Release checklist

Before publishing a release, review ROADMAP.md and the more detailed implementation plan in docs/improvement/RELEASE_PLAN_v1.md to ensure each pillar is on track. The checklist below keeps the release gate lightweight:

  1. Alignment check – confirm every planned change is captured either through the selected pillar in the roadmap or through supporting ADRs, and note the corresponding verification checklist from vx.y.z_plan.md (e.g. v0.10.1_plan.md).

  2. Gating commands – run or re-run the canonical suite using make ci-local to ensure CI compliance and capture the results. This includes documentation builds, link checks, tests, and coverage verification.

    Preserve the pytest --cov summary for the release notes and update the public coverage badge if the percentage changes.

  3. Ownership sign-off – collect approvals from the section owners listed in docs/foundations/governance/section_owners.md, including the runtime tech verification steps.

  4. Release notes – draft highlights, call out telemetry/plugin optionality, and link to the detailed implementation plan in vx.y.z_plan.md.

Document completion in the release issue template so future audits can trace any regressions back to this checklist.