diff --git a/Laerdal.Dfu.sln b/Laerdal.Dfu.sln
index 5cfac61..1dbf783 100644
--- a/Laerdal.Dfu.sln
+++ b/Laerdal.Dfu.sln
@@ -8,7 +8,10 @@ Project("{2150E333-8FDC-42A3-9474-1A3956D46DE8}") = "_Misc", "_Misc", "{37EBD209
 		LICENSE = LICENSE
 		azure-pipelines.yaml = azure-pipelines.yaml
 		Laerdal.Scripts\Laerdal.Version.sh = Laerdal.Scripts\Laerdal.Version.sh
-		Laerdal.Build.targets = Laerdal.Build.targets
+		Laerdal.Scripts\Laerdal.Build.targets = Laerdal.Scripts\Laerdal.Build.targets
+		Laerdal.Scripts\Laerdal.Changelog.sh = Laerdal.Scripts\Laerdal.Changelog.sh
+		Laerdal.Scripts\Laerdal.CreateNewReleaseInGithub.sh = Laerdal.Scripts\Laerdal.CreateNewReleaseInGithub.sh
+		Laerdal.Scripts\Laerdal.SetupBuildEnvironment.sh = Laerdal.Scripts\Laerdal.SetupBuildEnvironment.sh
 	EndProjectSection
 EndProject
 Global
diff --git a/Laerdal.Build.targets b/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.Build.targets
similarity index 95%
rename from Laerdal.Build.targets
rename to Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.Build.targets
index d1da623..4e68d46 100644
--- a/Laerdal.Build.targets
+++ b/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.Build.targets
@@ -19,12 +19,12 @@
     <PropertyGroup>
         <Laerdal_Log_Level>High</Laerdal_Log_Level>
         
-        <PackageOutputPath Condition=" '$(PackageOutputPath)' == '' AND '$(TF_BUILD)' == '' ">$([System.IO.Path]::Combine($(MSBuildThisFileDirectory), `Output/`))</PackageOutputPath>
+        <PackageOutputPath Condition=" '$(PackageOutputPath)' == '' AND '$(TF_BUILD)' == '' ">$([System.IO.Path]::Combine($(MSBuildThisFileDirectory), `..`, `Output`))</PackageOutputPath>
         <PackageOutputPath Condition=" '$(PackageOutputPath)' == '' AND '$(TF_BUILD)' != '' ">$(BUILD_ARTIFACTSTAGINGDIRECTORY)</PackageOutputPath>
 
-        <Laerdal_Project Condition=" '$(Laerdal_Project)' == '' ">$([System.IO.Path]::Combine($(MSBuildThisFileDirectory), `Laerdal.Dfu/Laerdal.Dfu.csproj`))</Laerdal_Project>
+        <Laerdal_Project Condition=" '$(Laerdal_Project)' == '' ">$([System.IO.Path]::Combine($(MSBuildThisFileDirectory), `..`, `Laerdal.Dfu`, `Laerdal.Dfu.csproj`))</Laerdal_Project>
         
-        <Laerdal_Script_FolderPath>$([System.IO.Path]::Combine($(MSBuildThisFileDirectory), `Laerdal.Scripts/`))</Laerdal_Script_FolderPath>
+        <Laerdal_Script_FolderPath>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)</Laerdal_Script_FolderPath>
     </PropertyGroup>
 
     <!-- VERSION -->
diff --git a/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.Changelog.sh b/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.Changelog.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..49e40ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.Changelog.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+usage(){
+    echo "usage: ./Laerdal.Changelog.sh [-nv | --new-version X.Y.Z] [-o | --output version.txt] [-h | --help]"
+    echo "parameters:"
+    echo "  -nv | --new-version [version]       New major.minor.patch version (default is 0.0.0)"
+    echo "  -o | --output [filename]           Name of the output file"
+    echo "  -h | --help                        Prints this message"
+    echo "  -v | --verbose                     Verbose mode"
+}
+
+function log () {
+    if [[ $verbose -eq 1 ]]; then
+        echo "$@"
+    fi
+}
+
+filename="CHANGELOG.md"
+
+while [ "$1" != "" ]; do
+    case $1 in
+        -nv | --new-version )       shift
+                                    newversion="$1"
+                                    ;;
+        -o | --output )             shift
+                                    filename="$1"
+                                    ;;
+        -h | --help )               usage
+                                    exit
+                                    ;;
+        -v | --verbose )            verbose=1
+                                    ;;
+        * )                         echo
+                                    echo "### Wrong parameter: $1 ###"
+                                    echo
+                                    usage
+                                    exit 1
+    esac
+    shift
+done
+
+
+if [ ! -z "$newversion" ]; then
+    if [[ "$newversion" =~ .*"-".* ]]; then
+        log "New version contains a dash, skipping changelog generation"
+    else
+        currenthash=$(git show --format=%h --no-patch)
+        echo "$currenthash $newversion" > tags.txt
+        log "New version: $newversion"
+    fi
+else 
+    echo "" > tags.txt
+fi
+
+# Get all tags on develop and Filter out tags that are not in the format "HASH 1.2.3"
+git tag --format='%(objectname:short) %(refname:short)' --sort=-version:refname --merged | grep -o '[a-z0-9]* [a-z0-9]*[.][a-z0-9]*[.][a-z0-9]*$' >> tags.txt
+
+# Create changelog file
+echo "# CHANGELOG" > "$filename"
+echo "" >> "$filename"
+log "Created changelog file: $filename"
+
+
+# Loop through all tags and create changelog
+lastline=''
+while read line; do
+    if [ -z "$lastline" ]; then
+        lastline=$line
+    else
+        # Split the line into hash and version
+        lasthash=`echo $lastline | cut -d' ' -f1`
+        lastversion=`echo $lastline | cut -d' ' -f2`
+        hash=`echo $line | cut -d' ' -f1`
+
+        echo "## **$lastversion**" >> "$filename"
+        log "Added version: $lastversion"
+        # Get the commit message and author of the tag
+        git log -n 1 --pretty=tformat:"%b" $lasthash >> "$filename"
+
+        echo "" >> "$filename"
+
+        # Get all commits between the current tag and the previous tag
+        git log $hash..$lasthash --pretty=format:"- %s [%cn]" --no-merges >> "$filename"
+        
+        echo "" >> "$filename"
+        echo "" >> "$filename"
+
+        # Get the commit message and author of the tag
+        git log -n 1 --pretty=tformat:"> by _%cn_ on _%cd_" --date=format:'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S' $lasthash >> "$filename"
+
+        echo "" >> "$filename"
+        echo "---" >> "$filename"
+        echo "" >> "$filename"
+        lastline=$line
+    fi
+done < tags.txt
+
+rm -r -f tags.txt
+
+log "Done"
+
+exit 0
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.CreateNewReleaseInGithub.sh b/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.CreateNewReleaseInGithub.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cf1ce63
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.CreateNewReleaseInGithub.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+declare VERBOSE=0
+declare TAG_VERSION=""
+
+declare GIT_BRANCH=""
+declare GITHUB_ACCESS_TOKEN=""
+declare GITHUB_REPOSITORY_PATH=""
+
+function parse_arguments() {
+  while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+    case $1 in
+
+    -v | --log)
+      VERBOSE=1
+      shift
+      ;;
+
+    -r | --repository-path)
+      GITHUB_REPOSITORY_PATH="$2"
+      shift
+      ;;
+
+    -t | --tag-version)
+      TAG_VERSION="$2"
+      shift
+      ;;
+
+    -b | --git-branch)
+      GIT_BRANCH="$2"
+      shift
+      ;;
+
+    -a | --access-token)
+      GITHUB_ACCESS_TOKEN="$2"
+      shift
+      ;;
+
+    *)
+      echo "Unknown option: $1"
+      usage
+      exit 1
+      ;;
+
+    esac
+    shift
+  done
+
+  if [[ -z $GIT_BRANCH ]]; then
+    echo "Missing git-branch."
+    usage
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  if [[ -z $GITHUB_REPOSITORY_PATH ]]; then
+    echo "Missing github-repository."
+    usage
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  if [[ -z $GITHUB_ACCESS_TOKEN ]]; then
+    echo "Missing github-access-token."
+    usage
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  validate_tag_format "$TAG_VERSION"
+}
+
+function validate_tag_format() {
+  local -r tag="$1"
+  local -r pattern='^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)?$'
+
+  if ! [[ $tag =~ $pattern ]]; then
+    exit_with_error "Tag format is invalid: '$tag'"
+  fi
+}
+
+function usage() {
+  local -r script_name=$(basename "$0")
+
+  echo "Usage: $script_name [--verbose|-v] [--repository-path|-r]=<repository_path> [--git-branch|-b]=<branch> [--access-token|-a]=<token> [--tag-version|-t]=<version>"
+}
+
+function create_release_on_github() {
+  # https://docs.github.com/en/rest/releases/releases?apiVersion=2022-11-28#create-a-release
+
+  local eventual_tag_name=""
+  local eventual_singleline_summary=""
+  if [[ $GIT_BRANCH == "refs/heads/main" || $GIT_BRANCH == "refs/heads/master" ]]; then
+    eventual_tag_name="v$TAG_VERSION" # builds targeting main have this simple and straightforward tag name
+    eventual_singleline_summary="Release $eventual_tag_name"
+
+  elif [[ $GIT_BRANCH == "refs/heads/develop" ]]; then # all builds that target develop are beta builds
+    eventual_tag_name="v$TAG_VERSION-beta"
+    eventual_singleline_summary="Beta $eventual_tag_name"
+
+  else # all other builds that dont target main are alpha builds    should rarely happen in practice but just in case
+    eventual_tag_name="v$TAG_VERSION-alpha"
+    eventual_singleline_summary="Alpha $eventual_tag_name"
+  fi
+
+  local -r payload=$(
+    cat <<EOF
+{
+  "tag_name": "$eventual_tag_name",
+  "target_commitish": "$GIT_BRANCH",
+
+  "name": "$eventual_singleline_summary",
+  "generate_release_notes": true,
+
+  "draft": false,
+  "prerelease": false
+}
+EOF
+  )
+
+  local -r api_url="https://api.github.com/repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY_PATH/releases"
+
+  echo "** Creating release on GitHub ..."
+
+  local -r response=$(
+    curl \
+      -i \
+      -sS \
+      -X "POST" \
+      -o /dev/null \
+      -d "$payload" \
+      -w "%{http_code}" \
+      -H "Content-Type:application/json" \
+      -H "Accept:application/vnd.github+json" \
+      -H "Authorization: Bearer $GITHUB_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
+      "$api_url"
+  )
+  local -r curl_exit_code=$?
+
+  log "** api_url=$api_url"
+  log "** payload=$payload"
+  log "** response=$response"
+  log "** curl_exit_code=$curl_exit_code"
+  if [[ $curl_exit_code -ne 0 ]]; then
+    exit_with_error "curl failed with exit code $?"
+  fi
+
+  local -r http_status_code="${response}"
+  if [[ $http_status_code -ge 300 ]]; then
+    exit_with_error "API returned HTTP status $http_status_code"
+  fi
+}
+
+function log() {
+  if [[ $VERBOSE -ne 0 ]]; then
+    echo "$@"
+  fi
+}
+
+function exit_with_error() {
+  echo "Error: $1"
+  exit 1
+}
+
+function main() {
+  parse_arguments "$@"
+  create_release_on_github
+}
+
+main "$@"
diff --git a/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.SetupBuildEnvironment.sh b/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.SetupBuildEnvironment.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..c5fbf17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.SetupBuildEnvironment.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# set -x
+
+# this script is meant to be used only in our azure pipelines to setup the
+# build environment for the xamarin bindings   its not meant to be used on localdev
+
+# windows-2022 vmimages in azure have dotnet 8.0.100 preinstalled so we should be fine 
+
+
+declare -r NUGET_FEED_URL="$1"
+declare -r NUGET_FEED_USERNAME="$2"
+declare -r NUGET_FEED_ACCESSTOKEN="$3"
+
+declare -r ARTIFACTS_FOLDER_PATH="$4"
+
+if [ -z "${NUGET_FEED_URL}" ]; then
+  echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]Missing 'NUGET_FEED_URL' which was expected to be parameter #1."
+  exit 3
+fi
+
+if [ -z "${NUGET_FEED_USERNAME}" ]; then
+  echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]Missing 'NUGET_FEED_USERNAME' which was expected to be parameter #2."
+  exit 5
+fi
+
+if [ -z "${NUGET_FEED_ACCESSTOKEN}" ]; then
+  echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]Missing 'NUGET_FEED_ACCESSTOKEN' which was expected to be parameter #3."
+  exit 6
+fi
+
+if [ -z "${ARTIFACTS_FOLDER_PATH}" ]; then
+  echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]Missing 'ARTIFACTS_FOLDER_PATH' which was expected to be parameter #4."
+  exit 7
+fi
+
+
+echo
+echo "** Dotnet SDKs:"
+dotnet --list-sdks
+declare exitCode=$?
+if [ $exitCode != 0 ]; then
+  echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]Failed to list sdks."
+  exit 15
+fi
+
+echo
+echo "** Dotnet CLI:"
+which    dotnet   &&   dotnet   --version
+declare exitCode=$?
+if [ $exitCode != 0 ]; then
+  echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]Something's wrong with 'dotnet' cli."
+  exit 20
+fi
+
+#
+# we do our best to explicitly version-pin our workloads so as to preemptively avoid problems that
+# would be bound to crop up sooner or later by blindly auto-upgrading to bleeding-edge workloads
+#
+cd "Laerdal.Ble"
+declare exitCode=$?
+if [ $exitCode != 0 ]; then
+  echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]Failed to cd to Laerdal.Ble."
+  exit 30
+fi
+
+# declare dotnet_8_workload_version="8.0.3"
+dotnet                                \
+             workload                 \
+             install                  \
+                 maui                 \
+                 ios                  \
+                 android
+#                    --from-rollback-file=https://maui.blob.core.windows.net/metadata/rollbacks/${dotnet_8_workload_version}.json   # we need to install additional packages manually
+declare exitCode=$?
+if [ $exitCode != 0 ]; then
+  echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]Failed to restore dotnet workloads."
+  exit 40
+fi
+
+cd -
+declare exitCode=$?
+if [ $exitCode != 0 ]; then
+  echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]Failed to cd back to the root folder."
+  exit 50
+fi
+
+echo
+echo "** Adding 'Artifacts' Folder as a Nuget Source (dotnet):"
+mkdir -p "${ARTIFACTS_FOLDER_PATH}"   &&   dotnet   nuget   add   source   "${ARTIFACTS_FOLDER_PATH}"   --name "LocalArtifacts"
+declare exitCode=$?
+if [ $exitCode != 0 ]; then
+  echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]Failed to add 'Artifacts' folder as a nuget source."
+  exit 60
+fi
+
+echo
+echo "** Adding 'Laerdal Nuget Feed' as a Nuget Source:"
+# keep this after workload-restoration   otherwise we will run into problems    note that the 'store-password-in-clear-text'
+# is necessary for azure pipelines   once we move fully over to github actions we can remove this parameter completely
+dotnet   nuget   add                                \
+    source      "${NUGET_FEED_URL}"                 \
+    --name      "LaerdalMedical"                    \
+    --username  "${NUGET_FEED_USERNAME}"            \
+    --password  "${NUGET_FEED_ACCESSTOKEN}"
+declare exitCode=$?
+if [ $exitCode != 0 ]; then
+  echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]Failed to add 'Laerdal Nuget Feed' as a nuget source."
+  exit 65
+fi
+
+dotnet nuget list source
diff --git a/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.Version.sh b/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.Version.sh
index cc65bda..28584e0 100644
--- a/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.Version.sh
+++ b/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.Version.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-usage(){
+
+# set -x # for debugging
+
+function usage(){
     echo "usage: ./Laerdal.Version.sh [--master-branch master] [--develop-branch develop] [--major 1] [--minor 0] [--patch 0] [--revision 0] [--build-id 0] [--commit HEAD] [--branch branchname] [-o | --output version.txt] [-h | --help]"
     echo "parameters:"
     echo "  --master-branch [branch]           Name of the master branch (default is master)"
@@ -85,9 +88,9 @@ function log () {
 
 function warn () {
     if [ "${TF_BUILD:=}" != "" ]; then
-        echo "##vso[task.logissue type=warning]$@"
+        echo "##vso[task.logissue type=warning]$*"
     else
-        echo "WARNING : $@"
+        echo "WARNING : $*"
     fi
 }
 
@@ -135,23 +138,25 @@ log "first_commit=$first_commit"
 suffix=`echo $branch_name | sed 's/\//-/'`
 log "suffix=$suffix"
 
+git fetch origin "$master_branch:$master_branch"   >/dev/null 2>&1  # its vital to do this silently otherwise the
+git fetch origin "$develop_branch:$develop_branch" >/dev/null 2>&1  # output of this entire script will be malformed
+
 if [ "$branch_name" == "$develop_branch" ]; then
     develop_master_point=`git rev-list $branch_prefix$master_branch --merges --before=\`git show -s --format=%ct $commit\` --first-parent --max-count=1`
-    if [ -z $develop_master_point ]; then
-        # has never been merged,
+    if [ -z $develop_master_point ]; then # has never been merged
         develop_master_point=`git merge-base $branch_prefix$master_branch $commit --fork-point`
     fi
     log "develop_master_point=$develop_master_point"
+
 elif [ "$branch_name" != "$master_branch" ]; then
     head_develop_point=`git rev-list $branch_prefix$develop_branch --merges --before=\`git show -s --format=%ct $commit\` --first-parent --max-count=1`
-    if [ -z $head_develop_point ]; then
-        # has never been merged,
-        head_develop_point=`git merge-base $branch_prefix$develop_branch $commit --fork-point`
+    if [ -z $head_develop_point ]; then # has never been merged
+        head_develop_point=$(git merge-base $branch_prefix$develop_branch $commit --fork-point)
     fi
+
     log "head_develop_point=$head_develop_point"
     develop_master_point=`git rev-list $branch_prefix$master_branch --merges --before=\`git show -s --format=%ct $head_develop_point\` --first-parent --max-count=1`
-    if [ -z $develop_master_point ]; then
-        # has never been merged,
+    if [ -z $develop_master_point ]; then # has never been merged
         develop_master_point=`git merge-base $branch_prefix$master_branch $head_develop_point --fork-point`
     fi
     log "develop_master_point=$develop_master_point"
@@ -161,12 +166,15 @@ fi
 # Minor
 if [ "$minor_override" != "true" ]; then
     if [ "$branch_name" == "$master_branch" ]; then
-        minor=`git rev-list $first_commit..$commit --count --first-parent --ancestry-path`
+        minor=$( git rev-list "$first_commit..$commit" --count --first-parent --ancestry-path )
+        
     elif [ "$branch_name" == "$develop_branch" ]; then
-        minor=`git rev-list $first_commit..$develop_master_point --count --first-parent --ancestry-path`
+        minor=$( git rev-list "$first_commit..$develop_master_point" --count --first-parent --ancestry-path )
+        
     else
-        minor=`git rev-list $first_commit..$develop_master_point --count --first-parent --ancestry-path`
+        minor=$( git rev-list "$first_commit..$develop_master_point" --count --first-parent --ancestry-path )
     fi
+
 else
     log "Minor version override: $minor"
 fi
@@ -175,11 +183,33 @@ fi
 if [ "$patch_override" != "true" ]; then
     if [ "$branch_name" == "$master_branch" ]; then
         patch=0
+
     elif [ "$branch_name" == "$develop_branch" ]; then
-        patch=`git rev-list $first_commit..$commit --count --first-parent --ancestry-path --not \`git rev-list $first_commit..$commit --before=\\\`git show -s --format=%ct $develop_master_point --first-parent --ancestry-path\\\`\``
+        declare -r before=$( git show -s --format=%ct "$develop_master_point" --first-parent --ancestry-path   )
+        declare -r not=$(    git rev-list "$first_commit..$commit" --before=$before | head -n 750              )  # its vital to trim the number of parameters to around 750 otherwise we will get an error below
+      
+        patch=$(                                     \
+            git                                      \
+                rev-list                             \
+                     "$first_commit..$commit"        \
+                     --count                         \
+                     --first-parent                  \
+                     --ancestry-path                 \
+                     --not $not  )  # do not doublequote $not as this will break the script
+
     else
-        patch=`git rev-list $first_commit..$head_develop_point --count --first-parent --ancestry-path --not \`git rev-list $first_commit..$head_develop_point --before=\\\`git show -s --format=%ct $develop_master_point --first-parent --ancestry-path\\\`\``
+        declare -r before=$( git show -s --format=%ct "$develop_master_point" --first-parent --ancestry-path     )
+        declare -r not=$(    git rev-list "$first_commit..$head_develop_point" --before="$before" | head -n 750  )  # its vital to trim the number of parameters to around 750 otherwise we will get an error below
+
+        patch=$(                                           \
+          git  rev-list                                    \
+                  "$first_commit..$head_develop_point"     \
+                  --count                                  \
+                  --first-parent                           \
+                  --ancestry-path                          \
+                  --not $not  )  # do not doublequote $not as this will break the script 
     fi
+
 else
     log "Patch version override: $patch"
 fi
diff --git a/azure-pipelines.yaml b/azure-pipelines.yaml
index 958524f..236dec0 100644
--- a/azure-pipelines.yaml
+++ b/azure-pipelines.yaml
@@ -17,19 +17,19 @@ steps:
     fetchDepth: 0
     persistCredentials: true
 
-  - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
-    displayName: 'dotnet workload install'
+  - task: Bash@3
+    displayName: 'Setup Build Environment'
     inputs:
-      custom: 'workload'
-      command: 'custom'
-      arguments: 'install maui ios android'
+      filePath: 'Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.SetupBuildEnvironment.sh'
+      arguments: ' "https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/LaerdalMedical/_packaging/LaerdalNuGet/nuget/v3/index.json"   "$(Laerdal.NugetFeed.Username)"   "$(Laerdal.NugetFeed.AccessToken)"  "$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)" '
+      targetType: 'filePath'
 
   - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
-    displayName: dotnet build
+    displayName: 'dotnet build'
     inputs:
-      projects: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/Laerdal.Build.targets'
+      projects: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/Laerdal.Scripts/Laerdal.Build.targets'
       arguments: '--verbosity detailed'
       configuration: 'Release'
 
-  - publish: $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)
-    artifact: output
+  - publish: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
+    artifact: 'output'