diff --git a/.github/workflows/release/Dockerfile b/.github/workflows/release/Dockerfile
index f3e4d1e00d28..908123a83b4d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release/Dockerfile
+++ b/.github/workflows/release/Dockerfile
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ RUN \
 	--mount=type=cache,target=/root/.cache/go-build \
 	--mount=type=cache,target=/go/pkg \
 	export CC=$(xx-info)-gcc && xx-go --wrap && \
-	make release cri-release cri-cni-release && \
+	make release static-release cri-release cri-cni-release && \
 	for f in $(find bin -executable -type f); do xx-verify $f; done
 
 # check git working tree after build
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 121b68201ac3..3d1b622459d7 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ WHALE = "🇩"
 ONI = "👹"
 
 RELEASE=containerd-$(VERSION:v%=%)-${GOOS}-${GOARCH}
+STATICRELEASE=containerd-static-$(VERSION:v%=%)-${GOOS}-${GOARCH}
 CRIRELEASE=cri-containerd-$(VERSION:v%=%)-${GOOS}-${GOARCH}
 CRICNIRELEASE=cri-containerd-cni-$(VERSION:v%=%)-${GOOS}-${GOARCH}
 
@@ -148,7 +149,7 @@ GOTEST ?= $(GO) test
 OUTPUTDIR = $(join $(ROOTDIR), _output)
 CRIDIR=$(OUTPUTDIR)/cri
 
-.PHONY: clean all AUTHORS build binaries test integration generate protos check-protos coverage ci check help install uninstall vendor release mandir install-man genman install-cri-deps cri-release cri-cni-release cri-integration install-deps bin/cri-integration.test
+.PHONY: clean all AUTHORS build binaries test integration generate protos check-protos coverage ci check help install uninstall vendor release static-release mandir install-man genman install-cri-deps cri-release cri-cni-release cri-integration install-deps bin/cri-integration.test
 .DEFAULT: default
 
 # Forcibly set the default goal to all, in case an include above brought in a rule definition.
@@ -299,18 +300,40 @@ install-man: man
 	$(foreach manpage,$(addprefix man/,$(MANPAGES)), $(call installmanpage,$(manpage),$(subst .,,$(suffix $(manpage))),$(notdir $(manpage))))
 
 
+define pack_release
+	@rm -rf releases/$(1) releases/$(1).tar.gz
+	@$(INSTALL) -d releases/$(1)/bin
+	@$(INSTALL) $(BINARIES) releases/$(1)/bin
+	@tar -czf releases/$(1).tar.gz -C releases/$(1) bin
+	@rm -rf releases/$(1)
+endef
+
+
 releases/$(RELEASE).tar.gz: $(BINARIES)
 	@echo "$(WHALE) $@"
-	@rm -rf releases/$(RELEASE) releases/$(RELEASE).tar.gz
-	@$(INSTALL) -d releases/$(RELEASE)/bin
-	@$(INSTALL) $(BINARIES) releases/$(RELEASE)/bin
-	@tar -czf releases/$(RELEASE).tar.gz -C releases/$(RELEASE) bin
-	@rm -rf releases/$(RELEASE)
+	$(call pack_release,$(RELEASE))
 
 release: releases/$(RELEASE).tar.gz
 	@echo "$(WHALE) $@"
 	@cd releases && sha256sum $(RELEASE).tar.gz >$(RELEASE).tar.gz.sha256sum
 
+releases/$(STATICRELEASE).tar.gz:
+ifeq ($(GOOS),linux)
+	@make STATIC=1 $(BINARIES)
+	@echo "$(WHALE) $@"
+	$(call pack_release,$(STATICRELEASE))
+else
+	@echo "Skipping $(STATICRELEASE) for $(GOOS)"
+endif
+
+static-release: releases/$(STATICRELEASE).tar.gz
+ifeq ($(GOOS),linux)
+	@echo "$(WHALE) $@"
+	@cd releases && sha256sum $(STATICRELEASE).tar.gz >$(STATICRELEASE).tar.gz.sha256sum
+else
+	@echo "Skipping releasing $(STATICRELEASE) for $(GOOS)"
+endif
+
 # install of cri deps into release output directory
 ifeq ($(GOOS),windows)
 install-cri-deps: $(BINARIES)
diff --git a/releases/v1.7.0-beta.toml b/releases/v1.7.0-beta.toml
index 6a9cfc8b1bfa..8f00466aa578 100644
--- a/releases/v1.7.0-beta.toml
+++ b/releases/v1.7.0-beta.toml
@@ -93,3 +93,17 @@ The 2.0 release will remove any feature deprecated in 1.x. Features deprecated i
 * **Add NoSameOwner option when unpacking tars** ([#7386](https://github.com/containerd/containerd/pull/7386))
 
 See the changelog for complete list of changes"""
+
+# postface requires release-tool >= 1.1
+postface = """\
+### Which file should I download?
+* `containerd-<VERSION>-<OS>-<ARCH>.tar.gz`:         ✅Recommended. Dynamically linked with glibc 2.27 (Ubuntu 18.04).
+* `containerd-static-<VERSION>-<OS>-<ARCH>.tar.gz`:  Statically linked. Expected to be used on non-glibc Linux distributions. Not position-independent.
+* `cri-containerd-<VERSION>-<OS>-<ARCH>.tar.gz`:     (Deprecated)
+* `cri-containerd-cni-<VERSION>-<OS>-<ARCH>.tar.gz`: (Deprecated)
+
+In addition to containerd, typically you will have to install [runc](https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/releases)
+and [CNI plugins](https://github.com/containernetworking/plugins/releases) from their official sites too.
+
+See also the [Getting Started](https://github.com/containerd/containerd/blob/main/docs/getting-started.md) documentation.
+"""