diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index fc4a6728..d89ee9f1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -96,6 +96,12 @@ jobs:
           }
           NODE
 
+      - name: Generate release notes
+        run: node scripts/generate-release-notes.ts "$RELEASE_VERSION" "$RUNNER_TEMP/release-notes.md"
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          RELEASE_VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}
+
       - name: Publish prepared release
         run: ./scripts/release.sh --publish-prepared "$RELEASE_VERSION"
         env:
@@ -110,14 +116,7 @@ jobs:
           if [[ "${version%%.*}" == 9 ]]; then
             latest=false
           fi
-          notes="docs/releases/v${version}.md"
-          args=("v${version}" --target "$(git rev-parse HEAD)" --title "NitroSQLite ${version}" --latest="$latest")
-          if [ -f "$notes" ]; then
-            args+=(--notes-file "$notes")
-          else
-            args+=(--generate-notes)
-          fi
-          gh release create "${args[@]}"
+          gh release create "v${version}" --target "$(git rev-parse HEAD)" --title "NitroSQLite ${version}" --latest="$latest" --notes-file "$RUNNER_TEMP/release-notes.md"
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
           RELEASE_VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 9a256a75..d30c39bf 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
     "clean": "rm -rf **/.tsbuild **/tsconfig.tsbuildinfo node_modules packages/react-native-nitro-sqlite/node_module packages/react-native-nitro-sqlite/lib",
     "check:lockfile": "bun scripts/check-bun-lockfile.ts",
     "sync:lockfile": "bun scripts/sync-bun-lockfile.ts",
-    "test:release": "bun test scripts/sync-bun-lockfile.test.ts && node --test scripts/release.test.ts",
+    "test:release": "bun test scripts/sync-bun-lockfile.test.ts && node --test scripts/release.test.ts scripts/generate-release-notes.test.ts",
     "release": "./scripts/release.sh",
     "sqlite": "bun --cwd packages/react-native-nitro-sqlite",
     "example": "bun --cwd example",
diff --git a/scripts/generate-release-notes.test.ts b/scripts/generate-release-notes.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1f4782c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/generate-release-notes.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict'
+import { execFileSync } from 'node:child_process'
+import {
+  mkdtempSync,
+  mkdirSync,
+  readFileSync,
+  rmSync,
+  writeFileSync,
+} from 'node:fs'
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
+import { join } from 'node:path'
+import { test } from 'node:test'
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
+
+type Configuration = {
+  'repository': { type: string; url: string }
+  'release-it': {
+    plugins: {
+      '@release-it/conventional-changelog': {
+        preset: { types: { type: string; section: string }[] }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+const script = fileURLToPath(
+  new URL('./generate-release-notes.ts', import.meta.url),
+)
+const configuration = JSON.parse(
+  readFileSync(new URL('../package.json', import.meta.url), 'utf8'),
+) as Configuration
+
+test('combines the announcement, configured changelog, and new contributors from the selected release branch', () => {
+  const githubNotes =
+    "## What's Changed\n* unrelated generated list\n\n## New Contributors\n* @newcomer made their first contribution in https://github.com/margelo/react-native-nitro-sqlite/pull/1\n\n**Full Changelog**: contributor-section-end"
+  withFixture(githubNotes, (directory) => {
+    const notes = generate(directory)
+    assert.match(notes, /^Custom announcement\.\n\n---\n\n/)
+    const fixSection = configuration['release-it'].plugins[
+      '@release-it/conventional-changelog'
+    ].preset.types.find((entry) => entry.type === 'fix')?.section
+    assert.ok(fixSection)
+    assert.ok(notes.includes(fixSection))
+    assert.match(notes, /repair runtime connections/)
+    assert.match(notes, /v1\.0\.0\.\.\.v1\.0\.1/)
+    assert.match(
+      notes,
+      /## New Contributors\n\* @newcomer made their first contribution in https:\/\/github\.com\/margelo\/react-native-nitro-sqlite\/pull\/1/,
+    )
+    assert.doesNotMatch(
+      notes,
+      /main only feature|initial release fixture|unrelated generated list|contributor-section-end/,
+    )
+  })
+})
+
+test('regenerates a published release from its previous tag and states when no new contributors are detected', () => {
+  withFixture("## What's Changed\n* existing contributor", (directory) => {
+    git(directory, 'tag', 'v1.0.1')
+    const notes = generate(directory)
+    assert.match(notes, /repair runtime connections/)
+    assert.match(notes, /v1\.0\.0\.\.\.v1\.0\.1/)
+    assert.match(
+      notes,
+      /## New Contributors\n\nNo new contributors were detected for this release\./,
+    )
+  })
+})
+
+test('rejects a release increment before generating notes', () => {
+  withFixture('', (directory) => {
+    assert.throws(
+      () => generate(directory, 'patch'),
+      /An exact stable release version is required/,
+    )
+  })
+})
+
+function generate(directory: string, version = '1.0.1'): string {
+  const destination = join(directory, 'notes.md')
+  execFileSync(process.execPath, [script, version, destination], {
+    cwd: directory,
+    env: {
+      ...process.env,
+      PATH: `${join(directory, 'bin')}:${process.env.PATH}`,
+    },
+    stdio: 'pipe',
+  })
+  return readFileSync(destination, 'utf8')
+}
+
+function withFixture(body: string, run: (directory: string) => void): void {
+  const directory = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'nitrosqlite-release-notes-'))
+  try {
+    git(directory, 'init', '-b', 'main')
+    git(directory, 'config', 'user.name', 'Christoph Pader')
+    git(directory, 'config', 'user.email', 'release-test@example.invalid')
+    // Fixture commits stay inside this temporary repository and need no signing key in CI.
+    git(directory, 'config', 'commit.gpgsign', 'false')
+    writeFileSync(
+      join(directory, 'package.json'),
+      JSON.stringify({
+        'name': 'release-notes-fixture',
+        'version': '1.0.1',
+        'repository': configuration.repository,
+        'release-it': configuration['release-it'],
+      }),
+    )
+    mkdirSync(join(directory, 'docs/releases'), { recursive: true })
+    writeFileSync(
+      join(directory, 'docs/releases/v1.0.1.md'),
+      'Custom announcement.\n',
+    )
+    git(directory, 'add', '.')
+    git(directory, 'commit', '-m', 'chore: initial release fixture')
+    git(directory, 'tag', 'v1.0.0')
+    git(directory, 'branch', 'release/1.0')
+    git(directory, 'commit', '--allow-empty', '-m', 'feat: main only feature')
+    git(directory, 'switch', 'release/1.0')
+    git(
+      directory,
+      'commit',
+      '--allow-empty',
+      '-m',
+      'fix: repair runtime connections',
+    )
+    mkdirSync(join(directory, 'bin'))
+    writeFileSync(
+      join(directory, 'bin/gh'),
+      `#!/usr/bin/env node\nconst args = process.argv.slice(2);\nif (!args.includes('previous_tag_name=v1.0.0') || !args.includes('tag_name=v1.0.1')) throw new Error('Incorrect GitHub release range');\nprocess.stdout.write(${JSON.stringify(JSON.stringify({ body }))});\n`,
+      { mode: 0o755 },
+    )
+    run(directory)
+  } finally {
+    rmSync(directory, { recursive: true, force: true })
+  }
+}
+
+function git(directory: string, ...args: string[]): void {
+  execFileSync('git', args, { cwd: directory, stdio: 'pipe' })
+}
diff --git a/scripts/generate-release-notes.ts b/scripts/generate-release-notes.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dab54df1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/generate-release-notes.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+import { execFileSync } from 'node:child_process'
+import { readFile, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises'
+import { createRequire } from 'node:module'
+import { resolve } from 'node:path'
+import type { Readable } from 'node:stream'
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
+
+type RootPackage = {
+  'release-it'?: {
+    plugins?: Record<string, Record<string, unknown>>
+  }
+}
+
+type ChangelogFactory = (
+  options: Record<string, unknown>,
+  context: Record<string, string>,
+  commits: Record<string, string>,
+) => Readable
+
+/** Build announcement text, the configured commit changelog, and contributor acknowledgements.
+ * The range ends at the selected commit and starts at its previous reachable release tag.
+ * Throws if custom notes, the changelog configuration, or GitHub contributor detection are unavailable.
+ * @param version Exact stable version being released.
+ * @returns Complete Markdown announcement, changelog, and new contributor section.
+ */
+export async function generateReleaseNotes(version: string): Promise<string> {
+  if (!/^\d+\.\d+\.\d+$/.test(version)) {
+    throw new Error('An exact stable release version is required.')
+  }
+
+  const releaseCommit = git('rev-parse', 'HEAD')
+  const previousTag = git(
+    'describe',
+    '--tags',
+    '--match',
+    'v[0-9]*',
+    '--abbrev=0',
+    `${releaseCommit}^`,
+  )
+  const currentTag = `v${version}`
+  const announcement = (
+    await readFile(`docs/releases/${currentTag}.md`, 'utf8')
+  ).trim()
+  if (!announcement) throw new Error('Custom release notes must not be empty.')
+
+  const metadata = JSON.parse(
+    await readFile('package.json', 'utf8'),
+  ) as RootPackage
+  const options =
+    metadata['release-it']?.plugins?.['@release-it/conventional-changelog']
+  if (!options?.preset) {
+    throw new Error('The release pipeline must configure a changelog preset.')
+  }
+
+  const require = createRequire(import.meta.url)
+  const pluginRequire = createRequire(
+    require.resolve('@release-it/conventional-changelog/package.json'),
+  )
+  const changelogFactory = pluginRequire(
+    'conventional-changelog',
+  ) as ChangelogFactory
+  const stream = changelogFactory(
+    { ...options, releaseCount: 1, tagPrefix: 'v' },
+    { version, previousTag, currentTag },
+    { from: previousTag, to: releaseCommit },
+  )
+  let changelog = ''
+  for await (const chunk of stream) changelog += String(chunk)
+  if (!changelog.trim())
+    throw new Error('The release changelog must not be empty.')
+
+  const githubNotes = JSON.parse(
+    execFileSync(
+      'gh',
+      [
+        'api',
+        'repos/{owner}/{repo}/releases/generate-notes',
+        '--method',
+        'POST',
+        '-f',
+        `tag_name=${currentTag}`,
+        '-f',
+        `target_commitish=${releaseCommit}`,
+        '-f',
+        `previous_tag_name=${previousTag}`,
+      ],
+      { encoding: 'utf8' },
+    ),
+  ) as { body?: string }
+  if (typeof githubNotes.body !== 'string') {
+    throw new Error('GitHub did not return generated release notes.')
+  }
+
+  return `${announcement}\n\n---\n\n${changelog.trim()}\n\n${contributorsSection(githubNotes.body)}\n`
+}
+
+function contributorsSection(notes: string): string {
+  const lines = notes.split('\n')
+  const start = lines.findIndex((line) => /^## New Contributors\s*$/.test(line))
+  if (start === -1) {
+    return '## New Contributors\n\nNo new contributors were detected for this release.'
+  }
+
+  const remaining = lines.slice(start + 1)
+  const end = remaining.findIndex((line) =>
+    /^#{1,2} |^\*\*Full Changelog\*\*/.test(line),
+  )
+  return [
+    '## New Contributors',
+    ...remaining.slice(0, end === -1 ? undefined : end),
+  ]
+    .join('\n')
+    .trim()
+}
+
+function git(...args: string[]): string {
+  return execFileSync('git', args, { encoding: 'utf8' }).trim()
+}
+
+if (
+  process.argv[1] &&
+  resolve(process.argv[1]) === fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)
+) {
+  const [version, destination] = process.argv.slice(2)
+  if (!version || !destination) {
+    throw new Error('Provide the release version and output file.')
+  }
+  await writeFile(destination, await generateReleaseNotes(version))
+}