diff --git a/.github/workflows/check-release.yml b/.github/workflows/check-release.yml
index 532b5c3bd..e7bb86433 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/check-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/check-release.yml
@@ -57,22 +57,9 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           pip install .
 
-      - name: Configure Version Spec
-        id: version-spec
-        if: ${{ matrix.group == 'check_release' }}
-        run: |
-          set -eux
-          version=$(python setup.py --version)
-          if [[ $version =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
-            version_spec=patch
-          else
-            version_spec=build
-          fi
-          echo "::set-output name=spec::${version_spec}"
-
       - name: Check Release
         uses: jupyter-server/jupyter_releaser/.github/actions/check-release@v1
         env:
-          RH_VERSION_SPEC: ${{ steps.version-spec.outputs.spec }}
+          RH_VERSION_SPEC: next
         with:
           token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/RELEASE.md b/RELEASE.md
index 5761ead34..7517fbc52 100644
--- a/RELEASE.md
+++ b/RELEASE.md
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ For now releases are still done manually (see section below).
 
 https://github.com/jupyterlab/jupyterlab/blob/master/RELEASE.md#bump-version
 
+`jupyter_releaser` handles the bump automatically so it is not necessary to do it manually, as long as the spec is correctly specified in the workflow.
+
+### Manual bump
+
 To manually bump the version, run:
 
 ```bash
@@ -22,7 +26,13 @@ python -m pip install -e ".[test,dev]"
 python scripts/bump-version.py <spec>
 ```
 
-Where `<spec>` can be one of the following: `patch`, `minor`, `major`, `release`.
+Where `<spec>` can be one of the following: `patch`, `minor`, `major`, `release` or `next` (auto for `patch` or `minor`).
+
+## Major JS bump
+
+When there is a breaking change in a JS package, the version of the package should be bumped by one major version.
+
+For example if the version of the preview extension was `2.1.0-alpha.1` and a breaking is introduced, bump to `3.0.0-alpha.0`.
 
 ## Releasing on conda-forge
 
@@ -55,8 +65,7 @@ Make sure the `dist/` folder is empty.
 
 1. Bump the version:
    - `python -m pip install bump2version jupyter-releaser`
-   - For a patch release: `python scripts/bump-version patch`
-   - For a build release: `python scripts/bump-version build`
+   - For a patch or build release: `python scripts/bump-version next`
 2. `python -m build`
 3. Double check the size of the bundles in the `dist/` folder
 4. Make sure the JupyterLab extension is correctly bundled in source distribution
diff --git a/scripts/bump-version.py b/scripts/bump-version.py
index 49008150c..551d01b89 100644
--- a/scripts/bump-version.py
+++ b/scripts/bump-version.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 # - https://github.com/jupyterlab/retrolab/blob/main/buildutils/src/release-bump.ts
 
 import click
-from jupyter_releaser.util import get_version, run
+from jupyter_releaser.util import is_prerelease, get_version, run
 
 
 OPTIONS = ["major", "minor", "release", "build"]
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 
 def patch(force=False):
     version = get_version()
-    if "a" in version or "b" in version or "rc" in version:
+    if is_prerelease(version):
         raise Exception("Can only make a patch release from a final version")
 
     run("bumpversion patch", quiet=True)
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def update(spec, force=False):
     if spec not in OPTIONS:
         raise Exception(f"Version spec must be one of: {OPTIONS}")
 
-    is_final = "a" not in prev and "b" not in prev and "c" not in prev
+    is_final = not is_prerelease(prev)
 
     if is_final and spec == "release":
         raise Exception('Use "major" or "minor" to switch back to alpha release')
@@ -94,6 +94,11 @@ def bump(force, spec):
     if len(status) > 0:
         raise Exception("Must be in a clean git state with no untracked files")
 
+    prev = get_version()
+    is_final = not is_prerelease(prev)
+    if spec == "next":
+        spec = "patch" if is_final else "build"
+
     if spec == "patch":
         patch(force)
         return