diff --git a/release.sh b/release.sh
index 7911f98..716d1fc 100755
--- a/release.sh
+++ b/release.sh
@@ -2,9 +2,29 @@
 
 set -euo
 
+INTERNAL_RELEASE=true
+
+while getopts 'ph' OPTION; do
+  case "$OPTION" in
+    p)
+      echo "Making public release"
+      INTERNAL_RELEASE=false
+      ;;
+    ?)
+      echo "Makes an internal release, unless -p (public) flag is set. script usage: $(basename "$0") [-h] [-p]" >&2
+      exit 1
+      ;;
+  esac
+done
+shift "$(($OPTIND -1))"
+
 [ -z "$REPO_URL" ] && echo "Need to set REPO_URL" && exit 1;
 [ -z "$GPG_PASSPHRASE" ] && echo "Need to set GPG_PASSPHRASE" && exit 1;
 
+if [ "$INTERNAL_RELEASE" = true ] ; then
+  echo "Making internal release"
+fi
+
 mvn release:clean
 mvn release:prepare --batch-mode "-Darguments=-DskipTests -Ddependency-check.skip=true"
-mvn release:perform "-Darguments=-DskipTests -DuseInternalRepo=true"
+mvn release:perform "-Darguments=-DskipTests -DuseInternalRepo=${INTERNAL_RELEASE}"