diff --git a/.github/workflows/draft-release.yml b/.github/workflows/draft-release.yml
index fc55b42cf79..eedf4c38d98 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/draft-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/draft-release.yml
@@ -1,54 +1,76 @@
-name: 📝 Draft release changelog
+name: Build Desktop Draft Release
 
 on:
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
-      release_pr_number:
-        description: "Previous Release PR Number"
-        required: true
-        default: ""
-      tag:
-        description: "Tag for release (manual input)"
-        required: true
-        default: ""
+      draft:
+        description: "Create as draft release"
+        required: false
+        default: true
+        type: boolean
 
 jobs:
-  update_release_draft:
+  build-windows:
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/build-desktop-win64.yml
+    with:
+      release: true
+    secrets: inherit
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+
+  build-macos-arm:
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/build-desktop-osxARM.yml
+    with:
+      release: true
+    secrets: inherit
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+
+  build-macos-x64:
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/build-desktop-osx64.yml
+    with:
+      release: true
+    secrets: inherit
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+
+  publish:
+    needs: [build-windows, build-macos-arm, build-macos-x64]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       contents: write
-      pull-requests: read
     steps:
-      - name: 📟 Checkout code
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-
-      - name: 📝 Release Drafter
-        id: release-drafter
-        uses: release-drafter/release-drafter@v6.0.0
-        # with:
-        #   config-name: platform-drafter.yml
-        env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-
-      - name: 💾 Save Changelog
-        run: |
-          cat << 'EOF' > CHANGELOG.md
-          ${{ steps.release-drafter.outputs.body }}
-          EOF
-
-      - name: 🧬 Process Changelog
-        run: |
-          pip install requests openai
-          python .github/scripts/process_changelog.py CHANGELOG.md ${{ github.event.inputs.release_pr_number }}
-          python .github/scripts/summarize_changelog.py ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} ${{ secrets.OPENAI_API_KEY }}
-          cat CHANGELOG.md
-
-      - name: 🛫 Create Release
-        uses: mikepenz/action-gh-release@v1
+      - name: Download all artifacts
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
         with:
-          body_path: "CHANGELOG.md"
-          tag_name: ${{ github.event.inputs.tag }}
-          prerelease: false
+          path: artifacts
+
+      - name: Sanitize artifact filenames
+        run: |
+          find ./artifacts -depth -name "* *" | while read -r file; do mv "$file" "$(echo "$file" | tr ' ' '-')"; done
+
+      - name: Extract Version and Tag
+        id: extract_version
+        run: |
+          INSTALLER_FILE=$(find ./artifacts -name "*.exe" -o -name "*.dmg" | head -n 1)
+          VERSION=$(basename "$INSTALLER_FILE" | sed -n 's/.*_\([0-9]\+\.[0-9]\+\.[0-9]\+\)_.*/\1/p')
+          echo "version=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "release_name=ODP Desktop v$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "versioned_tag=Open-Data-Platform-v$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+      - name: Prepare assets
+        id: prep_assets
+        run: |
+          mkdir ./release_assets
+          find ./artifacts -type f -print -exec cp {} ./release_assets/ \;
+          echo "assets_path=./release_assets" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+      - name: Create VERSIONED release
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
+        with:
+          tag_name: ${{ steps.extract_version.outputs.versioned_tag }}
+          name: ${{ steps.extract_version.outputs.release_name }}
+          files: ${{ steps.prep_assets.outputs.assets_path }}/*
           draft: true
-        env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          prerelease: false
+          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-desktop.yml b/.github/workflows/release-desktop.yml
index fd38d7c981d..32f7d97d2a1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-desktop.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-desktop.yml
@@ -1,174 +1,11 @@
 name: Release ODP Desktop
 
 on:
-  workflow_call:
-    inputs:
-      draft:
-        required: true
-        type: boolean
   release:
     types: [published]
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      draft:
-        description: "Create as draft release"
-        required: false
-        default: false
-        type: boolean
 
 jobs:
-  build-windows:
-    if: github.event_name != 'release'
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/build-desktop-win64.yml
-    with:
-      release: true
-    secrets: inherit
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-
-  build-macos-arm:
-    if: github.event_name != 'release'
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/build-desktop-osxARM.yml
-    with:
-      release: true
-    secrets: inherit
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-
-  build-macos-x64:
-    if: github.event_name != 'release'
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/build-desktop-osx64.yml
-    with:
-      release: true
-    secrets: inherit
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-
-  publish:
-    needs: [build-windows, build-macos-arm, build-macos-x64]
-    if: github.event_name != 'release'
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-    outputs:
-      version: ${{ steps.extract_version.outputs.version }}
-      versioned_tag: ${{ steps.extract_version.outputs.versioned_tag }}
-      release_name: ${{ steps.extract_version.outputs.release_name }}
-      is_draft: ${{ github.event.inputs.draft == 'true' || github.event.inputs.draft == true || inputs.draft == true }}
-    steps:
-      - name: Download all artifacts
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
-        with:
-          path: artifacts
-
-      - name: Sanitize artifact filenames
-        run: |
-          find ./artifacts -depth -name "* *" | while read -r file; do mv "$file" "$(echo "$file" | tr ' ' '-')"; done
-
-      - name: Extract Version and Tag
-        id: extract_version
-        run: |
-          INSTALLER_FILE=$(find ./artifacts -name "*.exe" -o -name "*.dmg" | head -n 1)
-          if [ -z "$INSTALLER_FILE" ]; then
-            echo "::error::No installer file found in artifacts."
-            exit 1
-          fi
-          VERSION=$(basename "$INSTALLER_FILE" | sed -n 's/.*_\([0-9]\+\.[0-9]\+\.[0-9]\+\)_.*/\1/p')
-          if [ -z "$VERSION" ]; then
-            echo "::error::Could not extract version from filename: $(basename "$INSTALLER_FILE")"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-          echo "version=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "release_name=ODP Desktop v$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "versioned_tag=Open-Data-Platform-v$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-
-      - name: Prepare assets and generate release.json for VERSIONED release
-        id: prep_assets
-        run: |
-          mkdir ./release_assets
-          find ./artifacts -type f -print -exec cp {} ./release_assets/ \;
-          cd ./release_assets
-          VERSION="${{ steps.extract_version.outputs.version }}"
-          RELEASE_NAME="${{ steps.extract_version.outputs.release_name }}"
-          VERSIONED_TAG="${{ steps.extract_version.outputs.versioned_tag }}"
-
-          cat << EOF > release.json
-          {
-            "version": "$VERSION",
-            "notes": "Release for $RELEASE_NAME",
-            "pub_date": "$(date -u +'%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')",
-            "platforms": {
-          EOF
-
-          FIRST_PLATFORM=true
-
-          WIN_EXE=$(find . -name "*_x86_64.exe" | head -n 1)
-          if [ -n "$WIN_EXE" ]; then
-            WIN_SIG_FILE="${WIN_EXE}.sig"
-            WIN_SIG=$(cat "$WIN_SIG_FILE")
-            WIN_URL="https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/releases/download/${VERSIONED_TAG}/$(basename "$WIN_EXE")"
-            cat << EOF >> release.json
-              "windows-x86_64": {
-                "signature": "$WIN_SIG",
-                "url": "$WIN_URL"
-              }
-          EOF
-            FIRST_PLATFORM=false
-          fi
-
-          MAC_ARM_TAR=$(find . -name "*_aarch64.app.tar.gz" | head -n 1)
-          if [ -n "$MAC_ARM_TAR" ]; then
-            if [ "$FIRST_PLATFORM" = false ]; then
-              echo "," >> release.json
-            fi
-            MAC_ARM_SIG=$(cat "${MAC_ARM_TAR}.sig")
-            MAC_ARM_URL="https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/releases/download/${VERSIONED_TAG}/$(basename "$MAC_ARM_TAR")"
-            cat << EOF >> release.json
-              "darwin-aarch64": {
-                "signature": "$MAC_ARM_SIG",
-                "url": "$MAC_ARM_URL"
-              }
-          EOF
-            FIRST_PLATFORM=false
-          fi
-
-          MAC_X64_TAR=$(find . -name "*_x86_64.app.tar.gz" | head -n 1)
-          if [ -n "$MAC_X64_TAR" ]; then
-            if [ "$FIRST_PLATFORM" = false ]; then
-              echo "," >> release.json
-            fi
-            MAC_X64_SIG=$(cat "${MAC_X64_TAR}.sig")
-            MAC_X64_URL="https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/releases/download/${VERSIONED_TAG}/$(basename "$MAC_X64_TAR")"
-            cat << EOF >> release.json
-              "darwin-x86_64": {
-                "signature": "$MAC_X64_SIG",
-                "url": "$MAC_X64_URL"
-              }
-          EOF
-          fi
-
-          cat << EOF >> release.json
-            }
-          }
-          EOF
-
-          echo "Generated release.json for VERSIONED release:"
-          cat release.json
-          cd ..
-          echo "assets_path=./release_assets" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-
-      - name: Create VERSIONED release
-        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
-        with:
-          tag_name: ${{ steps.extract_version.outputs.versioned_tag }}
-          name: ${{ steps.extract_version.outputs.release_name }}
-          files: ${{ steps.prep_assets.outputs.assets_path }}/*
-          draft: true
-          prerelease: false
-          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-
   update-odp-release:
-    if: github.event_name == 'release'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       contents: write
@@ -212,7 +49,6 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           mkdir ./odp_assets
 
-          # Copy and rename installer files - replace version with "latest"
           for file in $(find ./artifacts -name "*.exe"); do
             BASENAME=$(basename "$file")
             NEW_NAME=$(echo "$BASENAME" | sed -E 's/_[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+_/_latest_/')
@@ -241,7 +77,6 @@ jobs:
 
           FIRST_PLATFORM=true
 
-          # JSON points to ORIGINAL files in VERSIONED release
           WIN_EXE=$(find ../artifacts -name "*_x86_64.exe" | head -n 1)
           if [ -n "$WIN_EXE" ]; then
             WIN_SIG_FILE="${WIN_EXE}.sig"