diff --git a/.github/workflows/plugin-release.yaml b/.github/workflows/plugin-release.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3a1e9ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/plugin-release.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,439 @@
+name: Plugin Release
+
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        description: 'Release version (e.g. 1.0.0)'
+        required: true
+        type: string
+      node-version:
+        description: 'Node.js version to use'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: '22'
+      upstream-repo:
+        description: 'Upstream repo to fetch appVersion from (e.g. fenio/tns-csi). Leave empty to skip.'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: ''
+    secrets:
+      RELEASE_APP_ID:
+        description: 'GitHub App ID for creating PRs (org blocks GITHUB_TOKEN from creating PRs)'
+        required: true
+      RELEASE_APP_PRIVATE_KEY:
+        description: 'GitHub App private key (PEM format)'
+        required: true
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
+
+concurrency:
+  group: release
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+jobs:
+  check-secrets:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      ready: ${{ steps.check.outputs.ready }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Verify RELEASE_APP_ID is configured
+        id: check
+        env:
+          RELEASE_APP_ID: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_APP_ID }}
+        run: |
+          if [ -z "$RELEASE_APP_ID" ]; then
+            echo "::notice::RELEASE_APP_ID org secret is not configured (see PRI-380). Release skipped — no artifacts will be created."
+            echo "ready=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          else
+            echo "ready=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          fi
+
+  ci:
+    needs: check-secrets
+    if: needs.check-secrets.outputs.ready == 'true'
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/plugin-ci.yaml
+    with:
+      node-version: ${{ inputs.node-version }}
+
+  check-token-permissions:
+    needs: check-secrets
+    if: needs.check-secrets.outputs.ready == 'true'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      has_write: ${{ steps.check.outputs.has_write }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Generate GitHub App token
+        id: app-token
+        uses: actions/create-github-app-token@v3
+        with:
+          app-id: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_APP_ID }}
+          private-key: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_APP_PRIVATE_KEY }}
+
+      - name: Check write permissions via API
+        id: check
+        run: |
+          HTTP_CODE=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
+            -X POST \
+            -H "Authorization: Bearer ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}" \
+            -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
+            "https://api.github.com/repos/${{ github.repository }}/git/refs" \
+            -d '{"ref":"refs/heads/_release_check","sha":"${{ github.sha }}"}')
+          if [ "$HTTP_CODE" = "201" ]; then
+            echo "::notice::Token has write permission — cleaning up test ref."
+            curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
+              -X DELETE \
+              -H "Authorization: Bearer ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}" \
+              "https://api.github.com/repos/${{ github.repository }}/git/refs/heads/_release_check"
+            echo "has_write=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          elif [ "$HTTP_CODE" = "403" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Token lacks write permission. Release cannot push tags or branches."
+            echo "has_write=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            exit 1
+          else
+            echo "::warning::Unexpected response ($HTTP_CODE) when checking write permission."
+            echo "has_write=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+  check-tag:
+    needs: check-secrets
+    if: needs.check-secrets.outputs.ready == 'true'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      skip: ${{ steps.check.outputs.skip }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Check if tag already exists
+        id: check
+        run: |
+          HTTP_CODE=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
+            -H "Authorization: Bearer ${{ github.token }}" \
+            "https://api.github.com/repos/${{ github.repository }}/git/refs/tags/v${{ inputs.version }}")
+          if [ "$HTTP_CODE" = "200" ]; then
+            echo "::notice::Tag v${{ inputs.version }} already exists. Release skipped (not an error)."
+            echo "skip=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          else
+            echo "skip=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          fi
+
+  release:
+    needs: [ci, check-tag, check-secrets, check-token-permissions]
+    if: needs.check-secrets.outputs.ready == 'true' && needs.check-tag.outputs.skip != 'true' && needs.check-token-permissions.outputs.has_write == 'true'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 10
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Validate version format
+        run: |
+          if [[ ! "${{ inputs.version }}" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+            echo "Error: Version must be in X.Y.Z format"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Detect package manager
+        id: pkg-manager
+        run: |
+          if [ -f "pnpm-lock.yaml" ]; then
+            echo "manager=pnpm" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "lockfile=pnpm-lock.yaml" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            # Check for packageManager field in package.json (Corepack pinning).
+            # pnpm/action-setup@v5 errors when packageManager is absent and no version
+            # is specified, so use Corepack for repos that have the field pinned and
+            # fall back to pnpm/action-setup with version: latest for repos that don't.
+            PM=$(python3 -c "import json,sys; d=json.load(open('package.json')); print('true' if d.get('packageManager','').startswith('pnpm@') else 'false')" 2>/dev/null || echo "false")
+            echo "has_package_manager=$PM" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          else
+            echo "manager=npm" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "lockfile=package-lock.json" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "has_package_manager=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          fi
+
+      - name: Setup Node
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v6
+        with:
+          node-version: ${{ inputs.node-version }}
+          # Only enable built-in npm caching here; pnpm caching is handled below
+          # after pnpm is installed (corepack is not available before setup-node).
+          cache: ${{ steps.pkg-manager.outputs.manager == 'npm' && 'npm' || '' }}
+
+      - name: Setup pnpm (via Corepack, reads version from packageManager field)
+        if: steps.pkg-manager.outputs.manager == 'pnpm' && steps.pkg-manager.outputs.has_package_manager == 'true'
+        run: |
+          npm install -g corepack
+          corepack enable pnpm
+          corepack install
+
+      - name: Setup pnpm (version latest)
+        if: steps.pkg-manager.outputs.manager == 'pnpm' && steps.pkg-manager.outputs.has_package_manager == 'false'
+        uses: pnpm/action-setup@v5
+        with:
+          run_install: false
+          version: latest
+
+      - name: Get pnpm store directory
+        id: pnpm-store
+        if: steps.pkg-manager.outputs.manager == 'pnpm'
+        run: echo "dir=$(pnpm store path --silent)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+      - name: Cache pnpm store
+        if: steps.pkg-manager.outputs.manager == 'pnpm'
+        uses: actions/cache@v5
+        with:
+          path: ${{ steps.pnpm-store.outputs.dir }}
+          key: ${{ runner.os }}-pnpm-${{ hashFiles('**/pnpm-lock.yaml') }}
+          restore-keys: |
+            ${{ runner.os }}-pnpm-
+
+      - name: Configure Git
+        run: |
+          git config --global user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config --global user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+          git config --global --add safe.directory "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE"
+
+      - name: Update version in package.json
+        run: |
+          if [ "${{ steps.pkg-manager.outputs.manager }}" = "pnpm" ]; then
+            pnpm version ${{ inputs.version }} --no-git-tag-version --allow-same-version
+          else
+            npm version ${{ inputs.version }} --no-git-tag-version --allow-same-version
+          fi
+
+      - name: Update artifacthub-pkg.yml
+        run: |
+          VERSION="${{ inputs.version }}"
+          if [ -f artifacthub-pkg.yml ]; then
+            PKG_NAME=$(grep '^name:' artifacthub-pkg.yml | cut -d: -f2 | tr -d ' "')
+          else
+            PKG_NAME=$(jq -r .name package.json | sed 's|^@[^/]*/||')
+          fi
+          RELEASE_URL="https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/releases/download/v${VERSION}/${PKG_NAME}-${VERSION}.tar.gz"
+          sed -i "s/^version:.*/version: \"${VERSION}\"/" artifacthub-pkg.yml
+          sed -i "s|headlamp/plugin/archive-url:.*|headlamp/plugin/archive-url: \"${RELEASE_URL}\"|" artifacthub-pkg.yml
+
+      - name: Update appVersion from upstream release
+        if: inputs.upstream-repo != ''
+        run: |
+          APP_VERSION=$(curl -sf "https://api.github.com/repos/${{ inputs.upstream-repo }}/releases/latest" | jq -r '.tag_name | ltrimstr("v")')
+          if [ -z "$APP_VERSION" ] || [ "$APP_VERSION" = "null" ]; then
+            echo "::warning::Could not fetch latest upstream release, skipping appVersion update"
+          else
+            sed -i "s|^appVersion:.*|appVersion: \"${APP_VERSION}\"|" artifacthub-pkg.yml
+            echo "appVersion set to ${APP_VERSION}"
+          fi
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: |
+          max_attempts=3
+          attempt=1
+          while [ $attempt -le $max_attempts ]; do
+            echo "Attempt $attempt of $max_attempts"
+            if [ "${{ steps.pkg-manager.outputs.manager }}" = "pnpm" ]; then
+              pnpm install --frozen-lockfile && break
+            else
+              npm ci && break
+            fi
+            if [ $attempt -lt $max_attempts ]; then
+              echo "::warning::Install step failed on attempt $attempt. Retrying in 5 seconds..."
+              sleep 5
+            fi
+            attempt=$((attempt + 1))
+          done
+          if [ $attempt -gt $max_attempts ]; then
+            echo "::error::Install step failed after $max_attempts attempts."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+      - name: Build plugin
+        run: npx @kinvolk/headlamp-plugin build
+
+      - name: Package plugin
+        run: npx @kinvolk/headlamp-plugin package
+
+      - name: Prepare release tarball
+        run: |
+          VERSION="${{ inputs.version }}"
+          # headlamp-plugin strips the @org/ prefix when naming tarballs.
+          # e.g. @privilegedescalation/headlamp-argocd-plugin -> headlamp-argocd-plugin
+          if [ -f artifacthub-pkg.yml ]; then
+            PKG_NAME=$(grep '^name:' artifacthub-pkg.yml | cut -d: -f2 | tr -d ' "')
+          else
+            PKG_NAME=$(jq -r .name package.json | sed 's|^@[^/]*/||')
+          fi
+          TARBALL="${PKG_NAME}-${VERSION}.tar.gz"
+          for f in *.tar.gz; do
+            [ "$f" != "$TARBALL" ] && mv "$f" "$TARBALL"
+          done
+          if [ ! -f "$TARBALL" ]; then
+            echo "Error: Expected tarball $TARBALL not found"
+            ls -la *.tar.gz 2>/dev/null || echo "No .tar.gz files found"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "TARBALL=$TARBALL" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "PKG_NAME=$PKG_NAME" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+
+      - name: Validate tarball
+        run: |
+          echo "Tarball: ${{ env.TARBALL }}"
+          ls -lh "${{ env.TARBALL }}"
+          tar -tzf "${{ env.TARBALL }}" | head -20
+          tar -tzf "${{ env.TARBALL }}" | grep -q "main.js" || { echo "Error: main.js not found in tarball"; exit 1; }
+
+      - name: Compute checksum
+        run: |
+          CHECKSUM=$(sha256sum "${{ env.TARBALL }}" | awk '{print $1}')
+          echo "CHECKSUM=$CHECKSUM" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          sed -i "s|headlamp/plugin/archive-checksum:.*|headlamp/plugin/archive-checksum: sha256:${CHECKSUM}|" artifacthub-pkg.yml
+
+      - name: Commit and tag
+        run: |
+          VERSION="${{ inputs.version }}"
+          BRANCH="release/v${VERSION}"
+          # If the release branch already exists (e.g. from a failed prior run),
+          # delete it so the re-trigger can proceed cleanly. The check-tag job
+          # above already skips when the tag exists, so we only reach here when
+          # the tag does NOT exist yet — safe to remove a stale branch.
+          if git ls-remote --exit-code origin "refs/heads/$BRANCH" 2>/dev/null; then
+            echo "::notice::Branch $BRANCH already exists — deleting for clean re-trigger."
+            git push origin --delete "$BRANCH"
+          fi
+          git checkout -b "$BRANCH"
+          git add package.json "${{ steps.pkg-manager.outputs.lockfile }}" artifacthub-pkg.yml
+          git commit -m "release: v${VERSION}"
+          git tag "v${VERSION}"
+          git push origin "$BRANCH"
+          git push origin "refs/tags/v${VERSION}"
+
+      - name: Generate GitHub App token
+        id: app-token
+        uses: actions/create-github-app-token@v3
+        with:
+          app-id: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_APP_ID }}
+          private-key: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_APP_PRIVATE_KEY }}
+
+      - name: Create GitHub Release
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
+        with:
+          tag_name: "v${{ inputs.version }}"
+          files: ${{ env.TARBALL }}
+          fail_on_unmatched_files: false
+          generate_release_notes: true
+        env:
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}
+
+      - name: Install GitHub CLI
+        run: |
+          if ! command -v gh &>/dev/null; then
+            GH_VERSION="2.74.0"
+            curl -fsSL "https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/download/v${GH_VERSION}/gh_${GH_VERSION}_linux_amd64.tar.gz" -o /tmp/gh.tar.gz
+            tar -xzf /tmp/gh.tar.gz -C /tmp
+            mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/bin"
+            mv "/tmp/gh_${GH_VERSION}_linux_amd64/bin/gh" "$HOME/.local/bin/gh"
+            rm -rf /tmp/gh.tar.gz "/tmp/gh_${GH_VERSION}_linux_amd64"
+            echo "$HOME/.local/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
+            "$HOME/.local/bin/gh" --version
+          fi
+
+      - name: Create PR for version bump
+        run: |
+          set -o pipefail
+          VERSION="${{ inputs.version }}"
+          BODY=$(printf "Automated version bump and checksum update for v%s.\n\ncc @cpfarhood" "${VERSION}")
+          # Create PR only if an OPEN one doesn't already exist.
+          # Note: gh pr view also finds MERGED PRs; we must check for open ones explicitly
+          # so that a re-trigger after a stale-branch delete creates a fresh PR.
+          OPEN_PR=$(gh pr list --base main --head "release/v${VERSION}" --state open --json number --jq '.[0].number' 2>/dev/null)
+          if [ -z "$OPEN_PR" ]; then
+            gh pr create \
+              --title "release: v${VERSION}" \
+              --body "$BODY" \
+              --base main \
+              --head "release/v${VERSION}"
+            # Pull the number again to handle both create and pre-existing cases
+            OPEN_PR=$(gh pr list --base main --head "release/v${VERSION}" --state open --json number --jq '.[0].number' 2>/dev/null)
+          else
+            echo "::notice::Open PR #${OPEN_PR} for release/v${VERSION} already exists — skipping creation."
+          fi
+          # Guard: ensure we have a PR number before proceeding
+          if [ -z "$OPEN_PR" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Could not determine PR number for release/v${VERSION}."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "::notice::Working with PR #${OPEN_PR}"
+
+          # Check if PR was already merged (idempotency — safe to re-trigger after a stale branch)
+          MERGED_CHECK=$(gh pr view "$OPEN_PR" --json state --jq '.state' 2>/dev/null)
+          if [ "$MERGED_CHECK" = "MERGED" ]; then
+            echo "::notice::PR #${OPEN_PR} was already merged. Nothing to do."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          # Determine whether to use --auto or not based on current status.
+          # Retry the status check up to 3 times with exponential back-off when
+          # GitHub is still computing the merge state (UNKNOWN state).
+          MAX_RETRIES=3
+          BACKOFF=3
+          MERGE_STATE=""
+          for i in $(seq 1 $MAX_RETRIES); do
+            MERGE_STATE=$(gh pr view "$OPEN_PR" --json mergeStateStatus --jq '.mergeStateStatus' 2>/dev/null)
+            if [ "$MERGE_STATE" != "UNKNOWN" ]; then
+              break
+            fi
+            if [ $i -lt $MAX_RETRIES ]; then
+              echo "PR merge state is UNKNOWN (GitHub still computing). Retry ${i}/${MAX_RETRIES} in ${BACKOFF}s..."
+              sleep $BACKOFF
+              BACKOFF=$((BACKOFF * 2))
+            fi
+          done
+
+          if [ "$MERGE_STATE" = "BLOCKED" ] || [ "$MERGE_STATE" = "UNKNOWN" ]; then
+            echo "PR is $MERGE_STATE — attempting auto-merge (safe fallback, waits for branch protection checks)."
+            if gh pr merge "$OPEN_PR" --auto --squash --delete-branch 2>&1; then
+              echo "Auto-merge initiated successfully."
+            else
+              AUTO_MERGE_ERR=$?
+              # If --auto failed because auto-merge is disabled for this repo
+              # (autoMergeAllowed: false), fall back to --admin which merges
+              # regardless of branch protection rules. --admin requires GitHub
+              # App token, not GITHUB_TOKEN, so GH_TOKEN is already correct.
+              if gh pr merge "$OPEN_PR" --admin --squash --delete-branch 2>&1; then
+                echo "Auto-merge unavailable (autoMergeAllowed: false) — merged via --admin."
+              else
+                echo "::error::Both --auto and --admin merge failed. Exiting."
+                exit 1
+              fi
+            fi
+          else
+            echo "PR is $MERGE_STATE — merging directly."
+            gh pr merge "$OPEN_PR" --squash --delete-branch
+          fi
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}
+
+      - name: Verify checksums are consistent (main == tag == tarball)
+        run: |
+          VERSION="${{ inputs.version }}"
+          TARBALL_CS=$(sha256sum "${{ env.TARBALL }}" | awk '{print $1}')
+
+          # Checksum recorded in the tag's artifacthub-pkg.yml
+          TAG_CS=$(git show "v${VERSION}:artifacthub-pkg.yml" 2>/dev/null             | grep "archive-checksum" | awk '{print $2}' | sed 's/sha256://')
+
+          # Checksum now on main (after PR merge)
+          MAIN_CS=$(git fetch origin main 2>/dev/null; git show "origin/main:artifacthub-pkg.yml"             | grep "archive-checksum" | awk '{print $2}' | sed 's/sha256://')
+
+          echo "Tarball SHA256 : $TARBALL_CS"
+          echo "Tag artifacthub: $TAG_CS"
+          echo "Main artifacthub: $MAIN_CS"
+
+          FAIL=0
+          [ "$TARBALL_CS" != "$TAG_CS"  ] && echo "ERROR: tag checksum mismatch!"  && FAIL=1
+          [ "$TARBALL_CS" != "$MAIN_CS" ] && echo "ERROR: main checksum mismatch!" && FAIL=1
+          [ "$FAIL" = "1" ] && exit 1
+          echo "All checksums consistent — ArtifactHub will index correctly."
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}