From 9aff1243353d474fd011586486dc01b0c540189a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Aslam Ansari <aslamansari@google.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2026 13:50:52 +0530
Subject: [PATCH 1/4] updated workflow

---
 .github/workflows/prepare_release.yml | 83 +++++++++++++++++++++------
 1 file changed, 64 insertions(+), 19 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/prepare_release.yml b/.github/workflows/prepare_release.yml
index b5754a7aa..aa79b7d3d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/prepare_release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/prepare_release.yml
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ on:
         type: string
 permissions:
   contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
 jobs:
   prepare-release:
     runs-on: macos-14
@@ -39,10 +40,11 @@ jobs:
       - name: Verify Previous Release is Merged (Major Only)
         if: ${{ github.event.inputs.release_type == 'major' }}
         run: |
+          VERSION="${{ github.event.inputs.version }}"
           echo "Finding the latest release branch on remote..."
           
-          # List all remote release branches, sort them by version, and grab the highest one
-          LATEST_BRANCH=$(git branch -r --list "origin/grpc_release_*.x" | sort -V | tail -n 1 | sed 's/origin\///' | tr -d '[:space:]')
+          # List all remote release branches, sort them by version, and grab the highest one (excluding current version if it already exists)
+          LATEST_BRANCH=$(git branch -r --list "origin/grpc_release_*.x" | sed 's/origin\///' | tr -d '[:space:]' | grep -v "^grpc_release_${VERSION}\.x$" | sort -V | tail -n 1)
           
           if [ -z "$LATEST_BRANCH" ]; then
             echo "⚠️ No previous release branches found on remote. Skipping merge check."
@@ -65,20 +67,42 @@ jobs:
         id: branch_prep
         run: |
           VERSION="${{ github.event.inputs.version }}"
-          BRANCH_NAME="grpc_release_${VERSION}.x"
+          SYNC_TAG="${{ github.event.inputs.sync_tag }}"
+          TARGET_BRANCH="grpc_release_${VERSION}.x"
+          SYNC_BRANCH="grpc_release_${SYNC_TAG}"
           
           if [ "${{ github.event.inputs.release_type }}" == "major" ]; then
-            echo "Preparing Major Release for $BRANCH_NAME..."
-            git checkout main
-            git checkout -b $BRANCH_NAME
+            echo "Preparing Major Release for $TARGET_BRANCH..."
+            git checkout -B main origin/main
+            git checkout -B "$TARGET_BRANCH" main
+            
+            # Push empty release branch if not already present on remote
+            if git show-ref --verify --quiet "refs/remotes/origin/$TARGET_BRANCH"; then
+              echo "⚠️ Target release branch $TARGET_BRANCH already exists on remote."
+            else
+              echo "Pushing empty branch $TARGET_BRANCH to origin..."
+              git push origin "$TARGET_BRANCH"
+            fi
+            
+            # Create sync branch from the empty branch
+            echo "Creating sync branch $SYNC_BRANCH from $TARGET_BRANCH..."
+            git checkout --no-track -B "$SYNC_BRANCH" "$TARGET_BRANCH"
           else
-            echo "Preparing Minor Release for $BRANCH_NAME..."
-            # For minor releases, checkout the existing branch from remote
-            git checkout -b $BRANCH_NAME origin/$BRANCH_NAME
+            echo "Preparing Minor Release for $TARGET_BRANCH..."
+            if ! git show-ref --verify --quiet "refs/remotes/origin/$TARGET_BRANCH"; then
+              echo "❌ ERROR: Target branch $TARGET_BRANCH does not exist on remote!"
+              echo "Please verify the base version or create the release branch first."
+              exit 1
+            fi
+            
+            # Create sync branch from the existing release branch
+            echo "Creating sync branch $SYNC_BRANCH from origin/$TARGET_BRANCH..."
+            git checkout --no-track -B "$SYNC_BRANCH" "origin/$TARGET_BRANCH"
           fi
           
-          # Save branch name to environment for later steps
-          echo "branch_name=$BRANCH_NAME" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          # Save branch names to environment for later steps
+          echo "target_branch=$TARGET_BRANCH" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "sync_branch=$SYNC_BRANCH" >> $GITHUB_ENV
 
       - name: Prepare Environment
         run: |
@@ -94,13 +118,34 @@ jobs:
       - name: Commit Changes
         run: |
           git add .
-          git commit -m "Sync c-core ${{ github.event.inputs.sync_tag }}"
+          if git diff --staged --quiet; then
+            echo "No changes to commit."
+          else
+            git commit -m "Sync c-core ${{ github.event.inputs.sync_tag }}"
+          fi
 
-      - name: Push Branch and Tag
+      - name: Push Branch
         run: |
-          # 1. Push ONLY the new branch (main remains untouched)
-          git push origin ${{ env.branch_name }}
-          
-          # 2. Add the tag and push it
-          git tag ${{ github.event.inputs.sync_tag }}
-          git push origin ${{ github.event.inputs.sync_tag }}
\ No newline at end of file
+          echo "Pushing branch ${{ env.sync_branch }} to origin..."
+          git push -u origin ${{ env.sync_branch }} --force
+
+      - name: Create Pull Request
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          EXISTING_PR=$(gh pr list --repo "${{ github.repository }}" --head "${{ env.sync_branch }}" --base "${{ env.target_branch }}" --state open --json url --jq '.[0].url // empty')
+          if [ -n "$EXISTING_PR" ]; then
+            echo "Pull request already exists: $EXISTING_PR"
+            echo "### Pull Request" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+            echo "A pull request already exists: $EXISTING_PR" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          else
+            PR_URL=$(gh pr create \
+              --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
+              --base "${{ env.target_branch }}" \
+              --head "${{ env.sync_branch }}" \
+              --title "Sync c-core ${{ github.event.inputs.sync_tag }}" \
+              --body "Automated PR to sync gRPC c-core sources for \`${{ github.event.inputs.sync_tag }}\` into \`${{ env.target_branch }}\`.")
+            echo "Created pull request: $PR_URL"
+            echo "### Pull Request Created" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+            echo "Successfully created pull request: $PR_URL" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          fi
\ No newline at end of file

From 610060cac32e083f4debfb232f93a561c18621cc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Aslam Ansari <aslamansari@google.com>
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2026 13:17:37 +0530
Subject: [PATCH 2/4] added workflow to release on PR Merged

---
 .github/workflows/draft_release.yml   | 91 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 .github/workflows/prepare_release.yml |  2 +-
 2 files changed, 92 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
 create mode 100644 .github/workflows/draft_release.yml

diff --git a/.github/workflows/draft_release.yml b/.github/workflows/draft_release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7e032d4fe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/draft_release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+name: Draft Release
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    types: [closed]
+    branches:
+      - "grpc_release_**"
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  pull-requests: read
+
+jobs:
+  draft-release:
+    if: github.event.pull_request.merged == true && github.event.pull_request.base.ref != 'main' && startsWith(github.event.pull_request.base.ref, 'grpc_release_')
+    runs-on: macos-14
+    
+    steps:
+      - name: Determine Tag and Target Branch
+        id: vars
+        run: |
+          TAG="${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }}"
+          TARGET_BRANCH="${{ github.event.pull_request.base.ref }}"
+          
+          if [ "$TARGET_BRANCH" = "main" ]; then
+            echo "❌ Error: Release workflow cannot run against 'main' branch."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          
+          echo "tag=$TAG" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "target_branch=$TARGET_BRANCH" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "Target Branch: $TARGET_BRANCH"
+          echo "Release Tag: $TAG"
+
+      - name: Checkout Code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ github.event.pull_request.merge_commit_sha || github.event.pull_request.base.ref }}
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Set up Git configuration
+        run: |
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+
+      - name: Create and Push Tag
+        run: |
+          TAG="${{ env.tag }}"
+          
+          # Check if tag already exists on remote
+          if git ls-remote --tags origin "refs/tags/$TAG" | grep -q "$TAG"; then
+            echo "⚠️ Tag '$TAG' already exists on remote."
+          else
+            echo "Creating tag '$TAG'..."
+            git tag "$TAG"
+            echo "Pushing tag '$TAG' to origin..."
+            git push origin "$TAG"
+            echo "✅ Tag '$TAG' created and pushed successfully."
+          fi
+
+      - name: Create Draft Release
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          TAG="${{ env.tag }}"
+          TARGET_BRANCH="${{ env.target_branch }}"
+          
+          EXTRA_FLAGS=""
+          if [[ "$TAG" =~ -(pre|alpha|beta|rc) ]]; then
+            echo "Tag '$TAG' detected as pre-release."
+            EXTRA_FLAGS="--prerelease"
+          fi
+          
+          # Check if release already exists
+          if gh release view "$TAG" --repo "${{ github.repository }}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "⚠️ Release for '$TAG' already exists."
+            echo "### Draft Release" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+            echo "Release for \`$TAG\` already exists." >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          else
+            echo "Creating draft release for '$TAG' targeting '$TARGET_BRANCH'..."
+            RELEASE_URL=$(gh release create "$TAG" \
+              --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
+              --target "$TARGET_BRANCH" \
+              --title "$TAG" \
+              --draft \
+              $EXTRA_FLAGS \
+              --generate-notes)
+            echo "✅ Created draft release: $RELEASE_URL"
+            echo "### Draft Release Created" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+            echo "Successfully created draft release for [\`$TAG\`]($RELEASE_URL) targeting \`$TARGET_BRANCH\`." >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          fi
diff --git a/.github/workflows/prepare_release.yml b/.github/workflows/prepare_release.yml
index aa79b7d3d..56bf4d5aa 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/prepare_release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/prepare_release.yml
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ jobs:
           VERSION="${{ github.event.inputs.version }}"
           SYNC_TAG="${{ github.event.inputs.sync_tag }}"
           TARGET_BRANCH="grpc_release_${VERSION}.x"
-          SYNC_BRANCH="grpc_release_${SYNC_TAG}"
+          SYNC_BRANCH="${SYNC_TAG}"
           
           if [ "${{ github.event.inputs.release_type }}" == "major" ]; then
             echo "Preparing Major Release for $TARGET_BRANCH..."

From a4b581cf97f28f801a1f98987e6690b641169d23 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Aslam Ansari <aslamansari@google.com>
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2026 13:57:57 +0530
Subject: [PATCH 3/4] Rename prepare_release to prepare_release_PR

---
 .../workflows/{prepare_release.yml => prepare_release_PR.yml}   | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
 rename .github/workflows/{prepare_release.yml => prepare_release_PR.yml} (99%)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/prepare_release.yml b/.github/workflows/prepare_release_PR.yml
similarity index 99%
rename from .github/workflows/prepare_release.yml
rename to .github/workflows/prepare_release_PR.yml
index 56bf4d5aa..fbe91b77c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/prepare_release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/prepare_release_PR.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-name: Prepare Release
+name: Prepare Release PR
 
 on:
   workflow_dispatch:

From 3389914c5d874cf1ecd03713398e6b2645b97fb5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Aslam Ansari <aslamansari@google.com>
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2026 13:14:29 +0530
Subject: [PATCH 4/4] Delete draft_release.yml

---
 .github/workflows/draft_release.yml | 91 -----------------------------
 1 file changed, 91 deletions(-)
 delete mode 100644 .github/workflows/draft_release.yml

diff --git a/.github/workflows/draft_release.yml b/.github/workflows/draft_release.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 7e032d4fe..000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/draft_release.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,91 +0,0 @@
-name: Draft Release
-
-on:
-  pull_request:
-    types: [closed]
-    branches:
-      - "grpc_release_**"
-
-permissions:
-  contents: write
-  pull-requests: read
-
-jobs:
-  draft-release:
-    if: github.event.pull_request.merged == true && github.event.pull_request.base.ref != 'main' && startsWith(github.event.pull_request.base.ref, 'grpc_release_')
-    runs-on: macos-14
-    
-    steps:
-      - name: Determine Tag and Target Branch
-        id: vars
-        run: |
-          TAG="${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }}"
-          TARGET_BRANCH="${{ github.event.pull_request.base.ref }}"
-          
-          if [ "$TARGET_BRANCH" = "main" ]; then
-            echo "❌ Error: Release workflow cannot run against 'main' branch."
-            exit 1
-          fi
-          
-          echo "tag=$TAG" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "target_branch=$TARGET_BRANCH" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "Target Branch: $TARGET_BRANCH"
-          echo "Release Tag: $TAG"
-
-      - name: Checkout Code
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          ref: ${{ github.event.pull_request.merge_commit_sha || github.event.pull_request.base.ref }}
-          fetch-depth: 0
-
-      - name: Set up Git configuration
-        run: |
-          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
-          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
-
-      - name: Create and Push Tag
-        run: |
-          TAG="${{ env.tag }}"
-          
-          # Check if tag already exists on remote
-          if git ls-remote --tags origin "refs/tags/$TAG" | grep -q "$TAG"; then
-            echo "⚠️ Tag '$TAG' already exists on remote."
-          else
-            echo "Creating tag '$TAG'..."
-            git tag "$TAG"
-            echo "Pushing tag '$TAG' to origin..."
-            git push origin "$TAG"
-            echo "✅ Tag '$TAG' created and pushed successfully."
-          fi
-
-      - name: Create Draft Release
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-        run: |
-          TAG="${{ env.tag }}"
-          TARGET_BRANCH="${{ env.target_branch }}"
-          
-          EXTRA_FLAGS=""
-          if [[ "$TAG" =~ -(pre|alpha|beta|rc) ]]; then
-            echo "Tag '$TAG' detected as pre-release."
-            EXTRA_FLAGS="--prerelease"
-          fi
-          
-          # Check if release already exists
-          if gh release view "$TAG" --repo "${{ github.repository }}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-            echo "⚠️ Release for '$TAG' already exists."
-            echo "### Draft Release" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-            echo "Release for \`$TAG\` already exists." >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          else
-            echo "Creating draft release for '$TAG' targeting '$TARGET_BRANCH'..."
-            RELEASE_URL=$(gh release create "$TAG" \
-              --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
-              --target "$TARGET_BRANCH" \
-              --title "$TAG" \
-              --draft \
-              $EXTRA_FLAGS \
-              --generate-notes)
-            echo "✅ Created draft release: $RELEASE_URL"
-            echo "### Draft Release Created" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-            echo "Successfully created draft release for [\`$TAG\`]($RELEASE_URL) targeting \`$TARGET_BRANCH\`." >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          fi