diff --git a/scripts/archive_eol_stable_branches.py b/scripts/archive_eol_stable_branches.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c2cafc9c5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/archive_eol_stable_branches.py
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+#! /usr/bin/env python3
+import argparse
+import os
+import subprocess
+import sys
+
+
+def run(cmd, *, cwd=None, env=None, dry_run=True):
+    """Run a command with optional dry-run behavior."""
+    environ = os.environ.copy()
+    if env:
+        environ.update(env)
+    if dry_run:
+        print("[DRY RUN]", " ".join(cmd))
+    else:
+        print("[EXECUTE]", " ".join(cmd))
+        try:
+            result = subprocess.check_output(
+                cmd, cwd=cwd, env=environ, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT
+            )
+        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
+            result = e.output
+            print("    [ERROR]", result)
+            raise
+        else:
+            print("    [RESULT]", result)
+        return result.decode().strip()
+
+
+def validate_env(checkout_dir):
+    if not checkout_dir:
+        sys.exit("Error: checkout directory not provided (--checkout-dir).")
+    if not os.path.exists(checkout_dir):
+        sys.exit(f"Error: checkout directory '{checkout_dir}' does not exist.")
+    if not os.path.isdir(checkout_dir):
+        sys.exit(f"Error: '{checkout_dir}' is not a directory.")
+
+
+def get_remote_branches(checkout_dir, include_fn):
+    """Return list of remote branches filtered by include_fn."""
+    result = run(
+        ["git", "branch", "--list", "-r"],
+        cwd=checkout_dir,
+        dry_run=False,
+    )
+    branches = [b.strip() for b in result.split("\n") if b.strip()]
+    return [b for b in branches if include_fn(b)]
+
+
+def get_branch_info(checkout_dir, branch):
+    """Return (commit_hash, last_update_date) for a given branch."""
+    commit_hash = run(["git", "rev-parse", branch], cwd=checkout_dir, dry_run=False)
+    last_update = run(
+        ["git", "show", branch, "--format=format:%ai", "-s"],
+        cwd=checkout_dir,
+        dry_run=False,
+    )
+    return commit_hash, last_update
+
+
+def create_tag(checkout_dir, branch, commit_hash, last_update, *, dry_run=True):
+    """Create a tag locally for a given branch at its last update."""
+    tag_name = branch.replace("origin/", "", 1)
+    msg = f'"Tagged {tag_name} for EOL stable branch removal."'
+    run(
+        ["git", "tag", "--sign", "--message", msg, tag_name, commit_hash],
+        cwd=checkout_dir,
+        env={"GIT_COMMITTER_DATE": last_update},
+        dry_run=dry_run,
+    )
+    return tag_name
+
+
+def delete_remote_and_local_branch(checkout_dir, branch, *, dry_run=True):
+    """Delete a remote branch from origin and the maching local branch."""
+    try:
+        run(
+            ["git", "branch", "-D", branch],
+            cwd=checkout_dir,
+            dry_run=dry_run,
+        )
+    except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
+        print(f"[ERROR] Local branch {branch} can not be deleted.")
+
+    run(
+        ["git", "push", "origin", "--delete", branch.replace("origin/", "", 1)],
+        cwd=checkout_dir,
+        dry_run=dry_run,
+    )
+
+
+def main():
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
+        description="Archive Django branches into tags and optionally delete them."
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--checkout-dir", required=True, help="Path to Django git checkout"
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--dry-run",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="Print commands instead of executing them",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--branches", nargs="*", help="Specific remote branches to include (optional)"
+    )
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    validate_env(args.checkout_dir)
+    dry_run = args.dry_run
+    checkout_dir = args.checkout_dir
+
+    if args.branches:
+        wanted = set(f"origin/{b}" for b in args.branches)
+    else:
+        wanted = set()
+
+    branches = get_remote_branches(checkout_dir, include_fn=lambda b: b in wanted)
+    if not branches:
+        print("No branches matched inclusion criteria.")
+        return
+
+    print("\nMatched branches:")
+    print("\n".join(branches))
+    print()
+
+    branch_updates = {b: get_branch_info(checkout_dir, b) for b in branches}
+    print("\nLast updates:")
+    for b, (h, d) in branch_updates.items():
+        print(f"{b}\t{h}\t{d}")
+
+    if (
+        input("\nDelete remote branches and create tags? [y/N]: ").strip().lower()
+        == "y"
+    ):
+        for b, (commit_hash, last_update_date) in branch_updates.items():
+            print(f"Creating tag for {b} at {commit_hash=} with {last_update_date=}")
+            create_tag(checkout_dir, b, commit_hash, last_update_date, dry_run=dry_run)
+            print(f"Deleting remote branch {b}")
+            delete_remote_and_local_branch(checkout_dir, b, dry_run=dry_run)
+        run(
+            ["git", "push", "--tags"],
+            cwd=checkout_dir,
+            dry_run=dry_run,
+        )
+
+    print("Done.")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/scripts/confirm_release.sh b/scripts/confirm_release.sh
index 920f2061af..c3b4d12c5a 100755
--- a/scripts/confirm_release.sh
+++ b/scripts/confirm_release.sh
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ echo "Download checksum file ..."
 curl --fail --output "$CHECKSUM_FILE" "${MEDIA_URL_PREFIX}/pgp/${CHECKSUM_FILE}"
 
 echo "Verify checksum file ..."
-if [ -n "${GPG_KEY}" ] ; then
+if [ -n "${GPG_KEY:-}" ] ; then
     gpg --recv-keys "${GPG_KEY}"
 fi
 gpg --verify "${CHECKSUM_FILE}"