diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index e454995..6d6f3ad 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 ### Personal access token (PAT)
 
-Follow [these](https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/creating-a-personal-access-token) instructions to configure a PAT.
+Follow [these](https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/creating-a-personal-access-token) instructions to configure a PAT in GitHub.
 
 Scopes:
 - repo (and all sub-items)
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ Save the token to a secure location. Click the "Configure SSO" button and "Autho
 ```shell
 cp config.example.json config.json
 
-# Add your GitHub username and token
+# Add the relevant GitHub username, email address and token
 $EDITOR config.json
 
 # Export the JSON credentials into an environment variable
@@ -44,29 +44,27 @@ PYTHONPATH=hubcap python -m pytest
 
 ## Run in test mode
 
-```shell
-export ENV=test
-./cron.sh
-```
-
-### Optional configuration environment variables
-```shell
-# Default value is the `git-tmp` directory within the current working directory
-# This directory will be deleted by default at the end of the run
-export GIT_TMP=git-tmp
-```
+- Set `"repo": "hub.getdbt.com-test"` within `config.json` (or specify some other non-production repository).
+- Optional: set `"push_branches": false` within `config.json`.
 
-### Optional parameters
-Preserve commits/build artifacts within the `$GIT_TMP` directory
+Run:
 ```shell
-export ENV=test
-./cron.sh --no-cleanup
+python3 hubcap/hubcap.py
 ```
 
 ## Run in production mode
 
 **WARNING:** Use with caution -- _will_ modify state.
+- Set `"repo": "hub.getdbt.com"` within `config.json` (since [hub.getdbt.com](https://github.com/dbt-labs/hub.getdbt.com) is the production repository).
+- Set `"push_branches": true` within `config.json`.
+
+Run:
 ```shell
-export ENV=prod
-./cron.sh
+python3 hubcap/hubcap.py
+```
+
+### Optional configuration environment variables
+```shell
+# Default value is the `git-tmp` directory within the current working directory
+export GIT_TMP=git-tmp
 ```
diff --git a/RELEASE.md b/RELEASE.md
index 2106966..d8a2724 100644
--- a/RELEASE.md
+++ b/RELEASE.md
@@ -4,9 +4,8 @@ This application is hosted on [Heroku](https://www.heroku.com), but it can also
 
 ## Design overview
 It is designed to do the following:
-1. Use a cron schedule to execute the `cron.sh` script at the beginning of every hour
-    1. The `cron.sh` script creates a `git-tmp` directory that is destroyed upon completion
-2. The `cron.sh` script defers most of the processing to `hubcap.py`
+1. Use a cron schedule to execute the main `hubcap.py` script at the beginning of every hour
+2. The `hubcap.py` script creates a `git-tmp` directory to hold cloned git repositories
 3. `hubcap.py` creates a JSON spec file for each package+version combo within the `git-tmp/hub/data/packages/` directory
 4. It opens pull requests against [dbt-labs/hub.getdbt.com](https://github.com/dbt-labs/hub.getdbt.com) for any new versions of dbt packages
     - [Example PR for first-time package](https://github.com/dbt-labs/hub.getdbt.com/pull/1681/files)
@@ -17,12 +16,11 @@ It is designed to do the following:
 The commands below assume a production application named `dbt-hubcap`. Replace with `dbt-hubcap-staging` for the staging version of the application.
 
 1. Use the [Heroku Scheduler](https://dashboard.heroku.com/apps/dbt-hubcap/scheduler) to set the following cron schedule:
-    - Job: `./cron.sh`
+    - Job: `python3 hubcap/hubcap.py`
     - Schedule: Every hour at :00
     - Dyno size: Hobby / Standard-1X
-1. Configure the `CONFIG` and `ENV` environment variables: [Settings > Config Vars > Reveal Config Vars](https://dashboard.heroku.com/apps/dbt-hubcap/settings)
+1. Configure the `CONFIG` environment variable: [Settings > Config Vars > Reveal Config Vars](https://dashboard.heroku.com/apps/dbt-hubcap/settings)
     - `CONFIG`: copy format from `config.example.json` and adjust values as needed
-    - `ENV`: `prod`
 1. (Re-)deploy the application using the instructions below. See [these](https://dashboard.heroku.com/apps/dbt-hubcap/deploy/heroku-git) instructions for context.
 
 
@@ -55,6 +53,14 @@ heroku git:remote -a dbt-hubcap
 git push heroku main:main
 ```
 
+### Ad hoc executions of the script
+
+For off-schedule ad hoc executions, run the following from the deploy directory above:
+
+```shell
+heroku run python3 hubcap/hubcap.py
+```
+
 #### Explanation
 
 `heroku` is the remote that Heroku will use for deploys. `origin` is the source code hosted on GitHub.
diff --git a/config.example.json b/config.example.json
index 82abe48..e4501b9 100644
--- a/config.example.json
+++ b/config.example.json
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
         "token": "pe4s0n@l-@cce$$-t0k3n"
     },
     "org": "dbt-labs",
-    "repo": "hub.getdbt.com",
+    "repo": "hub.getdbt.com-test",
     "push_branches": true,
     "one_branch_per_repo": true
 }
diff --git a/cron.sh b/cron.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 2830f2c..0000000
--- a/cron.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,91 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-# ==
-# == Parse args
-# ==
-
-POSITIONAL=()
-while [ "$#" != '0' ]; do
-  case "$1" in
-    # useful for wanting to save git-tmp and observe commits/build artifacts
-    -n|--no-cleanup)
-      CLEANUP='no'
-      shift
-      ;;
-    *)
-      POSITIONAL+=("$1")
-      shift
-      ;;
-  esac
-done
-set -- "${POSITIONAL[@]}"
-
-# ==
-# == Setup
-# ==
-
-# export to expose to python script later on
-export RUN_DIR="$(pwd)"
-export GIT_TMP="$RUN_DIR/git-tmp"
-
-exit_routine() {
-  local -r exit_status="${1}"
-
-  # Remove temp files to avoid future conflicts
-  if [ "${CLEANUP:-yes}" = 'yes' ]; then
-    if [ -d "${GIT_TMP}" ]; then
-        rm -rf "${GIT_TMP}"
-    fi
-  fi
-
-  # Reset local email and name git settings to wrote-author commits
-  if [ "$ENV" = 'prod' ] || [ "$ENV" = 'test' ]; then
-    function reset_git_params() {
-      # reset machine's git config state to pre-script invocation
-      if [ -z "${2}" ] && [ -z "$(git config --global user."${1}")" ]; then
-          git config --global --unset user."${1}"
-      else
-          git config --global user."${1}" "${2}"
-      fi
-    }
-    reset_git_params 'email' "$PRIOR_GIT_EMAIL"
-    reset_git_params 'name' "$PRIOR_GIT_NAME"
-  fi
-
-  exit "${exit_status}"
-}
-
-trap 'exit_routine $?' EXIT
-
-set -o errexit
-set -o errtrace
-set -o nounset
-set -o pipefail
-
-# ==
-# == Main
-# ==
-
-# specify ENV in Heroku's config variables or override on CLI
-export ENV="${ENV:-development}"
-
-if [ "$ENV" = 'prod' ] || [ "$ENV" = 'test' ]; then
-    # User's prior state saved to avoid corrupting local git config params
-    PRIOR_GIT_EMAIL="$(git config --global user.email || : )"
-    PRIOR_GIT_NAME="$(git config --global user.name || : )"
-
-    # Setup git repo for automated commits during execution
-    git config --global user.email 'drew@fishtownanalytics.com' # TODO: make this a dedicated CI user
-    git config --global user.name 'dbt-hubcap'
-fi
-
-# hubcap expects a fresh git-tmp, so deletion of git-tmp is forced before script is allowed to run in full
-if ! [ -d "${GIT_TMP}" ]; then
-    mkdir "${GIT_TMP}"
-else
-    >&2 printf "Error: ${GIT_TMP} already exists. Deleting and exiting.\n"
-    unset CLEANUP
-    exit 1
-fi
-
-python3 hubcap/hubcap.py