diff --git a/scripts/release-changelog.test.ts b/scripts/release-changelog.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..362d800e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release-changelog.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+import {
+  bumpVersion,
+  Commit,
+  formatReleaseNotes,
+  formatReleasePrBody,
+  generateChangesetContent,
+} from './release-changelog';
+
+const commit = (subject: string, body = ''): Commit => ({
+  hash: 'abc1234',
+  subject,
+  body,
+});
+
+const pr = (n: number) =>
+  `[#${n}](https://github.com/remoteoss/remote-flows/pull/${n})`;
+
+describe('generateChangesetContent', () => {
+  it('groups commits by type, keeping commit order within each section', () => {
+    const changeset = generateChangesetContent([
+      commit('ci(e2e): only surface failures (#5)'),
+      commit('fix(onboarding): disable submit while checking (#2)'),
+      commit('feat(onboarding): wire onBlur events (#1)'),
+      commit('docs: keep public JSDoc short (#4)'),
+      commit('test(e2e): cover China salary conversion (#6)'),
+      commit('fix: pre-fill resumed steps (#3)'),
+      commit('chore(example): bump GBR schema version (#7)'),
+      commit('refactor: extract helper (#8)'),
+    ]);
+
+    expect(changeset).toEqual({
+      versionBump: 'minor',
+      content: `#### Features
+
+- wire onBlur events (#1) ${pr(1)}
+
+#### Fixes
+
+- disable submit while checking (#2) ${pr(2)}
+- pre-fill resumed steps (#3) ${pr(3)}
+
+#### Docs
+
+- keep public JSDoc short (#4) ${pr(4)}
+
+#### Chores
+
+- only surface failures (#5) ${pr(5)}
+- cover China salary conversion (#6) ${pr(6)}
+- bump GBR schema version (#7) ${pr(7)}
+- extract helper (#8) ${pr(8)}`,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('leaves out empty sections', () => {
+    expect(
+      generateChangesetContent([
+        commit('fix: stable pricing plan schema (#9)'),
+        commit('chore: bump tsx (#10)'),
+      ]),
+    ).toEqual({
+      versionBump: 'patch',
+      content: `#### Fixes
+
+- stable pricing plan schema (#9) ${pr(9)}
+
+#### Chores
+
+- bump tsx (#10) ${pr(10)}`,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('bumps major when a feat or fix body has a BREAKING CHANGE footer', () => {
+    expect(
+      generateChangesetContent([
+        commit('feat: add flag (#1)'),
+        commit('fix: drop legacy prop (#2)', 'BREAKING CHANGE: prop removed'),
+      ])?.versionBump,
+    ).toBe('major');
+  });
+
+  it('keeps backticks and quotes in descriptions as-is', () => {
+    expect(
+      generateChangesetContent([
+        commit('fix: stop stripping the required `name` field "now" (#11)'),
+      ])?.content,
+    ).toBe(
+      `#### Fixes\n\n- stop stripping the required \`name\` field "now" (#11) ${pr(11)}`,
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('omits the PR link when the commit has no PR number', () => {
+    expect(generateChangesetContent([commit('chore: tidy up')])?.content).toBe(
+      '#### Chores\n\n- tidy up',
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('returns null when no commit is conventional', () => {
+    expect(generateChangesetContent([commit('Update README')])).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
+describe('bumpVersion', () => {
+  it.each([
+    ['patch', '1.60.1'],
+    ['minor', '1.61.0'],
+    ['major', '2.0.0'],
+  ] as const)('applies a %s bump', (versionBump, expected) => {
+    expect(bumpVersion('1.60.0', versionBump)).toBe(expected);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('release notes', () => {
+  const changeset = {
+    versionBump: 'minor' as const,
+    content: `#### Features\n\n- wire onBlur events (#1) ${pr(1)}`,
+  };
+
+  it('formats the changelog entry', () => {
+    expect(formatReleaseNotes('1.61.0', changeset)).toBe(`## 1.61.0
+
+### Minor Changes
+
+#### Features
+
+- wire onBlur events (#1) ${pr(1)}`);
+  });
+
+  it('appends the generated-by footer to the PR body', () => {
+    expect(formatReleasePrBody('1.61.0', changeset)).toBe(`## 1.61.0
+
+### Minor Changes
+
+#### Features
+
+- wire onBlur events (#1) ${pr(1)}
+
+---
+
+This release was automatically generated from conventional commits.`);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/scripts/release-changelog.ts b/scripts/release-changelog.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e628b2d9f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/release-changelog.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+export type VersionBump = 'patch' | 'minor' | 'major';
+
+export interface Commit {
+  hash: string;
+  subject: string;
+  body: string;
+}
+
+export interface ParsedCommit {
+  type: string;
+  scope?: string;
+  description: string;
+  versionBump: VersionBump;
+  prNumber?: string;
+  hash: string;
+}
+
+export interface Changeset {
+  versionBump: VersionBump;
+  content: string;
+}
+
+const CHANGELOG_SECTIONS: Record<string, string> = {
+  feat: 'Features',
+  fix: 'Fixes',
+  docs: 'Docs',
+};
+
+export function parseConventionalCommit(commit: Commit): ParsedCommit | null {
+  const { subject, body } = commit;
+
+  // Updated regex to handle both colon and dash separators
+  const match = subject.match(/^(\w+)(?:\(([^)]+)\))?\s*[-:]\s*(.+)$/);
+
+  if (!match) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  const [, type, scope, description] = match;
+  let versionBump: VersionBump = 'patch';
+
+  if (type === 'feat') {
+    versionBump = 'minor';
+  }
+  if (type === 'feat' && body.includes('BREAKING CHANGE')) {
+    versionBump = 'major';
+  }
+  if (type === 'fix' && body.includes('BREAKING CHANGE')) {
+    versionBump = 'major';
+  }
+
+  const prMatch = (description + ' ' + body).match(/#(\d+)/);
+  const prNumber = prMatch ? prMatch[1] : undefined;
+
+  return {
+    type,
+    scope,
+    description,
+    versionBump,
+    prNumber,
+    hash: commit.hash,
+  };
+}
+
+export function generateChangesetContent(commits: Commit[]): Changeset | null {
+  const parsedCommits = commits
+    .map(parseConventionalCommit)
+    .filter((commit): commit is ParsedCommit => commit !== null);
+
+  if (parsedCommits.length === 0) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  let versionBump: VersionBump = 'patch';
+  if (parsedCommits.some((commit) => commit.versionBump === 'major')) {
+    versionBump = 'major';
+  } else if (parsedCommits.some((commit) => commit.versionBump === 'minor')) {
+    versionBump = 'minor';
+  }
+
+  const sections: Record<string, string[]> = {
+    Features: [],
+    Fixes: [],
+    Docs: [],
+    Chores: [],
+  };
+
+  parsedCommits.forEach((commit) => {
+    const prText = commit.prNumber
+      ? ` [#${commit.prNumber}](https://github.com/remoteoss/remote-flows/pull/${commit.prNumber})`
+      : '';
+    sections[CHANGELOG_SECTIONS[commit.type] ?? 'Chores'].push(
+      `- ${commit.description}${prText}`,
+    );
+  });
+
+  return {
+    versionBump,
+    content: Object.entries(sections)
+      .filter(([, items]) => items.length > 0)
+      .map(([title, items]) => `#### ${title}\n\n${items.join('\n')}`)
+      .join('\n\n'),
+  };
+}
+
+export function bumpVersion(version: string, versionBump: VersionBump): string {
+  const [major, minor, patch] = version.split('.').map(Number);
+  if (versionBump === 'major') {
+    return `${major + 1}.0.0`;
+  }
+  if (versionBump === 'minor') {
+    return `${major}.${minor + 1}.0`;
+  }
+  return `${major}.${minor}.${patch + 1}`;
+}
+
+export function formatReleaseNotes(
+  version: string,
+  changeset: Changeset,
+): string {
+  const versionType =
+    changeset.versionBump === 'major'
+      ? 'Major'
+      : changeset.versionBump === 'minor'
+        ? 'Minor'
+        : 'Patch';
+
+  return `## ${version}
+
+### ${versionType} Changes
+
+${changeset.content}`;
+}
+
+export function formatReleasePrBody(
+  version: string,
+  changeset: Changeset,
+): string {
+  return `${formatReleaseNotes(version, changeset)}
+
+---
+
+This release was automatically generated from conventional commits.`;
+}
diff --git a/scripts/release.ts b/scripts/release.ts
index ec446f7ec..5dc717ac5 100755
--- a/scripts/release.ts
+++ b/scripts/release.ts
@@ -1,30 +1,18 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env tsx
 
-import { execSync } from 'child_process';
+import { execFileSync, execSync } from 'child_process';
 import { readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs';
 import { createInterface } from 'readline';
+import {
+  bumpVersion,
+  Commit,
+  formatReleaseNotes,
+  formatReleasePrBody,
+  generateChangesetContent,
+  VersionBump,
+} from './release-changelog';
 import { $TSFixMe } from './types';
 
-interface Commit {
-  hash: string;
-  subject: string;
-  body: string;
-}
-
-interface ParsedCommit {
-  type: string;
-  scope?: string;
-  description: string;
-  versionBump: 'patch' | 'minor' | 'major';
-  prNumber?: string;
-  hash: string;
-}
-
-interface Changeset {
-  versionBump: 'patch' | 'minor' | 'major';
-  content: string;
-}
-
 async function getLatestPublishedVersion(): Promise<string> {
   console.log('📦 Reading version from package.json...');
   const packageJson = JSON.parse(readFileSync('package.json', 'utf8'));
@@ -121,86 +109,6 @@ async function getCommitsFromGitHubAPI(): Promise<Commit[]> {
   }
 }
 
-function parseConventionalCommit(commit: Commit): ParsedCommit | null {
-  const { subject, body } = commit;
-
-  // Updated regex to handle both colon and dash separators
-  const match = subject.match(/^(\w+)(?:\(([^)]+)\))?\s*[-:]\s*(.+)$/);
-
-  if (!match) {
-    return null;
-  }
-
-  const [, type, scope, description] = match;
-  let versionBump: 'patch' | 'minor' | 'major' = 'patch';
-
-  if (type === 'feat') {
-    versionBump = 'minor';
-  }
-  if (type === 'feat' && body.includes('BREAKING CHANGE')) {
-    versionBump = 'major';
-  }
-  if (type === 'fix' && body.includes('BREAKING CHANGE')) {
-    versionBump = 'major';
-  }
-
-  const prMatch = (description + ' ' + body).match(/#(\d+)/);
-  const prNumber = prMatch ? prMatch[1] : undefined;
-
-  return {
-    type,
-    scope,
-    description,
-    versionBump,
-    prNumber,
-    hash: commit.hash,
-  };
-}
-
-function generateChangesetContent(commits: Commit[]): Changeset | null {
-  const parsedCommits = commits
-    .map(parseConventionalCommit)
-    .filter((commit): commit is ParsedCommit => commit !== null);
-
-  if (parsedCommits.length === 0) {
-    console.log('No conventional commits found');
-    return null;
-  }
-
-  const groups: Record<'major' | 'minor' | 'patch', ParsedCommit[]> = {
-    major: [],
-    minor: [],
-    patch: [],
-  };
-
-  parsedCommits.forEach((commit) => {
-    groups[commit.versionBump].push(commit);
-  });
-
-  let finalVersionBump: 'patch' | 'minor' | 'major' = 'patch';
-  if (groups.major.length > 0) {
-    finalVersionBump = 'major';
-  } else if (groups.minor.length > 0) {
-    finalVersionBump = 'minor';
-  }
-
-  // Generate simple changeset content (no markdown headers)
-  const changesetItems: string[] = [];
-
-  // Add all commits as simple bullet points
-  parsedCommits.forEach((commit) => {
-    const prText = commit.prNumber
-      ? ` [#${commit.prNumber}](https://github.com/remoteoss/remote-flows/pull/${commit.prNumber})`
-      : '';
-    changesetItems.push(`- ${commit.description}${prText}`);
-  });
-
-  return {
-    versionBump: finalVersionBump,
-    content: changesetItems.join('\n'),
-  };
-}
-
 async function main(): Promise<void> {
   console.log('🚀 Preparing release...');
 
@@ -249,26 +157,10 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
 
     const validVersions = ['patch', 'minor', 'major'];
     if (validVersions.includes(userVersionBump.toLowerCase())) {
-      finalVersionBump = userVersionBump.toLowerCase() as
-        | 'patch'
-        | 'minor'
-        | 'major';
-
-      // Calculate what the new version will be
-      const [major, minor, patch] = latestPublishedVersion
-        .split('.')
-        .map(Number);
-      let newVersion: string;
-      if (finalVersionBump === 'major') {
-        newVersion = `${major + 1}.0.0`;
-      } else if (finalVersionBump === 'minor') {
-        newVersion = `${major}.${minor + 1}.0`;
-      } else {
-        newVersion = `${major}.${minor}.${patch + 1}`;
-      }
+      finalVersionBump = userVersionBump.toLowerCase() as VersionBump;
 
       console.log(
-        `📝 Using version bump: ${finalVersionBump} (${latestPublishedVersion} → ${newVersion})`,
+        `📝 Using version bump: ${finalVersionBump} (${latestPublishedVersion} → ${bumpVersion(latestPublishedVersion, finalVersionBump)})`,
       );
     } else {
       console.log('Invalid version bump. Exiting.');
@@ -293,18 +185,7 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
   // Manual version bumping and changelog generation
   console.log('📦 Updating version and changelog...');
 
-  // Use the latest published version as the base
-  const [major, minor, patch] = latestPublishedVersion.split('.').map(Number);
-
-  // Bump version based on changeset
-  let newVersion: string;
-  if (changeset.versionBump === 'major') {
-    newVersion = `${major + 1}.0.0`;
-  } else if (changeset.versionBump === 'minor') {
-    newVersion = `${major}.${minor + 1}.0`;
-  } else {
-    newVersion = `${major}.${minor}.${patch + 1}`;
-  }
+  const newVersion = bumpVersion(latestPublishedVersion, changeset.versionBump);
 
   console.log(`📈 Version bump: ${latestPublishedVersion} → ${newVersion}`);
 
@@ -313,20 +194,7 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
   packageJson.version = newVersion;
   writeFileSync('package.json', JSON.stringify(packageJson, null, 2) + '\n');
 
-  // Generate changelog entry to match existing format
-  const versionType =
-    changeset.versionBump === 'major'
-      ? 'Major'
-      : changeset.versionBump === 'minor'
-        ? 'Minor'
-        : 'Patch';
-  const changelogEntry = `## ${newVersion}
-
-### ${versionType} Changes
-
-${changeset.content}
-
-`;
+  const changelogEntry = `${formatReleaseNotes(newVersion, changeset)}\n\n`;
 
   // Read existing changelog
   let changelog = '';
@@ -390,19 +258,22 @@ ${changeset.content}
   // Auto-create PR with changelog content as body
   console.log(`🔗 Creating PR...`);
   try {
-    // Create PR with changelog content as the body
-    const prBody = `## ${newVersion}
-
-### ${versionType} Changes
-
-${changeset.content}
-
----
-
-This release was automatically generated from conventional commits.`;
-
-    execSync(
-      `gh pr create --title "${newVersion}" --body "${prBody}" --base main --head ${branchName}`,
+    const prBody = formatReleasePrBody(newVersion, changeset);
+
+    execFileSync(
+      'gh',
+      [
+        'pr',
+        'create',
+        '--title',
+        newVersion,
+        '--body',
+        prBody,
+        '--base',
+        'main',
+        '--head',
+        branchName,
+      ],
       { stdio: 'inherit' },
     );
     console.log(`✅ Created PR: Release v${newVersion}`);