diff --git a/.github/workflows/auto-merge.yml b/.github/workflows/auto-merge.yml
index 1db0104..4cf4f61 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/auto-merge.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/auto-merge.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Copyright (c) 2024, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+# Copyright (c) 2024-2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -28,6 +28,11 @@ on:
       branch: # github.event.pull_request.base.ref
         required: true
         type: string
+      file_use_base:
+        description: 'file/path that require to use content of BASE'
+        default: ''
+        required: false
+        type: string
     secrets:
       token:
         required: true
@@ -38,47 +43,114 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
     steps:
-      # TODO: make this step as a shared action
+      - name: set HEAD ENV
+        run: |
+          echo "HEAD=${{ inputs.branch }}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "DELETE_HEAD=False" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+
       - name: Generate target branch
-        id: generate_version
         run: |
-          current_branch="${{ inputs.branch }}"
-          version=${current_branch#branch-}
-          
-          IFS='.' read -r -a parts <<< "$version"
-          year=${parts[0]}
-          month=${parts[1]}
-          month=$((10#$month + 2))
-          if [ $month -gt 12 ]; then
-            month=$((month - 12))
-            year=$((year + 1))
+          # https://github.com/NVIDIA/spark-rapids-common/issues/34
+          if [[ "${{ inputs.branch }}" == release/* ]]; then
+            echo "BASE=main" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          else # maintain compatibility support for branch-*
+            current_branch="${{ inputs.branch }}"
+            version=${current_branch#branch-}
+
+            IFS='.' read -r -a parts <<< "$version"
+            year=${parts[0]}
+            month=${parts[1]}
+            month=$((10#$month + 2))
+            if [ $month -gt 12 ]; then
+              month=$((month - 12))
+              year=$((year + 1))
+            fi
+
+            next_release=$(printf "%02d.%02d" $year $month)
+            echo "Next release is $next_release"
+            echo "BASE=branch-$next_release" >> $GITHUB_ENV
           fi
 
-          next_release=$(printf "%02d.%02d" $year $month)
-          echo "Next release is $next_release"
-          echo "target_branch=branch-$next_release" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+      - name: Check for existing v*.0 tag
+        run: |
+          branch="${{ inputs.branch }}"
+          if [[ "$branch" == release/* ]]; then
+            version="${branch#release/}"
+          elif [[ "$branch" == branch-* ]]; then
+            version="${branch#branch-}"
+          else
+            echo "Unsupported branch ${{ inputs.branch }}..."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          tag_name="v${version}.0"
+          echo "Checking for tag $tag_name..."
+
+          CODE=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" -H "Authorization: token ${{ secrets.token }}" \
+            https://api.github.com/repos/${{ inputs.owner }}/${{ inputs.repo }}/git/ref/tags/${tag_name})
+          if [ "$CODE" -eq 200 ]; then
+            echo "Tag $tag_name exists. Skipping merge..."
+            echo "continue_merge=false" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          else
+            echo "Proceeding with merge..."
+            echo "continue_merge=true" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          fi
 
-      # TODO: make this step as a shared action
       - name: Check if target branch exists
-        id: check_branch
+        if: env.continue_merge == 'true'
         run: |
           CODE=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" -H "Authorization: token ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}" \
-            https://api.github.com/repos/${{ inputs.owner }}/${{ inputs.repo }}/branches/${{ env.target_branch }})
+            https://api.github.com/repos/${{ inputs.owner }}/${{ inputs.repo }}/branches/${{ env.BASE }})
           echo "Response code: $CODE..."
 
           if [ $CODE -eq 200 ]; then
-            echo "branch_exists=true" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+            echo "continue_merge=true" >> $GITHUB_ENV
           else
-            echo "branch_exists=false" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-            echo "Failed to find ${BRANCH_NAME}. Skip auto-merge..."
+            echo "continue_merge=false" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+            echo "Failed to find $BASE. Skip auto-merge..."
           fi
 
+      - name: prepare code base if $FILE_USE_BASE has content
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        if: ${{ inputs.file_use_base != '' && env.continue_merge == 'true' }}
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ env.HEAD }} # force to fetch from the latest upstream instead of PR ref
+          token: ${{ secrets.token }}
+
+      - name: push intermediate branch for auto-merge
+        if: ${{ inputs.file_use_base != '' && env.continue_merge == 'true' }}
+        run: |
+          git config user.name "spark-rapids automation"
+          git config user.email "70000568+nvauto@users.noreply.github.com"
+
+          git fetch origin "${HEAD}" "${BASE}"
+          git checkout -b ${INTERMEDIATE_HEAD} origin/${HEAD}
+
+          # Sync the $BASE branch with the commits from the $HEAD branch,
+          # excluding the paths defined as $FILE_USE_BASE.
+          git checkout origin/${BASE} -- ${FILE_USE_BASE}
+
+          # If any $FILE_USE_BASE is updated in the HEAD branch,
+          # always change it to the corresponding one from the BASE branch.
+          [ ! -z "$(git status --porcelain=v1 --untracked=no)" ] && \
+            git commit -s -am "Auto-merge use ${BASE} versions"
+          git push origin ${INTERMEDIATE_HEAD} -f
+
+          # overwrite HEAD env
+          echo "HEAD=$INTERMEDIATE_HEAD" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "DELETE_HEAD=True" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+        env:
+          INTERMEDIATE_HEAD: bot-auto-merge-${{ env.HEAD }}
+          FILE_USE_BASE: ${{ inputs.file_use_base }}
+
       - name: auto-merge job
-        if: env.branch_exists == 'true'
-        uses: NVIDIA/spark-rapids-common/auto-merge@main
+        if: env.continue_merge == 'true'
+        uses: NVIDIA/spark-rapids-common/action-helper@main
+        with:
+          operator: auto-merge
         env:
           OWNER: ${{ inputs.owner }}
-          REPO_NAME: ${{ inputs.repo }}
-          HEAD: ${{ inputs.branch }}
-          BASE: ${{ env.target_branch }}
-          AUTOMERGE_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.token }}
+          REPO: ${{ inputs.repo }}
+          HEAD: ${{ env.HEAD }}
+          BASE: ${{ env.BASE }}
+          TOKEN: ${{ secrets.token }}
+          DELETE_HEAD: ${{ env.DELETE_HEAD }}
diff --git a/action-helper/Dockerfile b/action-helper/Dockerfile
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..c8abc91
--- /dev/null
+++ b/action-helper/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+FROM python:alpine
+
+WORKDIR /
+COPY python /python
+COPY entrypoint.sh .
+RUN chmod -R +x /python /entrypoint.sh
+RUN pip install requests
+
+ENTRYPOINT ["/entrypoint.sh"]
diff --git a/action-helper/action.yml b/action-helper/action.yml
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..8b94967
--- /dev/null
+++ b/action-helper/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+name: 'action helper'
+description: 'helper for github-related operations'
+inputs:
+  operator:
+    required: true
+    description: 'specify operator, e.g. auto-merge'
+runs:
+  using: 'docker'
+  image: 'Dockerfile'
+  args:
+    - ${{ inputs.operator }}
diff --git a/action-helper/entrypoint.sh b/action-helper/entrypoint.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..935a9f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/action-helper/entrypoint.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+#!/bin/sh -l
+#
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION. All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+set -e
+
+if [ $# -ne 1 ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: invalid number of parameters, should be exact one"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+case $1 in
+
+    auto-merge)
+        /python/auto-merge --delete_head="${DELETE_HEAD}"
+        ;;
+
+    *)
+        echo "ERROR: unknown parameter: $1"
+        ;;
+esac
diff --git a/action-helper/python/auto-merge b/action-helper/python/auto-merge
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..3140199
--- /dev/null
+++ b/action-helper/python/auto-merge
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import sys
+from argparse import ArgumentParser
+
+from utils import EnvDefault, PullRequest, strtobool
+
+
+def main():
+    parser = ArgumentParser(description="Automerge")
+    parser.add_argument("--owner", action=EnvDefault, env="OWNER",
+                        help="github token, will try use env OWNER if empty")
+    parser.add_argument("--repo", action=EnvDefault, env="REPO",
+                        help="repo name, will try use env REPO if empty")
+    parser.add_argument("--head", action=EnvDefault, env="HEAD",
+                        help="HEAD ref, will try use env HEAD if empty")
+    parser.add_argument("--base", action=EnvDefault, env="BASE",
+                        help="Base ref, will try use env BASE if empty")
+    parser.add_argument("--token", action=EnvDefault, env="TOKEN",
+                        help="github token, will try use env TOKEN if empty")
+    parser.add_argument("--delete_head", default=False, type=lambda x: bool(strtobool(x)),
+                        help="if delete HEAD branch after auto-merge")
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    pr = PullRequest(head_owner=args.owner, head=args.head, head_token=args.token,
+                     base_owner=args.owner, repo=args.repo, base=args.base, base_token=args.token)
+    try:
+        if exist := pr.get_open():
+            number = exist[0].get('number')
+            sha = exist[0].get('head').get('sha')
+        else:
+            params = {
+                # head share the same owner/repo with base in auto-merge
+                'title': f"[auto-merge] {pr.head} to {pr.base} [skip ci] [bot]",
+                'head': f"{pr.head_owner}:{pr.head}",
+                'base': pr.base,
+                'body': f"auto-merge triggered by github actions on `{pr.head}` to "
+                        f"create a PR keeping `{pr.base}` up-to-date. "
+                        "If this PR is unable to be merged due to conflicts, "
+                        "it will remain open until manually fix.",
+                'maintainer_can_modify': True
+            }
+            number, sha, term = pr.create(params)
+            if term:
+                sys.exit(0)
+        pr.auto_merge(number, sha)
+        if args.delete_head:
+            pr.delete_head()
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(e)
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    main()
diff --git a/action-helper/python/utils.py b/action-helper/python/utils.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..2d2c914
--- /dev/null
+++ b/action-helper/python/utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,183 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import argparse
+import os
+
+import requests
+
+# constants
+API_URL = 'https://api.github.com'
+
+
+class PullRequest:
+    """Pull Request class"""
+
+    def __init__(self,
+                 head_owner, head, head_token,
+                 base_owner, repo, base, base_token):
+        self.head_owner = head_owner
+        self.head = head
+        self.base_owner = base_owner
+        self.repo = repo
+        self.base = base
+        self.pulls_url = f'{API_URL}/repos/{self.base_owner}/{self.repo}/pulls'
+        self._head_auth_headers = {
+            'Accept': 'application/vnd.github.v3+json',
+            'Authorization': f"token {head_token}"
+        }
+        self._base_auth_headers = {
+            'Accept': 'application/vnd.github.v3+json',
+            'Authorization': f"token {base_token}"
+        }
+
+    def get_open(self):
+        """get open pull request if existed"""
+        params = {
+            'state': 'open',
+            'head': f"{self.head_owner}:{self.head}",
+            'base': self.base,
+        }
+        r = requests.get(self.pulls_url, headers=self._base_auth_headers, params=params)
+        if r.status_code == 200:
+            return r.json()
+        if r.status_code == 304:
+            return None
+        # FAILURE
+        print('FAILURE - list PR')
+        print(f'status code: {r.status_code}')
+        raise Exception(f"Failed to list PR: {r.json()}")
+
+    def create(self, params):
+        """create a pull request"""
+        # the token here must have write access to head owner/repo
+        r = requests.post(self.pulls_url, headers=self._head_auth_headers, json=params)
+        if r.status_code == 201:
+            print('SUCCESS - create PR')
+            pull = r.json()
+            number = str(pull['number'])
+            sha = str(pull['head']['sha'])
+            return number, sha, False
+        if r.status_code == 422:  # early-terminate if no commits between HEAD and BASE
+            print('SUCCESS - No commits')
+            print(r.json())
+            return '', '', True
+        # FAILURE
+        print('FAILURE - create PR')
+        print(f'status code: {r.status_code}')
+        raise Exception(f"Failed to create PR: {r.json()}")
+
+    def merge(self, number, params):
+        """merge a pull request"""
+        # the token here must have write access to base owner/repo
+        url = f'{self.pulls_url}/{number}/merge'
+        return requests.put(url, headers=self._head_auth_headers, json=params)
+
+    def auto_merge(self, number, sha, merge_method='merge'):
+        """merge a auto-merge pull request"""
+        params = {
+            'sha': sha,
+            'merge_method': merge_method,
+        }
+        r = self.merge(number, params)
+        if r.status_code == 200:
+            self.comment(number, '**SUCCESS** - auto-merge')
+            print('SUCCESS - auto-merge')
+            return
+        else:
+            print('FAILURE - auto-merge')
+            self.comment(number=number, content=f"""**FAILURE** - Unable to auto-merge. Manual operation is required.
+```
+{r.json()}
+```
+
+Please use the following steps to fix the merge conflicts manually:
+```
+# Assume upstream is {self.base_owner}/{self.repo} remote
+git fetch upstream {self.head} {self.base}
+git checkout -b fix-auto-merge-conflict-{number} upstream/{self.base}
+git merge upstream/{self.head}
+# Fix any merge conflicts caused by this merge
+git commit -am "Merge {self.head} into {self.base}"
+git push <personal fork> fix-auto-merge-conflict-{number}
+# Open a PR targets {self.base_owner}/{self.repo} {self.base}
+```
+**IMPORTANT:** Before merging this PR, be sure to change the merging strategy to `Create a merge commit` (repo admin only).
+
+Once this PR is merged, the auto-merge PR should automatically be closed since it contains the same commit hashes
+""")
+            print(f'status code: {r.status_code}')
+            raise Exception(f"Failed to auto-merge PR: {r.json()}")
+
+    def comment(self, number, content):
+        """comment in a pull request"""
+        url = f'{API_URL}/repos/{self.base_owner}/{self.repo}/issues/{number}/comments'
+        params = {
+            'body': content
+        }
+        r = requests.post(url, headers=self._base_auth_headers, json=params)
+        if r.status_code == 201:
+            print('SUCCESS - create comment')
+        else:
+            print('FAILURE - create comment')
+            print(f'status code: {r.status_code}')
+            raise Exception(f"Failed to create comment: {r.json()}")
+
+    def delete_branch(self, owner, branch):
+        """delete a branch"""
+        url = f'{API_URL}/repos/{owner}/{self.repo}/git/refs/heads/{branch}'
+        r = requests.delete(url, headers=self._base_auth_headers)
+        if r.status_code == 204:
+            print(f'SUCCESS - delete {branch}')
+        else:
+            print(f'FAILURE - delete {branch}')
+            print(f'status code: {r.status_code}')
+            raise Exception(f"Failed to delete {branch}: {r.json()}")
+
+    def delete_head(self):
+        """delete the HEAD branch in a pull request"""
+        return self.delete_branch(self.head_owner, self.head)
+
+
+class EnvDefault(argparse.Action):
+    """EnvDefault argparse action class"""
+
+    def __init__(self, env, default=None, required=True, **kwargs):
+        if not default and env:
+            if env in os.environ:
+                default = os.environ[env]
+        if required and default:
+            required = False
+        super(EnvDefault, self).__init__(default=default, required=required, **kwargs)
+
+    def __call__(self, parser, namespace, values, option_string=None):
+        setattr(namespace, self.dest, values)
+
+
+def strtobool(val):
+    """Convert a string representation of truth to true (1) or false (0).
+
+    this function is copied from distutils.util to avoid deprecation warning https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0632/
+
+    True values are 'y', 'yes', 't', 'true', 'on', and '1'; false values
+    are 'n', 'no', 'f', 'false', 'off', and '0'.  Raises ValueError if
+    'val' is anything else.
+    """
+    val = val.lower()
+    if val in ('y', 'yes', 't', 'true', 'on', '1'):
+        return 1
+    elif val in ('n', 'no', 'f', 'false', 'off', '0'):
+        return 0
+    else:
+        raise ValueError("invalid truth value %r" % (val,))