBOQQESIDVONSWIIDUN4QGW3TPO4======' | $0 -d # some string that I used to know
-"
-    exit
-}
-
-DECODE=0
-for i in "$@"
-do
-case $i in
-    -d) DECODE=1; shift;;
-    --help|--version) usage; shift;;
-esac
-done
-
-read -t 60 TEXT
-
-if [ $DECODE -eq 1 ];then
-    python3 -c "import base64; print(base64.b32decode(bytearray('$TEXT', 'ascii')).decode('utf-8'))"    
-else
-    python3 -c "import base64; print(base64.b32encode(bytearray('$TEXT', 'ascii')).decode('utf-8'))"
-fi
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/utils/check-branches.sh b/utils/check-branches.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 6b5acac..0000000
--- a/utils/check-branches.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,40 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash -e
-
-
-# this script is checking all projects, so that they contain a branch, that is passed as parameter.
-
-BRANCH=$1
-
-SCRIPTS_DIR=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"; pwd)
-source ${SCRIPTS_DIR}/util.sh
-
-REPO_LIST=(
-    che-incubator/chectl
-    che-incubator/configbump
-    che-incubator/kubernetes-image-puller
-    eclipse-che/che-dashboard
-    eclipse-che/che-machine-exec
-    eclipse-che/che-operator
-    eclipse-che/che-plugin-registry
-    eclipse-che/che-server
-    eclipse/che
-)
-
-MISSING_BRANCHES=
-numprojects=0
-set -e
-for repo in "${REPO_LIST[@]}"; do
-    EXIT_CODE=0
-    verifyBranchExistsWithTimeout "https://github.com/${repo}.git" "${BRANCH}" 1 || EXIT_CODE=$?
-    if [[ ${EXIT_CODE} -eq 1 ]]; then
-        MISSING_BRANCHES="${MISSING_BRANCHES} $repo"
-    fi
-    let numprojects=numprojects+1
-done
-set -e
-
-if [ -n "${MISSING_BRANCHES}" ];then
-    echo "[ERROR] Branch ${BRANCH} is not present in following projects: ${MISSING_BRANCHES}"
-else
-    echo "[INFO] Branch ${BRANCH} is present in all $numprojects Che projects"
-fi
diff --git a/utils/updateSecrets.chebot.txt b/utils/updateSecrets.chebot.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index a744689..0000000
--- a/utils/updateSecrets.chebot.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-# che-bot secret
-eclipse-che/che-operator
-eclipse-che/che-plugin-registry
-eclipse-che/che-release
-eclipse-che/che-server
-eclipse/che
-eclipse/che-docs
diff --git a/utils/updateSecrets.cheincubatorbot.txt b/utils/updateSecrets.cheincubatorbot.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 76db998..0000000
--- a/utils/updateSecrets.cheincubatorbot.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-# che-incubator secret
-che-incubator/che-code
-che-incubator/chectl
-che-incubator/jetbrains-editor-images
-eclipse-che/che-machine-exec
-eclipse-che/che-operator
-eclipse-che/che-release
diff --git a/utils/updateSecrets.crw.txt b/utils/updateSecrets.crw.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 943f5cc..0000000
--- a/utils/updateSecrets.crw.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-redhat-developer/devspaces
-redhat-developer/devspaces-chectl
-redhat-developer/devspaces-images
-
-# no secrets in these repos
-# redhat-developer/devspaces-vscode-extensions
-# redhat-developer/devspaces-jiralint
diff --git a/utils/updateSecrets.dockerhub.txt b/utils/updateSecrets.dockerhub.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index cfc69b9..0000000
--- a/utils/updateSecrets.dockerhub.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-# dockerhub secrets 
-che-dockerfiles/che-sidecar-go
-che-dockerfiles/che-sidecar-kubernetes-tooling
-che-dockerfiles/che-sidecar-openshift-connector
-che-incubator/configbump
-eclipse-che/che-dashboard
-eclipse-che/che-machine-exec
-eclipse-che/che-operator
-eclipse-che/che-plugin-registry
-eclipse-che/che-release
-eclipse-che/che-server
-eclipse/che
diff --git a/utils/updateSecrets.quay.txt b/utils/updateSecrets.quay.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 4ad9de4..0000000
--- a/utils/updateSecrets.quay.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-# quay secrets
-che-incubator/che-code
-che-incubator/configbump
-che-incubator/jetbrains-editor-images
-che-incubator/kubernetes-image-puller
-che-incubator/kubernetes-image-puller-operator
-eclipse-che/che-dashboard
-eclipse-che/che-machine-exec
-eclipse-che/che-operator
-eclipse-che/che-plugin-registry
-eclipse-che/che-release
-eclipse-che/che-server
-eclipse/che
diff --git a/utils/updateSecrets.sh b/utils/updateSecrets.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 32878c2..0000000
--- a/utils/updateSecrets.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,122 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash -e
-#
-# Copyright (c) 2021-2023 Red Hat, Inc.
-# This program and the accompanying materials are made
-# available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License 2.0
-# which is available at https://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0/
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0
-#
-
-# update secrets from provided secrets file into the specified list of repos (see updateSecrets.txt for repo list)
-
-
-usage ()
-{
-echo "
-For a given list of Github repos, push secret name/value pairs in a secrets file to those repos.
-Existing secrets will be overwritten.
-
-Repos file should include one org/repo per line. For example:
-
-eclipse-che/che-server
-eclipse-che/che-code
-...
-
-Secrets file should include one secret name and value, space-separated, per line. For example:
-QUAY_USERNAME my-quay-username
-QUAY_PASSWORD my-quay-password
-...
-
-Usage:   $0 -r [LIST OF REPOS FILE] -s [SECRETS FILE]
-Example: $0 -r updateSecrets.txt -s /path/to/all-my-secrets.txt --list-secrets --update-secrets
-
-Options: 
-	-v               verbose output
-	--list-secrets   before doing any changes, list the current secrets in the repo(s)
-	--update-secrets rather than displaying planned changes, DO actually push new/updated secrets
-	--help, -h       help
-"
-exit
-}
-
-if [[ $# -lt 1 ]]; then usage; exit; fi
-
-#defaults
-WORKDIR=$(pwd)
-LIST_SECRETS=0
-UPDATE_SECRETS=0
-REPOSFILE="updateSecrets.txt"
-
-while [[ "$#" -gt 0 ]]; do
-  case $1 in
-    '-w') WORKDIR="$2"; shift 1;;
-    '-r') REPOSFILE="$2"; shift 1;;
-    '-s') SECRETSFILE="$2"; shift 1;;
-    '-v') VERBOSE=1; shift 0;;
-    '--update-secrets') UPDATE_SECRETS=1;;
-    '--list-secrets') LIST_SECRETS=1;;
-    '--help'|'-h') usage;;
-    *) OTHER="${OTHER} $1";; 
-  esac
-  shift 1
-done
-
-if [[ $UPDATE_SECRETS -eq 0 ]] && [[ $LIST_SECRETS -eq 0 ]]; then
-    echo "Error: must specify --list-secrets or --update-secrets (or both)"; usage
-fi
-
-# check for valid files
-if [[ ! "$SECRETSFILE" ]]; then echo "Error: Secrets file not set."; usage; fi
-if [[ ! -r "$SECRETSFILE" ]] && [[ ! -r "${WORKDIR}/${SECRETSFILE}" ]]; then 
-    echo "Error: Invalid repos file ${SECRETSFILE}."; usage
-else
-    if [[ -r "${WORKDIR}/$SECRETSFILE" ]]; then
-        SECRETSFILE="${WORKDIR}/$SECRETSFILE"
-    fi
-fi
-
-if [[ ! "$REPOSFILE" ]]; then echo "Error: Repos file not set."; usage; fi
-if [[ ! -r "$REPOSFILE" ]] && [[ ! -r "${WORKDIR}/${REPOSFILE}" ]]; then 
-    echo "Error: Invalid repos file ${REPOSFILE}."; usage
-else
-    # exclude commented out lines in the repos file
-    if [[ -r "$REPOSFILE" ]]; then
-        REPOS=$(cat "$REPOSFILE" | grep -v -E "^#")
-    elif [[ -r "${WORKDIR}/$REPOSFILE" ]]; then
-        REPOS=$(cat "${WORKDIR}/$REPOSFILE" | grep -v -E "^#")
-    fi
-fi
-
-PODMAN=$(command -v podman)
-if [[ ! -x $PODMAN ]]; then
-  echo "[WARNING] podman is not installed."
- PODMAN=$(command -v docker)
-  if [[ ! -x $PODMAN ]]; then
-    echo "[ERROR] docker is not installed. Aborting."; exit 1
-  fi
-fi
-
-# get the secret uploader tool and build it
-# requires podman or docker to build the generator image
-if [[ ! -d /tmp/github-secrets-generator ]]; then
-    cd /tmp; git clone git@github.com:nickboldt/github-secrets-generator.git
-else
-    if [[ ! $($PODMAN images github-secrets-generator | grep github-secrets-generator) ]]; then 
-        cd /tmp/github-secrets-generator && ./run.sh --build
-    fi
-fi
-
-for repo in $REPOS; do
-    if [[ ${LIST_SECRETS} -eq 1 ]]; then
-        # list the current secrets, but don't change anything
-        /tmp/github-secrets-generator/run.sh -r ${repo} --list
-    fi
-
-    if [[ ${UPDATE_SECRETS} -eq 1 ]]; then
-        /tmp/github-secrets-generator/run.sh -r ${repo} -f "${SECRETSFILE}"
-    else
-        echo "/tmp/github-secrets-generator/run.sh -r ${repo} -f ${SECRETSFILE}"
-    fi
-done
-
diff --git a/utils/updateSecrets.txt b/utils/updateSecrets.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index b482c3e..0000000
--- a/utils/updateSecrets.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-# nothing to update in these repos
-# eclipse/che-dev
-# eclipse/che-lib
-# eclipse/che-parent
-# eclipse/che-plugin-broker
-# eclipse/che-jwtproxy
-
-# see other updateSecrets.*.txt files for other projects to update, split by which secret(s) need updating
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/utils/util.sh b/utils/util.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index a0e902e..0000000
--- a/utils/util.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,196 +0,0 @@
-die_with() 
-{
-	echo "$*" >&2
-	exit 1
-}
-
-# for a given GH repo and action name, compute workflow_id
-# warning: variable workflow_id is a global, so don't call this in parallel executions!
-computeWorkflowId() {
-    this_repo=$1
-    this_action_name=$2
-    workflow_id=$(curl -sSL "https://api.github.com/repos/${this_repo}/actions/workflows" -H "Authorization: token ${GITHUB_TOKEN}" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" | jq --arg search_field "${this_action_name}" '.workflows[] | select(.name == $search_field).id'); 
-    # echo "workflow_id = $workflow_id"
-    if [[ ! $workflow_id ]]; then
-        die_with "[ERROR] Could not compute workflow id from https://api.github.com/repos/${this_repo}/actions/workflows - check your GITHUB_TOKEN is active"
-    fi
-    echo "[INFO] Got workflow_id $workflow_id for $this_repo action '$this_action_name'"
-}
-
-# generic method to call a GH action and pass in a single var=val parameter
-invokeAction() {
-    this_repo=$1
-    this_action_name=$2
-    this_workflow_id=$3
-    #params is a comma-separated list of key=value entries
-    this_params=$4
-
-    # if provided, use previously computed workflow_id; otherwise compute it from the action's name so we can invoke the GH action by id
-    # shellcheck disable=SC2086
-    if [[ $this_workflow_id ]]; then
-        workflow_id=$this_workflow_id
-    else
-        computeWorkflowId $this_repo "$this_action_name"
-        # now we have a global value for $workflow_id
-    fi
-
-    WORKFLOW_MAIN_BRANCH="main"
-    WORKFLOW_BUGFIX_BRANCH=${BRANCH}
-
-    if [[ ${CHE_VERSION} == *".0" ]]; then
-        workflow_ref=${WORKFLOW_MAIN_BRANCH}
-    else
-        workflow_ref=${WORKFLOW_BUGFIX_BRANCH}
-    fi
-
-    inputsJson="{}"
-
-    IFS=',' read -ra paramMap <<< "${this_params}"
-    for keyvalue in "${paramMap[@]}"
-    do 
-        key=${keyvalue%=*}
-        value=${keyvalue#*=}
-        inputsJson=$(echo "${inputsJson}" | jq ". + {\"${key}\": \"${value}\"}")
-    done
-
-    if [[ ${this_repo} == "che-incubator"* ]] || [[ ${this_repo} == "devfile"* ]] || [[ ${this_repo} == "che-dockerfiles"* ]]; then
-        this_github_token=${CHE_INCUBATOR_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN}
-    else
-        this_github_token=${GITHUB_TOKEN}
-    fi
-
-    curl -sSL "https://api.github.com/repos/${this_repo}/actions/workflows/${workflow_id}/dispatches" -X POST -H "Authorization: token ${this_github_token}" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" -d "{\"ref\":\"${workflow_ref}\",\"inputs\": ${inputsJson} }" || die_with "[ERROR] Problem invoking action https://github.com/${this_repo}/actions?query=workflow%3A%22${this_action_name// /+}%22"
-    echo "[INFO] Invoked '${this_action_name}' action ($workflow_id) - see https://github.com/${this_repo}/actions?query=workflow%3A%22${this_action_name// /+}%22"
-}
-
-verifyBranchExistsWithTimeout()
-{
-    this_repo=$1
-    this_branch=$2
-    this_timeout=$3
-    branchExists=0
-    count=1
-    (( timeout_intervals=this_timeout*3 ))
-    while [[ $count -le $timeout_intervals ]]; do # echo $count
-        echo -n "       [$count/$timeout_intervals] Check ${this_repo%.git}/tree/${this_branch} ..." 
-        # check if the branch exists
-        branchExists=$(git ls-remote --heads "${this_repo}" "${this_branch}" | wc -l)
-        if [[ ${branchExists} -eq 1 ]]; then echo " found."; return 0; break; fi
-        (( count=count+1 ))
-        sleep 20s
-        echo ""
-    done
-    # or report an error
-    if [[ ${branchExists} -eq 0 ]]; then
-        echo "[ERROR] Branch ${this_repo%.git}/tree/${this_branch} not found after ${this_timeout} minutes"
-        return 1
-    fi
-}
-
-verifyBranchExistsWithTimeoutAndExit()
-{
-    verifyBranchExistsWithTimeout "$@"
-    if [[ $? -gt 0 ]]; then
-        exit 1
-    fi
-}
-
-# for a given container URL, check if it exists and its digest can be read
-# verifyContainerExists quay.io/crw/pluginregistry-rhel8:2.6 # schemaVersion = 1, look for tag
-# verifyContainerExists quay.io/eclipse/che-plugin-registry:7.24.2 # schemaVersion = 2, look for arches
-verifyContainerExists()
-{
-    this_containerURL="${1}"
-    this_image=""; this_tag=""
-    this_image=${this_containerURL#*/}
-    this_tag=${this_image##*:}
-    this_image=${this_image%%:*}
-    this_url="https://quay.io/v2/${this_image}/manifests/${this_tag}"
-    # echo $this_url
-
-    # get result=tag if tag found, result="null" if not
-    result="$(curl -sSL "${this_url}"  -H "Accept: application/vnd.docker.distribution.manifest.list.v2+json" 2>&1 || true)"
-    if [[ $(echo "$result" | jq -r '.schemaVersion' || true) == "1" ]] && [[ $(echo "$result" | jq -r '.tag' || true) == "$this_tag" ]]; then
-        echo "[INFO] Found ${this_containerURL} (tag = $this_tag)"
-        containerExists=1
-    elif [[ $(echo "$result" | jq -r '.schemaVersion' || true) == "2" ]]; then
-        arches=$(echo "$result" | jq -r '[.manifests[].platform.architecture]|@csv' | tr -d "\"")
-        if [[ $arches ]]; then
-            echo "[INFO] Found ${this_containerURL} (arches = $arches)"
-        fi
-        containerExists=1
-    else
-        # echo "[INFO] Did not find ${this_containerURL}"
-        containerExists=0
-    fi
-}
-
-verifyContainerExistsWithTimeout()
-{
-    this_containerURL=$1
-    this_timeout=$2
-    containerExists=0
-    count=1
-    (( timeout_intervals=this_timeout*3 ))
-    while [[ $count -le $timeout_intervals ]]; do # echo $count
-        echo "       [$count/$timeout_intervals] Verify ${1} exists..." 
-        # check if the container exists
-        verifyContainerExists "$1"
-        if [[ ${containerExists} -eq 1 ]]; then break; fi
-        (( count=count+1 ))
-        sleep 20s
-    done
-    # or report an error
-    if [[ ${containerExists} -eq 0 ]]; then
-        echo "[ERROR] Did not find ${1} after ${this_timeout} minutes - script must exit!"
-        exit 1;
-    fi
-}
-
-
-# for a given url of project hosten on NPMJS, check if it exists
-# package name must be in format "<scope>/name@version"
-# e.g. "@eclipse-che/che-devworkspace-generator@7.70.0"
-verifyNpmJsPackageExists()
-{
-    this_package=${1}
-    this_name="${this_package%@*}"
-    this_version="${this_package##*@}"
-    registry_json="$(curl -s https://registry.npmjs.org/${this_name}/)"
-    if echo "$registry_json" | jq -e '."versions"."'${this_version}'"'; then
-        echo "[INFO] Found ${this_package}"
-        packageExists=1
-    else
-        # echo "[INFO] Did not find ${this_package}"
-        packageExists=0
-    fi
-}
-
-verifyNpmJsPackagexistsWithTimeout()
-{
-    this_package=$1
-    this_timeout=$2
-    packageExists=0
-    count=1
-    (( timeout_intervals=this_timeout*3 ))
-    while [[ $count -le $timeout_intervals ]]; do # echo $count
-        echo "       [$count/$timeout_intervals] Verify ${1} exists..."
-        # check if the package exists
-        verifyNpmJsPackageExists "$1"
-        if [[ ${containerExists} -eq 1 ]]; then break; fi
-        (( count=count+1 ))
-        sleep 20s
-    done
-    # or report an error
-    if [[ ${packageExists} -eq 0 ]]; then
-        echo "[ERROR] Did not find ${1} after ${this_timeout} minutes - script must exit!"
-        exit 1;
-    fi
-}
-
-verifyNpmJsPackageExistsWithTimeoutAndExit() {
-    verifyNpmJsPackagexistsWithTimeout "$@"
-    if [[ $? -gt 0 ]]; then
-        exit 1
-    fi
-}
\ No newline at end of file