Release software involves many sub-tasks including building packages for multiple target platforms, running test suites, managing software repositories, and sending notifications. Release Monkey is a project to provide a simplified equivalent to the Debian release infrastructure for use by smaller projects or organizations wanting to release their software for multiple target distributions and architectures. It integrates bug tracking, source code management and package building to take as much load off individual developers as possible.

The project is a direct result of the "Large Scale Webapps: Managing Releases and DevTeam Infrastructure" tutorial at OSCON 2006, where many of the participants asked for access to the scripts referenced in the discussion about streamlining the release process.