From efb8f8245f43bcd64d9eaa2d4b832aa11d2a3f37 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jack Chuma <jack.chuma@coinbase.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 2026 15:29:24 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] fix(release): generate release notes from the previous final
 tag

---
 .github/workflows/publish-release.yml |  8 +++++++-
 scripts/release/common.sh             | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
 scripts/release/test-release.sh       |  4 ++++
 3 files changed, 29 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish-release.yml b/.github/workflows/publish-release.yml
index d23fbfa26..2ae06f8b9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish-release.yml
@@ -64,7 +64,13 @@ jobs:
           if gh release view "$TAG" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
             echo "Release $TAG already exists; reusing it."
           else
-            gh release create "$TAG" --draft --generate-notes --title "$TAG" --verify-tag
+            source "$RUNNER_TEMP/release-scripts/common.sh"
+            NOTES_ARGS=()
+            PREVIOUS_TAG=$(get_previous_final_tag "${TAG#v}")
+            if [[ -n "$PREVIOUS_TAG" ]]; then
+              NOTES_ARGS=(--notes-start-tag "$PREVIOUS_TAG")
+            fi
+            gh release create "$TAG" --draft --generate-notes "${NOTES_ARGS[@]}" --title "$TAG" --verify-tag
           fi
 
       - name: Summary
diff --git a/scripts/release/common.sh b/scripts/release/common.sh
index 7275c7470..b7ff7ef8a 100755
--- a/scripts/release/common.sh
+++ b/scripts/release/common.sh
@@ -25,6 +25,24 @@ get_latest_final_version() {
     return 1
 }
 
+# Release notes need this explicitly: final tags live on release branches, so the
+# previous one is often missing from the new tag's history and GitHub falls back further.
+get_previous_final_tag() {
+    local version="$1" tag major minor patch t_major t_minor t_patch
+    IFS='.' read -r major minor patch <<< "$version"
+    while IFS= read -r tag; do
+        if [[ "$tag" =~ ^v([0-9]+)\.([0-9]+)\.([0-9]+)$ ]]; then
+            t_major=$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[1]})); t_minor=$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[2]})); t_patch=$((10#${BASH_REMATCH[3]}))
+            if (( t_major < 10#$major
+                || (t_major == 10#$major && t_minor < 10#$minor)
+                || (t_major == 10#$major && t_minor == 10#$minor && t_patch < 10#$patch) )); then
+                echo "$tag"
+                return 0
+            fi
+        fi
+    done < <(git tag -l 'v[0-9]*.[0-9]*.[0-9]*' --sort=-version:refname)
+}
+
 get_next_version() {
     local bump_type="$1" current_version major minor patch
     if [[ "$bump_type" != major && "$bump_type" != minor && "$bump_type" != patch ]]; then
diff --git a/scripts/release/test-release.sh b/scripts/release/test-release.sh
index 471f47cd9..96cad9788 100755
--- a/scripts/release/test-release.sh
+++ b/scripts/release/test-release.sh
@@ -87,6 +87,10 @@ test_version_bumps() {
     assert_equal 8.11.0 "$(get_next_version minor)" 'minor bumps reset a nonzero patch'
     assert_equal 8.10.5 "$(get_next_version patch)" 'patch bumps retain major and minor'
     assert_rejected 'bump_type must be' get_next_version invalid
+    assert_equal v8.10.4 "$(get_previous_final_tag 8.11.0)" 'previous final tag skips RCs and uses version order'
+    assert_equal v8.10.0 "$(get_previous_final_tag 8.10.4)" 'previous final tag excludes the version being released'
+    assert_equal v8.9.0 "$(get_previous_final_tag 8.9.1)" 'a patch on an older line ignores newer releases'
+    assert_equal '' "$(get_previous_final_tag 8.9.0)" 'the first release has no previous final tag'
 
     git tag -d v8.9.0 v8.10.0 v8.10.4 >/dev/null
     assert_rejected 'No final release tags found' get_latest_final_version