diff --git a/CODEOWNERS b/CODEOWNERS
index 567e4dc..59ddc56 100644
--- a/CODEOWNERS
+++ b/CODEOWNERS
@@ -8,5 +8,5 @@
 #  https://help.github.com/en/articles/about-code-owners
 #
 
-* @brettmc @bobstrecansky @pdelewski
+* @brettmc @bobstrecansky
 # note that open-telemetry/php-approvers does not exist in this organization
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 0778381..3c24724 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ ifneq ("$(wildcard .env)","")
 	export $(.env)
 endif
 
-PHP_VERSION ?= 7.4
+PHP_VERSION ?= 8.1
 DC_RUN_PHP = docker compose run --rm php
 PSALM_THREADS ?= 1
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a927e15..eb6c658 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ Options:
 - `--branch=` - github branch to tag from
 - `--dry-run` - do not make any changes
 - `--repo=` - choose a single upstream repo to run against (default: all)
+- `--filter=` - filter repositories by prefix
 
 The script will then:
 * fetch `.gitsplit.yaml` from source repositories
diff --git a/docker-compose.yaml b/docker-compose.yaml
index 07cf4ce..8a71e4f 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yaml
+++ b/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 version: '3.7'
 services:
   php:
-    image: ghcr.io/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-php/opentelemetry-php-base:${PHP_VERSION:-7.4}
+    image: ghcr.io/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-php/opentelemetry-php-base:${PHP_VERSION:-8.1}
     volumes:
     - ./:/usr/src/myapp
     user: "${PHP_USER}:root"
diff --git a/src/Console/Command/Release/ReleaseCommand.php b/src/Console/Command/Release/ReleaseCommand.php
index f4d61f6..320d7df 100644
--- a/src/Console/Command/Release/ReleaseCommand.php
+++ b/src/Console/Command/Release/ReleaseCommand.php
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ protected function configure(): void
             ->addOption('token', ['t'], InputOption::VALUE_OPTIONAL, 'github token')
             ->addOption('branch', null, InputOption::VALUE_OPTIONAL, 'branch to tag off (default: main)')
             ->addOption('repo', ['r'], InputOption::VALUE_OPTIONAL, 'repo to handle (core, contrib)')
+            ->addOption('filter', null, InputOption::VALUE_OPTIONAL, 'filter by repository prefix')
             ->addOption('force', ['f'], InputOption::VALUE_NONE, 'force new releases even if no changes')
         ;
     }
@@ -63,6 +64,7 @@ protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
         $this->dry_run = $input->getOption('dry-run');
         $this->force = $input->getOption('force');
         $source = $input->getOption('repo');
+        $filter = $input->getOption('filter');
         if ($source && !array_key_exists($source, self::AVAILABLE_REPOS)) {
             $options = implode(',', array_keys(self::AVAILABLE_REPOS));
             $this->output->writeln("<error>Invalid source: {$source}. Options: {$options}</error>");
@@ -75,7 +77,7 @@ protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
         $repositories = [];
 
         try {
-            $found = $this->find_repositories();
+            $found = $this->find_repositories($filter);
         } catch (\Exception $e) {
             $this->output->writeln("<error>{$e->getCode()} {$e->getMessage()}</error>");
 
@@ -104,18 +106,18 @@ protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
      * @throws \Exception
      * @return array<Repository>
      */
-    private function find_repositories(): array
+    private function find_repositories(?string $filter): array
     {
         $repositories = [];
         foreach ($this->sources as $key => $repo) {
             $this->output->isVerbose() && $this->output->writeln("<info>Fetching .gitsplit.yaml for {$key} ({$repo})</info>");
-            $repositories = array_merge($repositories, $this->get_gitsplit_repositories($repo));
+            $repositories = array_merge($repositories, $this->get_gitsplit_repositories($repo, $filter));
         }
 
         return $repositories;
     }
 
-    private function get_gitsplit_repositories(string $repo): array
+    private function get_gitsplit_repositories(string $repo, ?string $filter): array
     {
         $url = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/{$repo}/main/.gitsplit.yml";
         $response = $this->fetch($url);
@@ -127,14 +129,24 @@ private function get_gitsplit_repositories(string $repo): array
         $repositories = [];
         $this->output->isVeryVerbose() && $this->output->writeln('[RESPONSE]' . json_encode($yaml['splits']));
         foreach ($yaml['splits'] as $entry) {
+            $prefix = $entry['prefix'];
+            if ($filter && !str_contains($prefix, $filter)) {
+                $this->output->isVerbose() && $this->output->writeln(sprintf('[SKIP] %s does not match filter: %s', $prefix, $filter));
+
+                continue;
+            }
             $repository = new Repository();
             $repository->upstream = new Project($repo);
-            $repository->upstream->path = $entry['prefix'];
+            $repository->upstream->path = $prefix;
             $target = $entry['target'];
             $repository->downstream = new Project(str_replace(['https://${GH_TOKEN}@github.com/', '.git'], ['',''], $target));
             $repositories[] = $repository;
         }
 
+        if ($this->output->isVeryVerbose()) {
+            $this->output->writeln('[FOUND]' . json_encode($repositories));
+        }
+
         return $repositories;
     }