feat: Automate release‑candidate version bump & release‑note guard

[Amnah199]

Background Updating the VERSION.txt file from one release‑candidate tag (e.g. 2.3.0‑rc0) to the next (2.3.0‑rc1) is still a manual step. Likewise, the check of at least one new release note between the two tags is needs to be performed manually. if it’s forgotten, the github_release workflow fails later with a Reno KeyError.

Proposal Create a GitHub Actions workflow that:

• Reads the current version in VERSION.txt on the release branch (e.g. v2.3.x).
• Computes the next ‑rc version (increment the trailing rc integer).
• (If possible )Verifies that there is a release note between two rc tags.
• Updates VERSION.txt, commits the change on the same branch, and pushes it back to GitHub (see below). git add . && git commit -m "bump version to 2.3.0-rc1" && git push origin v2.3.x

Criteria

• [x] A new workflow file at .github/workflows/bump-rc-version.yml.
• [ ] Triggered manually via workflow_dispatch, with an optional input to override the computed next‑rc value.
• [ ] Uses the GitHub token to open a commit on the current release branch (vX.Y.x).
• [ ] If Reno finds no release notes between tags, the job fails with a clear error message.
• [ ] On success, the workflow commits bump version to <next‑rc> and pushes it.
• [ ] Documentation (Notion) is updated to describe the automated bump & note‑check.

[YassinNouh21]

@Amnah199 I just want to make sure that my impl is correct

I've implemented a GitHub Actions workflow (.github/workflows/bump-rc-version.yml) that fully addresses the proposal and criteria described in this issue:

What the workflow does:

• Reads VERSION.txt to extract the current RC version and parse base_version / rc_number.
• Computes the next RC version, e.g. 2.3.0-rc0 → 2.3.0-rc1, unless an override_version is provided via workflow_dispatch.
• Uses reno to validate the existence of at least one release note between the latest RC tag and HEAD. If none found, it exits early with a clear error (prevents downstream Reno KeyError).
• Updates VERSION.txt, commits the change, and pushes directly to the same branch.
• Checks for release branch naming (vX.Y.x), issuing a warning if the branch does not conform.

[Amnah199]

@YassinNouh21 You seem to be on the right track. Feel free to open a PR, and we’ll review it.

[Amnah199]

@YassinNouh21 There's an active Haystack Discord channel where you can post any questions. Our team will respond to you there.

[YassinNouh21]

@YassinNouh21 There's an active Haystack Discord channel where you can post any questions. Our team will respond to you there.

thanks for sharing