Adding AGENTS.md file and introducing Release Management Agent to check health of a current Istio release

[fjglira]

Release managers working on Istio releases often need AI assistance for tracking pull requests, analyzing release health, and understanding the complex build/publish workflow. However, AI agents lack context about the project structure and release management processes.

This PR adds an AGENTS.md file that provides:

Project Context:

• Overview of Istio's two-phase release process (build/publish)
• Development environment setup and required credentials

Release Management Instructions:

• Step-by-step process for checking release status across 9 core repositories
• GitHub CLI commands for querying pending PRs
• Release health assessment criteria with timeline indicators
• Structured output format for release status reports

Safety Guidelines:

• Critical warnings preventing AI agents from executing dangerous branching commands
• Clear boundaries between AI assistance and human-only operations
• Security considerations for credential handling

Example Usage:
AI agents can now provide comprehensive release status reports by following the documented process, as demonstrated in the provided example gists.

Example using Claude here: https://gist.github.com/fjglira/fedb3ab28dc2d0d18b4592439c0f42e6
Example using Gemini here: https://gist.github.com/fjglira/4b6b58349dee58f7441b6af48ed69264

As you can see, using AI tools output similar reports.

[keithmattix]

Sorry for the delay here.

In general, I'm in favor of automating these sorts of tasks with AI. We might have to amend the policy to allow for these kinds of things though.

/cc @istio/technical-oversight-committee

[keithmattix]

Can this be a generic AGENTS.md or a skill so it's not specific to Claude?

[fjglira]

I'll change to AGENTS.md, at the end you can provide to whatever is the AI that you are using to execute the steps in the file

[fjglira]

I changed the title and description and updated the file to AGENTS.md with an AI agent for release. I also added some security rules and some AI rules to avoid people letting AI run steps for them

[ramaraochavali]

+1. This is really awesome

[fjglira]

Hi, we are close to start a new release process and I think can be really helpful for new RM running releases. Can I get an approval?

[kfaseela]

LGTM @dhawton @keithmattix wdyt? I remember the discussions on having written policy on AI usage.. not sure if we concluded on that.

[keithmattix]

This looks like a diagnostic tool and so would not violate our AI policy IMO. I'm in favor

[keithmattix]

Approving with a hold

[dhawton]

Release managers working on Istio releases often need AI assistance for tracking pull requests, analyzing release health, and understanding the complex build/publish workflow.

I personally really disagree with this statement. I've been a release manager numerous times, and never once needed nor wanted AI involved in the flows.

In my honest opinion I think AI is going a little overboard being injected everywhere. I just don't think it's accurate to say that release managers need AI. Can it help some? Sure. But is it mandatory to be a successful release manager? No.

[fjglira]

Release managers working on Istio releases often need AI assistance for tracking pull requests, analyzing release health, and understanding the complex build/publish workflow.

I personally really disagree with this statement. I've been a release manager numerous times, and never once needed nor wanted AI involved in the flows.

In my honest opinion I think AI is going a little overboard being injected everywhere. I just don't think it's accurate to say that release managers need AI. Can it help some? Sure. But is it mandatory to be a successful release manager? No.

Hey @dhawton, I agree that it’s definitely not mandatory for success as a release manager. However, from my perspective, if we can provide a tool that helps people onboard more easily into the Istio project, I’m in favor of it.

It can be challenging for new contributors to get started, and the release manager role is a great entry point for those contributions. If a tool can make that learning curve a bit smoother, it’s worth having. We can always evaluate its impact later; if we find it isn't being used or providing value, we can simply remove it