Publish Release Announcements

Required preflight

Before any create mutation, perform these checks in order.

1. Inspect the local release-note surface

Read the target release directory and README.md to confirm:

• the release name and preview number
• the component markdown files that actually exist
• the preferred section names and product naming for that release

Do not copy links from the previous discussion without checking that the new files exist.

2. Reuse the previous post as a template

Fetch:

• the previous dotnet/core discussion body
• the previous dotnet/announcements issue body

Preserve the established wording and structure unless the current release notes or publishing pattern changed.

3. Search for existing posts before creating anything

This step is mandatory.

Search dotnet/core for an existing discussion matching the target title or blog/release link. Search dotnet/announcements for an existing issue matching the same release title.

If a matching discussion or issue already exists:

• stop treating the task as a create
• verify and, if needed, update or report on the existing item
• do not create another item with the same title

4. Treat cancellations as ambiguous success

If a terminal run, tool call, or agent step was canceled after sending a create command, assume the create may already have succeeded.

The next action must be a search or direct fetch for the expected title, not a second create attempt.

Discussion workflow

1. Build the new discussion body from the prior template

Update only the release-specific fields:

• title, such as .NET 11 Preview 3
• blog announcement URL
• release-note links pointing at the new release directory
• component bullets that reflect the files present for the new release

2. Create only after preflight passes

Use gh api graphql or another non-interactive gh command to create the discussion.

Capture and report:

• discussion number
• discussion URL
• category name and ID

3. Verify immediately after create

Fetch the created discussion and confirm:

• title is correct
• category is correct
• body matches the intended markdown
• links point at the expected release directory

Example verification target:

• .NET 11 Preview 3 discussion: https://github.com/dotnet/core/discussions/10363

If verification succeeds, use that discussion URL as the source of truth for the announcement mirror.

Announcement issue workflow

1. Use the discussion URL in the mirror preamble

The mirror issue should start with the locked-mirror sentence that points to the new discussion URL.

2. Match the existing issue pattern

Reuse the previous release issue as the template for:

• title
• body structure
• labels
• lock behavior

For the current .NET 11 preview pattern, the mirror issue uses the Preview and .NET 11.0 labels and is locked with reason resolved.

3. Search again before creating the issue

Even if the discussion is new, the issue might already exist because of a prior attempt. Search dotnet/announcements by exact title before creating.

4. Verify and lock

After creation, verify:

• issue number and URL
• labels
• locked state
• active_lock_reason

Example verification target:

• .NET 11 Preview 3 announcement issue: https://github.com/dotnet/announcements/issues/393

Do not assume the lock succeeded just because the command returned. Query the issue API and verify locked: true and the expected reason.

Safe retry rules

Follow these rules on every rerun:

1. never retry createDiscussion or gh issue create until you have searched for an existing item with the target title
2. if a create step might have run already, switch to verification mode first
3. capture created URLs immediately and carry them into the next step
4. prefer updating or reporting on an existing post over creating a replacement

Default outcome

For a normal release publication run:

1. inspect the new release-note directory
2. fetch the previous discussion and issue as templates
3. search both repositories for an existing item with the new release title
4. create the discussion only if no matching discussion exists
5. verify the discussion and capture its URL
6. create the announcements issue only if no matching issue exists
7. lock and verify the issue

This keeps the publication workflow repeatable without producing duplicate discussions or mirror issues.