diff --git a/.github/workflows/make-release.yml b/.github/workflows/make-release.yml
index 357fc2cfa7..e00e19d5be 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/make-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/make-release.yml
@@ -26,28 +26,17 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v6
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
 
-      - name: Determine version
-        id: version
-        run: bash scripts/release-determine-version.sh "${{ github.event.inputs.version }}"
-
-      - name: Check tag does not already exist
-        run: bash scripts/release-check-tag.sh "${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
-
-      - name: Check release.yml completed successfully for HEAD
-        run: bash scripts/release-check-ci.sh ${{ github.event.inputs.dry_run == 'true' && '--dry-run' || '' }}
+      - name: Run release checks
+        id: checks
+        run: bash scripts/make-release-checks.sh "${{ github.event.inputs.version }}" ${{ github.event.inputs.dry_run == 'true' && '--dry-run' || '' }}
         env:
           GITHUB_REPOSITORY: ${{ github.repository }}
 
-      - name: Check local ggml matches upstream
-        run: bash scripts/release-check-ggml.sh ${{ github.event.inputs.dry_run == 'true' && '--dry-run' || '' }}
-
       - name: Create release tag
         if: ${{ github.event.inputs.dry_run == 'false' }}
         run: |
-          VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          VERSION="${{ steps.checks.outputs.version }}"
           git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
           git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
           git tag -a "${VERSION}" -m "Release ${VERSION}"
@@ -58,4 +47,4 @@ jobs:
         if: ${{ github.event.inputs.dry_run == 'true' }}
         run: |
           echo "Dry run complete - all checks passed."
-          echo "Would have created tag: ${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          echo "Would have created tag: ${{ steps.checks.outputs.version }}"
diff --git a/scripts/make-release-checks.sh b/scripts/make-release-checks.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..9541f94c6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/make-release-checks.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Run all pre-release checks and determine the release version.
+#
+# Usage: make-release-checks.sh [version] [--dry-run]
+#   version:   optional explicit version (e.g. v0.1.0); reads CMakeLists.txt if omitted
+#   --dry-run: warn on failures instead of aborting
+#
+# Env (when running in GitHub Actions): GH_TOKEN, GITHUB_REPOSITORY, GITHUB_OUTPUT
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
+
+VERSION_ARG=""
+DRY_RUN=false
+for arg in "$@"; do
+    case "$arg" in
+        --dry-run) DRY_RUN=true ;;
+        -*) echo "Unknown argument: $arg"; exit 1 ;;
+        *)  VERSION_ARG="$arg" ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+if [[ -n "$VERSION_ARG" ]]; then
+    VERSION="$VERSION_ARG"
+else
+    MAJOR=$(grep "set(LLAMA_VERSION_MAJOR" "$REPO_ROOT/CMakeLists.txt" | grep -oP '\d+')
+    MINOR=$(grep "set(LLAMA_VERSION_MINOR" "$REPO_ROOT/CMakeLists.txt" | grep -oP '\d+')
+    PATCH=$(grep "set(LLAMA_VERSION_PATCH" "$REPO_ROOT/CMakeLists.txt" | grep -oP '\d+')
+    VERSION="v${MAJOR}.${MINOR}.${PATCH}"
+fi
+echo "Determined version: ${VERSION}"
+if [[ -n "${GITHUB_OUTPUT:-}" ]]; then
+    echo "version=${VERSION}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+fi
+
+echo "Checking that tag ${VERSION} does not already exist..."
+if git ls-remote --tags origin "${VERSION}" | grep -q "${VERSION}"; then
+    echo "Error: tag ${VERSION} already exists on remote"
+    exit 1
+fi
+echo "Tag ${VERSION} does not exist on remote - OK"
+
+SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
+echo "Checking release.yml status for commit ${SHA}..."
+if [[ -z "${GITHUB_REPOSITORY:-}" ]]; then
+    echo "Warning: GITHUB_REPOSITORY not set - skipping CI check (local run)"
+else
+    RUNS=$(gh api "repos/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}/actions/workflows/release.yml/runs" \
+        --jq "[.workflow_runs[] | select(.head_sha == \"${SHA}\" and .conclusion == \"success\")] | length")
+    if [[ "$RUNS" -eq 0 ]]; then
+        if [[ "$DRY_RUN" == "true" ]]; then
+            echo "Warning: no successful release.yml run found for HEAD (${SHA}) (dry run, continuing)."
+        else
+            echo "Error: no successful release.yml run found for HEAD (${SHA})"
+            echo "The nightly build must complete successfully before making a release."
+            exit 1
+        fi
+    else
+        echo "Found successful release.yml run for HEAD."
+    fi
+fi
+
+MAJOR=$(grep "set(GGML_VERSION_MAJOR" "$REPO_ROOT/ggml/CMakeLists.txt" | grep -oP '\d+')
+MINOR=$(grep "set(GGML_VERSION_MINOR" "$REPO_ROOT/ggml/CMakeLists.txt" | grep -oP '\d+')
+PATCH=$(grep "set(GGML_VERSION_PATCH" "$REPO_ROOT/ggml/CMakeLists.txt" | grep -oP '\d+')
+GGML_VERSION="v${MAJOR}.${MINOR}.${PATCH}"
+echo "Local ggml version: ${GGML_VERSION}"
+
+if ! git clone --depth 1 --branch "${GGML_VERSION}" https://github.com/ggml-org/ggml.git upstream-ggml 2>/dev/null; then
+    echo "Warning: tag ${GGML_VERSION} not found in upstream ggml - skipping comparison"
+else
+    echo "Comparing local ggml/ src and include with upstream ${GGML_VERSION}..."
+    DIFF=$(diff -rq "$REPO_ROOT/ggml/src"          upstream-ggml/src          2>&1 || true)
+    DIFF+=$(diff -rq "$REPO_ROOT/ggml/include"     upstream-ggml/include      2>&1 || true)
+    DIFF+=$(diff     "$REPO_ROOT/ggml/CMakeLists.txt" upstream-ggml/CMakeLists.txt 2>&1 || true)
+    rm -rf upstream-ggml
+    if [[ -n "$DIFF" ]]; then
+        echo "local ggml/ differs from upstream ${GGML_VERSION}:"
+        echo "$DIFF"
+        if [[ "$DRY_RUN" == "true" ]]; then
+            echo "Warning: would abort release due to ggml mismatch (dry run, continuing)."
+        else
+            echo "Error: ggml must match upstream before making a release."
+            exit 1
+        fi
+    else
+        echo "local ggml/ matches upstream ${GGML_VERSION}"
+    fi
+fi
diff --git a/scripts/release-check-ci.sh b/scripts/release-check-ci.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 9037d57c25..0000000000
--- a/scripts/release-check-ci.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-# Check that release.yml completed successfully for the current HEAD commit.
-# Usage: release-check-ci.sh [--dry-run]
-# Env: GH_TOKEN, GITHUB_REPOSITORY
-set -euo pipefail
-
-DRY_RUN=false
-for arg in "$@"; do
-    case "$arg" in
-        --dry-run) DRY_RUN=true ;;
-        *) echo "Unknown argument: $arg"; exit 1 ;;
-    esac
-done
-
-SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
-echo "Checking release.yml status for commit ${SHA}..."
-
-RUNS=$(gh api "repos/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}/actions/workflows/release.yml/runs" \
-    --jq "[.workflow_runs[] | select(.head_sha == \"${SHA}\" and .conclusion == \"success\")] | length")
-
-if [[ "$RUNS" -eq 0 ]]; then
-    if [[ "$DRY_RUN" == "true" ]]; then
-        echo "Warning: no successful release.yml run found for HEAD (${SHA}) (dry run, continuing)."
-    else
-        echo "Error: no successful release.yml run found for HEAD (${SHA})"
-        echo "The nightly build must complete successfully before making a release."
-        exit 1
-    fi
-else
-    echo "Found successful release.yml run for HEAD."
-fi
diff --git a/scripts/release-check-ggml.sh b/scripts/release-check-ggml.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index e2c8541333..0000000000
--- a/scripts/release-check-ggml.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,52 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-# Check that the vendored ggml/ matches the corresponding upstream ggml release tag.
-# Usage: release-check-ggml.sh [--dry-run]
-set -euo pipefail
-
-SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
-REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
-
-DRY_RUN=false
-for arg in "$@"; do
-    case "$arg" in
-        --dry-run) DRY_RUN=true ;;
-        *) echo "Unknown argument: $arg"; exit 1 ;;
-    esac
-done
-
-MAJOR=$(grep "set(GGML_VERSION_MAJOR" "$REPO_ROOT/ggml/CMakeLists.txt" | grep -oP '\d+')
-MINOR=$(grep "set(GGML_VERSION_MINOR" "$REPO_ROOT/ggml/CMakeLists.txt" | grep -oP '\d+')
-PATCH=$(grep "set(GGML_VERSION_PATCH" "$REPO_ROOT/ggml/CMakeLists.txt" | grep -oP '\d+')
-GGML_VERSION="v${MAJOR}.${MINOR}.${PATCH}"
-echo "Local ggml version: ${GGML_VERSION}"
-
-if ! git clone --depth 1 --branch "${GGML_VERSION}" https://github.com/ggml-org/ggml.git upstream-ggml 2>/dev/null; then
-    echo "Warning: tag ${GGML_VERSION} not found in upstream ggml - skipping comparison"
-    exit 0
-fi
-
-echo "Comparing local ggml/ src and include with upstream ${GGML_VERSION}..."
-DIFF=$(diff -rq \
-    "$REPO_ROOT/ggml/src" upstream-ggml/src \
-    2>&1 || true)
-DIFF+=$(diff -rq \
-    "$REPO_ROOT/ggml/include" upstream-ggml/include \
-    2>&1 || true)
-DIFF+=$(diff \
-    "$REPO_ROOT/ggml/CMakeLists.txt" upstream-ggml/CMakeLists.txt \
-    2>&1 || true)
-
-rm -rf upstream-ggml
-
-if [[ -n "$DIFF" ]]; then
-    echo "local ggml/ differs from upstream ${GGML_VERSION}:"
-    echo "$DIFF"
-    if [[ "$DRY_RUN" == "true" ]]; then
-        echo "Warning: would abort release due to ggml mismatch (dry run, continuing)."
-    else
-        echo "Error: ggml must match upstream before making a release."
-        exit 1
-    fi
-else
-    echo "local ggml/ matches upstream ${GGML_VERSION}"
-fi
diff --git a/scripts/release-check-tag.sh b/scripts/release-check-tag.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 8a3c4b6dbc..0000000000
--- a/scripts/release-check-tag.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-# Check that a release tag does not already exist on the remote.
-# Usage: release-check-tag.sh <version>
-#   version: the tag to check (e.g. v0.1.0)
-set -euo pipefail
-
-if [[ -z "${1:-}" ]]; then
-    echo "Error: version argument is required"
-    exit 1
-fi
-
-VERSION="$1"
-
-echo "Checking that tag ${VERSION} does not already exist..."
-if git ls-remote --tags origin "${VERSION}" | grep -q "${VERSION}"; then
-    echo "Error: tag ${VERSION} already exists on remote"
-    exit 1
-fi
-
-echo "Tag ${VERSION} does not exist on remote - OK"
diff --git a/scripts/release-determine-version.sh b/scripts/release-determine-version.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 980e071263..0000000000
--- a/scripts/release-determine-version.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-# Determine the release version for llama.cpp.
-# Usage: release-determine-version.sh [version]
-#   version: optional explicit version (e.g. v0.1.0); reads CMakeLists.txt if omitted
-# Writes "version=<ver>" to $GITHUB_OUTPUT when running in GitHub Actions.
-set -euo pipefail
-
-SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
-REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
-
-if [[ -n "${1:-}" ]]; then
-    VERSION="$1"
-else
-    MAJOR=$(grep "set(LLAMA_VERSION_MAJOR" "$REPO_ROOT/CMakeLists.txt" | grep -oP '\d+')
-    MINOR=$(grep "set(LLAMA_VERSION_MINOR" "$REPO_ROOT/CMakeLists.txt" | grep -oP '\d+')
-    PATCH=$(grep "set(LLAMA_VERSION_PATCH" "$REPO_ROOT/CMakeLists.txt" | grep -oP '\d+')
-    VERSION="v${MAJOR}.${MINOR}.${PATCH}"
-fi
-
-echo "Determined version: ${VERSION}"
-
-if [[ -n "${GITHUB_OUTPUT:-}" ]]; then
-    echo "version=${VERSION}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-fi