diff --git a/.github/release-drafter.yml b/.github/release-drafter.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 4cd5de0af6c..00000000000
--- a/.github/release-drafter.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,83 +0,0 @@
-# Release Drafter Configuration for Galaxy
-# Implements YY.N.P versioning scheme using existing Galaxy labels
-#
-# IMPORTANT: Galaxy's versioning scheme is YY.N.P where:
-# - YY = Two-digit year (25 for 2025)
-# - N = Feature release number (0, 1, 2... - typically 2-3 per year)
-# - P = Patch/point release number (0, 1, 2, 3...)
-#
-# Year transitions (24→25) must be handled manually when creating releases.
-
-name-template: 'Galaxy $RESOLVED_VERSION'
-tag-template: 'v$RESOLVED_VERSION'
-
-# Categories for organizing release notes using existing Galaxy labels
-categories:
-  - title: '🎉 Major Changes'
-    labels:
-      - 'major'
-      - 'highlight'
-  - title: '🚀 New Features'
-    labels:
-      - 'kind/feature'
-  - title: '🔧 Enhancements'
-    labels:
-      - 'kind/enhancement'
-  - title: '🐛 Bug Fixes'
-    labels:
-      - 'kind/bug'
-  - title: '🔒 Security Updates'
-    labels:
-      - 'area/security'
-  - title: '⚡ Performance'
-    labels:
-      - 'area/performance'
-  - title: '🧰 Refactoring'
-    labels:
-      - 'kind/refactoring'
-  - title: '📚 Documentation'
-    labels:
-      - 'area/documentation'
-  - title: '🔧 Admin & Configuration'
-    labels:
-      - 'area/admin'
-      - 'area/configuration'
-  - title: '🛠️ API Changes'
-    labels:
-      - 'area/API'
-  - title: '🧪 Testing'
-    labels:
-      - 'area/testing'
-      - 'area/testing/api'
-      - 'area/testing/integration'
-      - 'area/testing/selenium'
-  - title: '🏗️ Infrastructure & Dependencies'
-    labels:
-      - 'area/dependencies'
-      - 'area/client-build'
-
-# Exclude certain labels from release notes
-exclude-labels:
-  - 'triage'
-  - 'procedures'
-  - 'planning'
-  - 'merge'
-  - 'status/needs feedback'
-  - 'status/planning'
-
-# Template for each change line
-change-template: '- $TITLE @$AUTHOR (#$NUMBER)'
-
-# Characters to escape in titles
-change-title-escapes: '\<*_&'
-
-# Version is read from lib/galaxy/version.py by the workflow
-# No version-resolver needed since Galaxy manages versions manually
-
-# Template for the release body
-template: |
-  ## Changes in $RESOLVED_VERSION
-
-  $CHANGES
-
-  **Full Changelog**: https://github.com/$OWNER/$REPOSITORY/compare/$PREVIOUS_TAG...v$RESOLVED_VERSION
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/release.yml b/.github/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..06326d0c5a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+changelog:
+  exclude:
+    labels:
+      - merge
+      - procedures
+      - planning
+      - status/needs feedback
+      - status/planning
+    authors:
+      - dependabot[bot]
+      - github-actions[bot]
+      - galaxybot
+  categories:
+    - title: 🎉 Major Changes
+      labels:
+        - highlight
+        - highlight/admin
+        - highlight/dev
+        - highlight/power-user
+    - title: 🚀 New Features
+      labels:
+        - kind/feature
+      exclude:
+        labels:
+          - area/documentation
+    - title: 🔧 Enhancements
+      labels:
+        - kind/enhancement
+    - title: 🐛 Bug Fixes
+      labels:
+        - kind/bug
+    - title: '🔒 Security Updates'
+      labels:
+        - 'area/security'
+    - title: '⚡ Performance'
+      labels:
+        - 'area/performance'
+    - title: '🧰 Refactoring'
+      labels:
+        - 'kind/refactoring'
+    - title: '📚 Documentation'
+      labels:
+        - 'area/documentation'
+    - title: '🔧 Admin & Configuration'
+      labels:
+        - 'area/admin'
+        - 'area/configuration'
+    - title: '🛠️ API Changes'
+      labels:
+        - 'area/API'
+    - title: '🧪 Testing'
+      labels:
+        - 'area/testing'
+        - 'area/testing/api'
+        - 'area/testing/integration'
+        - 'area/testing/selenium'
+    - title: '🏗️ Infrastructure & Dependencies'
+      labels:
+        - 'area/dependencies'
+        - 'area/client-build'
+    - title: Other Changes
+      labels:
+        - "*"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-drafter.yml b/.github/workflows/release-drafter.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 2de8daba8a7..00000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/release-drafter.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,72 +0,0 @@
-name: Release Drafter
-
-on:
-  push:
-    branches:
-      - dev
-      - master
-      - 'release_*'
-  pull_request_target:
-    types: [opened, reopened, synchronize]
-  workflow_dispatch:
-
-permissions:
-  contents: read
-
-jobs:
-  update_release_draft:
-    permissions:
-      contents: write
-      pull-requests: write
-    if: github.repository == 'galaxyproject/galaxy'
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
-        with:
-          sparse-checkout: |
-            lib/galaxy/version.py
-
-      - name: Read Galaxy version
-        id: galaxy-version
-        run: |
-          # Extract VERSION_MAJOR from version.py (e.g., "25.1")
-          VERSION_MAJOR=$(grep '^VERSION_MAJOR' lib/galaxy/version.py | cut -d'"' -f2)
-          RELEASE_VERSION="${VERSION_MAJOR}.0"
-          echo "version=${RELEASE_VERSION}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "Galaxy release version: ${RELEASE_VERSION}"
-
-      - name: Check if we should update draft
-        id: check-draft
-        run: |
-          VERSION="${{ inputs.version || steps.galaxy-version.outputs.version }}"
-
-          # Check if this version is already published
-          PUBLISHED=$(gh release view "v${VERSION}" --json isDraft --jq '.isDraft' 2>/dev/null || echo "not_found")
-
-          if [ "$PUBLISHED" = "false" ]; then
-            echo "Published release v${VERSION} already exists. Skipping."
-            echo "skip=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-            exit 0
-          fi
-
-          # Check if a draft exists for a DIFFERENT version (only one draft at a time)
-          EXISTING_DRAFT=$(gh release list --limit 50 --json tagName,isDraft --jq '.[] | select(.isDraft == true) | .tagName' | head -1)
-
-          if [ -n "$EXISTING_DRAFT" ] && [ "$EXISTING_DRAFT" != "v${VERSION}" ]; then
-            echo "Draft release $EXISTING_DRAFT already exists (for different version). Skipping v${VERSION}."
-            echo "Only one draft release at a time is supported."
-            echo "skip=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          else
-            echo "Proceeding with draft for v${VERSION}."
-            echo "skip=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          fi
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-
-      - uses: release-drafter/release-drafter@v6
-        if: steps.check-draft.outputs.skip == 'false'
-        with:
-          config-name: release-drafter.yml
-          version: ${{ steps.galaxy-version.outputs.version }}
-        env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
\ No newline at end of file