diff --git a/.distignore b/.distignore
index 859f4d7..fdc590f 100644
--- a/.distignore
+++ b/.distignore
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 /.github
 /.wordpress-org
 /assets
+/bin
 /node_modules
 /tests
 /vendor
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index c2a5a5a..bd3daf0 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -68,8 +68,8 @@ Head to the Pages list table and drag and drop pages to change the order. Refres
 ### Release instructions
 
 1. Branch: Starting from `develop`, cut a release branch named `release/X.Y.Z` for your changes.
-2. Version bump: Bump the version number in `package.json`, `package-lock.json`, `readme.txt`, and `simple-page-ordering.php` if it does not already reflect the version being released. In `class-simple-page-ordering.php` update the plugin `SIMPLE_PAGE_ORDERING_VERSION` constant.
-3. Changelog: Add/update the changelog in `readme.txt` and `CHANGELOG.md`.
+2. Version bump: Run `bin/version-bump.sh <major|minor|patch>` to bump the version number in `package.json`, `package-lock.json`, `readme.txt`, and `simple-page-ordering.php` if it does not already reflect the version being released. In `class-simple-page-ordering.php` update the plugin `SIMPLE_PAGE_ORDERING_VERSION` constant.
+3. Changelog: Populate the changelog entries in `readme.txt` and `CHANGELOG.md` with the log and to include the date of release.
 4. Props: update `CREDITS.md` file with any new contributors, confirm maintainers are accurate.
 5. New files: Check to be sure any new files/paths that are unnecessary in the production version are included in `.distignore`.
 6. Readme updates: Make any other readme changes as necessary. `README.md` is geared toward GitHub and `readme.txt` contains WordPress.org-specific content. The two are slightly different.
diff --git a/bin/version-bump.sh b/bin/version-bump.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..9649b61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/version-bump.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+required_commands=(awk dirname grep mktemp mv node npm perl)
+missing_commands=()
+
+for required_command in "${required_commands[@]}"; do
+	if ! command -v "$required_command" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+		missing_commands+=("$required_command")
+	fi
+done
+
+if (( ${#missing_commands[@]} > 0 )); then
+	echo "Missing required command(s): ${missing_commands[*]}" >&2
+	echo "Please install the missing command(s) and try again." >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+if [[ $# -ne 1 ]]; then
+	echo "Usage: $0 <major|minor|patch>" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+bump_type="$1"
+
+case "$bump_type" in
+	major|minor|patch)
+		;;
+	*)
+		echo "Invalid bump type: $bump_type" >&2
+		echo "Expected one of: major, minor, patch" >&2
+		exit 1
+		;;
+esac
+
+script_dir="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+repo_dir="$(cd "$script_dir/.." && pwd)"
+
+cd "$repo_dir"
+
+for required_file in readme.txt simple-page-ordering.php class-simple-page-ordering.php package.json package-lock.json CHANGELOG.md; do
+	if [[ ! -f "$required_file" ]]; then
+		echo "Missing required file: $required_file" >&2
+		exit 1
+	fi
+done
+
+current_version="$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")"
+
+if [[ -z "$current_version" ]]; then
+	echo "Unable to determine current version from package.json" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+next_version="$(node -e "const [major, minor, patch] = require('./package.json').version.split('.').map(Number); const bump = process.argv[1]; const next = { major: [major + 1, 0, 0], minor: [major, minor + 1, 0], patch: [major, minor, patch + 1] }[bump]; if (!next || next.some(Number.isNaN)) { process.exit(1); } process.stdout.write(next.join('.'));" "$bump_type")"
+
+if [[ -z "$next_version" ]]; then
+	echo "Unable to calculate next version" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+if grep -Eq "^## \[$next_version\]" CHANGELOG.md; then
+	echo "Changelog already contains version $next_version" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+if grep -Eq "^\[$next_version\]: https://github.com/10up/simple-page-ordering/compare/" CHANGELOG.md; then
+	echo "Changelog footer already contains version $next_version" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+if grep -Eq "^= $next_version( - .*)? =$" readme.txt; then
+	echo "readme.txt changelog already contains version $next_version" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+if ! grep -Fq "[View historical changelog details here]" readme.txt; then
+	echo "Unable to find historical changelog link in readme.txt" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+npm version "$bump_type" --no-git-tag-version >/dev/null
+
+new_version="$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")"
+
+if [[ -z "$new_version" ]]; then
+	echo "Unable to determine updated version from package.json" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+perl -0pi -e "s/^(Stable tag:\s+).*
+/\${1}$new_version\n/m" readme.txt
+
+perl -0pi -e "s/^(== Changelog ==\r?\n\r?\n)/\${1}= $new_version - TBD =\n\n/m" readme.txt
+
+readme_tmp="$(mktemp)"
+awk '
+	BEGIN {
+		in_changelog = 0
+		release_count = 0
+		skipping_old = 0
+	}
+	/^== Changelog ==\r?$/ {
+		in_changelog = 1
+		print
+		next
+	}
+	in_changelog && /^\[View historical changelog details here\]/ {
+		skipping_old = 0
+		in_changelog = 0
+		print
+		next
+	}
+	in_changelog {
+		if ( $0 ~ /^= [0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+( - .*)? =\r?$/ ) {
+			release_count++
+			if ( release_count > 4 ) {
+				skipping_old = 1
+				next
+			}
+			skipping_old = 0
+		}
+		if ( skipping_old ) {
+			next
+		}
+	}
+	{
+		print
+	}
+' readme.txt > "$readme_tmp"
+mv "$readme_tmp" readme.txt
+
+perl -0pi -e "s/^(\s*\* Version:\s+).*
+/\${1}$new_version\n/m" simple-page-ordering.php
+
+perl -0pi -e "s/^(define\( 'SIMPLE_PAGE_ORDERING_VERSION', ')([^']+)('\s*\);)
+/\${1}$new_version\${3}\n/m" class-simple-page-ordering.php
+
+perl -0pi -e "s/^(## \[Unreleased\].*\n\n)/\${1}## [$new_version] - TBD\n\n/m" CHANGELOG.md
+
+perl -0pi -e "s#^(\[Unreleased\]: .*\n)#\${1}[$new_version]: https://github.com/10up/simple-page-ordering/compare/$current_version...$new_version\n#m" CHANGELOG.md
+
+echo "Bumped version to $new_version"
diff --git a/readme.txt b/readme.txt
index 3e9f64d..048d5f8 100644
--- a/readme.txt
+++ b/readme.txt
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 Contributors:      10up, jakemgold, welcher, helen, thinkoomph, jeffpaul
 Donate link:       http://10up.com/plugins/simple-page-ordering-wordpress/
 Tags:              order, re-order, ordering, page, menu order
+Requires at least: 6.8
 Tested up to:      7.0
 Stable tag:        2.8.0
 License:           GPLv2 or later
diff --git a/simple-page-ordering.php b/simple-page-ordering.php
index 0b5e64d..d396654 100644
--- a/simple-page-ordering.php
+++ b/simple-page-ordering.php
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
  * Plugin URI:        http://10up.com/plugins/simple-page-ordering-wordpress/
  * Description:       Order your pages and hierarchical post types using drag and drop on the built in page list. For further instructions, open the "Help" tab on the Pages screen.
  * Version:           2.8.0
- * Requires at least: 6.8
  * Requires PHP:      7.4
  * Author:            10up
  * Author URI:        https://10up.com