Release & Tag Checklist

When Boss asks to tag a release:

1. Update version: run make bump V=x.y.z (updates all manifests, CHANGELOG, SPEC.md, and generates AI release notes with contributor extraction via scripts/generate-release-notes.sh)
2. Review release notes — the script shows AI-generated notes for approval (Y/edit/regenerate/quit). Ensure ### Community section in CHANGELOG lists all external contributors with PR links
3. Commit with message chore: bump version to vX.Y.Z
4. Tag with git tag vX.Y.Z
5. GitHub release — create via gh release create vX.Y.Z --generate-notes
6. Milestone — close the matching milestone if one exists, create the next one

GitHub Issue Management

• Labels: Use type:, P0-P3:, area:, effort: prefixes. Apply needs triage to new issues.
• Milestones: Assign issues to version milestones (v0.4.0, v1.0.0, etc.)
• Issue templates: Bug reports and feature requests use .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/*.yml forms
• Token for project ops: Use GH_TOKEN=$GH_STRAUS gh ... when commands need the project scope (the default gh auth token only has repo + workflow)