diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 1825d12e4e2..2d6d3749699 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #! /bin/sh
 # Guess values for system-dependent variables and create Makefiles.
-# Generated by GNU Autoconf 2.71 for opam 2.2.0~alpha3.
+# Generated by GNU Autoconf 2.71 for opam 2.2.0~alpha4~dev.
 #
 #
 # Copyright (C) 1992-1996, 1998-2017, 2020-2021 Free Software Foundation,
@@ -609,8 +609,8 @@ MAKEFLAGS=
 # Identity of this package.
 PACKAGE_NAME='opam'
 PACKAGE_TARNAME='opam'
-PACKAGE_VERSION='2.2.0~alpha3'
-PACKAGE_STRING='opam 2.2.0~alpha3'
+PACKAGE_VERSION='2.2.0~alpha4~dev'
+PACKAGE_STRING='opam 2.2.0~alpha4~dev'
 PACKAGE_BUGREPORT=''
 PACKAGE_URL=''
 
@@ -1334,7 +1334,7 @@ if test "$ac_init_help" = "long"; then
   # Omit some internal or obsolete options to make the list less imposing.
   # This message is too long to be a string in the A/UX 3.1 sh.
   cat <<_ACEOF
-\`configure' configures opam 2.2.0~alpha3 to adapt to many kinds of systems.
+\`configure' configures opam 2.2.0~alpha4~dev to adapt to many kinds of systems.
 
 Usage: $0 [OPTION]... [VAR=VALUE]...
 
@@ -1396,7 +1396,7 @@ fi
 
 if test -n "$ac_init_help"; then
   case $ac_init_help in
-     short | recursive ) echo "Configuration of opam 2.2.0~alpha3:";;
+     short | recursive ) echo "Configuration of opam 2.2.0~alpha4~dev:";;
    esac
   cat <<\_ACEOF
 
@@ -1509,7 +1509,7 @@ fi
 test -n "$ac_init_help" && exit $ac_status
 if $ac_init_version; then
   cat <<\_ACEOF
-opam configure 2.2.0~alpha3
+opam configure 2.2.0~alpha4~dev
 generated by GNU Autoconf 2.71
 
 Copyright (C) 2021 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@@ -1706,7 +1706,7 @@ cat >config.log <<_ACEOF
 This file contains any messages produced by compilers while
 running configure, to aid debugging if configure makes a mistake.
 
-It was created by opam $as_me 2.2.0~alpha3, which was
+It was created by opam $as_me 2.2.0~alpha4~dev, which was
 generated by GNU Autoconf 2.71.  Invocation command line was
 
   $ $0$ac_configure_args_raw
@@ -7877,7 +7877,7 @@ cat >>$CONFIG_STATUS <<\_ACEOF || ac_write_fail=1
 # report actual input values of CONFIG_FILES etc. instead of their
 # values after options handling.
 ac_log="
-This file was extended by opam $as_me 2.2.0~alpha3, which was
+This file was extended by opam $as_me 2.2.0~alpha4~dev, which was
 generated by GNU Autoconf 2.71.  Invocation command line was
 
   CONFIG_FILES    = $CONFIG_FILES
@@ -7932,7 +7932,7 @@ ac_cs_config_escaped=`printf "%s\n" "$ac_cs_config" | sed "s/^ //; s/'/'\\\\\\\\
 cat >>$CONFIG_STATUS <<_ACEOF || ac_write_fail=1
 ac_cs_config='$ac_cs_config_escaped'
 ac_cs_version="\\
-opam config.status 2.2.0~alpha3
+opam config.status 2.2.0~alpha4~dev
 configured by $0, generated by GNU Autoconf 2.71,
   with options \\"\$ac_cs_config\\"
 
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index fe0f441c428..59fce6e5c8f 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 dnl The line below must be formatted AC_INIT([opam],[VERSION]) with no extra spaces
-AC_INIT([opam],[2.2.0~alpha3])
+AC_INIT([opam],[2.2.0~alpha4~dev])
 AC_COPYRIGHT(Copyright 2012-2019 OcamlPro SAS)
 
 AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIR([m4])
diff --git a/opam-client.opam b/opam-client.opam
index a622032d816..8a50955c9f1 100644
--- a/opam-client.opam
+++ b/opam-client.opam
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 opam-version: "2.0"
-version: "2.2.0~alpha3"
+version: "2.2.0~alpha4~dev"
 synopsis: "Client library for opam 2.2"
 description: """
 Actions on the opam root, switches, installations, and front-end.
diff --git a/opam-core.opam b/opam-core.opam
index f73b8183b37..f95eb8df384 100644
--- a/opam-core.opam
+++ b/opam-core.opam
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 opam-version: "2.0"
-version: "2.2.0~alpha3"
+version: "2.2.0~alpha4~dev"
 synopsis: "Core library for opam 2.2"
 description: """
 Small standard library extensions, and generic system interaction modules used by opam.
diff --git a/opam-devel.opam b/opam-devel.opam
index c5f7639e70a..6286a5b92b1 100644
--- a/opam-devel.opam
+++ b/opam-devel.opam
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 opam-version: "2.0"
-version: "2.2.0~alpha3"
+version: "2.2.0~alpha4~dev"
 synopsis: "Bootstrapped development binary for opam 2.2"
 description: """
 This package compiles (bootstraps) opam. For consistency and safety of the installation, the binaries are not installed into the PATH, but into lib/opam-devel, from where the user can manually install them system-wide.
diff --git a/opam-format.opam b/opam-format.opam
index 03c708839ed..06ce8312620 100644
--- a/opam-format.opam
+++ b/opam-format.opam
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 opam-version: "2.0"
-version: "2.2.0~alpha3"
+version: "2.2.0~alpha4~dev"
 synopsis: "Format library for opam 2.2"
 description: """
 Definition of opam datastructures and its file interface.
diff --git a/opam-installer.opam b/opam-installer.opam
index efea8594768..a916d859b1a 100644
--- a/opam-installer.opam
+++ b/opam-installer.opam
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 opam-version: "2.0"
-version: "2.2.0~alpha3"
+version: "2.2.0~alpha4~dev"
 synopsis: "Installation of files to a prefix, following opam conventions"
 description: """
 opam-installer is a small tool that can read *.install files, as defined by opam [1], and execute them to install or remove package files without going through opam.
diff --git a/opam-repository.opam b/opam-repository.opam
index b42b7ccc5c9..ed0003646a4 100644
--- a/opam-repository.opam
+++ b/opam-repository.opam
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 opam-version: "2.0"
-version: "2.2.0~alpha3"
+version: "2.2.0~alpha4~dev"
 synopsis: "Repository library for opam 2.2"
 description: """
 This library includes repository and remote sources handling, including curl/wget, rsync, git, mercurial, darcs backends.
diff --git a/opam-solver.opam b/opam-solver.opam
index 11e9eacb068..3188b973c91 100644
--- a/opam-solver.opam
+++ b/opam-solver.opam
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 opam-version: "2.0"
-version: "2.2.0~alpha3"
+version: "2.2.0~alpha4~dev"
 synopsis: "Solver library for opam 2.2"
 description: """
 Solver and Cudf interaction. This library is based on the Cudf and Dose libraries, and handles calls to the external solver from opam.
diff --git a/opam-state.opam b/opam-state.opam
index 6d7cd5d355f..503d202db3f 100644
--- a/opam-state.opam
+++ b/opam-state.opam
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 opam-version: "2.0"
-version: "2.2.0~alpha3"
+version: "2.2.0~alpha4~dev"
 synopsis: "State library for opam 2.2"
 description: """
 Handling of the ~/.opam hierarchy, repository and switch states.
diff --git a/opam.opam b/opam.opam
index ced6a883dc4..73e8eaa1cf0 100644
--- a/opam.opam
+++ b/opam.opam
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 opam-version: "2.0"
-version: "2.2.0~alpha3"
+version: "2.2.0~alpha4~dev"
 synopsis: "Meta-package for Dune"
 maintainer: "opam-devel@lists.ocaml.org"
 authors: [
diff --git a/release/readme.md b/release/readme.md
index 5b764bb433d..4c001ceecb8 100644
--- a/release/readme.md
+++ b/release/readme.md
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@
 
 * a blog entry in opam.ocaml.org
 * a announcement in discuss.ocaml.org
+* copy the blog entry from opam.ocaml.org for https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml.org/tree/main/data/changelog/opam
+* announce the release on the OCaml Discord server
 
 
 ## After release
@@ -40,7 +42,6 @@
 
 ### On a release candidate
 * create a branch to a `x.y` for rc's and the final release
-* remove `shell/install.sh`
 
 ---