diff --git a/cmd/containerd-release/build.go b/cmd/containerd-release/build.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1c7297458
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/containerd-release/build.go
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"crypto/sha256"
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"runtime"
+)
+
+func build() error {
+	out, err := exec.Command("make").CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%s: %s", err, out)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+const tarFormat = "containerd-%s.%s-%s.tar.gz"
+
+func tarRelease(tag string) (string, error) {
+	path := fmt.Sprintf(tarFormat, tag, runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
+	out, err := exec.Command("tar", "-zcf", path, "bin/").CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s: %s", err, out)
+	}
+	return path, nil
+}
+
+func hash(path string) (string, error) {
+	f, err := os.Open(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	defer f.Close()
+	s := sha256.New()
+	if _, err := io.Copy(s, f); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	return hex.EncodeToString(s.Sum(nil)), nil
+}
diff --git a/cmd/containerd-release/main.go b/cmd/containerd-release/main.go
index a6d3389e3..459c22633 100644
--- a/cmd/containerd-release/main.go
+++ b/cmd/containerd-release/main.go
@@ -1,57 +1,14 @@
 package main
 
 import (
-	"bufio"
-	"bytes"
-	"errors"
 	"fmt"
-	"io"
 	"os"
-	"os/exec"
-	"path/filepath"
-	"sort"
-	"strings"
 	"text/template"
 
-	"github.com/BurntSushi/toml"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
 
-const releaseNotes = `Welcome to the release of containerd {{.Version}}!
-{{if .PreRelease}}
-*This is a pre-release of containerd*
-{{- end}}
-
-{{.Preface}}
-
-Please try out the release binaries and report any issues at
-https://github.com/containerd/containerd/issues.
-
-{{range  $note := .Notes}}
-### {{$note.Title}}
-
-{{$note.Description}}
-{{- end}}
-
-### Contributors
-{{range $contributor := .Contributors}}
-* {{$contributor}}
-{{- end}}
-
-### Changes
-{{range $change := .Changes}}
-* {{$change.Commit}} {{$change.Description}}
-{{- end}}
-
-### Dependency Changes
-
-Previous release can be found at [{{.Previous}}](https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/{{.Previous}})
-{{range $dep := .Dependencies}}
-* {{$dep.Previous}} -> {{$dep.Commit}} **{{$dep.Name}}**
-{{- end}}
-`
-
 const vendorConf = "vendor.conf"
 
 type note struct {
@@ -70,6 +27,11 @@ type dependency struct {
 	Previous string
 }
 
+type download struct {
+	Filename string
+	Hash     string
+}
+
 type release struct {
 	Commit          string            `toml:"commit"`
 	Previous        string            `toml:"previous"`
@@ -82,6 +44,7 @@ type release struct {
 	Contributors []string
 	Dependencies []dependency
 	Version      string
+	Downloads    []download
 }
 
 func main() {
@@ -142,6 +105,7 @@ This tool should be ran from the root of the containerd repository for a new rel
 			}
 			return t.Execute(os.Stdout, r)
 		}
+		logrus.Info("release complete!")
 		return nil
 	}
 	if err := app.Run(os.Args); err != nil {
@@ -149,152 +113,3 @@ This tool should be ran from the root of the containerd repository for a new rel
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 }
-
-func loadRelease(path string) (*release, error) {
-	var r release
-	if _, err := toml.DecodeFile(path, &r); err != nil {
-		if os.IsNotExist(err) {
-			return nil, errors.New("please specify the release file as the first argument")
-		}
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	return &r, nil
-}
-
-func parseTag(path string) string {
-	return strings.TrimSuffix(filepath.Base(path), ".toml")
-}
-
-func parseDependencies(r io.Reader) ([]dependency, error) {
-	var deps []dependency
-	s := bufio.NewScanner(r)
-	for s.Scan() {
-		ln := strings.TrimSpace(s.Text())
-		if strings.HasPrefix(ln, "#") || ln == "" {
-			continue
-		}
-		cidx := strings.Index(ln, "#")
-		if cidx > 0 {
-			ln = ln[:cidx]
-		}
-		ln = strings.TrimSpace(ln)
-		parts := strings.Fields(ln)
-		if len(parts) != 2 && len(parts) != 3 {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid config format: %s", ln)
-		}
-		deps = append(deps, dependency{
-			Name:   parts[0],
-			Commit: parts[1],
-		})
-	}
-	if err := s.Err(); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	return deps, nil
-}
-
-func getPreviousDeps(previous string) ([]dependency, error) {
-	r, err := fileFromRev(previous, vendorConf)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	return parseDependencies(r)
-}
-
-func changelog(previous, commit string) ([]change, error) {
-	raw, err := getChangelog(previous, commit)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	return parseChangelog(raw)
-}
-
-func getChangelog(previous, commit string) ([]byte, error) {
-	return git("log", "--oneline", fmt.Sprintf("%s..%s", previous, commit))
-}
-
-func parseChangelog(changelog []byte) ([]change, error) {
-	var (
-		changes []change
-		s       = bufio.NewScanner(bytes.NewReader(changelog))
-	)
-	for s.Scan() {
-		fields := strings.Fields(s.Text())
-		changes = append(changes, change{
-			Commit:      fields[0],
-			Description: strings.Join(fields[1:], " "),
-		})
-	}
-	if err := s.Err(); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	return changes, nil
-}
-
-func fileFromRev(rev, file string) (io.Reader, error) {
-	p, err := git("show", fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", rev, file))
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	return bytes.NewReader(p), nil
-}
-
-func git(args ...string) ([]byte, error) {
-	o, err := exec.Command("git", args...).CombinedOutput()
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: %s", err, o)
-	}
-	return o, nil
-}
-
-func updatedDeps(previous, deps []dependency) []dependency {
-	var updated []dependency
-	pm, cm := toDepMap(previous), toDepMap(deps)
-	for name, c := range cm {
-		d, ok := pm[name]
-		if !ok {
-			// it is a new dep and should be noted
-			updated = append(updated, c)
-			continue
-		}
-		// it exists, see if its updated
-		if d.Commit != c.Commit {
-			// set the previous commit
-			c.Previous = d.Commit
-			updated = append(updated, c)
-		}
-	}
-	return updated
-}
-
-func toDepMap(deps []dependency) map[string]dependency {
-	out := make(map[string]dependency)
-	for _, d := range deps {
-		out[d.Name] = d
-	}
-	return out
-}
-
-func getContributors(previous, commit string) ([]string, error) {
-	raw, err := git("log", "--format=%aN", fmt.Sprintf("%s..%s", previous, commit))
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	var (
-		set = make(map[string]struct{})
-		s   = bufio.NewScanner(bytes.NewReader(raw))
-		out []string
-	)
-	for s.Scan() {
-		set[s.Text()] = struct{}{}
-	}
-	if err := s.Err(); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	for name := range set {
-		out = append(out, name)
-	}
-	sort.Strings(out)
-	return out, nil
-}
diff --git a/cmd/containerd-release/template.go b/cmd/containerd-release/template.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bb2f0a7d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/containerd-release/template.go
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+package main
+
+const releaseNotes = `Welcome to the release of containerd {{.Version}}!
+{{if .PreRelease}}
+*This is a pre-release of containerd*
+{{- end}}
+
+{{.Preface}}
+
+Please try out the release binaries and report any issues at
+https://github.com/containerd/containerd/issues.
+
+{{range  $note := .Notes}}
+### {{$note.Title}}
+
+{{$note.Description}}
+{{- end}}
+
+### Contributors
+{{range $contributor := .Contributors}}
+* {{$contributor}}
+{{- end}}
+
+### Changes
+{{range $change := .Changes}}
+* {{$change.Commit}} {{$change.Description}}
+{{- end}}
+
+### Dependency Changes
+
+Previous release can be found at [{{.Previous}}](https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/{{.Previous}})
+{{range $dep := .Dependencies}}
+* {{$dep.Previous}} -> {{$dep.Commit}} **{{$dep.Name}}**
+{{- end}}
+`
diff --git a/cmd/containerd-release/util.go b/cmd/containerd-release/util.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e041822bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/containerd-release/util.go
@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"bufio"
+	"bytes"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/BurntSushi/toml"
+)
+
+func loadRelease(path string) (*release, error) {
+	var r release
+	if _, err := toml.DecodeFile(path, &r); err != nil {
+		if os.IsNotExist(err) {
+			return nil, errors.New("please specify the release file as the first argument")
+		}
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return &r, nil
+}
+
+func parseTag(path string) string {
+	return strings.TrimSuffix(filepath.Base(path), ".toml")
+}
+
+func parseDependencies(r io.Reader) ([]dependency, error) {
+	var deps []dependency
+	s := bufio.NewScanner(r)
+	for s.Scan() {
+		ln := strings.TrimSpace(s.Text())
+		if strings.HasPrefix(ln, "#") || ln == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		cidx := strings.Index(ln, "#")
+		if cidx > 0 {
+			ln = ln[:cidx]
+		}
+		ln = strings.TrimSpace(ln)
+		parts := strings.Fields(ln)
+		if len(parts) != 2 && len(parts) != 3 {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid config format: %s", ln)
+		}
+		deps = append(deps, dependency{
+			Name:   parts[0],
+			Commit: parts[1],
+		})
+	}
+	if err := s.Err(); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return deps, nil
+}
+
+func getPreviousDeps(previous string) ([]dependency, error) {
+	r, err := fileFromRev(previous, vendorConf)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return parseDependencies(r)
+}
+
+func changelog(previous, commit string) ([]change, error) {
+	raw, err := getChangelog(previous, commit)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return parseChangelog(raw)
+}
+
+func getChangelog(previous, commit string) ([]byte, error) {
+	return git("log", "--oneline", fmt.Sprintf("%s..%s", previous, commit))
+}
+
+func parseChangelog(changelog []byte) ([]change, error) {
+	var (
+		changes []change
+		s       = bufio.NewScanner(bytes.NewReader(changelog))
+	)
+	for s.Scan() {
+		fields := strings.Fields(s.Text())
+		changes = append(changes, change{
+			Commit:      fields[0],
+			Description: strings.Join(fields[1:], " "),
+		})
+	}
+	if err := s.Err(); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return changes, nil
+}
+
+func fileFromRev(rev, file string) (io.Reader, error) {
+	p, err := git("show", fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", rev, file))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	return bytes.NewReader(p), nil
+}
+
+func git(args ...string) ([]byte, error) {
+	o, err := exec.Command("git", args...).CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: %s", err, o)
+	}
+	return o, nil
+}
+
+func updatedDeps(previous, deps []dependency) []dependency {
+	var updated []dependency
+	pm, cm := toDepMap(previous), toDepMap(deps)
+	for name, c := range cm {
+		d, ok := pm[name]
+		if !ok {
+			// it is a new dep and should be noted
+			updated = append(updated, c)
+			continue
+		}
+		// it exists, see if its updated
+		if d.Commit != c.Commit {
+			// set the previous commit
+			c.Previous = d.Commit
+			updated = append(updated, c)
+		}
+	}
+	return updated
+}
+
+func toDepMap(deps []dependency) map[string]dependency {
+	out := make(map[string]dependency)
+	for _, d := range deps {
+		out[d.Name] = d
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+func getContributors(previous, commit string) ([]string, error) {
+	raw, err := git("log", "--format=%aN", fmt.Sprintf("%s..%s", previous, commit))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	var (
+		set = make(map[string]struct{})
+		s   = bufio.NewScanner(bytes.NewReader(raw))
+		out []string
+	)
+	for s.Scan() {
+		set[s.Text()] = struct{}{}
+	}
+	if err := s.Err(); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	for name := range set {
+		out = append(out, name)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(out)
+	return out, nil
+}