Update release processes to support release servicing branches (#1620)

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

.github/workflows/release.md

@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-# Release Process
-
-The following process is used when publishing new releases to NuGet.org.
-
-## 1. Ensure the CI workflow is fully green
-
-- Some integration tests are flaky and may require re-running
-- Once the state of the branch is known to be good, a release can proceed
-- **The release workflow _does not_ run tests** — CI must be green before starting
-
-## 2. Prepare the release
-
-From a local clone of the repository, use Copilot CLI to invoke the `prepare-release` skill. The skill assesses the semantic version, bumps the version in [`src/Directory.Build.props`](../../src/Directory.Build.props), runs API compatibility checks, reviews documentation, drafts release notes, and creates a pull request with all release artifacts.
-
-Review the PR, request changes if needed, and merge when ready.
-
-## 3. Publish the release
-
-After the prepare-release PR is merged, invoke the `publish-release` skill. The skill checks for any late-arriving PRs that could affect the release, refreshes the release notes, and creates a **draft** GitHub release.
-
-Review the draft release on GitHub, check 'Set as a pre-release' if appropriate, and click 'Publish release'.
-
-## 4. Monitor the Release workflow
-
-- After publishing, a workflow will produce build artifacts and publish the NuGet packages to NuGet.org
-- If the job fails, troubleshoot and re-run the workflow as needed
-- Verify the package version becomes listed at [nuget.org/packages/ModelContextProtocol](https://www.nuget.org/packages/ModelContextProtocol)

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -1,19 +1,24 @@
 # Publish new package versions of ModelContextProtocol
 #
-# Daily and Manual Runs
-# - Triggered automatically at 07:00 UTC daily
-# - Triggered manually using GitHub Actions workflow_dispatch event
-# - Version prefix applied from /src/Directory.Build.props
-# - Version suffix set to `ci.{github.run_number}`
-# - Package published to GitHub package registry
+# Triggers
+# - Scheduled (07:00 UTC daily, main branch): produces a CI-suffixed package
+#   and publishes it to the GitHub package registry.
 #
-# Official Releases
-# - Triggered after a GitHub Release is created
-# - Version prefix applied from /src/Directory.Build.props
-# - Version suffix applied from /src/Directory.Build.props
-# - Package published to GitHub package registry
-# - Package published to NuGet.org
-# - Version prefix and/or suffix should be updated after each release
+# - Push to `release/**`: every commit to a release branch produces a CI-suffixed
+#   package and publishes it to the GitHub package registry.
+#
+# - Manual `workflow_dispatch` (any branch): same outputs as a scheduled/push build;
+#   accepts a `version_suffix_override` input.
+#
+# - GitHub Release published (any branch's tag): publishes the version from
+#   `src/Directory.Build.props` to the GitHub package registry AND NuGet.org.
+#
+# Version
+# - Version prefix and suffix come from `src/Directory.Build.props`.
+# - For non-release triggers, the suffix is replaced with `ci.{run_number}`
+#   (or `workflow_dispatch.inputs.version_suffix_override` when provided).
+# - The prefix and suffix in `Directory.Build.props` should be updated after each
+#   release using the `bump-version` or `prepare-release` skills.
 
 name: Release Publishing
 
@@ -21,6 +26,10 @@ on:
   schedule:
     - cron: '0 7 * * *'
 
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - 'release/**'
+
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
       version_suffix_override: