diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release.md b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..611bae35
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release.md
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+---
+name: "New release 🏷 [maintainers only]"
+about: "Start a new conda-store-ui release"
+title: "[REL] - <release number>"
+labels: ["release 🏷"]
+---
+
+<!-- These steps should be taken to create a new release!
+**Double-check for quality control** -->
+
+## Release details
+
+Scheduled release date - <yyyy/mm/dd>
+
+Release captain responsible - <@gh_username>
+
+---
+
+### 1. Pre-flight checks
+
+- [ ] Ensure there are no [open issues with a `block-release ⛔️` label](https://github.com/conda-incubator/conda-store/issues?q=is%3Aopen+label%3A%22block-release+%E2%9B%94%EF%B8%8F%22+sort%3Aupdated-desc)
+
+### 2. Prepare the codebase for a new release
+
+- [ ] Create a new git branch for the release `git checkout -b release-2023.9.1`
+  - [ ] Prepare the branch just in case `git clean -fxdq`
+- [ ] Bump `conda-store-ui` version in `package.json`
+- [ ] Follow the manual release instructions in the Release.md file (do not make the release yet!)
+- [ ] Make a release commit: `git commit -m 'REL - 2023.9.1'`
+- [ ] Push the release (REL) commit
+- [ ] If a **release candidate** is needed, tick this box when we're ready for a full release.
+
+### 3. Make the release
+
+- [ ] [Start a new GitHub release](https://github.com/conda-incubator/conda-store/releases/new)
+  - Call the release the current version, e.g. `2023.9.1`
+  - In the **`Choose a Tag:`** dropdown, type in the release name (e.g., `2023.9.1`) and click "Create new tag"
+  - In the **`Target:`** dropdown, pin it to the release commit you've recently pushed.
+  - Add release notes in the field below[^github-activity].
+- [ ] Confirm that the release completed
+  - [The `release` GitHub action job](https://github.com/conda-incubator/conda-store-ui/blob/main/.github/workflows/release.yaml) has completed successfully in the [actions tab](https://github.com/conda-incubator/conda-store-ui/actions).
+- [ ] Celebrate, you're done! 🎉
+
+[^github-activity]: If you wish, use [`github-activity` to generate a changelog](https://github.com/choldgraf/github-activity), e.g. `github-activity conda-incubator/conda-store --since 2023.9.1 --until 2023.10.1`.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 25948596..8933dd6b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -37,6 +37,6 @@ jobs:
       - name: "Publish to npm 📤"
         run: |
           echo "Publishing with tag ${{ env.GITHUB_REF_NAME }}"
-          yarn publish --access public --verbose
+          npm publish --verbose --access public conda-store-ui.tgz
         env:
           NPM_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/RELEASE.md b/RELEASE.md
index 69d84eeb..cbbd678c 100644
--- a/RELEASE.md
+++ b/RELEASE.md
@@ -1,22 +1,43 @@
 # Manual release process
 
-1. Increment version in `package.json`
-2. Perform a local dry run build:
+1. Create a new branch for the release `git checkout -b release-2023.9.1`
+2. Clean the branch `git clean -fxdq`
+3. Increment version in `package.json`
+4. Build the package locally:
 
    ```bash
-   # dry run build
-   npm publish --access public --dry-run
+   yarn install
 
-   # the real publish-to-npmjs command
+   # build the package
+   yarn run build
+
+   # for the browser bundle
+   yarn run webpack bundle
+
+   # pack the bundle
+   yarn pack --filename conda-store-ui.tgz
+
+   ```
+
+5. Perform a local dry run publish:
+
+   ```bash
+   # dry run publish to npmjs
+   npm publish --verbose --access public conda-store-ui.tgz --dry-run
+   ```
+
+6. If the dry run looks good, publish to npmjs:
+
+   ```bash
    npm publish --access public
    ```
 
-3. Ensure that whatever code you published is checked into git, then tag and push the commit and tag
+7. Ensure that whatever code you published is checked into git, then tag and push the commit and tag
 
-  ```bash
-  # use the same version here as in package.json, but without a leading `v`
-  git tag -a YYYY.M.ReleaseNumber
+```bash
+# use the same version here as in package.json, but without a leading `v`
+git tag -a YYYY.M.ReleaseNumber
 
-  # push to upstream
-  git push && git push --tags
-  ```
+# push to upstream
+git push && git push --tags
+```
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 9b46969d..08a97765 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@conda-store/conda-store-ui",
-  "version": "2023.10.1",
+  "version": "2023.10.2",
   "description": "UI elements for building a frontend for conda-store",
   "homepage": "https://github.com/conda-incubator/conda-store-ui",
   "bugs": {