diff --git a/scripts/prepare-release.sh b/scripts/prepare-release.sh
index f231c5eae..6e97dee77 100755
--- a/scripts/prepare-release.sh
+++ b/scripts/prepare-release.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ Usage: $this [-h] RELEASE_VERSION GPG_KEY
 
 Options:
   -h         show this help and exit
+  -a         only generate release assets, do not patch files in the repo
 
 Example:
 
@@ -33,8 +34,11 @@ files:
 #
 # Parse command line
 #
-while getopts "h" opt; do
+assets_only=
+while getopts "ah" opt; do
     case $opt in
+        a)  assets_only=y
+            ;;
         h)  usage
             exit 0
             ;;
@@ -79,34 +83,36 @@ else
     exit 1
 fi
 
-# Patch docs configuration
-echo Patching docs/_config.yml
-sed -e s"/release:.*/release: $release/"  \
-    -e s"/version:.*/version: $docs_version/" \
-    -e s"!container_image:.*!container_image: k8s.gcr.io/nfd/node-feature-discovery:$release!" \
-    -i docs/_config.yml
+if [ -z "$assets_only" ]; then
+    # Patch docs configuration
+    echo Patching docs/_config.yml
+    sed -e s"/release:.*/release: $release/"  \
+        -e s"/version:.*/version: $docs_version/" \
+        -e s"!container_image:.*!container_image: k8s.gcr.io/nfd/node-feature-discovery:$release!" \
+        -i docs/_config.yml
 
-# Patch README
-echo Patching README.md to refer to $release
-sed s"!node-feature-discovery/v.*/!node-feature-discovery/$release/!" -i README.md
+    # Patch README
+    echo Patching README.md to refer to $release
+    sed s"!node-feature-discovery/v.*/!node-feature-discovery/$release/!" -i README.md
 
-# Patch deployment templates
-echo Patching '*.yaml.template' to use $container_image
-sed -E -e s",^([[:space:]]+)image:.+$,\1image: $container_image," \
-       -e s",^([[:space:]]+)imagePullPolicy:.+$,\1imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent," \
-       -i *yaml.template
+    # Patch deployment templates
+    echo Patching '*.yaml.template' to use $container_image
+    sed -E -e s",^([[:space:]]+)image:.+$,\1image: $container_image," \
+           -e s",^([[:space:]]+)imagePullPolicy:.+$,\1imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent," \
+           -i *yaml.template
 
-# Patch Helm chart
-sed -e s"/appVersion:.*/appVersion: $release/" -i deployment/node-feature-discovery/Chart.yaml
-sed -e s"/pullPolicy:.*/pullPolicy: IfNotPresent/" \
-    -e s"!gcr.io/k8s-staging-nfd/node-feature-discovery!k8s.gcr.io/nfd/node-feature-discovery!" \
-    -i deployment/node-feature-discovery/values.yaml
+    # Patch Helm chart
+    sed -e s"/appVersion:.*/appVersion: $release/" -i deployment/node-feature-discovery/Chart.yaml
+    sed -e s"/pullPolicy:.*/pullPolicy: IfNotPresent/" \
+        -e s"!gcr.io/k8s-staging-nfd/node-feature-discovery!k8s.gcr.io/nfd/node-feature-discovery!" \
+        -i deployment/node-feature-discovery/values.yaml
 
-# Patch e2e test
-echo Patching test/e2e/node_feature_discovery.go flag defaults to k8s.gcr.io/nfd/node-feature-discovery and $release
-sed -e s'!"nfd\.repo",.*,!"nfd.repo", "k8s.gcr.io/nfd/node-feature-discovery",!' \
-    -e s"!\"nfd\.tag\",.*,!\"nfd.tag\", \"$release\",!" \
-  -i test/e2e/node_feature_discovery.go
+    # Patch e2e test
+    echo Patching test/e2e/node_feature_discovery.go flag defaults to k8s.gcr.io/nfd/node-feature-discovery and $release
+    sed -e s'!"nfd\.repo",.*,!"nfd.repo", "k8s.gcr.io/nfd/node-feature-discovery",!' \
+        -e s"!\"nfd\.tag\",.*,!\"nfd.tag\", \"$release\",!" \
+      -i test/e2e/node_feature_discovery.go
+fi
 
 #
 # Create release assets to be uploaded