diff --git a/.chloggen/codeboten_update-units-processorhelper.yaml b/.chloggen/codeboten_update-units-processorhelper.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c352ec40509
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/codeboten_update-units-processorhelper.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: bug_fix
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: processorhelper
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: update units for internal telemetry
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [10647]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext:
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: []
diff --git a/.chloggen/componenttest-extra-attributes.yaml b/.chloggen/componenttest-extra-attributes.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3683ca634b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/componenttest-extra-attributes.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: breaking
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: component/componenttest
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Add optional ...attribute.KeyValue argument to TestTelemetry.CheckExporterMetricGauge.
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [10593]
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: [api]
diff --git a/.chloggen/confmap-increase-recursive-count.yaml b/.chloggen/confmap-increase-recursive-count.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..cf8a8fe479a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/confmap-increase-recursive-count.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: bug_fix
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: confmap
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Increase the amount of recursion and URI expansions allowed in a single line
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [10712]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext:
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: []
diff --git a/.chloggen/document_factories.yaml b/.chloggen/document_factories.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..fffb842e1b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/document_factories.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: enhancement
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: exporter, processor, receiver
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Document factory functions.
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [9323]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext:
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: [api]
diff --git a/.chloggen/document_fields.yaml b/.chloggen/document_fields.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..cd2af1bcb6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/document_fields.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: enhancement
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: component
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Document status enums and New constructors
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [9822]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext:
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: [api]
diff --git a/.chloggen/experimental_include_metadata.yaml b/.chloggen/experimental_include_metadata.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..11a936f5b8d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/experimental_include_metadata.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: enhancement
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: confighttp, configgrpc
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Remove the experimental comment on `IncludeMetadata` in confighttp and configgrpc
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [9381]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext:
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: [api]
diff --git a/.chloggen/exporterhelper-report-data-type-in-queue-metrics.yaml b/.chloggen/exporterhelper-report-data-type-in-queue-metrics.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e4065d6e4bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/exporterhelper-report-data-type-in-queue-metrics.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: enhancement
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: exporterhelper
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Add data_type attribute to `otelcol_exporter_queue_size` metric to report the type of data being processed.
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [9943]
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: [user]
diff --git a/.chloggen/exporterhelper_metric_units.yaml b/.chloggen/exporterhelper_metric_units.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..de6a645ffe3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/exporterhelper_metric_units.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: bug_fix
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: exporterhelper
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Update units for internal telemetry
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [10648]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext:
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: []
diff --git a/.chloggen/fix-env-var-double-escaping.yaml b/.chloggen/fix-env-var-double-escaping.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5ea730a1965
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/fix-env-var-double-escaping.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: bug_fix
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: confmap
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Fix wrong expansion of environment variables escaped with `$$`, e.g. `$${ENV_VAR}` and `$$ENV_VAR`.
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [10713]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext: |
+  This change fixes the issue where environment variables escaped with $$ were expanded. 
+  The collector now converts `$${ENV_VAR}` to `${ENV_VAR}` and `$$ENV_VAR` to `$ENV_VAR` without further expansion.
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: [api]
diff --git a/.chloggen/jpkroehling-grpc-statuscode.yaml b/.chloggen/jpkroehling-grpc-statuscode.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d78ef4c7a9a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/jpkroehling-grpc-statuscode.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: 'enhancement'
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: configgrpc
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: gRPC auth errors now return gRPC status code UNAUTHENTICATED (16)
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [7646]
+
diff --git a/.chloggen/mx-psi_string-value-for-string-fields.yaml b/.chloggen/mx-psi_string-value-for-string-fields.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0a7a49175c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/mx-psi_string-value-for-string-fields.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: breaking
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: confmap
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: When passing configuration for a string field using any provider, use the verbatim string representation as the value.
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [10605, 10405]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext: | 
+  This matches the behavior of `${ENV}` syntax prior to the promotion of the `confmap.unifyEnvVarExpansion` feature gate
+  to beta. It changes the behavior of the `${env:ENV}` syntax with escaped strings.
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: []
diff --git a/.chloggen/mx-psi_validate-uris.yaml b/.chloggen/mx-psi_validate-uris.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..69af525d77d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/mx-psi_validate-uris.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: enhancement
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: httpprovider, httpsprovider
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Validate URIs in HTTP and HTTPS providers before fetching.
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [10468]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext:
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: []
diff --git a/.chloggen/ocb-migration.yaml b/.chloggen/ocb-migration.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1c59d893b3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/ocb-migration.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: enhancement
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: ocb
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: migrate build and release of ocb binaries to opentelemetry-collector-releases repository
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [10710]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext: ocb will be released under open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-releases tagged as "cmd/builder/vX.XXX.X"
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: [user]
diff --git a/.chloggen/profiles-consumertest.yaml b/.chloggen/profiles-consumertest.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b211551f461
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/profiles-consumertest.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: enhancement
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: consumer/consumertest
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Allow testing profiles with consumertest.
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [10692]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext:
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: [api]
diff --git a/.chloggen/receiverhelper_metric_units.yaml b/.chloggen/receiverhelper_metric_units.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3f06210459e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/receiverhelper_metric_units.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: bug_fix
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: receiverhelper
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Update units for internal telemetry
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [10650]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext:
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: []
diff --git a/.chloggen/scraperhelper_metric_units.yaml b/.chloggen/scraperhelper_metric_units.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3e754f6a991
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/scraperhelper_metric_units.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: bug_fix
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: scraperhelper
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Update units for internal telemetry
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [10649]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext:
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: []
diff --git a/.chloggen/service-remove-ballast-deps-2.yaml b/.chloggen/service-remove-ballast-deps-2.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e6377b387de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/service-remove-ballast-deps-2.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: breaking
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: processor/memorylimiter
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: The memory limiter processor will no longer account for ballast size.
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [10696]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext: If you are already using GOMEMLIMIT instead of the ballast extension this does not affect you.
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: []
diff --git a/.chloggen/service-remove-ballast-deps-3.yaml b/.chloggen/service-remove-ballast-deps-3.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c07f90439f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/service-remove-ballast-deps-3.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: breaking
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: extension/memorylimiter
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: The memory limiter extension will no longer account for ballast size.
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [10696]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext: If you are already using GOMEMLIMIT instead of the ballast extension this does not affect you.
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: []
diff --git a/.chloggen/service-remove-ballast-deps.yaml b/.chloggen/service-remove-ballast-deps.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..31ffa90c3ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/service-remove-ballast-deps.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: breaking
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. otlpreceiver)
+component: service
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: The service will no longer be able to get a ballast size from the deprecated ballast extension.
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [10696]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext: If you are already using GOMEMLIMIT instead of the ballast extension this does not affect you.
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: []
diff --git a/.github/workflows/builder-release.yaml b/.github/workflows/sourcecode-release.yaml
similarity index 72%
rename from .github/workflows/builder-release.yaml
rename to .github/workflows/sourcecode-release.yaml
index b6ae4795adb..7e767539fc9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/builder-release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/sourcecode-release.yaml
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-name: Builder - Release
+name: Source Code - Release
 
 on:
   push:
     tags:
-      - 'v*'
+      - "v*"
 
 jobs:
   goreleaser:
@@ -13,19 +13,6 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@692973e3d937129bcbf40652eb9f2f61becf3332 # v4.1.7
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: Setup Go
-        uses: actions/setup-go@0a12ed9d6a96ab950c8f026ed9f722fe0da7ef32 # v5.0.2
-        with:
-          go-version: ~1.21.5
-      - name: Run GoReleaser
-        uses: goreleaser/goreleaser-action@286f3b13b1b49da4ac219696163fb8c1c93e1200 # v6.0.0
-        with:
-          distribution: goreleaser-pro
-          version: latest
-          args: release --clean -f cmd/builder/.goreleaser.yml
-        env:
-          GORELEASER_KEY: ${{ secrets.GORELEASER_KEY }}
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       - name: Create Github Release
         run: |
           gh release create ${{ github.ref_name }} -t ${{ github.ref_name }} -n "### Images and binaries here: https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-releases/releases/tag/${{ github.ref_name }}"
diff --git a/cmd/builder/.goreleaser.yml b/cmd/builder/.goreleaser.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index a964ac6c6ee..00000000000
--- a/cmd/builder/.goreleaser.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,39 +0,0 @@
-before:
-  hooks:
-    - go mod download
-monorepo:
-  tag_prefix: cmd/builder/
-  dir: cmd/builder
-builds:
-  - flags:
-      - -trimpath
-    ldflags:
-      - -s -w -X go.opentelemetry.io/collector/cmd/builder/internal.version={{.Version}} -X go.opentelemetry.io/collector/cmd/builder/internal.date={{.Date}}
-    env:
-      - CGO_ENABLED=0
-    goos:
-      - linux
-      - windows
-      - darwin
-    goarch:
-      - amd64
-      - arm64
-      - ppc64le
-    ignore:
-      - goos: windows
-        goarch: arm64
-    binary: ocb
-release:
-  github:
-    owner: open-telemetry
-    name: opentelemetry-collector
-  header: |
-    ### Images and binaries here: https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-releases/releases/tag/{{ .Tag }}
-archives:
-  - format: binary
-checksum:
-  name_template: "checksums.txt"
-snapshot:
-  name_template: "{{ .Tag }}-next"
-changelog:
-  disable: true
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/go.mod b/cmd/mdatagen/go.mod
index 2239a1f5615..3f61958580d 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/go.mod
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/go.mod
@@ -81,8 +81,6 @@ replace go.opentelemetry.io/collector/semconv => ../../semconv
 
 replace go.opentelemetry.io/collector/featuregate => ../../featuregate
 
-replace go.opentelemetry.io/collector/consumer => ../../consumer
-
 replace go.opentelemetry.io/collector => ../..
 
 replace go.opentelemetry.io/collector/config/configtelemetry => ../../config/configtelemetry
diff --git a/docs/release.md b/docs/release.md
index 38dad9e75cb..83db451d913 100644
--- a/docs/release.md
+++ b/docs/release.md
@@ -46,9 +46,7 @@ It is possible that a core approver isn't a contrib approver. In that case, the
    
    If you set your remote using `https` you need to include `REMOTE=https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector.git` in each command. Wait for the new tag build to pass successfully.
 
-6. The release script for the collector builder should create a new GitHub release for the builder. This is a separate release from the core, but we might join them in the future if it makes sense.
-
-7. A new `v0.85.0` release should be automatically created on Github by now. Edit it and use the contents from the CHANGELOG.md and CHANGELOG-API.md as the release's description.
+6. A new `v0.85.0` source code release should be automatically created on Github by now. Edit it and use the contents from the CHANGELOG.md and CHANGELOG-API.md as the release's description.
 
 ## Releasing opentelemetry-collector-contrib
 
@@ -74,17 +72,18 @@ It is possible that a core approver isn't a contrib approver. In that case, the
 5. A new `v0.85.0` release should be automatically created on Github by now. Edit it and use the contents from the CHANGELOG.md as the release's description.
 
 ## Producing the artifacts
-
 The last step of the release process creates artifacts for the new version of the collector and publishes images to Dockerhub. The steps in this portion of the release are done in the [opentelemetry-collector-releases](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-releases) repo.
 
-1. Update the `./distribution/**/manifest.yaml` files to include the new release version.
+1. Update the `./distributions/**/manifest.yaml` files to include the new release version.
 
 2. Update the builder version in `OTELCOL_BUILDER_VERSION` to the new release in the `Makefile`. While this might not be strictly necessary for every release, this is a good practice.
 
-3. Create a pull request with the change and ensure the build completes successfully. See [example](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-releases/pull/71).
+3. Create and push a new branch with this change, and apply the tag `cmd/builder/v0.xxx.0` to match the version number used above by running the command `make push-tags TAG=cmd/builder/v0.xxx.0`. This will build and release the ocb binaries under the opentelemetry-collector-releases distribution and is required to be completed **before** creating the pull request to merge the branch in the next step below. Building the distributions relies on using the latest ocb binary and if this workflow does not complete successfully, the rest of the build/release actions may not complete successfully.
+
+4. Create a pull request with the change and ensure the build completes successfully. See [example](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-releases/pull/71). This pull request will also initiate and release the opentelemetry collector builder (ocb) binaries in a separate release; this is required to use the newest ocb binary to build the collector distributions below.
    -  🛑 **Do not move forward until this PR is merged.** 🛑
 
-4. Check out the commit created by merging the PR and tag with the new release version by running the `make push-tags TAG=v0.85.0` command. If you set your remote using `https` you need to include `REMOTE=https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-releases.git` in each command. Wait for the new tag build to pass successfully.
+5. Check out the commit created by merging the PR and tag with the new release version by running the `make push-tags TAG=v0.85.0` command. If you set your remote using `https` you need to include `REMOTE=https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-releases.git` in each command. Wait for the new tag build to pass successfully.
 
 5. Ensure the "Release Core", "Release Contrib" and "Release k8s" actions pass, this will