diff --git a/pipeline/Makefile b/pipeline/Makefile
index 87dfb5b20..e9b9e88f0 100755
--- a/pipeline/Makefile
+++ b/pipeline/Makefile
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ prune-release-notes-output: ## postprocessing: removes some files, s.t. luigi ta
 include-release-notes: prune-release-notes-output run-pipeline ## postprocessing: include updated release notes into archive
 
 cleanup-failed: ## postprocessing: cleaning up some dangling FAILED files, which may be confusing
-	find $(OUT_DIR) -name 'FAILED*.tsv' -exec rm -i {} \;
+	find $(OUT_DIR) -name 'FAILED*' -exec rm -i {} \;
 
 .ONESHELL:
 tag-release: ## postprocessing: tags and pushes git commit used for the data release
diff --git a/pipeline/field_metadata.tsv b/pipeline/field_metadata.tsv
index be7416968..02b349f88 100644
--- a/pipeline/field_metadata.tsv
+++ b/pipeline/field_metadata.tsv
@@ -378,3 +378,4 @@ lowMESFlag	Internal	#SKIP	"Intermediate position, sequence, or value used in In
 varConsequences	Nomenclature	#COPY	"Variant consequences, pulled from Ensembl's Variant Effect Predictor"	missense_variant	https://useast.ensembl.org/info/genome/variation/prediction/predicted_data.html#consequence_type_table
 VR_ID	Nomenclature	#COPY	The digest representing the variant (in GRCh38 genomic coordinates) by the GA4GH Variant Representation Standard	ga4gh:VA.kVvzAwHx3AlCzQ8u6b7J9bLNuxKcSnUr
 BayesDel_nsfp33a_noAF	Evidence	bayesdel_noaf	"BayesDel score"	0.55
+change_type	Internal	#SKIP	"type of change with respect to last release"	"changed_information"
diff --git a/pipeline/top_level_readme.txt b/pipeline/top_level_readme.txt
index cbc62dafa..1a4146dcd 100644
--- a/pipeline/top_level_readme.txt
+++ b/pipeline/top_level_readme.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-(Readme last updated March 05, 2021)
+(Readme last updated April 06, 2021)
 
 BRCA Exchange download data
 
@@ -20,8 +20,6 @@ output/
 	and translated into GRCh38 coordinates as needed.
 output/1000G.sorted.hg38.vcf
 	Variants selected from 1000 Genomes, with genotype data.
-output/1000G.sorted.hg38.vcffor_pipeline
-	Variants from 1000 Genomes, without genotype data
 output/ClinVar.vcf
 	Variants from ClinVar at NCBI.
 output/bic_brca12.sorted.hg38.vcf
@@ -43,7 +41,7 @@ output/release/
 output/release/artifacts/
 	Subdirectory with miscellaneous intermediate results from the data aggregation pipeline
 output/release/built_final.tsv
-	Tab-delimited file with the variants shared on BRCA Exchange, and their attribute data
+	Final and complete output of pipeline. Currently just a symlink to output/release/built_with_change_types.tsv
 output/release/built_with_change_types.tsv
 	Tab-delimited file of the variants shared on BRCA Exchange, their attributes, and their update status since the
 	last release.
diff --git a/pipeline/utilities/generateMD5Sums.py b/pipeline/utilities/generateMD5Sums.py
index 400eda4fa..d4c58a983 100644
--- a/pipeline/utilities/generateMD5Sums.py
+++ b/pipeline/utilities/generateMD5Sums.py
@@ -1,28 +1,64 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
-import os
 import argparse
 import hashlib
+import logging
+import os
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Set
+
+
+def read_file_list(path: Path) -> Set[Path]:
+    with open(path, "r") as f:
+        return {Path(line.strip()) for line in f.readlines()}
 
 
 def main():
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
     parser.add_argument("-i", "--inputDir", help="Input directory for generating md5sums")
     parser.add_argument("-o", "--outputFile", help="Output file for md5sums")
+    parser.add_argument("-f", "--keepListFilePath", help="only consider files whose paths are given in this file."
+                                                         "Paths are expected to be relative to --inputDir")
+    parser.add_argument("-d", "--discardListFilePath",
+                        help="paths in this file are ignored, i.e. not included in final tarball. Paths are expected to be relative to --inputDir")
 
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
+    logging.getLogger().setLevel(logging.INFO)
+
+    keep_list = read_file_list(args.keepListFilePath)
+    discard_list = read_file_list(args.discardListFilePath)
+
+    lists_intersec = keep_list.intersection(discard_list)
+    if lists_intersec:
+        sys.exit(f"Keep list and discard list are not disjoint! Got {', '.join([str(p) for p in lists_intersec])}")
+
+    input_dir = Path(args.inputDir)
     output_file_name = args.outputFile
-    # Recurses through a directory and it's subdirectories and generates md5 hashes for each file
+
+    # Recurses through a directory and it's subdirectories and generates md5 hashes for each file in keeplist
     # All hashes are appended to an output file as specified with the -o flag.
     with open(output_file_name, 'w') as f_out:
-        for subdir, dirs, files in os.walk(args.inputDir):
+        for subdir, _, files in os.walk(input_dir):
+            subdir_path = Path(subdir).relative_to(input_dir)
+
             for file in files:
                 # Don't hash the output file
                 if file == output_file_name.split('/')[-1]:
                     continue
-                filename = os.path.join(subdir, file)
-                md5hash = hashlib.md5(open(filename, 'rb').read()).hexdigest()
-                f_out.write(file + ": " + md5hash + '\n')
+
+                filepath = subdir_path / file
+                if filepath not in keep_list:
+                    logging.info(f"Won't include file {filepath} in tarball")
+
+                    if filepath not in discard_list:
+                        # If a file is neither in the keep list nor the discard,list, fail, as it is an unexpected file.
+                        # This way we are making sure we don't forget to include a newly created file into the tarball
+                        sys.exit(f"Found found file {filepath} neither in keep list nor discard list. ")
+                else:
+                    md5hash = hashlib.md5(open(Path(subdir) / file, 'rb').read()).hexdigest()
+                    f_out.write(f"{md5hash}  {filepath}\n")  # 2 whitespaces in order to be compatible with GNU md5sum
+
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     main()
diff --git a/pipeline/workflow/CompileVCFFiles.py b/pipeline/workflow/CompileVCFFiles.py
index 39f01c102..6428de24b 100644
--- a/pipeline/workflow/CompileVCFFiles.py
+++ b/pipeline/workflow/CompileVCFFiles.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import subprocess
 import tarfile
 import tempfile
+from pathlib import Path
 from shutil import copy
 
 import luigi
@@ -845,17 +846,6 @@ def run(self):
 
 
 @requires(bayesdel_processing.AddBayesdelScores)
-class LinkBuiltFinal(DefaultPipelineTask):
-    def output(self):
-        return luigi.LocalTarget(os.path.join(self.release_dir, "built_final.tsv"))
-
-    def run(self):
-        # create relative symlink to have a permanent pointer to what currently the final output of the pipeline is
-        relativ_input = os.path.relpath(self.input().path, os.path.dirname(self.output().path))
-        os.symlink(relativ_input, self.output().path)
-
-
-@requires(LinkBuiltFinal)
 class FindMissingReports(DefaultPipelineTask):
     def output(self):
         return luigi.LocalTarget(os.path.join(self.artifacts_dir, "missing_reports.log"))
@@ -872,7 +862,7 @@ def run(self):
         pipeline_utils.check_file_for_contents(self.output().path)
 
 
-@requires(LinkBuiltFinal)
+@requires(bayesdel_processing.AddBayesdelScores)
 class RunDiffAndAppendChangeTypesToOutput(DefaultPipelineTask):
     def _extract_release_date(self, version_json):
         with open(version_json, 'r') as f:
@@ -981,6 +971,18 @@ def run(self):
             os.path.join(self.release_dir, "reports_with_change_types.tsv"))
 
 
+@requires(RunDiffAndAppendChangeTypesToOutput)
+class LinkBuiltFinal(DefaultPipelineTask):
+    def output(self):
+        return luigi.LocalTarget(os.path.join(self.release_dir, "built_final.tsv"))
+
+    def run(self):
+        input_path = self.input()['built_with_change_types'].path
+        # create relative symlink to have a permanent pointer to what currently the final output of the pipeline is
+        relative_input = os.path.relpath(input_path, os.path.dirname(self.output().path))
+        os.symlink(relative_input, self.output().path)
+
+
 @requires(LinkBuiltFinal)
 class GenerateVariantsOutputFile(DefaultPipelineTask):
     VAR_OUTPUT_FILE_KEY = 'var_output_file'
@@ -1064,8 +1066,15 @@ def output(self):
     def run(self):
         os.chdir(utilities_method_dir)
 
-        args = ["python", "generateMD5Sums.py", "-i", self.cfg.output_dir, "-o",
-                self.output().path]
+        workflow_dir = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(os.path.realpath(__file__), os.pardir))
+
+        keep_list_file_path = os.path.join(workflow_dir, "tarball_files_keep_list.txt")
+        discard_list_file_path = os.path.join(workflow_dir, "tarball_files_discard_list.txt")
+        args = ["python", "generateMD5Sums.py",
+                "-i", self.cfg.output_dir,
+                "-o", self.output().path,
+                "--keepListFilePath", keep_list_file_path,
+                "--discardListFilePath", discard_list_file_path]
 
         pipeline_utils.run_process(args)
         pipeline_utils.check_file_for_contents(self.output().path)
@@ -1073,22 +1082,22 @@ def run(self):
 
 @requires(GenerateMD5Sums)
 class GenerateReleaseArchive(DefaultPipelineTask):
-    def getArchiveName(self):
+    def output(self):
         # Format archive filename as release-mm-dd-yy.tar.gz
-        return "release-" + self.cfg.date.strftime("%x").replace('/',
-                                                                 '-') + ".tar.gz"
+        archive_name = f'release-{self.cfg.date.strftime("%x").replace("/", "-")}.tar.gz'
+        return luigi.LocalTarget(Path(self.cfg.output_dir).parent / archive_name)
 
-    def getArchiveParentDirectory(self):
-        return os.path.dirname(self.cfg.output_dir) + "/"
+    def run(self):
+        # parse md5sum list.
+        with open(self.input().path) as f:
+            file_list = [line.strip().split(' ')[-1] for line in f.readlines()]
 
-    def output(self):
-        return luigi.LocalTarget(
-            self.getArchiveParentDirectory() + self.getArchiveName())
+        # include md5sum in tar as well
+        file_list.append(Path(self.input().path).name)
+
+        output_dir = Path(self.cfg.output_dir)
+        with tarfile.open(self.output().path, "w:gz") as tar:
+            for file in file_list:
+                file_path = output_dir / file
+                tar.add(file_path, arcname=Path(output_dir.name) / file)
 
-    def run(self):
-        os.chdir(self.getArchiveParentDirectory())
-        with tarfile.open(
-                self.getArchiveParentDirectory() + self.getArchiveName(),
-                "w:gz") as tar:
-            tar.add(self.cfg.output_dir,
-                    arcname=os.path.basename(self.cfg.output_dir))
diff --git a/pipeline/workflow/tarball_files_discard_list.txt b/pipeline/workflow/tarball_files_discard_list.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c205915a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pipeline/workflow/tarball_files_discard_list.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+./1000G.sorted.hg38.vcffor_pipeline
+./release/artifacts/1000_Genomesready.vcf
+./release/artifacts/1000_Genomes.vcf
+./release/artifacts/aggregated.tsv
+./release/artifacts/bayesdel.vcf
+./release/artifacts/BICready.vcf
+./release/artifacts/BIC.vcf
+./release/artifacts/built.tsv
+./release/artifacts/built_with_bayesdel.tsv
+./release/artifacts/built_with_ca_ids.tsv
+./release/artifacts/built_with_mupit.tsv
+./release/artifacts/built_with_priors_clean.tsv
+./release/artifacts/built_with_priors.tsv
+./release/artifacts/built_with_vr_ids.tsv
+./release/artifacts/ClinVarready.vcf
+./release/artifacts/ClinVar.vcf
+./release/artifacts/enigma_from_clinvar.tsv
+./release/artifacts/ESPready.vcf
+./release/artifacts/ESP.vcf
+./release/artifacts/ExACready.vcf
+./release/artifacts/ExAC.vcf
+./release/artifacts/exLOVDready.vcf
+./release/artifacts/exLOVD.vcf
+./release/artifacts/Findlay_BRCA1_Ring_Function_Scoresready.vcf
+./release/artifacts/Findlay_BRCA1_Ring_Function_Scores.vcf
+./release/artifacts/GnomADready.vcf
+./release/artifacts/GnomAD.vcf
+./release/artifacts/LOVDready.vcf
+./release/artifacts/LOVD.vcf
+./release/artifacts/releaseDiff.log
+./release/artifacts/right1000_Genomes
+./release/artifacts/rightBIC
+./release/artifacts/rightClinVar
+./release/artifacts/rightESP
+./release/artifacts/rightExAC
+./release/artifacts/rightexLOVD
+./release/artifacts/rightFindlay_BRCA1_Ring_Function_Scores
+./release/artifacts/rightGnomAD
+./release/artifacts/rightLOVD
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/input.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/input.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.10.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.10.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.10.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.10.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.11.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.11.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.11.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.11.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.12.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.12.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.12.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.12.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.13.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.13.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.13.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.13.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.14.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.14.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.14.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.14.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.15.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.15.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.15.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.15.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.16.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.16.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.16.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.16.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.17.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.17.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.17.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.17.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.18.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.18.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.18.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.18.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.19.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.19.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.19.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.19.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.1.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.1.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.1.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.1.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.20.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.20.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.20.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.20.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.21.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.21.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.21.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.21.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.22.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.22.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.22.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.22.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.2.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.2.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.2.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.2.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.3.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.3.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.3.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.3.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.4.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.4.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.4.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.4.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.5.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.5.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.5.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.5.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.6.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.6.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.6.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.6.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.7.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.7.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.7.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.7.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.8.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.8.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.8.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.8.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.9.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.9.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.9.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.9.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.for_PROV
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.vqslod
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.X.qc.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.X.qc.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.X.vcf.gz
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/output.X.vcf.gz.tbi
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/slurm.annotate.run_1.start
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/slurm.annotate.run_1.stop
+./release/artifacts/victor_wdir/slurm.annotate.run_1.version
diff --git a/pipeline/workflow/tarball_files_keep_list.txt b/pipeline/workflow/tarball_files_keep_list.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..25f04e316
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pipeline/workflow/tarball_files_keep_list.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+./1000G.sorted.hg38.vcf
+./bic_brca12.sorted.hg38.vcf
+./ClinVar.vcf
+./enigma_from_clinvar.tsv
+./esp.sorted.hg38.vcf
+./exac.brca12.sorted.hg38.vcf
+./exLOVD_brca12.sorted.hg38.vcf
+./findlay_BRCA1_ring_function_scores.clean.sorted.hg38.vcf
+./gnomAD.sorted.hg38.vcf
+./md5sums.txt
+./README.txt
+./release/artifacts/brca-pseudonym-generator.log
+./release/artifacts/discarded_reports.tsv
+./release/artifacts/ENIGMA_wrong_genome.txt
+./release/artifacts/exLOVD_BRCA1_error_variants.txt
+./release/artifacts/exLOVD_BRCA2_error_variants.txt
+./release/artifacts/get_ca_id.log
+./release/artifacts/LOVD_error_variants.txt
+./release/artifacts/merged.tsv
+./release/artifacts/missing_reports.log
+./release/artifacts/reports.tsv
+./release/artifacts/variant_merging.log
+./release/artifacts/victor_annotation.log
+./release/artifacts/wrong_genome_coors/1000_Genomes_wrong_genome_coor.vcf
+./release/artifacts/wrong_genome_coors/BIC_wrong_genome_coor.vcf
+./release/artifacts/wrong_genome_coors/ClinVar_wrong_genome_coor.vcf
+./release/artifacts/wrong_genome_coors/ESP_wrong_genome_coor.vcf
+./release/artifacts/wrong_genome_coors/ExAC_wrong_genome_coor.vcf
+./release/artifacts/wrong_genome_coors/exLOVD_wrong_genome_coor.vcf
+./release/artifacts/wrong_genome_coors/Findlay_BRCA1_Ring_Function_Scores_wrong_genome_coor.vcf
+./release/artifacts/wrong_genome_coors/GnomAD_wrong_genome_coor.vcf
+./release/artifacts/wrong_genome_coors/LOVD_wrong_genome_coor.vcf
+./release/built_final.tsv
+./release/built_with_change_types.tsv
+./release/diff/added_data_reports.tsv
+./release/diff/added_data.tsv
+./release/diff/added_reports.tsv
+./release/diff/added.tsv
+./release/diff/diff.json
+./release/diff/diff_reports.json
+./release/diff/diff_reports.txt
+./release/diff/diff.txt
+./release/diff/README.txt
+./release/diff/removed_reports.tsv
+./release/diff/removed.tsv
+./release/field_metadata.tsv
+./release/metadata/version.json
+./release/reports_with_change_types.tsv
+./sharedLOVD.sorted.hg38.vcf
+./variants_output_field_metadata.tsv
+./variants_output.tsv