ci: simplify release workflow and flatten npm-publish approval chain

- Drop auto-generated RELEASES.md prepending (notes are written manually in PR)
- Flatten npm-publish job dependencies so all publish jobs wait for approval
  together instead of sequentially, reducing 3 approval clicks to 1
- Remove Release environment from publish-mcpb (only needs GH_TOKEN)
- Use --generate-notes for GitHub Release creation

Author: claude

.github/workflows/npm-publish.yml

@@ -42,6 +42,10 @@ jobs:
       - run: npm ci
       - run: npm test
 
+  # All publish jobs depend directly on [build, test] (not on each other) so
+  # they all enter "waiting for approval" together and can be approved in a
+  # single "Review deployments" click.
+
   publish:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     if: github.event_name == 'release'
@@ -88,7 +92,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     if: github.event_name == 'release'
     environment: Release
-    needs: [publish]
+    needs: [build, test]
 
     permissions:
       contents: read
@@ -142,8 +146,7 @@ jobs:
   publish-mcpb:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     if: github.event_name == 'release'
-    environment: Release
-    needs: [publish-examples]
+    needs: [build, test]
 
     permissions:
       contents: write

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ env:
   GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
 
 jobs:
+  # Opens a PR that bumps all package versions. Add release notes to
+  # RELEASES.md in the PR before merging.
   prepare:
     if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -39,28 +41,6 @@ jobs:
           VERSION=$(node scripts/bump-version.mjs "${{ inputs.bump }}" --preid="${{ inputs.preid }}")
           echo "version=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
-      - name: Generate release notes and prepend to RELEASES.md
-        run: |
-          VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version }}"
-          PREV_TAG=$(gh release list --repo ${{ github.repository }} --limit 1 --json tagName -q '.[0].tagName // ""')
-          gh api repos/${{ github.repository }}/releases/generate-notes \
-            -f tag_name="v$VERSION" \
-            -f target_commitish="${{ github.ref_name }}" \
-            ${PREV_TAG:+-f previous_tag_name="$PREV_TAG"} \
-            --jq .body > /tmp/notes.md
-          {
-            echo "# Release Notes"
-            echo ""
-            echo "## $VERSION"
-            echo ""
-            cat /tmp/notes.md
-            echo ""
-            echo "---"
-            echo ""
-            tail -n +2 RELEASES.md
-          } > RELEASES.md.new
-          mv RELEASES.md.new RELEASES.md
-
       - name: Create release PR
         run: |
           VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version }}"
@@ -73,10 +53,12 @@ jobs:
           git push -f -u origin "$BRANCH"
           gh pr create \
             --title "chore: release v$VERSION" \
-            --body "Bumps all packages to \`$VERSION\` and updates RELEASES.md. Merging this PR will automatically tag and publish the release." \
+            --body "Bumps all packages to \`$VERSION\`. Add release notes to \`RELEASES.md\` before merging. Merging this PR will automatically tag and create the GitHub Release, which triggers npm-publish." \
             --label release \
             --base main || gh pr edit "$BRANCH" --title "chore: release v$VERSION"
 
+  # When a release PR is merged, tag the commit and create the GitHub Release.
+  # This triggers the npm-publish workflow.
   tag:
     if: >
       github.event_name == 'pull_request' &&
@@ -96,9 +78,8 @@ jobs:
             echo "Release $TAG already exists, skipping"
             exit 0
           fi
-          awk '/^## /{if(seen++) exit} seen' RELEASES.md | tail -n +2 | sed '/^---$/,$d' > /tmp/notes.md
           git tag "$TAG"
           git push origin "$TAG"
           PRERELEASE=""
           [[ "$VERSION" == *-* ]] && PRERELEASE="--prerelease"
-          gh release create "$TAG" --title "$TAG" --notes-file /tmp/notes.md $PRERELEASE
+          gh release create "$TAG" --title "$TAG" --generate-notes $PRERELEASE

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -541,11 +541,11 @@ Releases are automated via the [Release workflow](https://github.com/modelcontex
    - Click "Run workflow"
 
 2. **Review the release PR**:
-   - The workflow bumps the version across all packages, generates release notes, and opens a PR labeled `release`
-   - Edit `RELEASES.md` in the PR if you want to adjust the generated notes
+   - The workflow bumps the version across all packages and opens a PR labeled `release`
+   - Add release notes to `RELEASES.md` in the PR
    - Approve and merge the PR
 
-3. **Done** — merging the PR automatically tags the commit, creates the GitHub Release, and triggers the [npm-publish workflow](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps/actions/workflows/npm-publish.yml) to publish to npm.
+3. **Done** — merging the PR automatically tags the commit and creates the GitHub Release (with auto-generated notes), which triggers the [npm-publish workflow](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps/actions/workflows/npm-publish.yml). Approve the deployment once when prompted.
 
 #### Manual alternative