[JeffreyCA]

This PR restores the changelog-generation guidance removed from #10166 and keeps generated core release changelogs compatible with release-readiness validation.

Issue

The skill currently tells agents to add a new unreleased placeholder above the dated core release entry. The release-readiness check reads the first changelog entry and requires its version to match cli/version.txt, so that ordering blocks release publication.

The existing preview version can also differ from the intended release version, particularly for patch releases. Dependency update entries can include vulnerability identifiers and advisory details that add noise without helping users understand which package version changed.

Changes

• Discover commits and classify PRs before selecting and updating the release version.
• Use an explicitly requested release version, or assess the included changes to select an appropriate patch or minor version.
• Treat the existing preview version as context rather than the source of truth.
• Let the agent select the version without a separate confirmation prompt, and reassess it if review edits change the included entries.
• For extensions, select the version from the extension's own versioning convention instead of asking the user, unless a version is explicitly requested.
• Replace the top unreleased core changelog header with the selected release version, without adding another unreleased placeholder above it.
• Require included dependency updates to name only the dependency and target version, without vulnerability identifiers, advisory descriptions, or other update rationale.

Testing

Checked the skill diff for whitespace errors and spell-checked the new dependency guidance.

[azure-pipelines]

Azure Pipelines:
25 pipeline(s) were filtered out due to trigger conditions.
There may be pipelines that require an authorized user to comment /azp run to run.

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🟡 Changes recommended

The scope rule ambiguously conflates explicit release versions with existing prerelease versions.

Get a fresh assessment by requesting another Copilot review.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: 1

Open (1)

• Use separate source and target version placeholders · New

What changed in this PR

Updates changelog-generation guidance to produce release-ready core changelogs and concise dependency entries.

Changes:

• Keeps dated releases as the first changelog entry.
• Omits vulnerability and advisory rationale from dependency entries.

File	Description
SKILL.md	Updates core release workflow guidance.
scope-rules.md	Defines release-entry ordering.
pr-processing.md	Restricts dependency-entry content.

---

💡 Add a code-review agent skill or configure MCP servers for context-aware, tailored reviews. Learn more in the docs.

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🟡 Changes recommended

Version inference currently occurs before the workflow discovers and classifies the changes needed to choose patch versus minor.

Get a fresh assessment by requesting another Copilot review.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: 1

Open (1)

• Defer inferred version selection until after PR processing · New

Resolved since last review (1)

• Use separate source and target version placeholders

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🟡 Changes recommended

The workflow writes entries before confirmation and can leave version selection stale after final review edits.

Get a fresh assessment by requesting another Copilot review.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: 1

Open (1)

• Defer changelog writes until confirmation and refresh version selection · New

Resolved since last review (1)

• Defer inferred version selection until after PR processing

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🟡 Changes recommended

The reordered workflow can write extension entries into the wrong release and cannot safely repeat version processing after edits.

Get a fresh assessment by requesting another Copilot review.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: 1

Open (1)

• Defer changelog entries until the release header is created · New

Resolved since last review (1)

• Defer changelog writes until confirmation and refresh version selection

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🟡 Changes recommended

The review-edit loop reruns a conversion that requires an unreleased header already removed by its first pass.

Get a fresh assessment by requesting another Copilot review.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: 1

Open (1)

• Repeating Step 4 leaves release header and version files stale · New

Resolved since last review (1)

• Defer changelog entries until the release header is created

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🔵 Needs a closer look

The edit loop and existing extension unreleased sections can still produce stale or incorrect release metadata.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: None

Resolved since last review (1)

• Repeating Step 4 leaves release header and version files stale

Previously missed (2)

In code that hasn't changed since last review

Update release entries in place after Unreleased conversion

.github/​skills/​changelog-generation/​SKILL.md:94

The edit loop still reruns the initial conversion after the only (Unreleased) header has already been replaced. On a second pass, the core rule in scope-rules.md cannot find that header, so a changed version can leave the release heading and version files stale. Reassess and update the existing release entry in place instead.

Reuse existing Unreleased entries instead of adding duplicates

.github/​skills/​changelog-generation/​references/​scope-rules.md:32

Some extensions already have a populated top (Unreleased) section: for example, azure.ai.finetune/CHANGELOG.md:4 contains 0.0.18-preview while its version.txt is still 0.0.17-preview, and models/RLE follow the same placeholder pattern. Selecting the “next” version and always adding a new entry can advance past or strand those prepared notes. Reuse the top unreleased entry when present, preserving its content; only add a new entry when none exists.

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🟢 Approval recommended

The revised guidance resolves the prior workflow issues and aligns core changelogs with release-readiness validation.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: None

[JeffreyCA]

/check-enforcer override