diff --git a/.browserslistrc b/.browserslistrc
deleted file mode 100644
index afe4650..0000000
--- a/.browserslistrc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-# https://github.com/browserslist/browserslist#browserslistrc
-
-last 2 versions
-> 0.2%
-not dead
diff --git a/.commitlintrc.json b/.commitlintrc.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 5bed7cb..0000000
--- a/.commitlintrc.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "rules": {
-    "body-max-line-length": [
-      0,
-      "always"
-    ]
-  }
-}
diff --git a/.github/dependabot.yml b/.github/dependabot.yml
index bec1046..dd59389 100644
--- a/.github/dependabot.yml
+++ b/.github/dependabot.yml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ updates:
       bundler:
         dependency-type: "production"
     schedule:
-      interval: "weekly"
+      interval: "monthly"
   - package-ecosystem: "npm"
     directory: "/"
     versioning-strategy: increase
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ updates:
       npm:
         dependency-type: "development"
     schedule:
-      interval: "weekly"
+      interval: "monthly"
   - package-ecosystem: "github-actions"
     directory: "/"
     groups:
@@ -23,4 +23,4 @@ updates:
         update-types:
           - "major"
     schedule:
-      interval: "weekly"
+      interval: "monthly"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index cf30b48..ee81876 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -19,10 +19,6 @@ jobs:
   build:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
-    strategy:
-      matrix:
-        ruby: [2.7, 3]
-
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -32,11 +28,11 @@ jobs:
       - name: Setup Ruby
         uses: ruby/setup-ruby@v1
         with:
-          ruby-version: ${{ matrix.ruby }}
+          ruby-version: 3
           bundler-cache: true
 
       - name: Setup Node
-        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
 
       - name: Build Assets
         run: npm i && npm run build
diff --git a/.github/workflows/style-lint.yml b/.github/workflows/style-lint.yml
index 3b8ae7a..f7aa54d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/style-lint.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/style-lint.yml
@@ -20,6 +20,6 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Setup Node
-        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
       - run: npm i
       - run: npm test
diff --git a/.prettierrc b/.prettierrc
deleted file mode 100644
index 36b3563..0000000
--- a/.prettierrc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "trailingComma": "none"
-}
diff --git a/.stylelintrc.json b/.stylelintrc.json
deleted file mode 100644
index a4ccded..0000000
--- a/.stylelintrc.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "extends": "stylelint-config-standard-scss",
-  "rules": {
-    "no-descending-specificity": null,
-    "shorthand-property-no-redundant-values": null,
-    "at-rule-no-vendor-prefix": null,
-    "property-no-vendor-prefix": null,
-    "selector-no-vendor-prefix": null,
-    "value-no-vendor-prefix": null,
-    "color-function-notation": "legacy",
-    "alpha-value-notation": "number",
-    "selector-not-notation": "simple",
-    "color-hex-length": "long",
-    "declaration-block-single-line-max-declarations": 3,
-    "scss/operator-no-newline-after": null,
-    "rule-empty-line-before": [
-      "always",
-      { "ignore": ["after-comment", "first-nested"] }
-    ],
-    "value-keyword-case": ["lower", { "ignoreProperties": ["/^\\$/"] }],
-    "media-feature-range-notation": "prefix"
-  }
-}
diff --git a/.versionrc.json b/.versionrc.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 4b880d3..0000000
--- a/.versionrc.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "skip": {
-    "commit": true,
-    "tag": true
-  },
-  "types": [
-    {
-      "type": "feat",
-      "section": "Features"
-    },
-    {
-      "type": "fix",
-      "section": "Bug Fixes"
-    },
-    {
-      "type": "perf",
-      "section": "Improvements"
-    }
-  ]
-}
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fc6bb65..4ee1d6c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
   # Chirpy Jekyll Theme
 
-  A minimal, responsive and feature-rich Jekyll theme for technical writing.
+  A minimal, responsive, and feature-rich Jekyll theme for technical writing.
 
   [![Gem Version](https://img.shields.io/gem/v/jekyll-theme-chirpy?color=brightgreen)][gem] 
   [![CI](https://github.com/cotes2020/jekyll-theme-chirpy/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg?branch=master&event=push)][ci] 
@@ -55,9 +55,9 @@ For details, see the "[Contributing Guidelines][contribute-guide]".
 
 ## Credits
 
-This project is mainly built with [Jekyll][jekyllrb] ecosystem,
+This project was built primarily with the [Jekyll][jekyllrb] ecosystem,
 [Bootstrap][bootstrap], [Font Awesome][icons], and some other [wonderful tools][lib].
-The avatar and favicon design come from [Clipart Max][image].
+The avatar and favicon design from [Clipart Max][image].
 
 Many thanks to the [contributors][contributors] who participated in the development
 and to the folks who reported bugs or shared ideas.
diff --git a/_data/locales/en.yml b/_data/locales/en.yml
index d7faa44..0dbe713 100644
--- a/_data/locales/en.yml
+++ b/_data/locales/en.yml
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ copyright:
     Except where otherwise noted, the blog posts on this site are licensed
     under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License by the author.
 
-meta: Using the :THEME theme for :PLATFORM
+meta: Using the :THEME theme for :PLATFORM.
 
 not_found:
   statment: Sorry, we've misplaced that URL or it's pointing to something that doesn't exist.
diff --git a/_data/origin/cors.yml b/_data/origin/cors.yml
index a95ef6b..bac2fc5 100644
--- a/_data/origin/cors.yml
+++ b/_data/origin/cors.yml
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ bootstrap:
   js: https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.2/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js
 
 toc:
-  css: https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/tocbot@4.21.2/dist/tocbot.min.css
-  js: https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/tocbot@4.21.2/dist/tocbot.min.js
+  css: https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/tocbot@4.21.3/dist/tocbot.min.css
+  js: https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/tocbot@4.21.3/dist/tocbot.min.js
 
 fontawesome:
   css: https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@fortawesome/fontawesome-free@6.4.2/css/all.min.css
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ search:
   js: https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/simple-jekyll-search@1.10.0/dest/simple-jekyll-search.min.js
 
 mermaid:
-  js: https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/mermaid@10.5.0/dist/mermaid.min.js
+  js: https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/mermaid@10.6.0/dist/mermaid.min.js
 
 dayjs:
   js:
diff --git a/_data/share.yml b/_data/share.yml
index feede74..d572e6d 100644
--- a/_data/share.yml
+++ b/_data/share.yml
@@ -23,3 +23,16 @@ platforms:
   # - type: Weibo
   #   icon: "fab fa-weibo"
   #   link: "http://service.weibo.com/share/share.php?title=TITLE&url=URL"
+  #
+  # - type: Mastodon
+  #   icon: "fa-brands fa-mastodon"
+  #   # See: https://github.com/justinribeiro/share-to-mastodon#properties
+  #   instances:
+  #     - label: mastodon.social
+  #       link: "https://mastodon.social/"
+  #     - label: mastodon.online
+  #       link: "https://mastodon.online/"
+  #     - label: fosstodon.org
+  #       link: "https://fosstodon.org/"
+  #     - label: photog.social
+  #       link: "https://photog.social/"
diff --git a/_includes/embed/twitch.html b/_includes/embed/twitch.html
index 043d532..ed5ec83 100644
--- a/_includes/embed/twitch.html
+++ b/_includes/embed/twitch.html
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 <iframe
   class="embed-video twitch"
+  loading="lazy"
   src="https://player.twitch.tv/?video={{ include.id }}&parent={{ site.url | split: '://' | last | remove: '/' }}"
   frameborder="0"
   allowfullscreen="true"
diff --git a/_includes/post-sharing.html b/_includes/post-sharing.html
index a316001..d894199 100644
--- a/_includes/post-sharing.html
+++ b/_includes/post-sharing.html
@@ -1,23 +1,38 @@
 <!-- Post sharing snippet -->
 
 <div class="share-wrapper d-flex align-items-center">
-  <span class="share-label text-muted me-1">{{ site.data.locales[include.lang].post.share }}</span>
+  <span class="share-label text-muted">{{ site.data.locales[include.lang].post.share }}</span>
   <span class="share-icons">
     {% capture title %}{{ page.title }} - {{ site.title }}{% endcapture %}
     {% assign title = title | uri_escape %}
     {% assign url = page.url | absolute_url | url_encode %}
 
-    {% for share in site.data.share.platforms %}
+    {% for share in site.data.share.platforms -%}
+      {%- capture tooltip -%}
+        data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-placement="top" title="{{ share.type }}" aria-label="{{ share.type }}"
+      {%- endcapture -%}
+
+      {% if share.type == 'Mastodon' %}
+        <script defer type="module" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@justinribeiro/share-to-mastodon/+esm"></script>
+        <button class="btn text-start" {{ tooltip }}>
+          <share-to-mastodon
+            class="share-mastodon"
+            message="{{ title }}"
+            url="{{ url }}"
+            {%- if share.instances -%}
+              customInstanceList="{{ share.instances | jsonify | xml_escape }}"
+            {%- endif %}
+          >
+            <i class="fa-fw {{ share.icon }}"></i>
+          </share-to-mastodon>
+        </button>
+
+        {% continue %}
+      {% endif %}
+
       {% assign link = share.link | replace: 'TITLE', title | replace: 'URL', url %}
-      <a
-        href="{{ link }}"
-        data-bs-toggle="tooltip"
-        data-bs-placement="top"
-        title="{{ share.type }}"
-        target="_blank"
-        rel="noopener"
-        aria-label="{{ share.type }}"
-      >
+
+      <a href="{{ link }}" target="_blank" rel="noopener" {{ tooltip }}>
         <i class="fa-fw {{ share.icon }}"></i>
       </a>
     {% endfor %}
@@ -31,7 +46,7 @@
       title="{{ site.data.locales[include.lang].post.button.share_link.title }}"
       data-title-succeed="{{ site.data.locales[include.lang].post.button.share_link.succeed }}"
     >
-      <i class="fa-fw fas fa-link pe-none"></i>
+      <i class="fa-fw fas fa-link pe-none fs-6"></i>
     </button>
   </span>
 </div>
diff --git a/_sass/addon/commons.scss b/_sass/addon/commons.scss
index 528de00..350f94e 100644
--- a/_sass/addon/commons.scss
+++ b/_sass/addon/commons.scss
@@ -309,7 +309,6 @@ sup {
 .preview-img {
   aspect-ratio: 40 / 21;
   width: 100%;
-  height: 100%;
   overflow: hidden;
 
   @extend %rounded;
@@ -324,6 +323,10 @@ sup {
     object-fit: cover;
 
     @extend %rounded;
+
+    @at-root #post-list & {
+      width: 100%;
+    }
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/_sass/colors/typography-light.scss b/_sass/colors/typography-light.scss
index e875aef..11f052c 100644
--- a/_sass/colors/typography-light.scss
+++ b/_sass/colors/typography-light.scss
@@ -63,7 +63,8 @@
 
   /* Posts */
   --toc-highlight: #0550ae;
-  --btn-share-hover-color: var(--link-color);
+  --btn-share-color: gray;
+  --btn-share-hover-color: #0d6efd;
   --card-bg: white;
   --card-hovor-bg: #e2e2e2;
   --card-shadow: rgb(104, 104, 104, 0.05) 0 2px 6px 0,
diff --git a/_sass/layout/post.scss b/_sass/layout/post.scss
index f44ee89..efbde82 100644
--- a/_sass/layout/post.scss
+++ b/_sass/layout/post.scss
@@ -2,14 +2,6 @@
   Post-specific style
 */
 
-@mixin btn-sharing-color($light-color, $important: false) {
-  @if $important {
-    color: var(--btn-share-color, $light-color) !important;
-  } @else {
-    color: var(--btn-share-color, $light-color);
-  }
-}
-
 %btn-post-nav {
   width: 50%;
   position: relative;
@@ -72,11 +64,23 @@ h1 + .post-meta {
     -ms-user-select: none;
     user-select: none;
 
+    %icon-size {
+      font-size: 1.125rem;
+    }
+
     .share-icons {
-      font-size: 1.2rem;
+      display: flex;
+
+      i {
+        color: var(--btn-share-color);
+
+        @extend %icon-size;
+      }
 
       > * {
-        margin-left: 0.25rem;
+        @extend %icon-size;
+
+        margin-left: 0.5rem;
 
         &:hover {
           i {
@@ -86,44 +90,29 @@ h1 + .post-meta {
       }
 
       button {
-        position: relative;
-        bottom: 2px;
         padding: 0;
+        border: none;
+        line-height: inherit;
 
         @extend %cursor-pointer;
       }
-
-      a :hover {
-        text-decoration: none;
-      }
-
-      .fa-square-x-twitter {
-        @include btn-sharing-color(black);
-      }
-
-      .fa-facebook-square {
-        @include btn-sharing-color(rgb(66, 95, 156));
-      }
-
-      .fa-telegram {
-        @include btn-sharing-color(rgb(39, 159, 217));
-      }
-
-      .fa-linkedin {
-        @include btn-sharing-color(rgb(0, 119, 181));
-      }
-
-      .fa-weibo {
-        @include btn-sharing-color(rgb(229, 20, 43));
-      }
     } /* .share-icons */
-
-    .fas.fa-link {
-      @include btn-sharing-color(rgb(171, 171, 171));
-    }
   } /* .share-wrapper */
 }
 
+.share-mastodon {
+  /* See: https://github.com/justinribeiro/share-to-mastodon#properties */
+  --wc-stm-font-family: $font-family-base;
+  --wc-stm-dialog-background-color: var(--card-bg);
+  --wc-stm-form-button-border: 1px solid var(--btn-border-color);
+  --wc-stm-form-submit-background-color: var(--sidebar-btn-bg);
+  --wc-stm-form-cancel-background-color: var(--sidebar-btn-bg);
+  --wc-stm-form-button-background-color-hover: #007bff;
+  --wc-stm-form-button-color-hover: white;
+
+  font-size: 1rem;
+}
+
 .post-tags {
   line-height: 2rem;
 
diff --git a/assets/lib b/assets/lib
index 6e3fa73..97d95fd 160000
--- a/assets/lib
+++ b/assets/lib
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 6e3fa734685f099195b02da912ffa25c04913e41
+Subproject commit 97d95fdb5ed9c445a372d110776fc354beff6128
diff --git a/jekyll-theme-chirpy.gemspec b/jekyll-theme-chirpy.gemspec
index 0d783dd..c64f14d 100644
--- a/jekyll-theme-chirpy.gemspec
+++ b/jekyll-theme-chirpy.gemspec
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
   spec.authors       = ["Cotes Chung"]
   spec.email         = ["cotes.chung@gmail.com"]
 
-  spec.summary       = "A minimal, responsive and feature-rich Jekyll theme for technical writing."
+  spec.summary       = "A minimal, responsive, and feature-rich Jekyll theme for technical writing."
   spec.homepage      = "https://github.com/cotes2020/jekyll-theme-chirpy"
   spec.license       = "MIT"
 
@@ -23,12 +23,12 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
     "plugin_type"       => "theme"
   }
 
-  spec.required_ruby_version = ">= 2.6"
+  spec.required_ruby_version = ">= 3.0"
 
   spec.add_runtime_dependency "jekyll", "~> 4.3"
   spec.add_runtime_dependency "jekyll-paginate", "~> 1.1"
   spec.add_runtime_dependency "jekyll-redirect-from", "~> 0.16"
-  spec.add_runtime_dependency "jekyll-seo-tag", "~> 2.7"
+  spec.add_runtime_dependency "jekyll-seo-tag", "~> 2.8"
   spec.add_runtime_dependency "jekyll-archives", "~> 2.2"
   spec.add_runtime_dependency "jekyll-sitemap", "~> 1.4"
   spec.add_runtime_dependency "jekyll-include-cache", "~> 0.2"
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 9a8186d..a723e13 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "jekyll-theme-chirpy",
   "version": "6.2.3",
-  "description": "A minimal, responsive and feature-rich Jekyll theme for technical writing.",
+  "description": "A minimal, responsive, and feature-rich Jekyll theme for technical writing.",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "git+https://github.com/cotes2020/jekyll-theme-chirpy.git"
@@ -21,15 +21,86 @@
     "fixlint": "npm run test -- --fix"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
-    "@babel/core": "^7.23.0",
+    "@babel/core": "^7.23.2",
     "@babel/plugin-proposal-class-properties": "^7.18.6",
-    "@babel/preset-env": "^7.22.20",
-    "@rollup/plugin-babel": "^6.0.3",
-    "@rollup/plugin-terser": "^0.4.3",
+    "@babel/preset-env": "^7.23.2",
+    "@rollup/plugin-babel": "^6.0.4",
+    "@rollup/plugin-terser": "^0.4.4",
     "rimraf": "^5.0.5",
-    "rollup": "^3.29.4",
-    "rollup-plugin-license": "^3.1.0",
-    "stylelint": "^15.10.3",
-    "stylelint-config-standard-scss": "^11.0.0"
+    "rollup": "^4.3.0",
+    "rollup-plugin-license": "^3.2.0",
+    "stylelint": "^15.11.0",
+    "stylelint-config-standard-scss": "^11.1.0"
+  },
+  "prettier": {
+    "trailingComma": "none"
+  },
+  "browserslist": [
+    "last 2 versions",
+    "> 0.2%",
+    "not dead"
+  ],
+  "commitlint": {
+    "rules": {
+      "body-max-line-length": [
+        0,
+        "always"
+      ]
+    }
+  },
+  "stylelint": {
+    "extends": "stylelint-config-standard-scss",
+    "rules": {
+      "no-descending-specificity": null,
+      "shorthand-property-no-redundant-values": null,
+      "at-rule-no-vendor-prefix": null,
+      "property-no-vendor-prefix": null,
+      "selector-no-vendor-prefix": null,
+      "value-no-vendor-prefix": null,
+      "color-function-notation": "legacy",
+      "alpha-value-notation": "number",
+      "selector-not-notation": "simple",
+      "color-hex-length": "long",
+      "declaration-block-single-line-max-declarations": 3,
+      "scss/operator-no-newline-after": null,
+      "rule-empty-line-before": [
+        "always",
+        {
+          "ignore": [
+            "after-comment",
+            "first-nested"
+          ]
+        }
+      ],
+      "value-keyword-case": [
+        "lower",
+        {
+          "ignoreProperties": [
+            "/^\\$/"
+          ]
+        }
+      ],
+      "media-feature-range-notation": "prefix"
+    }
+  },
+  "standard-version": {
+    "skip": {
+      "commit": true,
+      "tag": true
+    },
+    "types": [
+      {
+        "type": "feat",
+        "section": "Features"
+      },
+      {
+        "type": "fix",
+        "section": "Bug Fixes"
+      },
+      {
+        "type": "perf",
+        "section": "Improvements"
+      }
+    ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/tools/release b/tools/release
index 59bc917..6b4cc37 100755
--- a/tools/release
+++ b/tools/release
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 # and production branch.
 #
 #
-# Usage: run on main branch or the patch branch
+# Usage: run on the default, release or the patch branch
 #
 # Requires: Git, NPM and RubyGems
 
@@ -18,8 +18,7 @@ opt_pre=false # preview mode option
 
 working_branch="$(git branch --show-current)"
 
-# AKA the default branch, main/master branch
-STAGING_BRANCH="$(git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD | sed 's@^refs/remotes/origin/@@')"
+DEFAULT_BRANCH="$(git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD | sed 's@^refs/remotes/origin/@@')"
 
 PROD_BRANCH="production"
 
@@ -65,15 +64,16 @@ _check_cli() {
 }
 
 _check_git() {
-  # ensure nothing is uncommitted
+  # ensure that changes have been committed
   if [[ -n $(git status . -s) ]]; then
     echo "> Abort: Commit the staged files first, and then run this tool again."
     exit 1
   fi
 
-  # ensure the working branch is the default/patch branch
-  if [[ $working_branch != "$STAGING_BRANCH" && $working_branch != hotfix/* ]]; then
-    echo "> Abort: Please run on the $STAGING_BRANCH branch or a patch branche."
+  if [[ $working_branch != "$DEFAULT_BRANCH" &&
+    $working_branch != hotfix/* &&
+    $working_branch != "$PROD_BRANCH" ]]; then
+    echo "> Abort: Please run on the default, release or patch branch."
     exit 1
   fi
 }
@@ -101,14 +101,16 @@ check() {
   _check_node_packages
 }
 
-# auto-generate a new version number to the file 'package.json' and
+# Auto-generate a new version number to the file 'package.json'
 bump_node() {
+  bump="standard-version -i $CHANGE_LOG"
+
   if $opt_pre; then
-    standard-version -i "$CHANGE_LOG" -p rc
-  else
-    standard-version -i "$CHANGE_LOG"
+    bump="$bump -p rc"
   fi
 
+  eval "$bump"
+
   # Change heading of Patch version to heading level 2 (a bug from `standard-version`)
   sed -i "s/^### \[/## \[/g" "$CHANGE_LOG"
   # Replace multiple empty lines with a single empty line
@@ -117,29 +119,34 @@ bump_node() {
 
 ## Bump new version to gem config file
 bump_gem() {
-  sed -i "s/[[:digit:]]\+\.[[:digit:]]\+\.[[:digit:]]\+/$1/" "$GEM_SPEC"
+  _ver="$1"
+
+  if $opt_pre; then
+    _ver="${1/-/.}"
+  fi
+
+  sed -i "s/[[:digit:]]\+\.[[:digit:]]\+\.[[:digit:]]\+/$_ver/" "$GEM_SPEC"
 }
 
-# Update the git branches, create a new tag, and then build the gem package.
-release() {
+# Creates a new tag on the production branch with the given version number.
+# Also commits the changes and merges the production branch into the default branch.
+branch() {
   _version="$1" # X.Y.Z
-  _latest_commit="$(git rev-parse HEAD)"
+
+  git add .
+  git commit -m "chore(release): $_version"
 
   # Create a new tag on production branch
   echo -e "> Create tag v$_version\n"
   git tag "v$_version"
 
-  git checkout "$STAGING_BRANCH"
+  git checkout "$DEFAULT_BRANCH"
+  git merge --no-ff --no-edit "$PROD_BRANCH"
 
   if [[ $working_branch == hotfix/* ]]; then
-    git merge --no-ff --no-edit "$working_branch"
     # delete the patch branch
     git branch -D "$working_branch"
   fi
-
-  # cherry-pick the latest commit from production branch to default branch
-  git cherry-pick "$_latest_commit"
-
 }
 
 ## Build a gem package
@@ -164,7 +171,7 @@ build_gem() {
 main() {
   check
 
-  if [[ $opt_pre = false ]]; then
+  if [[ $opt_pre = false && $working_branch != "$PROD_BRANCH" ]]; then
     git checkout "$PROD_BRANCH"
     git merge --no-ff --no-edit "$working_branch"
   fi
@@ -175,16 +182,12 @@ main() {
 
   bump_gem "$_version"
 
-  echo -e "> Build the gem package for v$_version\n"
-
   if [[ $opt_pre = false ]]; then
-    echo -e "> Bumped version number to $_version\n"
-    git add .
-    git commit -m "chore(release): $_version"
-
-    release "$_version"
+    branch "$_version"
   fi
 
+  echo -e "> Build the gem package for v$_version\n"
+
   build_gem
 }