diff --git a/doc/contributing/releases.md b/doc/contributing/releases.md
index 3d3b7b99be4dd7..e4b044bd1f4d7c 100644
--- a/doc/contributing/releases.md
+++ b/doc/contributing/releases.md
@@ -827,6 +827,14 @@ or at runtime with:
 $ ./tools/release.sh -i ~/.ssh/node_id_rsa
 ```
 
+You can also specify a different ssh server address to connect to by defining
+a `NODEJS_RELEASE_HOST` environment variable:
+
+```console
+# Substitute proxy.xyz with whatever address you intend to use
+$ NODEJS_RELEASE_HOST=proxy.xyz ./tools/release.sh
+```
+
 `tools/release.sh` will perform the following actions when run:
 
 <details>
diff --git a/tools/release.sh b/tools/release.sh
index bf70eadfbcada0..17243b1f4cd98c 100755
--- a/tools/release.sh
+++ b/tools/release.sh
@@ -8,7 +8,9 @@
 
 set -e
 
-webhost=direct.nodejs.org
+[ -z "$NODEJS_RELEASE_HOST" ] && NODEJS_RELEASE_HOST=direct.nodejs.org
+
+webhost=$NODEJS_RELEASE_HOST
 webuser=dist
 promotablecmd=dist-promotable
 promotecmd=dist-promote