diff --git a/.claude/skills/merge-train-infra/SKILL.md b/.claude/skills/merge-train-infra/SKILL.md
index 1ef318c23add..de7ed784ad12 100644
--- a/.claude/skills/merge-train-infra/SKILL.md
+++ b/.claude/skills/merge-train-infra/SKILL.md
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ The merge-train system is fully automated via GitHub Actions in `.github/workflo
 
 1. **PR Creation** (`merge-train-create-pr.yml`): Triggered on push to `merge-train/*` branches. Creates a PR targeting `next` with the `ci-no-squash` label (and `ci-full-no-test-cache` for spartan). Skips merge commits and commits already in `next`.
 
-2. **Body Updates** (`merge-train-update-pr-body.yml`): Triggered on push to `merge-train/**`. Updates the PR body with meaningful commits (those containing PR references like `(#1234)`). The body uses `BEGIN_COMMIT_OVERRIDE` / `END_COMMIT_OVERRIDE` markers for release-please.
+2. **Body Updates** (`merge-train-update-pr-body.yml`): Triggered on push to `merge-train/**`. Updates the PR body with meaningful commits (those containing PR references like `(#1234)`). The body wraps the commit list in `BEGIN_COMMIT_OVERRIDE` / `END_COMMIT_OVERRIDE` markers.
 
 3. **Next Integration** (`merge-train-next-to-branches.yml`): Triggered on push to `next`. Merges `next` into each active merge-train branch via `scripts/merge-train/merge-next.sh`. Uses `continue-on-error: true` so a conflict in one branch does not block others. Skips branches whose PR already has auto-merge enabled.
 
diff --git a/.claude/skills/updating-changelog/SKILL.md b/.claude/skills/updating-changelog/SKILL.md
index 1af52b765da4..4da05463fb4a 100644
--- a/.claude/skills/updating-changelog/SKILL.md
+++ b/.claude/skills/updating-changelog/SKILL.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 name: updating-changelog
-description: Updates changelog documentation for contract developers and node operators by analyzing branch changes relative to 'next'. Use when preparing a PR, updating migration notes, documenting breaking changes, or when asked to update changelog/release notes.
+description: Updates changelog documentation for contract developers and node operators by analyzing branch changes relative to the appropriate base branch or release tag. Use when preparing a PR, updating migration notes, documenting breaking changes, or when asked to update changelog/release notes.
 ---
 
 # Updating Changelog
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ description: Updates changelog documentation for contract developers and node op
 
 ### 1. Determine Target Files
 
-Read `.release-please-manifest.json` to get the version (e.g., `{"." : "4.0.0"}` → edit `v4.md`).
+Read the root `VERSION` file to get the version (e.g., `4.0.0` → edit `v4.md`). If the major-version operator changelog does not exist yet, create it from the current changelog conventions and add it to `docs/docs-operate/operators/reference/changelog/index.md`.
 
 **Target files:**
 
@@ -18,7 +18,13 @@ Read `.release-please-manifest.json` to get the version (e.g., `{"." : "4.0.0"}`
 
 ### 2. Analyze Branch Changes
 
-Run `git diff next...HEAD --stat` for overview, then `git diff next...HEAD` for details.
+Choose the diff base before generating entries:
+
+- For a PR, use the PR target branch.
+- For `v4-next`, release branches, and backports, use that branch's upstream/base rather than `next`.
+- For release notes, diff the previous release tag against the new release tag.
+
+Run `git diff <base>...HEAD --stat` for overview, then `git diff <base>...HEAD` for details.
 
 **Categorize changes:**
 
diff --git a/.github/release-please-master.json b/.github/release-please-master.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 007d5f6760cb..000000000000
--- a/.github/release-please-master.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/googleapis/release-please/main/schemas/config.json",
-  "release-type": "simple",
-  "bump-minor-pre-major": true,
-  "bump-patch-for-minor-pre-major": true,
-  "group-pull-request-title-pattern": "chore(master): Release ${version}",
-  "pull-request-header": ":robot: I have created a new Aztec Packages release",
-  "versioning": "default",
-  "include-component-in-tag": false,
-  "changelog-sections": [
-    { "type": "feat", "section": "Features", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "fix", "section": "Bug Fixes", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "chore", "section": "Miscellaneous", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "test", "section": "Miscellaneous", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "refactor", "section": "Miscellaneous", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "docs", "section": "Documentation", "hidden": false }
-  ],
-  "packages": {
-    ".": {
-      "release-type": "simple"
-    }
-  }
-}
diff --git a/.github/release-please-v2.json b/.github/release-please-v2.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 8e4e978e07f2..000000000000
--- a/.github/release-please-v2.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/googleapis/release-please/main/schemas/config.json",
-  "release-type": "simple",
-  "bump-minor-pre-major": true,
-  "bump-patch-for-minor-pre-major": true,
-  "group-pull-request-title-pattern": "chore(v2): Release ${version}",
-  "pull-request-header": "Pending Aztec Packages v2 release",
-  "versioning": "always-bump-patch",
-  "include-component-in-tag": false,
-  "release-search-depth": 50,
-  "commit-search-depth": 150,
-  "sequential-calls": true,
-  "changelog-sections": [
-    { "type": "feat", "section": "Features", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "fix", "section": "Bug Fixes", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "chore", "section": "Miscellaneous", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "test", "section": "Miscellaneous", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "refactor", "section": "Miscellaneous", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "docs", "section": "Documentation", "hidden": false }
-  ],
-  "packages": {
-    ".": {
-      "release-type": "simple"
-    }
-  }
-}
diff --git a/.github/release-please-v3.json b/.github/release-please-v3.json
deleted file mode 100644
index a932b6082085..000000000000
--- a/.github/release-please-v3.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/googleapis/release-please/main/schemas/config.json",
-  "release-type": "simple",
-  "bump-minor-pre-major": true,
-  "bump-patch-for-minor-pre-major": true,
-  "group-pull-request-title-pattern": "chore(v3): Release ${version}",
-  "pull-request-header": "Pending Aztec Packages v3 release",
-  "versioning": "always-bump-patch",
-  "include-component-in-tag": false,
-  "release-search-depth": 50,
-  "commit-search-depth": 150,
-  "sequential-calls": true,
-  "changelog-sections": [
-    { "type": "feat", "section": "Features", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "fix", "section": "Bug Fixes", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "chore", "section": "Miscellaneous", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "test", "section": "Miscellaneous", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "refactor", "section": "Miscellaneous", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "docs", "section": "Documentation", "hidden": false }
-  ],
-  "packages": {
-    ".": {
-      "release-type": "simple"
-    }
-  }
-}
diff --git a/.github/release-please-v4.json b/.github/release-please-v4.json
deleted file mode 100644
index af042c8872a5..000000000000
--- a/.github/release-please-v4.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/googleapis/release-please/main/schemas/config.json",
-  "release-type": "simple",
-  "bump-minor-pre-major": true,
-  "bump-patch-for-minor-pre-major": true,
-  "group-pull-request-title-pattern": "chore(v4): Release ${version}",
-  "pull-request-header": "Pending Aztec Packages v4 release",
-  "versioning": "always-bump-patch",
-  "include-component-in-tag": false,
-  "release-search-depth": 50,
-  "commit-search-depth": 150,
-  "bootstrap-sha": "60d353cded21d7ebeed9bc64b5ae87ebba5f9a38",
-  "sequential-calls": true,
-  "changelog-sections": [
-    { "type": "feat", "section": "Features", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "fix", "section": "Bug Fixes", "hidden": false },
-    { "type": "chore", "section": "Miscellaneous", "hidden": true },
-    { "type": "test", "section": "Miscellaneous", "hidden": true },
-    { "type": "refactor", "section": "Miscellaneous", "hidden": true },
-    { "type": "docs", "section": "Documentation", "hidden": false }
-  ],
-  "packages": {
-    ".": {
-      "release-type": "simple"
-    }
-  }
-}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/create-release-branch.yml b/.github/workflows/create-release-branch.yml
index 725e124ce57b..62e702167378 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/create-release-branch.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/create-release-branch.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 name: Create Release Branch
 
-# Take the current version from the release-please-manifest.json file on `next`,
-# and create a release branch for it. Then update the release-please-manifest.json file on `next` to the next version.
+# Take the current version from the VERSION file on `next`,
+# and create a release branch for it. Then update the VERSION file on `next` to the next version.
 
 on:
   workflow_dispatch:
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Create release branch
         run: |
-          # Get the version from the release-please-manifest.json file
-          CURRENT_VERSION=$(jq -r '."."' .release-please-manifest.json)
+          # Get the version from the VERSION file
+          CURRENT_VERSION=$(cat VERSION)
 
           # grab major version
           CURRENT_MAJOR_VERSION="${CURRENT_VERSION%%.*}"
@@ -57,10 +57,10 @@ jobs:
           NEXT_MAJOR_VERSION=$((CURRENT_MAJOR_VERSION + 1))
           NEXT_VERSION="${NEXT_MAJOR_VERSION}.0.0"
 
-          # update release-please-manifest.json on `next` branch
+          # update VERSION on `next` branch
           git fetch origin next
           git checkout -B next origin/next
-          jq --arg version "$NEXT_VERSION" '.["."] = $version' .release-please-manifest.json > temp.json && mv temp.json .release-please-manifest.json
-          git add .release-please-manifest.json
-          git commit -m "chore(release): update release-please-manifest.json to $NEXT_VERSION"
+          echo "$NEXT_VERSION" > VERSION
+          git add VERSION
+          git commit -m "chore(release): update VERSION to $NEXT_VERSION"
           git push origin next
diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-next-net.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-next-net.yml
index 677a75e95e8e..f393d7554c36 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy-next-net.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-next-net.yml
@@ -42,7 +42,21 @@ jobs:
             SEMVER=$(echo "$TAG" | sed 's/-amd64$//' | sed 's/-spartan\.[0-9]\{8\}//')
           else
             # Scheduled nightly run - get latest spartan nightly tag
-            current_version=$(jq -r '."."' .release-please-manifest.json)
+            git fetch origin +next:refs/remotes/origin/next --depth=1 || true
+            current_version=$(git show origin/next:VERSION 2>/dev/null | tr -d '[:space:]' || true)
+            if [[ -z "$current_version" ]]; then
+              current_version=$(
+                git ls-remote --tags --refs origin 'v[0-9]*-nightly.*' |
+                  awk -F/ '{print $3}' |
+                  sed -nE 's/^v([0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+)-nightly\..*$/\1/p' |
+                  sort -V |
+                  tail -n1
+              )
+            fi
+            if [[ -z "$current_version" ]]; then
+              echo "Unable to infer current next version from VERSION or nightly tags"
+              exit 1
+            fi
             echo "Current version: $current_version"
 
             # Format the tag as: <current_version>-spartan.<YYYYMMDD>-amd64
diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-staging-public.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-staging-public.yml
index e26a2538b650..0545549ad44c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy-staging-public.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-staging-public.yml
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ on:
   push:
     branches:
       - v4
+    tags:
+      - 'v4.*'
   workflow_dispatch: {}
 
 concurrency:
@@ -29,6 +31,19 @@ jobs:
       - name: Poll for semver tag at HEAD
         id: poll-tag
         run: |
+          if [[ "${GITHUB_REF_TYPE:-}" == "tag" ]]; then
+            TAG="$GITHUB_REF_NAME"
+            if ! ci3/semver check "$TAG"; then
+              echo "Error: Tag $TAG is not a valid semver tag"
+              exit 1
+            fi
+            echo "Found pushed tag: $TAG"
+            SEMVER="${TAG#v}"
+            echo "tag=$TAG" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "semver=$SEMVER" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
           HEAD_SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
           MAX_ATTEMPTS=60
           echo "Looking for any semver tag at HEAD ($HEAD_SHA)"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/nightly-release-tag.yml b/.github/workflows/nightly-release-tag.yml
index a02c47aa2915..bd96dfec2e58 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/nightly-release-tag.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/nightly-release-tag.yml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           git config --global user.email "tech@aztecprotocol.com"
           git config --global user.name "AztecBot"
-          current_version=$(jq -r '."."' .release-please-manifest.json)
+          current_version=$(cat VERSION)
           echo "Current version: $current_version"
           nightly_tag="v${current_version}-nightly.$(date -u +%Y%m%d)"
           echo "Nightly tag: $nightly_tag"
@@ -46,7 +46,21 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           git config --global user.email "tech@aztecprotocol.com"
           git config --global user.name "AztecBot"
-          current_version=$(jq -r '."."' .release-please-manifest.json)
+          git fetch origin +next:refs/remotes/origin/next --depth=1 || true
+          current_version=$(git show origin/next:VERSION 2>/dev/null | tr -d '[:space:]' || true)
+          if [[ -z "$current_version" ]]; then
+            current_version=$(
+              git ls-remote --tags --refs origin 'v[0-9]*-nightly.*' |
+                awk -F/ '{print $3}' |
+                sed -nE 's/^v([0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+)-nightly\..*$/\1/p' |
+                sort -V |
+                tail -n1
+            )
+          fi
+          if [[ -z "$current_version" ]]; then
+            echo "Unable to infer current next version from VERSION or nightly tags"
+            exit 1
+          fi
           echo "Current version: $current_version"
           nightly_tag="v${current_version}-spartan.$(date -u +%Y%m%d)"
           echo "Spartan nightly tag: $nightly_tag"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/nightly-spartan-bench.yml b/.github/workflows/nightly-spartan-bench.yml
index e331be8f8ec5..9dc203c744f6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/nightly-spartan-bench.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/nightly-spartan-bench.yml
@@ -29,7 +29,21 @@ jobs:
           if [[ -n "${{ inputs.nightly_tag }}" ]]; then
             nightly_tag="${{ inputs.nightly_tag }}"
           else
-            current_version=$(jq -r '."."' .release-please-manifest.json)
+            git fetch origin +next:refs/remotes/origin/next --depth=1 || true
+            current_version=$(git show origin/next:VERSION 2>/dev/null | tr -d '[:space:]' || true)
+            if [[ -z "$current_version" ]]; then
+              current_version=$(
+                git ls-remote --tags --refs origin 'v[0-9]*-nightly.*' |
+                  awk -F/ '{print $3}' |
+                  sed -nE 's/^v([0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+)-nightly\..*$/\1/p' |
+                  sort -V |
+                  tail -n1
+              )
+            fi
+            if [[ -z "$current_version" ]]; then
+              echo "Unable to infer current next version from VERSION or nightly tags"
+              exit 1
+            fi
             nightly_tag="${current_version}-spartan.$(date -u +%Y%m%d)"
           fi
           echo "nightly_tag=$nightly_tag" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
@@ -134,7 +148,21 @@ jobs:
           if [[ -n "${{ inputs.nightly_tag }}" ]]; then
             nightly_tag="${{ inputs.nightly_tag }}"
           else
-            current_version=$(jq -r '."."' .release-please-manifest.json)
+            git fetch origin +next:refs/remotes/origin/next --depth=1 || true
+            current_version=$(git show origin/next:VERSION 2>/dev/null | tr -d '[:space:]' || true)
+            if [[ -z "$current_version" ]]; then
+              current_version=$(
+                git ls-remote --tags --refs origin 'v[0-9]*-nightly.*' |
+                  awk -F/ '{print $3}' |
+                  sed -nE 's/^v([0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+)-nightly\..*$/\1/p' |
+                  sort -V |
+                  tail -n1
+              )
+            fi
+            if [[ -z "$current_version" ]]; then
+              echo "Unable to infer current next version from VERSION or nightly tags"
+              exit 1
+            fi
             nightly_tag="${current_version}-spartan.$(date -u +%Y%m%d)"
           fi
           echo "nightly_tag=$nightly_tag" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-please.yml b/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index dd14e3153737..000000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,306 +0,0 @@
-name: release-please
-
-on:
-  push:
-    branches:
-      - "v[0-9]*"
-      - master
-
-permissions:
-  contents: write
-  pull-requests: write
-env:
-  BRANCH_NAME: ${{ github.head_ref || github.ref_name }}
-
-jobs:
-  release-please:
-    name: Create Release
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    outputs:
-      release-pr: ${{ steps.release.outputs.pr }}
-      release-version: ${{ steps.release.outputs.tag_name }}
-    steps:
-      - name: Run Release Please
-        id: release
-        uses: googleapis/release-please-action@7d28262f14160787a44a6be36146a18e6f575a3f
-        with:
-          token: ${{ secrets.AZTEC_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          config-file: .github/release-please-${{ github.ref_name }}.json
-          target-branch: ${{ github.ref_name }}
-
-  dedupe-release-notes:
-    name: Deduplicate release notes
-    needs: [release-please]
-    if: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.release-pr }}
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-      pull-requests: write
-    steps:
-      - name: Check if release notes branch exists
-        id: check-branch
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.AZTEC_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-        run: |
-          NOTES_BRANCH="${{ fromJSON(needs.release-please.outputs.release-pr).headBranchName }}--release-notes"
-          if git ls-remote --exit-code "https://x-access-token:${GH_TOKEN}@github.com/${{ github.repository }}.git" "refs/heads/$NOTES_BRANCH" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-            echo "exists=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-            echo "branch=$NOTES_BRANCH" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          else
-            echo "exists=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-            echo "Release notes branch $NOTES_BRANCH does not exist, skipping deduplication"
-          fi
-
-      - name: Checkout release notes branch
-        if: steps.check-branch.outputs.exists == 'true'
-        uses: actions/checkout@11bd71901bbe5b1630ceea73d27597364c9af683
-        with:
-          ref: ${{ steps.check-branch.outputs.branch }}
-          fetch-depth: 1
-          token: ${{ secrets.AZTEC_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-
-      - name: Fetch dedupe script from target branch
-        if: steps.check-branch.outputs.exists == 'true'
-        run: |
-          git fetch origin ${{ github.ref_name }} --depth=1
-          git show origin/${{ github.ref_name }}:scripts/dedupe_release_notes.py > /tmp/dedupe_release_notes.py
-
-      - name: Configure Git
-        if: steps.check-branch.outputs.exists == 'true'
-        run: |
-          git config --global user.name AztecBot
-          git config --global user.email tech@aztecprotocol.com
-
-      - name: Deduplicate release notes
-        if: steps.check-branch.outputs.exists == 'true'
-        run: |
-          if [ -f release-notes.md ]; then
-            python3 /tmp/dedupe_release_notes.py release-notes.md
-            git add release-notes.md
-            if ! git diff --cached --quiet; then
-              git commit -m "chore: deduplicate release notes"
-              git push
-            fi
-          fi
-
-      - name: Update PR body with deduped notes
-        if: steps.check-branch.outputs.exists == 'true'
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.AZTEC_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-        run: |
-          if [ -f release-notes.md ]; then
-            PR_NUMBER=${{ fromJSON(needs.release-please.outputs.release-pr).number }}
-            NOTES_SIZE=$(wc -c < release-notes.md)
-            if [ "$NOTES_SIZE" -lt 60000 ]; then
-              gh pr edit "$PR_NUMBER" --body "$(cat release-notes.md)"
-            fi
-          fi
-
-  update-docs:
-    name: Update docs
-    env:
-      GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.AZTEC_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-    needs: [release-please]
-    if: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.release-pr }}
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout release branch
-        uses: actions/checkout@11bd71901bbe5b1630ceea73d27597364c9af683
-        with:
-          ref: ${{ fromJSON(needs.release-please.outputs.release-pr).headBranchName }}
-          token: ${{ secrets.AZTEC_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-
-      - name: Setup dependencies
-        run: |
-          sudo apt install -y --no-install-recommends doxygen
-          corepack enable
-
-      - name: Configure Git
-        run: |
-          git config --global user.name AztecBot
-          git config --global user.email tech@aztecprotocol.com
-
-      - name: Install Noir toolchain
-        uses: noir-lang/noirup@v0.1.4
-        with:
-          toolchain: nightly
-
-      - name: Query new version
-        id: version
-        run: |
-          # Extract version from .release-please-manifest.json
-          AZTEC_VERSION=$(jq -r '."."' .release-please-manifest.json)
-
-          # Add v prefix
-          AZTEC_VERSION="v$AZTEC_VERSION"
-
-          echo "semver=$AZTEC_VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-
-      - name: Generate Aztec.nr API documentation
-        working-directory: ./docs
-        run: |
-          ./scripts/aztec_nr_docs_generation/generate_aztec_nr_docs.sh ${{ steps.version.outputs.semver }}
-          echo "Generated Aztec.nr API docs for: ${{ steps.version.outputs.semver }}"
-
-      - name: Build bb (uses cache if available)
-        working-directory: ./barretenberg/cpp
-        run: |
-          ./bootstrap.sh build_native
-          echo "BB_PATH=$(pwd)/build/bin" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-
-      - name: Build noir packages
-        run: |
-          # Initialize noir submodule (required for yarn-project portal dependencies)
-          git submodule update --init --recursive noir/noir-repo
-          # Build noir JS packages (creates noir/packages/ directory needed by yarn-project)
-          cd noir
-          ./bootstrap.sh install_deps
-          ./bootstrap.sh build_packages
-
-      - name: Build aztec CLI
-        id: build-cli
-        continue-on-error: true
-        working-directory: ./yarn-project
-        run: |
-          ./bootstrap.sh
-          echo "AZTEC_CLI_PATH=$(pwd)/aztec/dest/bin" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-
-      - name: Generate TypeScript API documentation
-        if: steps.build-cli.outcome == 'success'
-        working-directory: ./docs
-        run: |
-          # Generate TypeScript API docs for this version (requires yarn-project to be built)
-          ./scripts/typescript_api_generation/generate_ts_api_docs.sh ${{ steps.version.outputs.semver }}
-          echo "Generated TypeScript API docs for: ${{ steps.version.outputs.semver }}"
-
-      - name: Generate Aztec CLI documentation
-        id: aztec-cli-docs
-        if: steps.build-cli.outcome == 'success'
-        working-directory: ./docs
-        continue-on-error: true
-        run: |
-          # Add locally built binaries to PATH
-          export PATH="${BB_PATH}:${PATH}"
-
-          # Create wrapper for aztec CLI that runs the local build
-          mkdir -p /tmp/cli-bin
-          cat > /tmp/cli-bin/aztec << 'EOF'
-          #!/bin/bash
-          node "$AZTEC_CLI_PATH/index.js" "$@"
-          EOF
-          chmod +x /tmp/cli-bin/aztec
-
-          # Copy aztec-up from repo (it's a standalone bash script)
-          cp "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/aztec-up/bin/aztec-up" /tmp/cli-bin/aztec-up
-          chmod +x /tmp/cli-bin/aztec-up
-
-          export PATH="/tmp/cli-bin:${PATH}"
-
-          # Generate Aztec CLI docs using locally built binaries
-          ./scripts/cli_reference_generation/generate_all_cli_docs.sh --force current
-          echo "Generated Aztec CLI documentation for: ${{ steps.version.outputs.semver }}"
-
-      - name: Generate BB CLI documentation
-        id: bb-cli-docs
-        working-directory: ./barretenberg/docs
-        continue-on-error: true
-        run: |
-          # Add locally built bb to PATH
-          export PATH="${BB_PATH}:${PATH}"
-
-          # Generate BB CLI docs
-          ./scripts/generate_bb_cli_docs.sh --force current
-          echo "Generated BB CLI documentation for: ${{ steps.version.outputs.semver }}"
-
-      - name: Comment on PR if CLI docs generation failed
-        if: steps.build-cli.outcome == 'failure' || steps.aztec-cli-docs.outcome == 'failure' || steps.bb-cli-docs.outcome == 'failure'
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.AZTEC_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-        run: |
-          FAILED_DOCS=""
-          if [[ "${{ steps.build-cli.outcome }}" == "failure" ]]; then
-            FAILED_DOCS="yarn-project build (cache miss)"
-          fi
-          if [[ "${{ steps.aztec-cli-docs.outcome }}" == "failure" ]]; then
-            if [[ -n "$FAILED_DOCS" ]]; then
-              FAILED_DOCS="$FAILED_DOCS, Aztec CLI"
-            else
-              FAILED_DOCS="Aztec CLI"
-            fi
-          fi
-          if [[ "${{ steps.bb-cli-docs.outcome }}" == "failure" ]]; then
-            if [[ -n "$FAILED_DOCS" ]]; then
-              FAILED_DOCS="$FAILED_DOCS, BB CLI"
-            else
-              FAILED_DOCS="BB CLI"
-            fi
-          fi
-
-          gh pr comment ${{ fromJSON(needs.release-please.outputs.release-pr).number }} --body "$(cat <<EOF
-          ## CLI Documentation Generation Failed
-
-          The following CLI documentation failed to generate: $FAILED_DOCS
-
-          The release will continue, but CLI reference docs may be incomplete for this version.
-
-          cc @AztecProtocol/devrel
-
-          [View workflow run](${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }})
-          EOF
-          )"
-
-      - name: Cut Aztec Developer Docs version
-        working-directory: ./docs
-        run: |
-          COMMIT_TAG=${{ steps.version.outputs.semver }}
-          yarn
-          COMMIT_TAG=$COMMIT_TAG yarn build
-          # Create versioned docs for Developer docs instance
-          COMMIT_TAG=$COMMIT_TAG yarn docusaurus docs:version:developer ${{ steps.version.outputs.semver }}
-
-      - name: Update Aztec Developer Docs versions with new version
-        working-directory: ./docs/scripts
-        run: |
-          ./update_docs_versions.sh developer
-
-      - name: Cut Aztec Network Docs version
-        working-directory: ./docs
-        run: |
-          COMMIT_TAG=${{ steps.version.outputs.semver }}
-          # Create versioned docs for Network docs instance
-          COMMIT_TAG=$COMMIT_TAG yarn docusaurus docs:version:network ${{ steps.version.outputs.semver }}
-
-      - name: Update Aztec Network Docs versions with new version
-        working-directory: ./docs/scripts
-        run: |
-          ./update_docs_versions.sh network
-
-      - name: Commit new Aztec Docs version
-        run: |
-          # Reset non-versioned CLI docs (only versioned copies should be committed)
-          git checkout -- docs/docs-developers/docs/cli/*_cli_reference.md || true
-          git add .
-          git commit -m "chore(docs): cut new aztec docs version for tag ${{ steps.version.outputs.semver }}"
-          git push
-
-      - name: Cut Barretenberg Docs version
-        working-directory: ./barretenberg/docs
-        run: |
-          COMMIT_TAG=${{ steps.version.outputs.semver }}
-          # need to specify at least one version in versions.json for it to build
-          echo "[ \"$(./scripts/get_current_version.sh)\" ]" > versions.json
-          yarn
-          COMMIT_TAG=$COMMIT_TAG yarn build
-          COMMIT_TAG=$COMMIT_TAG yarn docusaurus docs:version ${{ steps.version.outputs.semver }}
-
-      - name: Update Barretenberg Docs versions.json with new version
-        working-directory: ./barretenberg/docs/scripts
-        run: |
-          ./update_versions.sh
-
-      - name: Commit new Barretenberg Docs version
-        run: |
-          git add .
-          git commit -m "chore(docs): cut new barretenberg docs version for tag ${{ steps.version.outputs.semver }}"
-          git push
diff --git a/.github/workflows/weekly-proving-bench.yml b/.github/workflows/weekly-proving-bench.yml
index f9f561f6d88e..d042c033006c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/weekly-proving-bench.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/weekly-proving-bench.yml
@@ -29,7 +29,21 @@ jobs:
           if [[ -n "${{ inputs.nightly_tag }}" ]]; then
             nightly_tag="${{ inputs.nightly_tag }}"
           else
-            current_version=$(jq -r '."."' .release-please-manifest.json)
+            git fetch origin +next:refs/remotes/origin/next --depth=1 || true
+            current_version=$(git show origin/next:VERSION 2>/dev/null | tr -d '[:space:]' || true)
+            if [[ -z "$current_version" ]]; then
+              current_version=$(
+                git ls-remote --tags --refs origin 'v[0-9]*-nightly.*' |
+                  awk -F/ '{print $3}' |
+                  sed -nE 's/^v([0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+)-nightly\..*$/\1/p' |
+                  sort -V |
+                  tail -n1
+              )
+            fi
+            if [[ -z "$current_version" ]]; then
+              echo "Unable to infer current next version from VERSION or nightly tags"
+              exit 1
+            fi
             nightly_tag="${current_version}-spartan.$(date -u +%Y%m%d)"
           fi
           echo "nightly_tag=$nightly_tag" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
diff --git a/.release-please-manifest.json b/.release-please-manifest.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 83f9eb80419d..000000000000
--- a/.release-please-manifest.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-{
-  ".": "4.3.0"
-}
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1a82f2949659..557ab75d2296 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ Logging goes through the [Logger](yarn-project/foundation/src/log/) module in Ty
 
 ## Releases
 
-Releases are driven by [release-please](https://github.com/googleapis/release-please), which maintains a 'Release PR' containing an updated CHANGELOG.md since the last release. Triggering a new release is simply a case of merging this PR to master. A [github workflow](./.github/workflows/release-please.yml) will create the tagged release triggering ./bootstrap.sh release to build and deploy the version at that tag.
+Releases are driven by git tags. The current version is tracked in the root `VERSION` file. Pushing a semver tag (e.g. `v1.2.3`, or a nightly tag created by the [nightly release workflow](./.github/workflows/nightly-release-tag.yml)) triggers `./bootstrap.sh release` to build and deploy the version at that tag.
 
 ## Contribute
 
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..fdc6698807a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+4.4.0
diff --git a/barretenberg/docs/docusaurus.config.ts b/barretenberg/docs/docusaurus.config.ts
index 7fc7bf7e4253..cd35f2d3483d 100644
--- a/barretenberg/docs/docusaurus.config.ts
+++ b/barretenberg/docs/docusaurus.config.ts
@@ -262,17 +262,6 @@ const config: Config = {
           className: "code-block-error-line",
           line: "this-will-error",
         },
-        // This could be used to have release-please modify the current version in code blocks.
-        // However doing so requires to manually add each md file to release-please-config.json/extra-files
-        // which is easy to forget an error prone, so instead we rely on the AztecPackagesVersion() function.
-        {
-          line: "x-release-please-version",
-          block: {
-            start: "x-release-please-start-version",
-            end: "x-release-please-end",
-          },
-          className: "not-allowed-to-be-empty",
-        },
       ],
     },
   } satisfies Preset.ThemeConfig,
diff --git a/bootstrap.sh b/bootstrap.sh
index ddb0cc70dacb..5238ef7dce98 100755
--- a/bootstrap.sh
+++ b/bootstrap.sh
@@ -480,7 +480,7 @@ function release_github {
 
 function release {
   # Our releases are controlled by the REF_NAME environment variable, which should be a valid semver (but can have a leading v).
-  # We ensure there is a github release for our REF_NAME, if not on latest (in which case release-please creates it).
+  # We ensure there is a github release for our REF_NAME.
   # We derive a dist tag from our prerelease portion of our REF_NAME semver. It is latest if no prerelease.
   # Our steps:
   #   barretenberg/cpp => upload binaries to github release
@@ -496,7 +496,6 @@ function release {
   set -x
 
   # Ensure we have a github release for our REF_NAME.
-  # This is in case were are not going through release-please.
   release_github
 
   projects=(
@@ -803,7 +802,7 @@ case "$cmd" in
     compat_min_version="4.2.0"
 
     # Get current major version.
-    current_version=$(jq -r '."."' .release-please-manifest.json)
+    current_version=$(cat VERSION)
     major=$(semver major "$current_version")
     if [ "$major" != "$compat_major" ]; then
       echo "Compat e2e tests only apply to v${compat_major}. Current major: v${major}. Skipping."
diff --git a/ci3/source_refname b/ci3/source_refname
index 797f94fef854..e72a90eef9b5 100644
--- a/ci3/source_refname
+++ b/ci3/source_refname
@@ -51,5 +51,5 @@ if [ -z "${COMMIT_AUTHOR:-}" ]; then
 fi
 
 if [ -z "${CURRENT_VERSION:-}" ]; then
-  export CURRENT_VERSION=$(jq -r '."."' $root/.release-please-manifest.json)
+  export CURRENT_VERSION=$(cat $root/VERSION)
 fi
diff --git a/docs/README.md b/docs/README.md
index 158de3509dee..6730abf4f024 100644
--- a/docs/README.md
+++ b/docs/README.md
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ The way docs builds work is the following:
 
 - CI runs on merge to next (the default branch), builds the dependencies needed to build the docs, then deploys on the main docs website
 - [The main CI workflow](../.github/workflows/ci3.yml) runs on pull requests and builds the dependencies and the docs, giving you a preview to check that everything is correct. You can also trigger docs CI specifically with the `ci-docs` label on a PR.
-- [The nightly docs workflow](../.github/workflows/nightly-docs-release.yml) runs daily to create versioned documentation for nightly releases, automatically cutting a new version of the docs for the latest nightly tag
+- Release tags do not cut versioned docs automatically. For public releases, run the `/release-docs` or `/release-network-docs` process so API docs, CLI docs, versioned snapshots, and version config files are updated intentionally.
 
 The preprocessing macros use environment variables to determine version numbers. For nightly builds, set `NIGHTLY_TAG` (or `COMMIT_TAG` for backwards compatibility):
 
@@ -215,7 +215,7 @@ yarn generate:aztec-nr-api v1.0.0
 
 - When `aztec-nr` source code changes (new functions, updated comments, etc.)
 - The `next` version docs should be committed to the repo
-- Versioned docs (e.g., `v1.0.0`) are automatically generated by CI when releases are cut
+- Versioned docs (e.g., `v1.0.0`) are generated by the release docs process when releases are cut
 
 The generated docs are stored in `static/aztec-nr-api/<version>/` and linked from the [Aztec.nr API Reference](/developers/docs/aztec-nr/api) page.
 
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ yarn generate:typescript-api v3.0.0-devnet.6
 
 - When TypeScript package APIs change (new exports, updated JSDoc comments, etc.)
 - The `next` version docs should be committed to the repo
-- Versioned docs are automatically generated by CI during release workflows
+- Versioned docs are generated by the release docs process during releases
 
 The generated docs are linked from the [TypeScript API Reference](/developers/docs/aztec-js/typescript_api_reference) page.
 
@@ -377,7 +377,7 @@ You can embed code snippets into a `.md`/`.mdx` file from code which lives elsew
 
 ### `#include_aztec_version`
 
-This macro will be replaced inline with the current Aztec packages tag. This value is sourced from `.release-please-manifest.json` on the project root.
+This legacy macro will be replaced inline with the current Aztec packages tag from `COMMIT_TAG`.
 
 Alternatively, you can also use the `AztecPackagesVersion()` js function, which you need to import explicitly:
 
@@ -491,7 +491,7 @@ To view the protocol specs, you can run `yarn dev`. When viewing the protocol sp
 
 ## Adding Migration Notes
 
-When making breaking changes to Aztec, add migration notes to help users upgrade. Migration notes are organized by version and component in `docs/migration_notes.md`.
+When making breaking changes to Aztec, add migration notes to help users upgrade. Migration notes are organized by version and component in `docs/docs-developers/docs/resources/migration_notes.md`.
 
 ### Structure
 
diff --git a/docs/docusaurus.config.js b/docs/docusaurus.config.js
index fc942476cb53..fcf4234c2175 100644
--- a/docs/docusaurus.config.js
+++ b/docs/docusaurus.config.js
@@ -529,17 +529,6 @@ const config = {
             className: "code-block-error-line",
             line: "this-will-error",
           },
-          // This could be used to have release-please modify the current version in code blocks.
-          // However doing so requires to manually add each md file to release-please-config.json/extra-files
-          // which is easy to forget an error prone, so instead we rely on the AztecPackagesVersion() function.
-          {
-            line: "x-release-please-version",
-            block: {
-              start: "x-release-please-start-version",
-              end: "x-release-please-end",
-            },
-            className: "not-allowed-to-be-empty",
-          },
         ],
       },
     }),
diff --git a/docs/scripts/cli_reference_generation/CLI_DOCS_README.md b/docs/scripts/cli_reference_generation/CLI_DOCS_README.md
index 6b9e8fc5a078..3f20db4f1479 100644
--- a/docs/scripts/cli_reference_generation/CLI_DOCS_README.md
+++ b/docs/scripts/cli_reference_generation/CLI_DOCS_README.md
@@ -399,7 +399,7 @@ The documentation system uses a **unified script architecture** to reduce code d
 To add support for a new CLI (e.g., `aztec-prover`):
 1. Add configuration entry to `cli_docs_config.json` (single source of truth)
 2. If the CLI needs special handling (e.g., version-independent), update `generate_cli_docs.sh`
-3. Update CI workflows (`.github/workflows/nightly-docs-release.yml` and `release-please.yml`) if the CLI needs to be made available during CI builds
+3. Update the release docs process and docs CI setup if the CLI needs to be made available during docs builds
 
 ## License
 
diff --git a/playground/src/utils/constants.ts b/playground/src/utils/constants.ts
index 105500c33596..4676376d75f6 100644
--- a/playground/src/utils/constants.ts
+++ b/playground/src/utils/constants.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-import releasePleaseManifest from '../../../.release-please-manifest.json';
+import versionFile from '../../../VERSION?raw';
 
-export const VERSION = releasePleaseManifest['.'];
+export const VERSION = versionFile.trim();
 
 export const ContractDescriptions = {
   PrivateVoting:
diff --git a/playground/update-artifacts.sh b/playground/update-artifacts.sh
index f80b41e2a80a..565c9c3b0a61 100755
--- a/playground/update-artifacts.sh
+++ b/playground/update-artifacts.sh
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-VERSION=$(cat ../.release-please-manifest.json | jq -r '."."')
+VERSION=$(cat ../VERSION)
 
 echo "Adding latest artifact for version $VERSION"
 
diff --git a/release-image/Dockerfile b/release-image/Dockerfile
index 4cd9d90a4407..3d7a6b952ef7 100644
--- a/release-image/Dockerfile
+++ b/release-image/Dockerfile
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ WORKDIR "/usr/src/yarn-project"
 
 # Ensure the correct version shows in aztec --version
 ARG VERSION
-RUN echo '{".": "'$VERSION'"}' > /usr/src/.release-please-manifest.json
+RUN echo "$VERSION" > /usr/src/VERSION
 # Stamp the version into stdlib/package.json, which getPackageVersion() reads at runtime.
 RUN jq --arg v "$VERSION" '.version = $v' /usr/src/yarn-project/stdlib/package.json > /tmp/p.json \
     && mv /tmp/p.json /usr/src/yarn-project/stdlib/package.json
diff --git a/release-image/Dockerfile.dockerignore b/release-image/Dockerfile.dockerignore
index 5a3681947eea..88e7b209091c 100644
--- a/release-image/Dockerfile.dockerignore
+++ b/release-image/Dockerfile.dockerignore
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # We include just what's needed to run the aztec cli (none of the aztec.sh extensions).
 *
-!/.release-please-manifest.json
+!/VERSION
 !/barretenberg/cpp/build/bin/bb-avm
 !/barretenberg/ts/dest/
 !/barretenberg/ts/build/
diff --git a/spartan/aztec-node/scripts/setup-otel-resource.sh b/spartan/aztec-node/scripts/setup-otel-resource.sh
index 0861363a303d..adca32151ef7 100644
--- a/spartan/aztec-node/scripts/setup-otel-resource.sh
+++ b/spartan/aztec-node/scripts/setup-otel-resource.sh
@@ -3,14 +3,14 @@
 
 set -ex
 
-VERSION_FILE="/usr/src/.release-please-manifest.json"
+VERSION_FILE="/usr/src/VERSION"
 
 declare -A attrs_map
 
 attrs_map["service.version"]="0.0.0";
 if [[ -f "$VERSION_FILE" ]]; then
   # there's a single version of the whole monocontainer
-  attrs_map["service.version"]=$(jq -r '.["."]' "$VERSION_FILE")
+  attrs_map["service.version"]=$(cat "$VERSION_FILE")
 fi
 
 export OTEL_SERVICE_NAME="${OTEL_SERVICE_NAME:-unknown_service}"
diff --git a/spartan/scripts/create_devnet.ts b/spartan/scripts/create_devnet.ts
index 3972b5a97246..31a917389b47 100755
--- a/spartan/scripts/create_devnet.ts
+++ b/spartan/scripts/create_devnet.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
  *
  * The script:
  * 1. Validates the nightly tag format (vX.Y.Z-nightly.YYYYMMDD)
- * 2. Reads the major version from .release-please-manifest.json
+ * 2. Reads the major version from the VERSION file
  * 3. Finds the next devnet iteration number
  * 4. Creates a branch with a .devnet-version file
  * 5. Pushes the branch
@@ -43,11 +43,8 @@ if (!/^v\d+\.\d+\.\d+-nightly\.\d{8}$/.test(nightlyTag)) {
 // 2. Configure git identity in CI
 configureGitIdentityInCI();
 
-// 3. Read major version from manifest
-const manifest = JSON.parse(
-  readFileSync(".release-please-manifest.json", "utf-8"),
-);
-const version: string = manifest["."];
+// 3. Read major version from the VERSION file
+const version: string = readFileSync("VERSION", "utf-8").trim();
 const majorVersion = version.split(".")[0];
 console.log(`Major version: ${majorVersion}`);
 
diff --git a/spartan/testnet-runbook.md b/spartan/testnet-runbook.md
index 55760e513c8e..44eb1f265e59 100644
--- a/spartan/testnet-runbook.md
+++ b/spartan/testnet-runbook.md
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ The engineering team's public testnet responsibilities begin after code-freeze.
 2. Create a named release branch (eg: `release/sassy-salamander`) from the desired `master` release (eg:`v0.64.0`).
 3. Complete all QA testing against `release/sassy-salamander`.
 4. For tests that do not pass, create a hotfix into the `release/sassy-salamander` release branch.
-5. After testing is complete, initiate a `release-please` CI workflow from `release/sassy-salamander` to publish release artifacts.
+5. After testing is complete, push a semver release tag from `release/sassy-salamander` to trigger the release CI workflow and publish release artifacts.
 
 ### Release Notes and Artifact Builds
 
diff --git a/yarn-project/BRANCHING.md b/yarn-project/BRANCHING.md
index e289f0839ece..f7fddca25f2c 100644
--- a/yarn-project/BRANCHING.md
+++ b/yarn-project/BRANCHING.md
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@
 
 `next` is the primary development branch. All new work should go into `next` by default.
 
-The current version of a branch can be found in `.release-please-manifest.json`. As of this writing, the version of `next` is `3.0.0`.
+The current version of a branch can be found in the root `VERSION` file.
 
-Each day at 02:00 UTC, `.github/workflows/nightly-release-tag.yml` runs, which creates a tag like `v3.0.0-nightly.20250919`.
+Each day at 02:00 UTC, `.github/workflows/nightly-release-tag.yml` runs, which creates a tag like `v$(cat VERSION)-nightly.20250919`.
 
 The creation of a tag starting with `v` causes `.github/workflows/ci3.yml` to run.
 
@@ -37,9 +37,9 @@ It requires a commit SHA which SHOULD be one from a particular nightly run.
 
 This creates a new branch for whatever the current version in `next` is, then bumps the version on `next`.
 
-For example, if this were run now, it would create a branch `v3`, and then bump the version in `.release-please-manifest.json` on `next` to be `4.0.0`.
+For example, if `VERSION` is `5.0.0`, it creates branch `v5`, then bumps the root `VERSION` file on `next` to `6.0.0`.
 
-Every push to a release branch causes a new tag to be created via the auto-tag job in .github/workflows/release-please.yml. So as soon as `v3` is created, there will be a tag that is `v3.0.0-rc.1`.
+Release-candidate tags (e.g. `v5.0.0-rc.1`) are pushed against the release branch to publish artifacts. Pick the next `rc.N` by checking existing tags for the same version, and tag the exact release-branch commit that should be tested.
 
 Each `rc` tag causes ci3.yml to run, and creates releases because it runs `bootstrap.sh ci-nightly`.
 
@@ -60,9 +60,9 @@ It deploys the following networks:
 - staging-public, which is used to test changes before releasing to testnet
 - staging-ignition, which is use to test changes before releasing to mainnet
 
-Release-please has been configured on `v2`. When the release-please PR is merged, it creates a clean tag at the next minor version.
+A clean release tag at the next minor version (e.g. `v2.0.4`) is pushed against `v2` to publish a release.
 
-For example, at the time of writing, we are at `v2.0.3-rc.4`. When the release please PR is merged, it will create a tag `v2.0.4`.
+For example, at the time of writing, we are at `v2.0.3-rc.4`. Pushing the `v2.0.4` tag creates the next release.
 
 This will cause ci3.yml to run a release, and then deploy-staging-networks.yml to run and deploy the two networks mentioned above as well as `testnet`.
 
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ If you are fixing a bug in production, send it into `v2` first.
 
 If you are doing something in `next` we would like in production, you can use the `backport-to-v2` label.
 
-If your change produces new rollup contract addresses or VKs (and so would require a governance upgrade on testnet/mainnet), manually bump the minor version in `.release-please-manifest.json`; e.g., we would presently go to `2.1.0`. We're investigating ways to automate this.
+If your change produces new rollup contract addresses or VKs (and so would require a governance upgrade on testnet/mainnet), manually bump the minor version in the root `VERSION` file before tagging the release.
 
 ### v3 (planned)
 
@@ -80,12 +80,18 @@ Will be cut when we are ready to start testing release candidates for the alpha
 
 ## manual releases
 
-One can side-step Release Please automation by updating the version number in the root `.release-please-manifest.json`, committing, tagging the repository with e.g. `v1.2.3`, checking out the tag, and running:
+One can cut a release manually by updating the version number in the root `VERSION` file, committing, tagging the repository with e.g. `v1.2.3`, checking out the tag, and running:
 
 ```
 ./bootstrap.sh release
 ```
 
+Before pushing a final public release tag, update release-facing docs explicitly:
+
+- Run `/updating-changelog` and update migration notes plus the operator changelog for the branch/version being released.
+- Run `/release-docs` for developer + network docs, or `/release-network-docs` for network-only releases.
+- Ensure GitHub release notes are written or generated for the pushed tag; there is no longer an automated release PR that maintains them.
+
 ## release image
 
 Aztec is released as a _single_ mono-container. That is, everything we need to ship should end up in `aztecprotocol/aztec` and published to Dockerhub with version tags.
diff --git a/yarn-project/pxe/scripts/generate_package_info.js b/yarn-project/pxe/scripts/generate_package_info.js
index 206317bdfe86..9931d047eb00 100644
--- a/yarn-project/pxe/scripts/generate_package_info.js
+++ b/yarn-project/pxe/scripts/generate_package_info.js
@@ -5,8 +5,7 @@ import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
 const currentDir = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 
 const { name } = JSON.parse(readFileSync(join(currentDir, '../package.json')));
-const versionManifest = JSON.parse(readFileSync(join(currentDir, '../../../.release-please-manifest.json')));
-const version = versionManifest['.'];
+const version = readFileSync(join(currentDir, '../../../VERSION'), 'utf-8').trim();
 
 writeFileSync(
   join(currentDir, '../src/config/package_info.ts'),
diff --git a/yarn-project/telemetry-client/src/otel_resource.ts b/yarn-project/telemetry-client/src/otel_resource.ts
index 177b13815d3f..c712b5d0e75c 100644
--- a/yarn-project/telemetry-client/src/otel_resource.ts
+++ b/yarn-project/telemetry-client/src/otel_resource.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { getPackageVersion } from '@aztec/stdlib/update-checker';
 import {
   type DetectorSync,
   type IResource,
@@ -8,20 +9,13 @@ import {
   serviceInstanceIdDetectorSync,
 } from '@opentelemetry/resources';
 import { ATTR_SERVICE_NAME, ATTR_SERVICE_VERSION } from '@opentelemetry/semantic-conventions';
-import { readFileSync } from 'fs';
-import { dirname, resolve } from 'path';
-import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
 
 import { AZTEC_NODE_ROLE, AZTEC_REGISTRY_ADDRESS, AZTEC_ROLLUP_ADDRESS, AZTEC_ROLLUP_VERSION } from './attributes.js';
 
-/** Reads the Aztec client version from the release manifest. */
+/** Reads the Aztec client version from the package-local version source. */
 function getAztecVersion(): string | undefined {
   try {
-    const releasePleasePath = resolve(
-      dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)),
-      '../../../.release-please-manifest.json',
-    );
-    return JSON.parse(readFileSync(releasePleasePath, 'utf-8'))['.'];
+    return getPackageVersion();
   } catch {
     return undefined;
   }