diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 8cd3e0b3..55a9d548 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -30,3 +30,4 @@ Dockerfile.cross
 tmp
 
 config/local-setup/**/*.env
+local/
diff --git a/bundle/manifests/dns-operator.clusterserviceversion.yaml b/bundle/manifests/dns-operator.clusterserviceversion.yaml
index 362e24dd..c4e6a335 100644
--- a/bundle/manifests/dns-operator.clusterserviceversion.yaml
+++ b/bundle/manifests/dns-operator.clusterserviceversion.yaml
@@ -57,14 +57,14 @@ metadata:
       ]
     capabilities: Basic Install
     categories: Integration & Delivery
-    containerImage: quay.io/kuadrant/dns-operator:latest
-    createdAt: "2024-10-18T15:21:24Z"
+    containerImage: quay.io/kuadrant/dns-operator:release-0.7
+    createdAt: "2024-11-07T12:08:42Z"
     description: A Kubernetes Operator to manage the lifecycle of DNS resources
     operators.operatorframework.io/builder: operator-sdk-v1.33.0
     operators.operatorframework.io/project_layout: go.kubebuilder.io/v4
     repository: https://github.com/kuadrant/dns-operator
     support: kuadrant
-  name: dns-operator.v0.0.0
+  name: dns-operator.v0.7.0-rc1
   namespace: placeholder
 spec:
   apiservicedefinitions: {}
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ spec:
                 - /manager
                 env:
                 - name: WATCH_NAMESPACES
-                image: quay.io/kuadrant/dns-operator:latest
+                image: quay.io/kuadrant/dns-operator:release-0.7
                 livenessProbe:
                   httpGet:
                     path: /healthz
@@ -276,4 +276,5 @@ spec:
   minKubeVersion: 1.8.0
   provider:
     name: Red Hat
-  version: 0.0.0
+  replaces: dns-operator.v0.6.0
+  version: 0.7.0-rc1
diff --git a/charts/dns-operator/Chart.yaml b/charts/dns-operator/Chart.yaml
index ad427da5..bea68a12 100644
--- a/charts/dns-operator/Chart.yaml
+++ b/charts/dns-operator/Chart.yaml
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ sources:
 kubeVersion: ">=1.19.0-0"
 type: application
 # The version will be properly set when the chart is released matching the operator version
-version: "0.0.0"
+version: "0.7.0-rc1"
 maintainers:
   - email: mnairn@redhat.com
     name: Michael Nairn
diff --git a/charts/dns-operator/templates/manifests.yaml b/charts/dns-operator/templates/manifests.yaml
index 89cce512..1f850d7a 100644
--- a/charts/dns-operator/templates/manifests.yaml
+++ b/charts/dns-operator/templates/manifests.yaml
@@ -914,7 +914,7 @@ spec:
         env:
         - name: WATCH_NAMESPACES
           value: ""
-        image: quay.io/kuadrant/dns-operator:latest
+        image: quay.io/kuadrant/dns-operator:release-0.7
         livenessProbe:
           httpGet:
             path: /healthz
diff --git a/config/deploy/olm/catalogsource.yaml b/config/deploy/olm/catalogsource.yaml
index 7f67ed83..028f05ed 100644
--- a/config/deploy/olm/catalogsource.yaml
+++ b/config/deploy/olm/catalogsource.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,6 @@ metadata:
   name: dns-operator-catalog
 spec:
   sourceType: grpc
-  image: quay.io/kuadrant/dns-operator-catalog:latest
+  image: quay.io/kuadrant/dns-operator-catalog:release-0.7
   displayName: DNS Operators
   publisher: grpc
diff --git a/config/manager/kustomization.yaml b/config/manager/kustomization.yaml
index a2d3dac0..9ca4ff3a 100644
--- a/config/manager/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/config/manager/kustomization.yaml
@@ -7,4 +7,4 @@ kind: Kustomization
 images:
 - name: controller
   newName: quay.io/kuadrant/dns-operator
-  newTag: latest
+  newTag: release-0.7
diff --git a/config/manifests/bases/dns-operator.clusterserviceversion.yaml b/config/manifests/bases/dns-operator.clusterserviceversion.yaml
index cb6132fb..7a1df75f 100644
--- a/config/manifests/bases/dns-operator.clusterserviceversion.yaml
+++ b/config/manifests/bases/dns-operator.clusterserviceversion.yaml
@@ -5,11 +5,11 @@ metadata:
     alm-examples: '[]'
     capabilities: Basic Install
     categories: Integration & Delivery
-    containerImage: quay.io/kuadrant/dns-operator:latest
+    containerImage: quay.io/kuadrant/dns-operator:release-0.7
     description: A Kubernetes Operator to manage the lifecycle of DNS resources
     repository: https://github.com/kuadrant/dns-operator
     support: kuadrant
-  name: dns-operator.v0.0.0
+  name: dns-operator.v0.7.0-rc1
   namespace: placeholder
 spec:
   apiservicedefinitions: {}
@@ -61,4 +61,5 @@ spec:
   minKubeVersion: 1.8.0
   provider:
     name: Red Hat
-  version: 0.0.0
+  replaces: dns-operator.v0.6.0
+  version: 0.7.0-rc1
diff --git a/make/release.mk b/make/release.mk
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7bbfcd19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/make/release.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#Release default values
+IMG=quay.io/kuadrant/dns-operator:release-0.7
+BUNDLE_IMG=quay.io/kuadrant/dns-operator-bundle:release-0.7
+CATALOG_IMG=quay.io/kuadrant/dns-operator-catalog:release-0.7
+CHANNELS=alpha
+BUNDLE_CHANNELS=--channels=alpha
+VERSION=0.7.0-rc1
+REPLACES_VERSION=0.6.0