📋 August 2026 (v15.0-dev) release checklist

[flanakin]

Complete the following tasks to publish a monthly release.

🔄️ Monthly updates

• ❌ Update open data files (learn more).
  • ❌ Pricing units
    1. Run the extraction query.
    2. Replace the contents of the corresponding open data files.
    3. Compare changes and revert any invalid updates.
    4. Re-gen and test PowerShell function: <root>/src/scripts/Build-OpenData.ps1 -PowerShell -Test
    5. Review changes and revert unrelated files or unintended changes.
    6. Document the added/updated rows in the changelog.
    7. Publish a PR for updates
  • ❌ Regions
    1. Run the extraction query.
    2. Replace the contents of the corresponding open data files.
    3. Compare changes and revert any invalid updates.
    4. Re-gen and test PowerShell function: <root>/src/scripts/Build-OpenData.ps1 -PowerShell -Test
    5. Review changes and revert unrelated files or unintended changes.
    6. Document the added/updated rows in the changelog.
    7. Publish a PR for updates
  • ❌ Services
    1. Run the extraction query.
    2. Replace the contents of the corresponding open data files.
    3. Compare changes and revert any invalid updates.
    4. Re-gen and test PowerShell function: <root>/src/scripts/Build-OpenData.ps1 -PowerShell -Test
    5. Review changes and revert unrelated files or unintended changes.
    6. Document the added/updated rows in the changelog.
    7. Publish a PR for updates
  • ❌ Resource types
    1. Generate ResourceTypes.json: <root>/src/scripts/Build-OpenData.ps1 ResourceTypes -Json
    2. Review changes and revert unrelated files or unintended changes.
       • Consider automating any of the reverted checks to streamline the process next time.
    3. Generate ResourceTypes.csv: <root>/src/scripts/Build-OpenData.ps1 ResourceTypes -Csv
    4. Review changes and revert unrelated files or unintended changes.
    5. Document the added/updated rows in the changelog.
    6. Publish a PR for updates
  • ❌ Update FinOps hubs KQL functions: <root>/src/scripts/Build-OpenData.ps1 -Hubs
  • ❌ Re-gen internal PowerShell functions: <root>/src/scripts/Build-OpenData.ps1 -PowerShell -Test
  • ❌ Consider automating this process in Build-OpenData.
• Update Bicep CLI (docs): az bicep upgrade

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🔜 Core features

• Run the /release command in Claude Code (or run Start-Release.ps1 and complete the following manually).
  • Create or find the release tracking issue.
  • Bump the version number (strip prerelease label): Update-Version.ps1 -Version {x.y.z}
  • Update commitment discount eligibility data: Update-CommitmentDiscountEligibility.ps1
  • Update Bicep CLI: az bicep upgrade
  • Create milestones for next 2 releases if they don't exist.
  • Create a release prep branch from origin/dev.
  • Build templates: Build-Toolkit.ps1
  • Run tests: Test-PowerShell.ps1 -Unit -Lint -Integration
  • Triage milestone issues/PRs and PRs without a milestone (keep, push, or skip).
  • Triage untriaged issues (items with "Needs: Triage 🔍" label).
  • Review changelog against coding guidelines and fix issues.
  • If adding a new tool:
    • Update the marketing site landing page.
    • Add a new page the marketing site.
    • Add an overview page in MS Learn documentation.
    • Update the MS Learn menu to add new page(s).
    • Add the new tool's tech lead to the Advisor council doc.
  • Update what's new blurbs in /docs/ marketing pages.
  • Update FTK survey IDs: handled by Update-Version.ps1.
  • Review and update FinOps hubs documentation (upgrade guide, data model, data processing, compatibility).
  • Commit and push changes to the prep branch.
• Submit PRs for issues that can be resolved.
• Complete open PRs that are ready to be resolved.
• Review remaining milestone issues and PRs. Move any stragglers that won't make the release.
• Update feature branches and confirm if they're ready for release.
  • Confirm there are no pending changes in dev: cd "<root>" && git checkout dev && git status
  • Auto-merge feature branch with dev: <root>/src/scripts/Merge-DevBranch.ps1 *
  • ❌ Manually update remaining feature branches: <root>/src/scripts/Merge-DevBranch.ps1 features/<name>
• Build and deploy templates: <root>/src/scripts/Build-Toolkit.ps1.
• Confirm all tests pass: <root>/src/scripts/Test-PowerShell.ps1 -Unit -Integration.
• Confirm if all features are code complete and not missing any functionality required for release.

  Once in dev, the feature is considered part of the next release and can be pushed out at any time. Any broken features will be reverted.

• Confirm new or updated functionality is documented in the marketing site and MS Learn documentation.
• Merge any feature branches that are ready to dev.
  • Create a PR to merge the feature branch into dev.
  • Follow the normal PR process to merge the PR.

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🔜 Finalize release

• Run the /release command again in Claude Code (or complete the following manually).
  • Review the changelog to ensure it encapsulates all changes.
    • Move all released changes to an official numbered version section.
    • If there are committed changes in a feature branch that you want to mention, add them to an "Unreleased" section.
  • Update the version: <root>/src/scripts/Update-Version.ps1 [-Major|Minor|Patch]
  • Build all toolkit templates and resolve any issues: <root>/src/scripts/Build-Toolkit

    This step is optional, but can catch issues earlier. You can also add the -Build parameter to the publish command in the next step.

  • Ensure all tests pass: <root>/src/scripts/Test-PowerShell -Unit -Integration
• Package all release files (except Power BI): <root>/src/scripts/Package-Toolkit.ps1 -Build -CopyFiles script
• Package Power BI files
  • Run Package-Toolkit.ps1 -OpenPBI script.
  • Save and close each Power BI project:
    • Select the <root>/release/pbix folder.
    • Change the file extension to PBIX.
    • When prompted, set the sensitivity to "Public".
    • Manually remove unused queries based on what's documented in Build-PowerBI.ps1 ~line 120.
    • Verify all pages, switch to the Get started page, and save again.
  • Run Package-Toolkit -ZipPBI script.
• Check the docs for broken links:
  • Create a personal fork of the main repo.
  • If you already have one, update it to the latest.
  • Enable GitHub pages in your fork to use the dev branch docs folder.
  • Verify the pages build and deployment action completes successfully.
  • Open a dead link checker (e.g., deadlinkchecker.com) and check https://{your-username}.github.io/finops-toolkit.
    • Ignore link/href errors for new pages that have not been released in the official main branch.
    • Ignore any Download errors for the new release or any new files that haven't been released in the official main branch.
    • Ignore the Full changelog error for the new release, which hasn't been released in the official main branch.
    • Ignore the 403 error for learn.finops.org.
    • Ignore any 429 errors from GitHub. These are caused due to all the contributor links that are checked.
  • Fix any broken links, push changes, and rerun the tool.

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🔜 Publish release

• Publish the PowerShell module by running the Publish PowerShell action.
• Submit PR to publish docs to the Microsoft Docs repo.
  • Update your fork and local clone (main branch) of the Microsoft Docs repo.
  • Publish a PR:
    • Start PR: <root>/src/scripts/Publish-Toolkit.ps1 "docs" -Commit
    • Complete PR template requirements and set the name to FinOps toolkit v#.# doc updates.
    • Review the code that's changed in the PR, verify that the changelog covers everything, and update as needed.
    • If you make changes, re-publish without committing: <root>/src/scripts/Publish-Toolkit.ps1 "docs" -Build
    • Switch to the target repo folder and verify your changes were applied correctly.
    • Commit and push your changes.
    • Return to the PR URL and publish the PR.
• Submit PRs to publish bicep modules in the Bicep Registry.
  • Update your fork and local clone of the Bicep Registry.

    Make sure you're in the main branch of the target repo when publishing a new template. If in another folder, the script will assume you're updating that branch and not create a new one.

  • Publish the scheduled actions bicep modules:
    • Start PR: <root>/src/scripts/Publish-Toolkit.ps1 "scheduledactions" -Commit
    • Complete PR template requirements and set the name to FinOps toolkit v#.# – scheduledactions.
    • Review the code that's changed in the PR, verify that the changelog covers everything, and update as needed.
    • If you make changes, re-publish without committing: <root>/src/scripts/Publish-Toolkit.ps1 "scheduledactions" -Build
    • Switch to the target repo folder and verify your changes were applied correctly.
    • Commit and push your changes.
    • Return to the PR URL and publish the PR.
• Submit PRs to publish templates to the Azure Quickstart Templates repo.
  • Update your fork and local clone of the Azure Quickstart Templates.

    Make sure you're in the master branch of the target repo when publishing a new template. If in another folder, the script will assume you're updating that branch and not create a new one.

  • Publish a FinOps hub PR:
    • Start PR: <root>/src/scripts/Publish-Toolkit.ps1 "finops-hub" -Commit
    • Complete PR template requirements and set the name to FinOps toolkit v#.# – FinOps hub.
    • Review the code that's changed in the PR, verify that the changelog covers everything, and update as needed.
    • If you make changes, re-publish without committing: <root>/src/scripts/Publish-Toolkit.ps1 "finops-hub" -Build
    • Switch to the target repo folder and verify your changes were applied correctly.
    • Commit and push your changes.
    • Return to the PR URL and publish the PR.
  • Publish a governance workbook PR:
    • Start PR: <root>/src/scripts/Publish-Toolkit.ps1 "governance-workbook" -Commit
    • Complete PR template requirements and set the name to FinOps toolkit v#.# – Governance workbook.
    • Review the code that's changed in the PR, verify that the changelog covers everything, and update as needed.
    • If you make changes, re-publish without committing: <root>/src/scripts/Publish-Toolkit.ps1 "governance-workbook" -Build
    • Switch to the target repo folder and verify your changes were applied correctly.
    • Commit and push your changes.
    • Return to the PR URL and publish the PR.
  • Publish a optimization workbook PR:
    • Start PR: <root>/src/scripts/Publish-Toolkit.ps1 "optimization-workbook" -Commit
    • Complete PR template requirements and set the name to FinOps toolkit v#.# – Optimization workbook.
    • Review the code that's changed in the PR, verify that the changelog covers everything, and update as needed.
    • If you make changes, re-publish without committing: <root>/src/scripts/Publish-Toolkit.ps1 "optimization-workbook" -Build
    • Switch to the target repo folder and verify your changes were applied correctly.
    • Commit and push your changes.
    • Return to the PR URL and publish the PR.
• Check back after 1 hour to see if there any failed checks across all PRs (AQT).
  • If there are errors, click the Details link to understand what needs to be fixed.
  • Fix any issues in the FinOps toolkit codebase (not in the target repo).
  • Repeat publishing steps until all issues have been resolved.
• Check back after 2-3 days to see if all your PRs were merged (AQT).

  Bicep Registry and Azure Quickstart Template repos are manually reviewed and closed 2-3x per week. If you don't see an update, contact the ARM team. The Docs repo is partially typically reviewed within a few hours but they may request blocking changes.

• Merge to main: <root>/src/scripts/Merge-DevBranch.ps1 main
• Update the milestone.
  • Review all issues in the milestone, move anything that needs to be pushed, and close any completed items.
  • Close the milestone when all issues have been closed or moved.
• Verify documentation updated correctly.

  The documentation site may take 5 minutes to update after the merge is committed. If not updated, look at GitHub actions to see if there are any failures.

• Tag and publish a new release:
  • Create a tag on publish using the "vX.X" format.
  • Set the Target to main.
  • Set the Previous tag to the previous release tag.
  • Set the name to Mmm yyyy (v#.#).
  • Copy the body from the previous release to use as a template.
  • Change the "New in" header to use the new version number.
  • Summarize changes from the changelog in the New in and Updated sections.
    • Simplify to only include one line per tool.
    • Each tool should be linked to its doc page.
    • Don't link features to their respective pages (e.g., PowerShell commands).
    • Don't list every small change. Use "various bug fixes and improvements" to keep it simple.
  • Update the list of direct and indirect contributors.
    • Use the "Generate release notes" feature to get a list of all code contributors.
    • Carefully review the list to ensure everyone is covered since feature branch PRs get merged, which can hide contributors.
    • If they made a code change, add them to the contributor list.
    • If they filed an issue, reviewed a PR, or participated in on- or offline discussions, add them to the list of supporters.
  • Update the discussion and changelog links in the footer. Comment out the AQT link if not ready.
  • Upload all files from the release folder:
    • ZIP files for templates like hubs and workbooks.
    • Power BI PBIX and PBIT files.
    • Open data CSV and JSON files.
    • ZIP file for sample data files.
    • DO NOT copy Bicep, PowerShell, PBIP, or image files.
• Update the related discussion with the same text as the release.
• Update all issues to Status: Released.

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🔜 Announcements

• Publish release announcement on the FinOps blog
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Twitter/X
• Share on Azure Updates (TBD)
• Share on Engage (Azure Connection Program)
• Share on F2 Slack

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🔜 Post-release clean-up

• Run the /update-version command in Claude Code (or complete the following manually):
  • Bump version to next major with dev label: <root>/src/scripts/Update-Version.ps1 -Major -Label dev
  • Update integration test: add released version to $expected, bump $plannedRelease in src/powershell/Tests/Integration/Toolkit.Tests.ps1.
  • Add changelog placeholder for the next release in docs-mslearn/toolkit/changelog.md.
  • Merge dev into all feature branches: <root>/src/scripts/Merge-DevBranch.ps1 *
• Copy any additional code from the following branches and delete them:
  • features/hack24
  • features/hourly

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