diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index a5328e0..c527d2c 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -253,10 +253,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "clap",
  "conventional_commit_parser",
  "dotenv",
+ "pretty_assertions",
  "reqwest",
  "semver",
  "serde",
  "serde_yaml",
+ "tempdir",
  "tokio",
  "tracing",
  "tracing-subscriber",
@@ -264,6 +266,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "url",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "diff"
+version = "0.1.13"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "56254986775e3233ffa9c4d7d3faaf6d36a2c09d30b20687e9f88bc8bafc16c8"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "digest"
 version = "0.10.7"
@@ -352,6 +360,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "percent-encoding",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "fuchsia-cprng"
+version = "0.1.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "a06f77d526c1a601b7c4cdd98f54b5eaabffc14d5f2f0296febdc7f357c6d3ba"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "futures-channel"
 version = "0.3.28"
@@ -861,6 +875,16 @@ version = "0.3.27"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "26072860ba924cbfa98ea39c8c19b4dd6a4a25423dbdf219c1eca91aa0cf6964"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "pretty_assertions"
+version = "1.4.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "af7cee1a6c8a5b9208b3cb1061f10c0cb689087b3d8ce85fb9d2dd7a29b6ba66"
+dependencies = [
+ "diff",
+ "yansi",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "proc-macro2"
 version = "1.0.66"
@@ -879,6 +903,43 @@ dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "rand"
+version = "0.4.6"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "552840b97013b1a26992c11eac34bdd778e464601a4c2054b5f0bff7c6761293"
+dependencies = [
+ "fuchsia-cprng",
+ "libc",
+ "rand_core 0.3.1",
+ "rdrand",
+ "winapi",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "rand_core"
+version = "0.3.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "7a6fdeb83b075e8266dcc8762c22776f6877a63111121f5f8c7411e5be7eed4b"
+dependencies = [
+ "rand_core 0.4.2",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "rand_core"
+version = "0.4.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "9c33a3c44ca05fa6f1807d8e6743f3824e8509beca625669633be0acbdf509dc"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "rdrand"
+version = "0.4.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "678054eb77286b51581ba43620cc911abf02758c91f93f479767aed0f90458b2"
+dependencies = [
+ "rand_core 0.3.1",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "redox_syscall"
 version = "0.3.5"
@@ -932,6 +993,15 @@ version = "0.7.4"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "e5ea92a5b6195c6ef2a0295ea818b312502c6fc94dde986c5553242e18fd4ce2"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "remove_dir_all"
+version = "0.5.3"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "3acd125665422973a33ac9d3dd2df85edad0f4ae9b00dafb1a05e43a9f5ef8e7"
+dependencies = [
+ "winapi",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "reqwest"
 version = "0.11.18"
@@ -1176,6 +1246,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "unicode-ident",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "tempdir"
+version = "0.3.7"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "15f2b5fb00ccdf689e0149d1b1b3c03fead81c2b37735d812fa8bddbbf41b6d8"
+dependencies = [
+ "rand",
+ "remove_dir_all",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "tempfile"
 version = "3.7.0"
@@ -1648,3 +1728,9 @@ checksum = "80d0f4e272c85def139476380b12f9ac60926689dd2e01d4923222f40580869d"
 dependencies = [
  "winapi",
 ]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "yansi"
+version = "0.5.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "09041cd90cf85f7f8b2df60c646f853b7f535ce68f85244eb6731cf89fa498ec"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index ea3d5cd..20add98 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@ serde_yaml = {version = "*"}
 serde = {version = "*", features = ["derive"]}
 semver = "1.0.18"
 conventional_commit_parser = "0.9.4"
-
+tempdir = "*"
 reqwest = {version = "*"}
 
-tracing-test = "*"
\ No newline at end of file
+tracing-test = "*"
+pretty_assertions = "*"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-please/Cargo.toml b/crates/cuddle-please/Cargo.toml
index 8501045..019a583 100644
--- a/crates/cuddle-please/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/cuddle-please/Cargo.toml
@@ -16,7 +16,9 @@ reqwest = {workspace = true, features = ["blocking", "json"]}
 url.workspace = true
 semver.workspace = true
 conventional_commit_parser.workspace = true
+tempdir.workspace = true
 
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 tracing-test = {workspace = true, features = ["no-env-filter"]}
+pretty_assertions.workspace = true
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-please/src/git_client.rs b/crates/cuddle-please/src/git_client.rs
index ec3f456..3a2b826 100644
--- a/crates/cuddle-please/src/git_client.rs
+++ b/crates/cuddle-please/src/git_client.rs
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ impl VcsClient {
     pub fn new_noop() -> VcsClient {
         Self::Noop {}
     }
+
     pub fn new_git(path: &Path) -> anyhow::Result<VcsClient> {
         if !path.to_path_buf().join(".git").exists() {
             anyhow::bail!("git directory not found in: {}", path.display().to_string())
@@ -19,4 +20,57 @@ impl VcsClient {
             source: path.to_path_buf(),
         })
     }
+
+    pub fn checkout_branch(&self) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        match self {
+            VcsClient::Noop {} => {}
+            VcsClient::Git { .. } => {
+                if let Err(e) = self.exec_git(&["branch", "-D", "cuddle-please/release"]) {
+                    tracing::debug!("failed to cleaned up local branch for force-push, this may be because it didn't exist before running this command");
+                }
+                self.exec_git(&["checkout", "-b", "cuddle-please/release"])?;
+            }
+        }
+
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    fn exec_git(&self, args: &[&str]) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        match self {
+            VcsClient::Noop {} => {}
+            VcsClient::Git { source } => {
+                let checkout_branch = std::process::Command::new("git")
+                    .current_dir(source.as_path())
+                    .args(args)
+                    .output()?;
+
+                let stdout = std::str::from_utf8(&checkout_branch.stdout)?;
+                let stderr = std::str::from_utf8(&checkout_branch.stderr)?;
+                tracing::debug!(stdout = stdout, stderr = stderr, "git {}", args.join(" "));
+            }
+        }
+
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    pub fn commit_and_push(&self, version: impl Into<String>, dry_run: bool) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        match self {
+            VcsClient::Noop {} => {}
+            VcsClient::Git { .. } => {
+                self.exec_git(&["add", "."])?;
+                self.exec_git(&[
+                    "commit",
+                    "-m",
+                    &format!("chore(release): {}", version.into()),
+                ])?;
+
+                tracing::trace!("git push -u -f origin cuddle-please/release");
+                if !dry_run {
+                    self.exec_git(&["push", "-u", "-f", "origin", "cuddle-please/release"])?;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        Ok(())
+    }
 }
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-please/tests/git.rs b/crates/cuddle-please/tests/git.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a84bd83
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/cuddle-please/tests/git.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,182 @@
+use std::path::Path;
+
+use cuddle_please::git_client::VcsClient;
+use pretty_assertions::assert_eq;
+use tracing_test::traced_test;
+
+#[test]
+#[traced_test]
+fn exec_git_into_branch() {
+    let tempdir = tempdir::TempDir::new("exec_git_into_branch").unwrap();
+
+    setup_git(tempdir.path()).unwrap();
+
+    add_commit(tempdir.path(), "first").unwrap();
+    add_tag(tempdir.path(), "1.0.0").unwrap();
+
+    add_commit(tempdir.path(), "second").unwrap();
+    add_tag(tempdir.path(), "1.0.1").unwrap();
+
+    let vcs = VcsClient::new_git(tempdir.path()).unwrap();
+    vcs.checkout_branch().unwrap();
+
+    let output = std::process::Command::new("git")
+        .arg("branch")
+        .current_dir(tempdir.path())
+        .output()
+        .unwrap();
+
+    let stdout = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stdout).unwrap();
+    let stderr = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stderr).unwrap();
+
+    assert_eq!(
+        "* cuddle-please/release
+  main
+",
+        stdout
+    );
+    assert_eq!("", stderr);
+}
+
+#[test]
+#[traced_test]
+fn add_files_to_commit() {
+    let tempdir = tempdir::TempDir::new("add_files_to_commit").unwrap();
+
+    setup_git(tempdir.path()).unwrap();
+
+    add_commit(tempdir.path(), "first").unwrap();
+    add_tag(tempdir.path(), "1.0.0").unwrap();
+
+    let vcs = VcsClient::new_git(tempdir.path()).unwrap();
+    vcs.checkout_branch().unwrap();
+
+    std::fs::File::create(tempdir.path().join("changelog")).unwrap();
+    vcs.commit_and_push("with some file", true).unwrap();
+
+    let output = std::process::Command::new("git")
+        .arg("log")
+        .current_dir(tempdir.path())
+        .output()
+        .unwrap();
+
+    let stdout = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stdout).unwrap();
+    let stderr = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stderr).unwrap();
+
+    assert!(stdout.contains("chore(release): with some file"));
+    assert_eq!("", stderr);
+}
+#[test]
+#[traced_test]
+fn reset_branch() {
+    let tempdir = tempdir::TempDir::new("add_files_to_commit").unwrap();
+
+    setup_git(tempdir.path()).unwrap();
+
+    add_commit(tempdir.path(), "first").unwrap();
+    add_tag(tempdir.path(), "1.0.0").unwrap();
+
+    let vcs = VcsClient::new_git(tempdir.path()).unwrap();
+    vcs.checkout_branch().unwrap();
+
+    std::fs::File::create(tempdir.path().join("changelog-first")).unwrap();
+    vcs.commit_and_push("v1.0.0", true).unwrap();
+
+    exec_git(tempdir.path(), &["checkout", "main"]).unwrap();
+    vcs.checkout_branch().unwrap();
+
+    std::fs::File::create(tempdir.path().join("changelog-second")).unwrap();
+    vcs.commit_and_push("v1.0.1", true).unwrap();
+
+    let output = std::process::Command::new("git")
+        .arg("log")
+        .current_dir(tempdir.path())
+        .output()
+        .unwrap();
+
+    let stdout = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stdout).unwrap();
+    let stderr = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stderr).unwrap();
+
+    assert!(stdout.contains("chore(release): v1.0.1"));
+    assert!(!stdout.contains("chore(release): v1.0.0"));
+    assert_eq!("", stderr);
+}
+
+fn add_tag(path: &Path, arg: &str) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    add_everything(path)?;
+
+    let output = std::process::Command::new("git")
+        .arg("tag")
+        .arg("-a")
+        .arg(arg)
+        .arg("-m")
+        .arg(arg)
+        .current_dir(path)
+        .output()?;
+
+    let stdout = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stdout)?;
+    let stderr = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stderr)?;
+    tracing::debug!(stdout = stdout, stderr = stderr, "git init");
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn add_commit(path: &Path, arg: &str) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    std::fs::File::create(path.join(arg))?;
+
+    add_everything(path)?;
+
+    let output = std::process::Command::new("git")
+        .arg("commit")
+        .arg("-m")
+        .arg(arg)
+        .current_dir(path)
+        .output()?;
+
+    let stdout = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stdout)?;
+    let stderr = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stderr)?;
+    tracing::debug!(stdout = stdout, stderr = stderr, "git init");
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn add_everything(path: &Path) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let output = std::process::Command::new("git")
+        .arg("add")
+        .arg(".")
+        .current_dir(path)
+        .output()?;
+
+    let stdout = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stdout)?;
+    let stderr = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stderr)?;
+    tracing::debug!(stdout = stdout, stderr = stderr, "git add .");
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn setup_git(path: &Path) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let output = std::process::Command::new("git")
+        .arg("init")
+        .arg(".")
+        .current_dir(path)
+        .output()?;
+
+    let stdout = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stdout)?;
+    let stderr = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stderr)?;
+    tracing::debug!(stdout = stdout, stderr = stderr, "git init");
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn exec_git(path: &Path, args: &[&str]) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let checkout_branch = std::process::Command::new("git")
+        .current_dir(path)
+        .args(args)
+        .output()?;
+
+    let stdout = std::str::from_utf8(&checkout_branch.stdout)?;
+    let stderr = std::str::from_utf8(&checkout_branch.stderr)?;
+    tracing::debug!(stdout = stdout, stderr = stderr, "git {}", args.join(" "));
+
+    Ok(())
+}