diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 0cdda3cf..81d1a1ea 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -348,7 +348,8 @@ You can also remove your `$HOME/nix-installer-wsl-tests-temp` folder whenever yo
 
 This package uses [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/). When determining the version number for a new release refer to Semantic Versioning for guidance. You can use the `check-semver` command alias from within the development environment to validate your changes don't break semver.
 
-To cut a release:
+To cut a release, run `./prepare-release.sh 0.0.1`.
+This script will:
 
 - Create a release branch from `main` (`git checkout -b release-v0.0.1`)
   - Release PRs should not contain any installer-related changes which require review
@@ -356,13 +357,12 @@ To cut a release:
   - `nix flake update --commit-lock-file`
   - `cargo update --aggressive`
   - `cargo outdated --ignore-external-rel --aggressive`
-- Ensure the VM / container tests still pass with the following:
-  - NOTE: At time of writing, these are run in CI on release branches
+- Update the versions in the fixture data in `test/fixtures/**/*.json`
+- Push the branch, create a PR ("Release v0.0.1").
+  This pull request will automatically run VM and container tests:
   - `nix flake check -L`
   - `nix build .#hydraJobs.container-test.all.x86_64-linux.all -L -j 6`
   - `nix build .#hydraJobs.vm-test.all.x86_64-linux.all -L -j 6`
-- Update the versions in the fixture data in `test/fixtures/**/*.json`
-- Push the branch, create a PR ("Release v0.0.1")
 - Once the PR tests pass and it has been reviewed, merge it
 - Checkout the `main` branch and `git pull`
 - Prepare a draft release that creates the new tag on publish
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index ab322eae..6d573dd5 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -131,9 +131,9 @@ checksum = "72b3254f16251a8381aa12e40e3c4d2f0199f8c6508fbecb9d91f575e0fbb8c6"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "bitflags"
-version = "2.7.0"
+version = "2.8.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "1be3f42a67d6d345ecd59f675f3f012d6974981560836e938c22b424b85ce1be"
+checksum = "8f68f53c83ab957f72c32642f3868eec03eb974d1fb82e453128456482613d36"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "bumpalo"
@@ -1074,7 +1074,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "nix-installer"
-version = "0.33.0"
+version = "0.34.0"
 dependencies = [
  "async-trait",
  "bytes 1.9.0",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index fdc8e60f..08e5eac3 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 [package]
 name = "nix-installer"
 description = "The Determinate Nix Installer"
-version = "0.33.0"
+version = "0.34.0"
 edition = "2021"
 resolver = "2"
 license = "LGPL-2.1"
diff --git a/flake.lock b/flake.lock
index 4b6c883f..90cf0757 100644
--- a/flake.lock
+++ b/flake.lock
@@ -290,12 +290,12 @@
     },
     "nixpkgs_3": {
       "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1736798957,
-        "narHash": "sha256-qwpCtZhSsSNQtK4xYGzMiyEDhkNzOCz/Vfu4oL2ETsQ=",
-        "rev": "9abb87b552b7f55ac8916b6fc9e5cb486656a2f3",
-        "revCount": 737779,
+        "lastModified": 1736883708,
+        "narHash": "sha256-uQ+NQ0/xYU0N1CnXsa2zghgNaOPxWpMJXSUJJ9W7140=",
+        "rev": "eb62e6aa39ea67e0b8018ba8ea077efe65807dc8",
+        "revCount": 738172,
         "type": "tarball",
-        "url": "https://api.flakehub.com/f/pinned/NixOS/nixpkgs/0.1.737779%2Brev-9abb87b552b7f55ac8916b6fc9e5cb486656a2f3/019463c0-2408-72ce-9579-5965e6e5e05b/source.tar.gz"
+        "url": "https://api.flakehub.com/f/pinned/NixOS/nixpkgs/0.1.738172%2Brev-eb62e6aa39ea67e0b8018ba8ea077efe65807dc8/01946c30-5ff9-7d30-acd1-28101cd9be64/source.tar.gz"
       },
       "original": {
         "type": "tarball",
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index ce05de6f..d5331250 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -132,6 +132,7 @@
               check.check-semver
               check.check-clippy
               editorconfig-checker
+              toml-cli
             ]
             ++ lib.optionals (pkgs.stdenv.isLinux) (with pkgs; [
               checkpolicy
diff --git a/prepare-release.sh b/prepare-release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..d57c7485
--- /dev/null
+++ b/prepare-release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+set -eux
+
+version=$1
+
+if ! echo "$version" | grep -q "^[[:digit:]]\+\.[[:digit:]]\+\.[[:digit:]]\+$"; then
+  echo "argv[1] needs to be a version, in x.y.z format."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+git fetch
+git checkout origin/main
+git checkout -B "release-v$version"
+
+nix flake update --commit-lock-file
+
+cargo update --aggressive
+git add Cargo.lock
+git commit -m "Update Cargo.lock dependencies"
+
+toml set ./Cargo.toml package.version "$version" > Cargo.toml.next
+mv Cargo.toml.next Cargo.toml
+git add Cargo.toml
+
+cargo fetch
+git add Cargo.lock
+
+for fname in $(find ./tests/fixtures -name '*.json'); do
+  cat "$fname" \
+    | jq '.version = $version | .diagnostic_data.version = $version' --arg version "$version" \
+    > "$fname.next"
+  mv "$fname.next" "$fname"
+  git add "$fname"
+done
+
+git commit -m "Release v$version"
+
+cargo outdated --ignore-external-rel --aggressive
+
+echo "Complete"
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/linux/linux.json b/tests/fixtures/linux/linux.json
index 6041f45e..29fffa5d 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/linux/linux.json
+++ b/tests/fixtures/linux/linux.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-  "version": "0.33.0",
+  "version": "0.34.0",
   "actions": [
     {
       "action": {
@@ -1164,7 +1164,7 @@
   },
   "diagnostic_data": {
     "attribution": null,
-    "version": "0.33.0",
+    "version": "0.34.0",
     "planner": "linux",
     "configured_settings": [],
     "os_name": "Ubuntu",
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/linux/steam-deck.json b/tests/fixtures/linux/steam-deck.json
index 01e1ee4e..1dee2aa4 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/linux/steam-deck.json
+++ b/tests/fixtures/linux/steam-deck.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-  "version": "0.33.0",
+  "version": "0.34.0",
   "actions": [
     {
       "action": {
@@ -1224,7 +1224,7 @@
   },
   "diagnostic_data": {
     "attribution": null,
-    "version": "0.33.0",
+    "version": "0.34.0",
     "planner": "steam-deck",
     "configured_settings": [],
     "os_name": "SteamOS",
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/macos/macos.json b/tests/fixtures/macos/macos.json
index 7b7085e4..6765363d 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/macos/macos.json
+++ b/tests/fixtures/macos/macos.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-  "version": "0.33.0",
+  "version": "0.34.0",
   "actions": [
     {
       "action": {
@@ -1266,7 +1266,7 @@
   },
   "diagnostic_data": {
     "attribution": null,
-    "version": "0.33.0",
+    "version": "0.34.0",
     "planner": "macos",
     "configured_settings": [],
     "os_name": "unknown",