diff --git a/src/gardenlinux/github/release/__init__.py b/src/gardenlinux/github/release/__init__.py
index 838d4e39..721153c7 100644
--- a/src/gardenlinux/github/release/__init__.py
+++ b/src/gardenlinux/github/release/__init__.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import json
 import os
 
 import requests
@@ -9,6 +10,43 @@
 REQUESTS_TIMEOUTS = (5, 30)  # connect, read
 
 
+def create_github_release(owner, repo, tag, commitish, latest, body):
+    token = os.environ.get("GITHUB_TOKEN")
+    if not token:
+        raise ValueError("GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable not set")
+
+    headers = {
+        "Authorization": f"token {token}",
+        "Accept": "application/vnd.github.v3+json",
+    }
+
+    data = {
+        "tag_name": tag,
+        "target_commitish": commitish,
+        "name": tag,
+        "body": body,
+        "draft": False,
+        "prerelease": False,
+        "make_latest": latest
+    }
+
+    response = requests.post(
+        f"https://api.github.com/repos/{owner}/{repo}/releases",
+        headers=headers,
+        data=json.dumps(data),
+        timeout=REQUESTS_TIMEOUTS
+    )
+
+    if response.status_code == 201:
+        LOGGER.info("Release created successfully")
+        response_json = response.json()
+        return response_json.get("id")
+    else:
+        LOGGER.error("Failed to create release")
+        LOGGER.debug(response.json())
+        response.raise_for_status()
+
+
 def upload_to_github_release_page(
     github_owner, github_repo, gardenlinux_release_id, file_to_upload, dry_run
 ):
diff --git a/tests/constants.py b/tests/constants.py
index d3883d8c..77a525b4 100644
--- a/tests/constants.py
+++ b/tests/constants.py
@@ -25,5 +25,6 @@
 TEST_VERSION_STABLE = "1000"
 
 TEST_GARDENLINUX_RELEASE = "1877.3"
+TEST_GARDENLINUX_COMMIT = "75df9f401a842914563f312899ec3ce34b24515c"
 
 S3_DOWNLOADS_DIR = Path(os.path.dirname(__file__)) / ".." / "s3_downloads"
diff --git a/tests/github/test_create_github_release.py b/tests/github/test_create_github_release.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a81270b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/github/test_create_github_release.py
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+import pytest
+import requests
+import requests_mock
+
+from gardenlinux.github.release import create_github_release
+
+from ..constants import TEST_GARDENLINUX_COMMIT, TEST_GARDENLINUX_RELEASE
+
+
+def test_create_github_release_needs_github_token():
+    with requests_mock.Mocker():
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exn:
+            create_github_release(
+                "gardenlinux",
+                "gardenlinux",
+                TEST_GARDENLINUX_RELEASE,
+                TEST_GARDENLINUX_COMMIT,
+                False,
+                "")
+            assert str(exn.value) == "GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable not set", \
+                "Expected an exception to be raised on missing GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable"
+
+
+def test_create_github_release_raise_on_failure(caplog, github_token):
+    with requests_mock.Mocker() as m:
+        with pytest.raises(requests.exceptions.HTTPError):
+            m.post(
+                "https://api.github.com/repos/gardenlinux/gardenlinux/releases",
+                text="{}",
+                status_code=503
+            )
+            create_github_release(
+                "gardenlinux",
+                "gardenlinux",
+                TEST_GARDENLINUX_RELEASE,
+                TEST_GARDENLINUX_COMMIT,
+                False,
+                "")
+        assert any("Failed to create release" in record.message for record in caplog.records), "Expected a failure log record"
+
+
+def test_create_github_release(caplog, github_token):
+    with requests_mock.Mocker() as m:
+        m.post(
+            "https://api.github.com/repos/gardenlinux/gardenlinux/releases",
+            text='{"id": 101}',
+            status_code=201
+        )
+        assert create_github_release(
+            "gardenlinux",
+            "gardenlinux",
+            TEST_GARDENLINUX_RELEASE,
+            TEST_GARDENLINUX_COMMIT,
+            False,
+            "") == 101
+        assert any("Release created successfully" in record.message for record in caplog.records), "Expected a success log record"