diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 3d0cba6..562f1e8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -183,8 +183,4 @@ jobs:
     - name: Test PECL package build
       run: |
         python3 dev-scripts/prepare_pecl_release.py --name aws-crt --user aws-crt --version 1.0.0
-        tar -zxf *.tgz
-        cd awscrt-1.0.0
-        phpize
-        ./configure
-        make
+        sudo pecl install awscrt-1.0.0.tgz
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ccf4c98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+
+name: Release PECL Preparation
+
+on:
+  release:
+    types: [published]
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+  package:
+    name: Prepare package
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+    - name: Setup PHP
+      uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
+      with:
+        php-version: '8.0'
+
+    - name: Checkout Source
+      uses: actions/checkout@v3
+      with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+          submodules: recursive
+
+    - name: Prepare Package Script
+      id: prepare-package
+      # Update the version in code and generate the package.
+      run: |
+        version_with_v=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)
+        VERSION=$(echo ${version_with_v} | cut -f2 -dv)
+        echo "VERSION=${VERSION}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        python3 dev-scripts/prepare_pecl_release.py --name aws-crt --user aws-crt --email aws-sdk-common-runtime@amazon.com --version ${VERSION}
+
+    - name: Upload artifacts
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
+      with:
+        name: pecl_package_${{ steps.prepare-package.outputs.VERSION }}
+        path: awscrt-${{ steps.prepare-package.outputs.VERSION }}.tgz
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 1eefe24..ed2e677 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -179,6 +179,7 @@ fabric.properties
 .deps
 .libs/
 build/
+cmake_build/
 configure.in
 configure.ac
 configure.bat
diff --git a/Makefile.frag b/Makefile.frag
index a1414a7..4eb26f5 100644
--- a/Makefile.frag
+++ b/Makefile.frag
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 
-INT_DIR=build/install
+INT_DIR=$(builddir)/build/install
+CMAKE_BUILD_DIR=$(builddir)/cmake_build
 GENERATE_STUBS=$(shell expr `php --version | head -1 | cut -f 2 -d' '` \>= 7.1)
 
 CMAKE = cmake3
@@ -18,6 +19,8 @@ ifneq (OFF,$(USE_OPENSSL))
 endif
 
 CMAKE_CONFIGURE = $(CMAKE) \
+    -DCMAKE_SOURCE_DIR=$(srcdir) \
+    -DCMAKE_BINARY_DIR=$(CMAKE_BUILD_DIR) \
     -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$(INT_DIR) \
     -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF \
     -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=$(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE) \
@@ -31,34 +34,36 @@ all: extension
 .PHONY: all extension
 
 # configure for static aws-crt-ffi.a
-build/aws-crt-ffi-static/CMakeCache.txt:
-	$(CMAKE_CONFIGURE) -Hcrt/aws-crt-ffi -Bbuild/aws-crt-ffi-static -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF
+$(CMAKE_BUILD_DIR)/aws-crt-ffi-static/CMakeCache.txt:
+	$(CMAKE_CONFIGURE) -H$(srcdir)/crt/aws-crt-ffi -B$(CMAKE_BUILD_DIR)/aws-crt-ffi-static -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF
 
 # build static libaws-crt-ffi.a
-build/aws-crt-ffi-static/libaws-crt-ffi.a: build/aws-crt-ffi-static/CMakeCache.txt
-	$(CMAKE_BUILD) build/aws-crt-ffi-static $(CMAKE_TARGET)
+$(CMAKE_BUILD_DIR)/aws-crt-ffi-static/libaws-crt-ffi.a: $(CMAKE_BUILD_DIR)/aws-crt-ffi-static/CMakeCache.txt
+	$(CMAKE_BUILD) $(CMAKE_BUILD_DIR)/aws-crt-ffi-static $(CMAKE_TARGET)
 
 # PHP extension target
-extension: ext/awscrt.lo
+extension: $(builddir)/ext/awscrt.lo
 
 # Force the crt object target to depend on the CRT static library
-ext/awscrt.lo: ext/awscrt.c
+$(builddir)/ext/awscrt.lo: $(builddir)/ext/awscrt.c
 
-ext/awscrt.c: build/aws-crt-ffi-static/libaws-crt-ffi.a ext/api.h ext/awscrt_arginfo.h
+$(builddir)/ext/awscrt.c: $(CMAKE_BUILD_DIR)/aws-crt-ffi-static/libaws-crt-ffi.a $(builddir)/ext/api.h $(builddir)/ext/awscrt_arginfo.h
 
-ext/awscrt_arginfo.h: awscrt.stub.php gen_stub.php
+$(builddir)/ext/awscrt_arginfo.h: $(srcdir)/ext/awscrt.stub.php $(srcdir)/gen_stub.php
 ifeq ($(GENERATE_STUBS),1)
-	# install awscrt.stub.php to ext/
-	cp -v awscrt.stub.php ext/awscrt.stub.php
 	# generate awscrt_arginfo.h
-	php gen_stub.php --minimal-arginfo ext/awscrt.stub.php
+	mkdir -p $(builddir)/ext && php $(srcdir)/gen_stub.php --minimal-arginfo $(srcdir)/ext/awscrt.stub.php
 endif
 
 # transform/install api.h from FFI lib
-ext/api.h : crt/aws-crt-ffi/src/api.h
-	php gen_api.php crt/aws-crt-ffi/src/api.h > ext/api.h
+$(srcdir)/ext/api.h: $(srcdir)/crt/aws-crt-ffi/src/api.h
+	php $(srcdir)/gen_api.php $(srcdir)/crt/aws-crt-ffi/src/api.h > $(srcdir)/ext/api.h
 
-ext/php_aws_crt.h: ext/awscrt_arginfo.h ext/api.h
+# install api.h to ext/ as well
+$(builddir)/ext/api.h : $(srcdir)/ext/api.h
+	mkdir -p $(builddir)/ext
+
+$(builddir)/ext/php_aws_crt.h: $(srcdir)/ext/awscrt_arginfo.h $(srcdir)/ext/api.h
 
 vendor/bin/phpunit:
 	composer update
diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
index 387721e..13e7ac6 100644
--- a/composer.json
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
         "ext-awscrt": "Make sure you install awscrt native extension to use any of the functionality."
     },
     "scripts": {
-        "test": "./dev-scripts/run_tests",
+        "test": "./dev-scripts/run_tests.sh",
         "test-extension": "@test",
         "test-win": ".\\dev-scripts\\run_tests.bat"
     },
diff --git a/dev-scripts/cleanup_build.py b/dev-scripts/cleanup_build.py
index cc10372..cfff8b1 100644
--- a/dev-scripts/cleanup_build.py
+++ b/dev-scripts/cleanup_build.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
     '.deps',
     '.libs',
     'build',
+    'cmake_build',
     'include',
     'modules',
     'vendor',
@@ -38,9 +39,8 @@
     'mkinstalldirs',
     'run-tests.php',
     'awscrt.la',
-    'awscrt.dep',
+    'ext/awscrt.dep',
     'composer.lock',
-    'ext/awscrt.stub.php',
     'acinclude.m4',
     'aclocal.m4',
     '**/*.lo',
diff --git a/dev-scripts/prepare_pecl_package_xml.py b/dev-scripts/prepare_pecl_package_xml.py
index 3acbf58..4a7f873 100644
--- a/dev-scripts/prepare_pecl_package_xml.py
+++ b/dev-scripts/prepare_pecl_package_xml.py
@@ -37,13 +37,10 @@
 
 special_docs = "(LICENSE.*|NOTICE|changelog.txt|CHANGELOG|THIRD-PARTY|README.*|readme|METADATA|CONTRIBUTORS|UPDATING|doc.config|THIRD-PARTY-LICENSES.txt)"
 special_tests = "(ci-test.sh|format-check.sh|run_tests.*|sanitizer-blacklist.txt|run-clang-tidy.sh|benchmark-build-run.sh|break-tests.sh|generate-coverage.sh|test.xml)"
-special_src = "(gen_api.php|gen_stub.php|CMakeLists.txt|post.sh|postun.sh|Makefile.*|build-buildspec.sh|build-deps.sh|objects.txt|go.*|BUILD.*|DEPS|install_and_run.sh|codemod.sh|requirements.txt)"
+special_src = "(gen_api.php|gen_stub.php|CMakeLists.txt|post.sh|postun.sh|Makefile.*|build-buildspec.sh|build-deps.sh|objects.txt|go.*|BUILD.*|DEPS|install_and_run.sh|codemod.sh|requirements.txt|awscrt.stub.php)"
 skip_files = "(package.xml.*|prepare_release.sh|codereview.settings|.*\\.o|.*\\.a|.*\\.obj|.*\\.lib|break-tests-android.sh|whitespace.txt|prepare_package_xml.sh|crypto_test_data.cc|.*\\.pdf|.*\\.svg|.*\\.docx|cbmc-proof.txt|codecov.*|litani.*|.*\\.toml|module\\.modulemap|cleanup.sh|^\..*)"
 
-
-special_scripts = "(awscrt.stub.php)"
-
-skip_directories = "(tests|test|AWSCRTAndroidTestRunner|docker-images|codebuild|fuzz|third_party|docs|generated-src|aws-lc|aws-crt-sys|ecdsa-fuzz-corpus|bin|examples|compliance|verification|^\..*)"
+skip_directories = "(tests|test|AWSCRTAndroidTestRunner|docker-images|codebuild|fuzz|third_party|docs|generated-src|aws-lc|aws-crt-sys|ecdsa-fuzz-corpus|bin|examples|compliance|verification|dev-scripts|^\..*)"
 
 output_file_name = os.path.join(work_dir, 'package.xml')
 
@@ -54,9 +51,7 @@ def process_file(file_name, f):
         return
     f.write(f'<file name="{file_name}" role="')
     # Special cases
-    if re.match(special_scripts, file_name):
-        f.write('script')
-    elif re.match(special_docs, file_name):
+    if re.match(special_docs, file_name):
         f.write('doc')
     elif re.match(special_tests, file_name):
         f.write('test')
diff --git a/dev-scripts/prepare_pecl_release.py b/dev-scripts/prepare_pecl_release.py
index fd4874b..8f8b919 100644
--- a/dev-scripts/prepare_pecl_release.py
+++ b/dev-scripts/prepare_pecl_release.py
@@ -3,6 +3,11 @@
 import subprocess
 import xml.dom.minidom
 import sys
+import re
+
+# get the github tag without the leading 'v'
+git_tag = subprocess.run(
+    ["git", "describe", "--tags", "--abbrev=0"], capture_output=True).stdout.decode('utf-8').strip()[1:]
 
 
 parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='PECL Package generator')
@@ -12,7 +17,7 @@
 parser.add_argument(
     "--email", help="Email address of the package maintainer", default='aws-sdk-common-runtime@amazon.com')
 parser.add_argument(
-    "--version", help="Version number of the package", required=True)
+    "--version", help="Version number of the package", default=git_tag)
 parser.add_argument(
     "--notes", help="Release notes for the package", default='New release')
 args = parser.parse_args()
@@ -27,6 +32,9 @@
 TOOLS_DIR = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
 WORK_DIR = os.path.join(TOOLS_DIR, '..')
 
+print(f'using version: {VERSION}')
+print(f'using notes: {NOTES}')
+
 
 def run(args):
     print(f"$ {subprocess.list2cmdline(args)}")
@@ -39,6 +47,17 @@ def run(args):
 
 run(['git', 'submodule', 'update', '--init', '--recursive'])
 
+# replace the version number in the ext/crt.c file
+data = ""
+with open("ext/crt.c", "r") as c_file:
+    for line in c_file:
+        line = re.sub("#define CRT_VERSION .*",
+                      f"#define CRT_VERSION \"{VERSION}\"", line)
+        data += line
+with open("ext/crt.c", "w") as c_file:
+    c_file.write(data)
+
+
 try:
     run(['python3', f'{TOOLS_DIR}/prepare_pecl_package_xml.py', '--name', NAME, '--user', USER,
                     '--email', EMAIL, '--version', VERSION, '--notes', NOTES])
diff --git a/ext/.gitignore b/ext/.gitignore
index 1f0fc8d..2973c97 100644
--- a/ext/.gitignore
+++ b/ext/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,2 @@
 *.so
 api.h
-awscrt.stub.php
diff --git a/awscrt.stub.php b/ext/awscrt.stub.php
similarity index 100%
rename from awscrt.stub.php
rename to ext/awscrt.stub.php
diff --git a/ext/crt.c b/ext/crt.c
index b71dd79..3202abe 100644
--- a/ext/crt.c
+++ b/ext/crt.c
@@ -263,6 +263,8 @@ static PHP_GINIT_FUNCTION(awscrt) {
     awscrt_globals->log_level = 0;
 }
 
+#define CRT_VERSION "1.0.4"
+
 zend_module_entry awscrt_module_entry = {
     STANDARD_MODULE_HEADER,
     "awscrt",
@@ -272,7 +274,7 @@ zend_module_entry awscrt_module_entry = {
     NULL, /* RINIT */
     NULL, /* RSHUTDOWN */
     NULL, /* MINFO */
-    NO_VERSION_YET,
+    CRT_VERSION,
     PHP_MODULE_GLOBALS(awscrt),
     PHP_GINIT(awscrt),
     NULL, /* GSHUTDOWN */