Refresh Arm SDK Release Agent Skill

Refresh ARM SDK Release Skill

When to Use This Skill

Activate only when the user wants an Azure.ResourceManager package refresh PR driven by API-version/tag resolution and dependency/changelog refresh updates.

Scope Boundaries

• Use this skill only for refresh-style updates (for example regenerated surface alignment, changelog maintenance, dependency version refresh, and refresh PR creation).
• Do not use this skill for broad or feature-driven package releases, release planning across multiple packages, or non-refresh release orchestration.

Prerequisites

• Repository: azure-sdk-for-net
• Target package path is known, for example sdk/dns/Azure.ResourceManager.Dns
• Access to remote origin and GitHub PR creation
• Current date available in yyyy-mm-dd format

Workflow

Step 1: Create Branch

• Fetch latest origin/main.
• Create a new branch from origin/main.
• Use a branch name that identifies package and date.

Step 2: Eligibility Check — Skip Conditions

Before doing any further work on a package, check the CHANGELOG.md and skip the package (do not refresh it) if either of the following is true:

• Already released: The latest changelog entry does NOT contain (Unreleased) — it already has a release date (e.g., ## 1.2.0 (2026-04-17)). This means a release was already prepared and no new (Unreleased) entry exists to stamp.
• Dependencies already up to date: Any changelog entry (across all released versions, not just the latest) already contains upgrade lines for both the current Azure.Core and Azure.ResourceManager versions (resolved from eng/centralpackagemanagement/Directory.Packages.props). If these exact versions were already shipped in any prior release, adding them again provides no value, so skip.

When skipping a package, log it clearly as SKIPPED with the reason, and move on to the next package in the batch.

Step 3: Determine API Version Source in Order

• Check metadata.json in the package root.
• If present, use apiVersions value.
• If metadata.json is missing, check src/autorest.md for an uncommented tag.
• If tag is missing there, use the require value in src/autorest.md to open the referenced readme.md and read tag under Basic Information.

Step 4: Decide SDK Versioning Mode

• If API version source indicates preview, use beta flow.
• Otherwise use stable flow.

Step 5: Update CHANGELOG.md

• Confirm the newest heading exists and has the latest package version.
• During release finalization, replace Unreleased with current date using yyyy-mm-dd.
• For stable flow only, determine the new stable version using this logic:
• Find the latest released version in the CHANGELOG — the first entry that does NOT have (Unreleased).
• If the latest released version is stable (e.g., 1.1.1): increment its patch to get the new version (e.g., 1.1.2).
• If the latest released version is beta (e.g., 1.1.0-beta.7): strip the pre-release suffix to get the new version (e.g., 1.1.0). This handles promotion when the most recent work was done as beta.
• If no released version exists at all (every entry is Unreleased or the changelog is empty): use 1.0.0.
• Update the unreleased entry's heading to reflect the new stable version.
• Remove empty sections under the latest entry when present:
• Features Added
• Breaking Changes
• Bugs Fixed
• Under Other Changes, add:
• Upgraded dependent Azure.Core to 1.X.X.
• Upgraded dependent Azure.ResourceManager to 1.X.X.
• Always resolve these exact versions from eng/centralpackagemanagement/Directory.Packages.props at the time of refresh — do not hardcode or cache version numbers, as they may change between batches.

Step 6: Update Project Version for Stable Flow Only

• If stable flow, set Version in src/Azure.ResourceManager.XXX.csproj to the new stable version matching the changelog entry.
• If beta flow, keep beta versioning and do not apply a version bump.

Step 6b: Update README for First Stable Release

• This applies only when there is no prior stable release in the CHANGELOG (only beta entries exist).
• Add the line This is the first stable release of this library. immediately after the version heading (before any sections).
• Open README.md in the package root and find the dotnet add package installation command.
• If it contains --prerelease, remove that flag so the command installs the stable package.
• Example: dotnet add package Azure.ResourceManager.XXX --prerelease → dotnet add package Azure.ResourceManager.XXX

Step 7: Commit, Push, and Create PR

• Commit with a refresh-focused message.
• Push branch to origin.
• Create PR with title format:
• Prepare release for Azure.ResourceManager.XXX Version 1.x.x
• Include summary of API source decision, refresh changes, and versioning mode.

Copyable Checklist

Refresh PR progress:

• [ ] Branch created from origin/main
• [ ] Eligibility checked — packages with no Unreleased entry or already-current deps skipped
• [ ] API version source resolved using required precedence
• [ ] Beta or stable mode decided
• [ ] Changelog latest entry updated
• [ ] Unreleased replaced with current date yyyy-mm-dd
• [ ] Dependency upgrade lines added using central package versions
• [ ] Csproj version updated if stable flow
• [ ] README --prerelease flag removed if first stable release (version 1.0.0)
• [ ] Commit and push completed
• [ ] PR created with required title format