diff --git a/.github/workflows/lint-and-test.yml b/.github/workflows/lint-and-test.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..67359cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/lint-and-test.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+name: Lint & Test
+on: pull_request
+
+jobs:
+  lint:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+      - run: make lint
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index f73933c..f76d075 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -4,6 +4,6 @@ test-node:
 test: test-node
 
 lint-shell:
-	shellcheck prepare-dev/*.sh prepare-dev/src/*.sh
+	shellcheck prepare-dev/*.sh src/*.sh release-pr/*.sh
 
 lint: lint-shell
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5a05924..70fb0e9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 # plugin-release-actions
 GitHub actions for standardized releases for WP plugins and Drupal modules
 
-## Build Tag and Release
+## Actions
+### Build Tag and Release
 This action will build a tag and draft a release for a plugin or module.
 
 To use this action, create a workflow file in your plugin or module repository (e.g. `.github/workflows/release.yml`) with the following contents:
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ jobs:
         draft: "false"
 ```
 
-### Inputs
+#### Inputs
 
 | Name | Description | Default |
 | --- | --- | --- |
@@ -43,7 +44,13 @@ jobs:
 | `draft` | Whether to make the release a draft or live | `true` |
 
 
-## Prepare Dev
-This action will update the development branch to be ready for the next release after releasing a new version of a plugin or module.
+### Prepare Dev
+This action will update the development branch to be ready for the next release after releasing a new version of a plugin or module. This action search and replaces the version number across all the top-level files in the repo.
 
+### Release PR
+This action will draft a "ship it" PR to the `release` branch when new features are added to the development branch. This action search and replaces the version number in relevant places across all the top-level files in the repo.
 
+This action expects to make use of the label "automation" on the repo. Create it if it does not already exist.
+
+## Merging Commits
+_TBD explain why features should be squashed and releases must be merged._
diff --git a/prepare-dev/prepare-dev.sh b/prepare-dev/prepare-dev.sh
index bdb198d..87b70cb 100644
--- a/prepare-dev/prepare-dev.sh
+++ b/prepare-dev/prepare-dev.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 set -eou pipefail
-set -x
 IFS=$'\n\t'
 
 if [[ "${DRY_RUN:-}" == 1 ]]; then
@@ -17,13 +16,13 @@ readonly GIT_USER="bot@getpantheon.com"
 readonly GIT_NAME="Pantheon Automation"
 
 # shellcheck disable=SC1091
-source "${SELF_DIRNAME}/src/functions.sh"
+source "${SELF_DIRNAME}/../src/functions.sh"
 
 readonly RELEASE_BRANCH="release"
 readonly DEVELOP_BRANCH="main"
 
 main() {
-    local README_MD="${2:-}"
+    local README_MD="${1:-}"
     if [[ -z "$README_MD" ]]; then
         README_MD=README.MD
     fi
diff --git a/release-pr/action.yml b/release-pr/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1238638
--- /dev/null
+++ b/release-pr/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+name: Draft Release PR
+description: Create a PR to the release branch with all new features on the development branch.
+
+inputs:
+  # All of these should be parameterized but right now are set in the bash script.
+  # release_branch:
+  #   required: false
+  #   default: "release"
+  # development_branch:
+  #   required: false
+  #   default: "main"
+  # git_author_username:
+  #   required: false
+  #   default: "bot@getpantheon.com"
+  # git_author_username:
+  #   required: false
+  #   default: "Pantheon Automation"
+  readme_md: # to avoid case sensitivty issues when getting the current version out of readme
+    required: false
+    default: "README.MD"
+
+runs:
+  using: "composite"
+  steps:
+    - name: Draft Release PR
+      shell: bash
+      run: bash ${{ github.action_path }}/release-pr.sh ${{ inputs.readme_md }}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/release-pr/release-pr.sh b/release-pr/release-pr.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c61ba60
--- /dev/null
+++ b/release-pr/release-pr.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -eou pipefail
+IFS=$'\n\t'
+
+# shellcheck disable=SC2155
+readonly SELF_DIRNAME="$(dirname -- "$0")"
+
+# shellcheck disable=SC1091
+source "${SELF_DIRNAME}/../src/functions.sh"
+
+main() {
+	local README_MD="${1:-}"
+    if [[ -z "$README_MD" ]]; then
+        README_MD=README.MD
+    fi
+
+    local CURRENT_VERSION
+    CURRENT_VERSION="$(grep 'Stable tag:' < "${README_MD}" | awk '{print $3}')"
+
+    local NEW_VERSION="${CURRENT_VERSION%-dev}"
+    local RELEASE_BRANCH="release-${NEW_VERSION}"
+
+    # if local release branch exists, delete it
+    if git show-ref --quiet --verify "refs/heads/$RELEASE_BRANCH"; then
+        echo "> git branch -D ${RELEASE_BRANCH}"
+        git branch -D "${RELEASE_BRANCH}"
+    fi
+
+    git checkout -b "${RELEASE_BRANCH}"
+    echo "Updating ${CURRENT_VERSION} to ${NEW_VERSION}"
+    # Iterate through each file in the top-level directory
+    for file in ./*; do
+        process_file "$file" "${CURRENT_VERSION}" "${NEW_VERSION}"
+    done
+
+    git_config
+
+    RELEASE_MESSAGE="Release ${NEW_VERSION}"
+    git commit -m "${RELEASE_MESSAGE}"
+    git push origin "${RELEASE_BRANCH}" --force
+
+    # Create a draft PR
+    create_draft_pr RELEASE_MESSAGE
+    if gh pr view "${RELEASE_BRANCH}"; then
+    	echo_info "PR Already Exists"
+    	return
+    fi
+    local PR_TITLE="${RELEASE_MESSAGE}"
+    local PR_BODY="${RELEASE_MESSAGE}. If CI tests have not run, mark as 'ready for review' or close this PR and re-open it.
+
+For proper management of git history, merge this PR, do not squash or rebase."
+    gh pr create --draft --base "release" \
+        --title "${PR_TITLE}" --body "${PR_BODY}" \
+        --label "automation"
+}
+
+main "$@"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/prepare-dev/src/functions.sh b/src/functions.sh
similarity index 58%
rename from prepare-dev/src/functions.sh
rename to src/functions.sh
index c0b8845..bd0f910 100644
--- a/prepare-dev/src/functions.sh
+++ b/src/functions.sh
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ echo_info(){
 	echo  "[Info] $*" >&2
 }
 
-# echo to stderr with info tag
+# echo to stderr with error tag
 echo_error(){
 	echo  "[Error] $*" >&2
 }
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ process_file(){
         return
     fi
     # Convert the filename to lowercase for case-insensitive comparison
+    local LC_FILE_PATH
     LC_FILE_PATH=$(echo "$FILE" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
 
     echo "Processing file '${FILE}'..."
@@ -63,12 +64,16 @@ process_file(){
         echo_info "Alternative readme Processing  [${FILE}]."
         update_readme "${FILE}" "${OLD_VERSION}" "${NEW_VERSION}"
         echo_info "Skip futher readme sed"
-        return
+    else
+        echo "search-and-replace with sed"
+        if [[ ${NEW_VERSION} == *"-dev" ]]; then
+            # if we're going TO a new dev version, don't s/r "@since" in php docs
+            sed -i.tmp -e '/^\s*\* @since/!s/'"${OLD_VERSION}"'/'"${NEW_VERSION}"'/g' "$FILE" && rm "$FILE.tmp"
+        else
+            sed -i.tmp -e "s/${OLD_VERSION}/${NEW_VERSION}/g" "$FILE" && rm "$FILE.tmp"
+        fi
     fi
 
-    echo "search-and-replace with sed"
-    sed -i.tmp -e '/^\s*\* @since/!s/'"${OLD_VERSION}"'/'"${NEW_VERSION}"'/g' "$FILE" && rm "$FILE.tmp"
-
     git add "$FILE"
 }
 
@@ -82,22 +87,33 @@ update_readme(){
     fi
     
     # Convert the filename to lowercase for case-insensitive comparison
+    local LC_FILE_PATH
     LC_FILE_PATH=$(echo "$FILE_PATH" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
 
-    if [[ "$LC_FILE_PATH" == *.md ]]; then
-        echo_info "markdown search-replace"
-        local new_heading="### ${NEW_VERSION}"
-        local awk_with_target='/## Changelog/ { print; print ""; print heading; next } 1'
+    # handle "prepare dev" one way and "draft PR" another.
+    if [[ ${NEW_VERSION} == *"-dev" ]]; then
+        # if we're going TO -dev, add a new changelog heading
+        if [[ "$LC_FILE_PATH" == *.md ]]; then
+            local new_heading="### ${NEW_VERSION}"
+            local awk_with_target='/## Changelog/ { print; print ""; print heading; next } 1'
+        else
+            local new_heading="= ${NEW_VERSION} ="
+            local awk_with_target='/== Changelog ==/ { print; print ""; print heading; next } 1'
+        fi
+        awk -v heading="$new_heading" "$awk_with_target" "$FILE_PATH" > tmp.md
+        mv tmp.md "$FILE_PATH"
     else
-        echo_info "wp.org txt search-replace"
-        local new_heading="= ${NEW_VERSION} ="
-        local awk_with_target='/== Changelog ==/ { print; print ""; print heading; next } 1'
+        # if we're going FROM -dev, update the changelog.
+        # TODO: do this instead/again as part of release since PR is unlikely to merge right away
+        if [[ "$LC_FILE_PATH" == *.md ]]; then
+            echo_info "updating changelog and adding date to readme.md"
+            sed -i -e "s/= ${OLD_VERSION}/= ${NEW_VERSION} (${TODAYS_DATE})/g" "$FILE"
+        else
+            echo_info "updating changelog and adding date to readme.txt"
+            sed -i -e "s/= ${OLD_VERSION}/= ${NEW_VERSION} (${TODAYS_DATE})/g" "$FILE"
+        fi
     fi
 
-    awk -v heading="$new_heading" "$awk_with_target" "$FILE_PATH" > tmp.md
-    mv tmp.md "$FILE_PATH"
-
+    # Update only the stable tag at the top of the document
     sed -i.tmp -e "s/Stable tag: ${OLD_VERSION}/Stable tag: ${NEW_VERSION}/g" "$FILE_PATH" && rm "$FILE_PATH.tmp"
-
-    git add "$FILE_PATH"
 }
\ No newline at end of file