diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/new_release.yml b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/new_release.yml
index 7a091ecc..a204ecb2 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/new_release.yml
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/new_release.yml
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ body:
               # Release-Guide
               see http://central.sonatype.org/pages/ossrh-guide.html
 
+              - [ ] run an actual test with a local installed plugin (using https://github.com/git-commit-id/git-commit-id-maven-debugging)
               - [ ] verify that ~/.m2/settings.xml exists and contains username/password which is required as per https://central.sonatype.org/publish/publish-maven/#distribution-management-and-authentication
               - [ ] `mvn release:prepare`
                     [INFO] Checking dependencies and plugins for snapshots ...
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 304d913d..cef21b9f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ older version (4.x.x or older) are available via:
 
 Versions
 --------
-The current version is **7.0.0** ([changelist](https://github.com/git-commit-id/git-commit-id-maven-plugin/issues?q=milestone%3A7.0.0)).
+The current version is **8.0.0** ([changelist](https://github.com/git-commit-id/git-commit-id-maven-plugin/issues?q=milestone%3A8.0.0)).
 
 You can check the available versions by visiting [search.maven.org](https://search.maven.org/artifact/io.github.git-commit-id/git-commit-id-maven-plugin), though using the newest is obviously the best choice.
 
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ Here is an overview of the current plugin compatibility with Java
 | 5.0.0           | Java 11               |
 | 6.0.0           | Java 11               |
 | 7.0.0           | Java 11               |
+| 8.0.0           | Java 11               |
 
 
 Plugin compatibility with Maven
@@ -78,6 +79,7 @@ Even though this plugin tries to be compatible with every Maven version there ar
 | 5.0.0          |                    Maven 3.1.0-alpha-1                     |
 | 6.0.0          |                    Maven 3.1.0-alpha-1                     |
 | 7.0.0          |                        Maven 3.2.5                         |
+| 8.0.0          |                        Maven 3.2.5                         |
 
 Flipping the table to maven:
 Please note that in theory maven 4.X should support all maven 3 plugins.
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index cac4a0aa..6f01d0c7 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
     <groupId>io.github.git-commit-id</groupId>
     <artifactId>git-commit-id-maven-plugin</artifactId>
     <packaging>maven-plugin</packaging>
-    <version>8.0.0</version>
+    <version>8.0.1</version>
     <name>Git Commit Id Maven Plugin</name>
     <url>https://github.com/git-commit-id/git-commit-id-maven-plugin</url>
     <description>
@@ -38,14 +38,14 @@
         <url>git@github.com:git-commit-id/git-commit-id-maven-plugin.git</url>
         <connection>scm:git@github.com:git-commit-id/git-commit-id-maven-plugin</connection>
         <developerConnection>scm:git:git@github.com:git-commit-id/git-commit-id-maven-plugin.git</developerConnection>
-        <tag>v8.0.0</tag>
+        <tag>v8.0.1</tag>
     </scm>
 
     <properties>
         <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
         <project.reporting.outputEncoding>UTF-8</project.reporting.outputEncoding>
         <propertiesEncoding>UTF-8</propertiesEncoding>
-        <project.build.outputTimestamp>1709582223</project.build.outputTimestamp>
+        <project.build.outputTimestamp>1709999100</project.build.outputTimestamp>
 
         <java.target>11</java.target>
 
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
             <dependency>
                 <groupId>${project.groupId}</groupId>
                 <artifactId>git-commit-id-plugin-core</artifactId>
-                <version>6.0.0-rc.7</version>
+                <version>6.0.0-rc.8</version>
             </dependency>
             <dependency>
                 <groupId>com.google.code.findbugs</groupId>
@@ -178,6 +178,9 @@
             <plugin>
                 <artifactId>maven-release-plugin</artifactId>
                 <version>3.0.1</version>
+                <configuration>
+                    <arguments>-Pgpg</arguments>
+                </configuration>
             </plugin>
 
             <!-- if you would like to run the git-commit-id-maven-plugin for your build, you could also include it here instead using a profile (see README.md) -->