diff --git a/.github/workflows/check-release-tag.yml b/.github/workflows/check-release-tag.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..1b2b3aa1e49c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/check-release-tag.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+name: Check release tag
+
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        type: string
+        required: false
+      skip_validation:
+        type: boolean
+        default: false
+    outputs:
+      version:
+        description: "Resolved release version"
+        value: ${{ jobs.check.outputs.version }}
+
+jobs:
+  check:
+    name: Validate tag against .version file and release content
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    outputs:
+      version: ${{ steps.resolve.outputs.version }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Validate tag matches .version file
+        id: resolve
+        run: |
+          if [[ "${{ github.ref_type }}" != "tag" ]]; then
+            echo "::notice::Not triggered by a tag push (ref_type=${{ github.ref_type }}); skipping .version check."
+            echo "version=${{ inputs.version }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          if [[ ! -f .version ]]; then
+            echo "::error::.version file not found in repository root."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          FILE_VERSION="$(tr -d '[:space:]' < .version)"
+          TAG_VERSION="${{ github.ref_name }}"
+
+          if [[ "$TAG_VERSION" != "$FILE_VERSION" ]]; then
+            echo "::error::Tag '$TAG_VERSION' does not match version in .version file ('$FILE_VERSION'). Refusing to release."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          echo "Tag '$TAG_VERSION' matches .version file."
+          echo "version=$TAG_VERSION" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+      - name: Validate release
+        if: ${{ !inputs.skip_validation }}
+        run: tools/check-release.sh --version=${{ steps.resolve.outputs.version }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/docker-build.yml b/.github/workflows/docker-build.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..6b2479309cad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/docker-build.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+name: Docker build
+
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        type: string
+        required: true
+      dh-repository-owner:
+        type: string
+        required: true
+      platforms-to-build:
+        type: string
+        required: true
+
+jobs:
+  # Turn the comma-separated platforms-to-build input into a JSON matrix array,
+  # so we can fan out per-platform without hardcoding the list twice.
+  plan:
+    name: Plan platform matrix
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    outputs:
+      platforms: ${{ steps.plan.outputs.platforms }}
+    steps:
+      - id: plan
+        run: |
+          IFS=',' read -ra ARR <<< "${{ inputs.platforms-to-build }}"
+          JSON=$(printf '%s\n' "${ARR[@]}" | jq -R . | jq -sc .)
+          echo "platforms=$JSON" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+  build:
+    name: Build ${{ matrix.target == 'lightningd-vls-signer' && 'vls' || 'normal' }} / ${{ matrix.platform }}
+    needs: plan
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        target:
+          - lightningd
+          - lightningd-vls-signer
+        platform: ${{ fromJson(needs.plan.outputs.platforms) }}
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.platform == 'linux/arm64' && 'ubuntu-22.04-arm' || 'ubuntu-22.04' }}
+    steps:
+    - name: Checkout repository
+      uses: actions/checkout@v6
+      with:
+        fetch-depth: 0
+
+    - name: Set up QEMU
+      if: matrix.platform == 'linux/arm/v7'
+      uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@v4
+
+    - name: Setup Docker Buildx
+      uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v4
+
+    - name: Log in to Docker Hub
+      uses: docker/login-action@v4
+      with:
+        username: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_USERNAME }}
+        password: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_PASSWORD }}
+
+    - name: Build single-platform image, push by digest
+      id: build
+      uses: docker/build-push-action@v7
+      with:
+        context: .
+        file: ./Dockerfile
+        target: ${{ matrix.target }}
+        platforms: ${{ matrix.platform }}
+        build-args: |
+          VERSION=${{ inputs.version }}
+        outputs: type=image,name=${{ inputs.dh-repository-owner }}/lightningd,push-by-digest=true,name-canonical=true,push=true
+        cache-from: type=gha,scope=${{ matrix.target }}-${{ matrix.platform }}
+        cache-to: type=gha,mode=max,scope=${{ matrix.target }}-${{ matrix.platform }}
+
+    - name: Save digest
+      run: |
+        mkdir -p /tmp/digests
+        echo "${{ steps.build.outputs.digest }}" > /tmp/digests/digest.txt
+
+    - name: Upload digest
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
+      with:
+        name: digest_${{ matrix.target }}_${{ strategy.job-index }}
+        path: /tmp/digests/digest.txt
+        if-no-files-found: error
+        retention-days: 1
diff --git a/.github/workflows/docker-publish.yml b/.github/workflows/docker-publish.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..78bcaf64eefd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/docker-publish.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+name: Docker publish
+
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        type: string
+        required: true
+      dh-repository-owner:
+        type: string
+        required: true
+      push-latest:
+        type: string
+        required: true
+
+jobs:
+  publish:
+    name: Tag and publish ${{ matrix.target }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        include:
+          - target: lightningd
+            tag_suffix: ''
+          - target: lightningd-vls-signer
+            tag_suffix: '-vls'
+    steps:
+    - name: Setup Docker Buildx
+      uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v4
+
+    - name: Log in to Docker Hub
+      uses: docker/login-action@v4
+      with:
+        username: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_USERNAME }}
+        password: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_PASSWORD }}
+
+    - name: Download platform digests for this target
+      uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
+      with:
+        pattern: digest_${{ matrix.target }}_*
+        path: /tmp/digests
+        merge-multiple: false
+
+    - name: Set up values
+      run: |
+        DIGEST_REFS=""
+        for f in /tmp/digests/*/digest.txt; do
+          D=$(cat "$f")
+          DIGEST_REFS="$DIGEST_REFS ${{ inputs.dh-repository-owner }}/lightningd@${D}"
+        done
+        echo "DIGEST_REFS=$DIGEST_REFS" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+
+        if [[ "${{ inputs.push-latest }}" == "true" ]] ||
+          ([[ "${{ github.ref_type }}" == "tag" ]] && [[ ! "${{ inputs.version }}" =~ rc ]]); then
+          echo "PUSHLATEST=true" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+        else
+          echo "PUSHLATEST=false" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+        fi
+
+    - name: Create and push real tag(s)
+      run: |
+        TAG_ARGS=(-t "${{ inputs.dh-repository-owner }}/lightningd:${{ inputs.version }}${{ matrix.tag_suffix }}")
+        if [[ "$PUSHLATEST" == "true" ]]; then
+          TAG_ARGS+=(-t "${{ inputs.dh-repository-owner }}/lightningd:latest${{ matrix.tag_suffix }}")
+        fi
+        docker buildx imagetools create "${TAG_ARGS[@]}" $DIGEST_REFS
diff --git a/.github/workflows/docker-release.yml b/.github/workflows/docker-release.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 738634999db2..000000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/docker-release.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,134 +0,0 @@
-name: Publish multi-platform docker images
-
-on:
-  push:
-    tags:
-      - 'v[0-9]+.[0-9]+'
-      - 'v[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+'
-      - 'v[0-9]+.[0-9]+[0-9a-z]+'
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      version:
-        description: 'Release version'
-        required: true
-
-      repository-name:
-        description: 'Docker repository name'
-        default: 'elementsproject'
-        required: false
-
-      platforms-to-build:
-        description: 'List of platforms to build'
-        default: 'linux/amd64,linux/arm64,linux/arm/v7'
-        required: false
-  
-      push-latest:
-        description: 'Push the latest tag also?'
-        default: 'false'
-        required: false
-
-jobs:
-  build:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
-    strategy:
-      fail-fast: false    # Let each tag finish.
-      matrix:
-        include:
-          - target: lightningd
-            tag_suffix: ''
-          - target: lightningd-vls-signer
-            tag_suffix: '-vls'
-
-    steps:
-    - name: Checkout repository
-      uses: actions/checkout@v6
-      with:
-        ref: ${{ github.ref }}  # Ensures the branch triggering the workflow is checked out
-        fetch-depth: 0
-
-    - name: Set up QEMU
-      uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@v4
-
-    - name: Setup Docker Buildx
-      uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v4
-
-    - name: Log in to Docker Hub
-      uses: docker/login-action@v4
-      with:
-        username: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_USERNAME }}
-        password: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_PASSWORD }}
-
-    - name: Set up values for ${{ matrix.target }}
-      id: set-values
-      run: |
-        if [[ "${{ github.event.inputs.version }}" != "" ]]; then
-          echo "Input version provided"
-          VERSION=${{ github.event.inputs.version }}
-        elif [[ ${{ github.ref_type }} == "tag" ]]; then
-          echo "This is a tag event"
-          VERSION=${{ github.ref_name }}
-        else
-          echo "No version provided and no tag found."
-          exit 1
-        fi
-        echo "VERSION=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-
-        if [[ "${{ github.event.inputs.repository-name }}" != "" ]]; then
-          REPONAME=${{ github.event.inputs.repository-name }}
-        else
-          REPONAME="elementsproject"
-        fi
-        echo "REPONAME=$REPONAME" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-
-        if [[ "${{ github.event.inputs.platforms-to-build }}" != "" ]]; then
-          PLATFORMS=${{ github.event.inputs.platforms-to-build }}
-        else
-          PLATFORMS="linux/amd64,linux/arm64,linux/arm/v7"
-        fi
-        echo "PLATFORMS=$PLATFORMS" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-
-        if [[ "${{ github.event.inputs.push-latest }}" == "true" ]] || 
-          ([[ "${{ github.ref_type }}" == "tag" ]] && [[ ! "$VERSION" =~ rc ]]); then
-          echo "Latest true"
-          PUSHLATEST="true"
-        else
-          echo "Latest false"
-          PUSHLATEST="false"
-        fi
-        echo "PUSHLATEST=$PUSHLATEST" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-
-        TAGS="$REPONAME/lightningd:$VERSION${{ matrix.tag_suffix }}"
-        if [[ "$PUSHLATEST" == "true" ]]; then
-          TAGS="$TAGS,$REPONAME/lightningd:latest${{ matrix.tag_suffix }}"
-        fi
-        echo "TAGS=$TAGS" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-
-    - name: Print GitHub Ref Values
-      run: |
-        echo "TARGET: ${{ matrix.target }}"
-        echo "TAG SUFFIX: ${{ matrix.tag_suffix }}"
-        echo "GITHUB REF TYPE: ${{ github.ref_type }}"
-        echo "GITHUB REF NAME: ${{ github.ref_name }}"
-        echo "EVENT INPUT VERSION: ${{ github.event.inputs.version }}"
-        echo "EVENT INPUT REPO: ${{ github.event.inputs.repository-name }}"
-        echo "EVENT INPUT PLATFORMS: ${{ github.event.inputs.platforms-to-build }}"
-        echo "EVENT INPUT PUSH LATEST: ${{ github.event.inputs.push-latest }}"
-        echo "ENV VERSION: ${{ env.VERSION }}"
-        echo "ENV REPO NAME: ${{ env.REPONAME }}"
-        echo "ENV PLATFORMS: ${{ env.PLATFORMS }}"
-        echo "ENV PUSH LATEST: ${{ env.PUSHLATEST }}"
-        echo "ENV TAGS: ${{ env.TAGS }}"
-
-    - name: Build and push Docker tag - ${{ env.TAGS }}
-      uses: docker/build-push-action@v7
-      with:
-        context: .
-        file: ./Dockerfile
-        target: ${{ matrix.target }}
-        push: true
-        platforms: ${{ env.PLATFORMS }}
-        tags: ${{ env.TAGS }}
-        build-args: |
-          VERSION=${{ env.VERSION }}
-        cache-from: type=gha
-        cache-to: type=gha,mode=max
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pypi-build.yml b/.github/workflows/pypi-build.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..83f80eb7bca3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/pypi-build.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+name: PyPI build
+
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        type: string
+        required: true
+
+jobs:
+  build:
+    name: Build ${{ matrix.PACKAGE }} 🐍
+    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+    timeout-minutes: 120
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        include:
+          - PACKAGE: pyln-client
+          - PACKAGE: pyln-testing
+          - PACKAGE: pyln-proto
+    steps:
+    - name: Checkout repository
+      uses: actions/checkout@v6
+      with:
+        fetch-depth: 0
+
+    - name: Set up Python
+      uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+      with:
+        python-version: '3.10'
+
+    - name: Install uv
+      uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v8.1.0
+
+    - name: Update pyln versions
+      run: |
+        make update-pyln-versions NEW_VERSION=${{ inputs.version }}
+
+    - name: Build distribution 📦
+      run: uv build --package ${{ matrix.PACKAGE }}
+
+    - name: Upload distribution artifact
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
+      with:
+        name: dist-${{ matrix.PACKAGE }}
+        path: dist/
+        if-no-files-found: error
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pypi-publish.yml b/.github/workflows/pypi-publish.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..6244891c74a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/pypi-publish.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+name: PyPI publish
+
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        type: string
+        required: true
+      dist-location:
+        type: string
+        required: true
+
+jobs:
+  publish:
+    name: Publish ${{ matrix.PACKAGE }} 🐍
+    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        include:
+          - PACKAGE: pyln-client
+          - PACKAGE: pyln-testing
+          - PACKAGE: pyln-proto
+    steps:
+    - name: Download built distribution
+      uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
+      with:
+        name: dist-${{ matrix.PACKAGE }}
+        path: dist/
+
+    - name: Determine PyPI distribution location
+      id: set-values
+      run: |
+        if [[ "${{ inputs.dist-location }}" != "" ]]; then
+          DISTLOCATION="${{ inputs.dist-location }}"
+        elif [[ "${{ github.ref_type }}" == "tag" ]] && [[ ! "${{ inputs.version }}" =~ rc ]]; then
+          DISTLOCATION="prod"
+        else
+          DISTLOCATION="test"
+        fi
+        echo "DISTLOCATION=$DISTLOCATION" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        echo "EVENT DISTLOCATION: ${{ github.event.inputs.dist-location }}"
+        echo "Resolved dist-location: $DISTLOCATION"
+
+    - name: Install uv
+      uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v8.1.0
+
+    - name: Publish distribution 📦 to Test PyPI
+      if: github.repository == 'ElementsProject/lightning' && steps.set-values.outputs.DISTLOCATION == 'test'
+      env:
+        UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.TEST_PYPI_API_TOKEN }}
+      run: uv publish --publish-url https://test.pypi.org/legacy/ --check-url https://test.pypi.org/simple/ dist/*
+
+    - name: Publish distribution 📦 to PyPI
+      if: github.repository == 'ElementsProject/lightning' && steps.set-values.outputs.DISTLOCATION == 'prod'
+      env:
+        UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.PYPI_API_TOKEN }}
+      run: uv publish dist/*
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pypi.yml b/.github/workflows/pypi.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 346c413f31db..000000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/pypi.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,96 +0,0 @@
-name: Publish Python 🐍 distributions 📦 to PyPI and TestPyPI
-
-on:
-  push:
-    tags:
-      - 'v[0-9]+.[0-9]+'
-      - 'v[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+'
-      - 'v[0-9]+.[0-9]+[0-9a-z]+'
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      dist-location:
-        description: 'Distribution location (test/prod)'
-        default: 'test'
-        required: false
-
-jobs:
-  deploy:
-    name: Build and publish ${{ matrix.package }} 🐍
-    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
-    timeout-minutes: 120
-    strategy:
-      fail-fast: true
-      matrix:
-        include:
-          - PACKAGE: pyln-client
-            WORKDIR: contrib/pyln-client
-          - PACKAGE: pyln-testing
-            WORKDIR: contrib/pyln-testing
-          - PACKAGE: pyln-proto
-            WORKDIR: contrib/pyln-proto
-    steps:
-    - name: Checkout repository
-      uses: actions/checkout@v6
-      with:
-        # Need to fetch entire history in order to locate the version tag
-        fetch-depth: 0
-
-    - name: Check version tag
-      run: >-
-        git describe --tags --always --dirty=-modded --abbrev=7
-
-    - name: Setup Version
-      env:
-        WORKDIR: ${{ matrix.WORKDIR }}
-      run: |
-        echo "VERSION=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0).post$(git describe --tags --abbrev=1 | awk -F "-" '{print $2}')" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-
-    - name: Set up values
-      id: set-values
-      run: |
-        if [[ "${{ github.event.inputs.dist-location }}" != "" ]]; then
-          DISTLOCATION=${{ github.event.inputs.dist-location }}
-        elif [[ "${{ github.ref_type }}" == "tag" ]] && [[ ! "${{ github.ref_name }}" =~ rc ]]; then
-          DISTLOCATION="prod"
-        else
-          DISTLOCATION="test"
-        fi
-        echo "DISTLOCATION=$DISTLOCATION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-        echo "EVENT DISTLOCATION: ${{ github.event.inputs.dist-location }}"
-        echo "DISTRIBUTION LOCATION: $DISTLOCATION"
-  
-    - name: Set up Python
-      uses: actions/setup-python@v6
-      with:
-        python-version: '3.10'
-
-    - name: Install uv
-      uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v8.1.0
-
-    - name: Update pyln versions
-      id: update-versions
-      run: |
-        export VERSION=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)
-        echo "Pyln VERSION: $VERSION"
-        make update-pyln-versions NEW_VERSION=$VERSION
-
-    - name: Publish distribution 📦 to Test PyPI
-      if: github.repository == 'ElementsProject/lightning' && steps.set-values.outputs.DISTLOCATION == 'test'
-      env:
-        UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.TEST_PYPI_API_TOKEN }}
-        WORKDIR: ${{ matrix.WORKDIR }}
-      run: |
-        echo "Pyln VERSION: $VERSION"
-        uv build --package ${{ matrix.PACKAGE }}
-        uv publish --publish-url https://test.pypi.org/legacy/ --check-url https://test.pypi.org/simple/
-
-    - name: Publish distribution 📦 to PyPI
-      if: github.repository == 'ElementsProject/lightning' && steps.set-values.outputs.DISTLOCATION == 'prod'
-      env:
-        UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.PYPI_API_TOKEN }}
-        WORKDIR: ${{ matrix.WORKDIR }}
-      run: |
-        echo "UV VERSION PUBLISH: $(uv --version)"
-        echo "Pyln VERSION: $VERSION"
-        uv build --package ${{ matrix.PACKAGE }}
-        uv publish
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-build.yml b/.github/workflows/release-build.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..b99965dc34f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-build.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+name: Release binaries build
+
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        type: string
+        required: true
+      skip_validation:
+        type: boolean
+        required: true
+
+jobs:
+  releases:
+    name: Releases
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        target:
+          - 'bin-Fedora'
+          - 'bin-Ubuntu-jammy'
+          - 'bin-Ubuntu-noble'
+          - 'bin-Ubuntu-resolute'
+    steps:
+      - name: Git checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Build environment setup
+        run: |
+          distribution=$(echo ${{ matrix.target }} | cut -d'-' -f3)
+          sudo docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/build ubuntu:${distribution} bash -c "\
+              apt-get update && \
+              apt-get install -y debootstrap && \
+              debootstrap ${distribution} /build/${distribution}"
+          sudo tar -C ${distribution} -c . | docker import - ${distribution}
+          docker build -t cl-repro-${distribution} - < contrib/reprobuild/Dockerfile.${distribution}
+        if: contains(matrix.target, 'Ubuntu')
+
+      - name: Build release
+        run: |
+          if [[ "${{ inputs.skip_validation }}" == "true" ]]; then
+            tools/build-release.sh ${{ matrix.target }} --force-version "${{ inputs.version }}" --force-unclean --force-mtime "$(date +%Y-%m-%d)"
+          else
+            tools/build-release.sh ${{ matrix.target }}
+          fi
+
+      - name: Upload target artifacts
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
+        with:
+          path: release/
+          name: ${{ matrix.target }}
+          if-no-files-found: error
+
+  artifact:
+    name: Construct release artifact
+    needs: releases
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    steps:
+      - name: Merge artifacts
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact/merge@v7
+        with:
+          name: c-lightning-${{ inputs.version }}
+          pattern: bin-*
+          delete-merged: true
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-publish.yml b/.github/workflows/release-publish.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..be7146ab126a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-publish.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+name: Release publish
+
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        type: string
+        required: true
+      create_release:
+        type: boolean
+        required: true
+
+jobs:
+  release:
+    name: Sign and prepare release draft
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    steps:
+      - name: Git checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Download artifact
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
+        with:
+          name: c-lightning-${{ inputs.version }}
+          path: release/
+
+      - name: Import GPG keys
+        id: gpg
+        uses: crazy-max/ghaction-import-gpg@v7
+        with:
+          gpg_private_key: ${{ secrets.GPG_PRIVATE_KEY }}
+          passphrase: ${{ secrets.GPG_PASSPHRASE }}
+          trust_level: 5
+
+      - name: Set default GPG key
+        run: echo "default-key ${{ steps.gpg.outputs.keyid }}" >> ~/.gnupg/gpg.conf
+
+      - name: Sign release
+        run: tools/build-release.sh --without-zip sign
+
+      - name: Upload signed artifact
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
+        with:
+          name: c-lightning-${{ inputs.version }}
+          overwrite: true
+          path: release/
+
+      - name: Determine release data
+        id: release_data
+        run: |
+          CHANGELOG_VERSION=${VERSION#v}
+          VERSION="${{ inputs.version }}"
+          CHANGELOG_VERSION=${VERSION#v}
+          CHANGELOG_TITLE=$(grep "## \[${CHANGELOG_VERSION}\]" CHANGELOG.md)
+          RELEASE_TITLE=$(echo $CHANGELOG_TITLE | cut -d'"' -f2)
+          echo "release_title=$RELEASE_TITLE" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+      - name: Prepare release draft
+        if: ${{ github.event_name == 'push' || (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.create_release) }}
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v3
+        with:
+          name: "${{ inputs.version }} ${{ steps.release_data.outputs.release_title }}"
+          tag_name: ${{ inputs.version }}
+          draft: true
+          prerelease: contains(inputs.version, "-rc")
+          files: release/*
+          fail_on_unmatched_files: true
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 824264848463..7bb09de679b8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ on:
       - 'v[0-9]+.[0-9]+'
       - 'v[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+'
       - 'v[0-9]+.[0-9]+[0-9a-z]+'
+      - 'v[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+[0-9a-z]+'
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
       version:
@@ -20,173 +21,91 @@ on:
         description: Create a draft release
         default: false
         type: boolean
+      dh-repository-owner:
+        description: 'Dockerhub repository owner'
+        default: 'elementsproject'
+      platforms-to-build:
+        description: 'List of platforms to build'
+        default: 'linux/amd64,linux/arm64,linux/arm/v7'
+      push-latest:
+        description: 'Push the latest Docker tag'
+        type: boolean
+        default: false
+      dist-location:
+        description: 'PyPI distribution location'
+        type: choice
+        options:
+          - test
+          - prod
+        default: 'test'
 
 jobs:
-  check:
-    name: Check
-    outputs:
-      version: ${{ steps.capture.outputs.version }}
-    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
-    steps:
-      - name: Git checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v6
-        with:
-          ref: ${{ github.ref }}
-          fetch-depth: 0
-
-      - name: Determine version
-        run: |
-          if [[ "${{ github.event.inputs.version }}" != "" ]]; then
-            VERSION="${{ github.event.inputs.version }}"
-          elif [ "${{ github.ref_type }}" == "tag" ]; then
-            VERSION="${{ github.ref_name }}"
-          else
-            echo "No release version provided and no tag found."
-            exit 1
-          fi
-          echo "VERSION=$VERSION" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
-          echo "Determined version: $VERSION"
-
-      - name: Validate release
-        if: ${{ !(github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && github.event.inputs.skip_validation) }}
-        run: tools/check-release.sh --version=${VERSION}
-
-      - name: Catpure version output
-        id: capture
-        run: echo "version=${VERSION}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-
-  releases:
-    name: Releases
-    needs: check
-    env:
-      version: ${{ needs.check.outputs.version }}
+  check-version:
+    name: Verify release tag
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/check-release-tag.yml
+    with:
+      version: ${{ github.event.inputs.version }}
+      skip_validation: ${{ github.event.inputs.skip_validation == 'true' }}
+
+
+  docker-build:
+    name: Docker build
+    needs: check-version
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/docker-build.yml
+    with:
+      version: ${{ needs.check-version.outputs.version }}
+      dh-repository-owner: ${{ github.event.inputs.dh-repository-owner || 'elementsproject' }}
+      platforms-to-build: ${{ github.event.inputs.platforms-to-build || 'linux/amd64,linux/arm64,linux/arm/v7' }}
+    secrets: inherit
+
+  pypi-build:
+    name: PyPI build
+    needs: check-version
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/pypi-build.yml
+    with:
+      version: ${{ needs.check-version.outputs.version }}
+    secrets: inherit
+
+  release-build:
+    name: Release binaries build
+    needs: check-version
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/release-build.yml
+    with:
+      version: ${{ needs.check-version.outputs.version }}
+      skip_validation: ${{ github.event.inputs.skip_validation == 'true' }}
+    secrets: inherit
+
+  gate:
+    name: All builds succeeded
+    needs: [docker-build, pypi-build, release-build]
     runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
-    strategy:
-      fail-fast: false    # Let each build finish.
-      matrix:
-        target:
-          - 'bin-Fedora'
-          - 'bin-Ubuntu-jammy'
-          - 'bin-Ubuntu-noble'
-          - 'bin-Ubuntu-resolute'
     steps:
-      - name: Git checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v6
-        with:
-          ref: ${{ github.ref }}
-          fetch-depth: 0
-
-      - name: Build environment setup
-        run: |
-          distribution=$(echo ${{ matrix.target }} | cut -d'-' -f3)
-          echo "Building base image for ${distribution}"
-          sudo docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/build ubuntu:${distribution} bash -c "\
-              apt-get update && \
-              apt-get install -y debootstrap && \
-              debootstrap ${distribution} /build/${distribution}"
-          sudo tar -C ${distribution} -c . | docker import - ${distribution}
-
-          # Build Docker image
-          docker build -t cl-repro-${distribution} - < contrib/reprobuild/Dockerfile.${distribution}
-        if: contains(matrix.target, 'Ubuntu')
-
-      - name: Build release
-        run: |
-          # Allow build release to execute if manually triggered for testing
-          if [[ "${{ github.event_name }}" == "workflow_dispatch" && "${{ github.event.inputs.skip_validation }}" == "true" ]]; then
-            tools/build-release.sh ${{ matrix.target }} --force-version "${{ env.version }}" --force-unclean --force-mtime "$(date +%Y-%m-%d)"
-          else
-            tools/build-release.sh ${{ matrix.target }}
-          fi
-
-      - name: Upload target artifacts
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
-        with:
-          path: release/
-          name: ${{ matrix.target }}
-          if-no-files-found: error
-
-  artifact:
-    name: Construct release artifact
-    needs:
-      - check
-      - releases
-    env:
-      version: ${{ needs.check.outputs.version }}
-    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
-    steps:
-      - name: Merge artifacts
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact/merge@v7
-        with:
-          name: c-lightning-${{ env.version }}
-          pattern: bin-*
-          delete-merged: true
-
-  release:
-    name: Sign and prepare release draft
-    needs:
-      - check
-      - artifact
-    env:
-      version: ${{ needs.check.outputs.version }}
-    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
-    steps:
-      - name: Git checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v6
-        with:
-          ref: ${{ github.ref }}
-          fetch-depth: 0
-
-      - name: Download artifact
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
-        with:
-          name: c-lightning-${{ env.version }}
-          path: release/
-
-      - name: Import GPG keys
-        id: gpg
-        uses: crazy-max/ghaction-import-gpg@v7
-        with:
-          gpg_private_key: ${{ secrets.GPG_PRIVATE_KEY }}
-          passphrase: ${{ secrets.GPG_PASSPHRASE }}
-          trust_level: 5
-
-      - name: Set default GPG key
-        run: echo "default-key ${{ steps.gpg.outputs.keyid }}" >> ~/.gnupg/gpg.conf
-
-      - name: Sign release
-        run: tools/build-release.sh --without-zip sign
-
-      - name: Upload signed artifact
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
-        with:
-          name: c-lightning-${{ env.version }}
-          overwrite: true
-          path: release/
-
-      - name: Determine release data
-        id: release_data
-        run: |
-          VERSION=${{ env.version }}
-          CHANGELOG_VERSION=${VERSION#v}
-          echo "CHANGELOG_VERSION=$CHANGELOG_VERSION"
-          echo "changelog_version=$CHANGELOG_VERSION" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-
-          CHANGELOG_TITLE=$(grep "## \[${CHANGELOG_VERSION}\]" CHANGELOG.md)
-          echo "CHANGELOG_TITLE=$CHANGELOG_TITLE"
-          echo "changelog_title=$CHANGELOG_TITLE" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-
-          RELEASE_TITLE=$(echo $CHANGELOG_TITLE | cut -d'"' -f2)
-          echo "RELEASE_TITLE=$RELEASE_TITLE"
-          echo "release_title=$RELEASE_TITLE" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-
-      - name: Prepare release draft
-        if: ${{ github.event_name == 'push' || (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && github.event.inputs.create_release) }}
-        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v3
-        with:
-          name: "${{ env.version }} ${{ steps.release_data.outputs.release_title }}"
-          tag_name: ${{ env.version }}
-          draft: true
-          prerelease: contains(env.version, "-rc")
-          files: release/*
-          fail_on_unmatched_files: true
+      - run: echo "All three build paths succeeded — proceeding to publish."
+
+  docker-publish:
+    name: Docker publish
+    needs: [check-version, gate]
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/docker-publish.yml
+    with:
+      version: ${{ needs.check-version.outputs.version }}
+      dh-repository-owner: ${{ github.event.inputs.dh-repository-owner || 'elementsproject' }}
+      push-latest: ${{ github.event.inputs.push-latest }}
+    secrets: inherit
+
+  pypi-publish:
+    name: PyPI publish
+    needs: [check-version, gate]
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/pypi-publish.yml
+    with:
+      version: ${{ needs.check-version.outputs.version }}
+      dist-location: ${{ github.event.inputs.dist-location }}
+    secrets: inherit
+
+  release-publish:
+    name: Release sign + draft
+    needs: [check-version, gate]
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/release-publish.yml
+    with:
+      version: ${{ needs.check-version.outputs.version }}
+      create_release: ${{ github.event.inputs.create_release == 'true' }}
+    secrets: inherit
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 6714e5f4775f..b6285d8bc6a2 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -188,6 +188,7 @@ RUN dpkg --add-architecture ${target_arch_dpkg}
 
 RUN apt-get update && \
     apt-get install -qq -y --no-install-recommends \
+        protobuf-compiler \
         pkg-config:${target_arch_dpkg} \
         crossbuild-essential-${target_arch_dpkg} && \
     apt-get clean && \