New: 98,000+ skills indexed from GitHub repos with 100+ stars · every skill safety-checkedBrowse top skillsTop skills
Esc to closeBrowse all skills
Submit a skillBrowse skills
Submit a skillBrowse skills

Official agent skill

.NET Release Verification

by dotnet in dotnet/core

Validates .NET release data with the release-notes CLI: download URL liveness, SHA512 hashes, CDN latest.version files and aka.ms redirects.

OfficialMITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install .NET Release Verification

skills CLI
$ npx skills add dotnet/core --skill verify-releases -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install dotnet/core verify-releases --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/dotnet/core.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.github/skills/verify-releases .claude/skills/verify-releases && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
verify-releases
GitHub stars
22k
Token cost
~1.8k tokens
SKILL.md length
591 words
Files
2 (incl. references)
Skills in repo
15
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Validates .NET release data with the release-notes CLI: download URL liveness, SHA512 hashes, CDN latest.version files and aka.ms redirects.

  • Works in 4 steps: Check tool version → Run verification → Interpret results → …
  • Validating that all download links for the latest .NET release return HTTP 200
  • SKILL.md covers Prerequisites, Commands, What gets verified and Exit codes, plus 4 more sections
  • Calls dotnet and npx; reaches nuget.pkg.github.com; needs GITHUB_TOKEN

What it does

The skill runs the release-notes tool against the local release-notes directory to check that every download URL in the latest patch of each supported version is live, that downloaded binaries match the SHA512 hashes recorded in releases.json, that CDN latest.version files agree with releases.json, and that aka.ms redirects point to the right download URLs. The tool is installed from a GitHub Packages feed, which needs authentication even for this public package, and the skill notes how to add credentials and how to tell if the installed version is too old.

Commands cover a full run with hash verification, a quick run that skips hashes and finishes in under thirty seconds, and verifying a single major or patch version. It explicitly does not cover editing releases.json or release.json by hand, regenerating the release graph, or changing supported-OS data, each of which belongs to a different skill.

When your agent uses it

  • Validating that all download links for the latest .NET release return HTTP 200
  • Verifying that SHA512 hashes of downloaded binaries match releases.json
  • Checking that aka.ms redirects point to the correct .NET download URLs
  • Regenerating releases-index.json and releases.md after release data changes

Example prompts

  • “Verify all supported .NET 10 releases, skipping the hash check.”
  • “Check that the aka.ms redirects for .NET 10.0.5 point to the right files.”
  • “Run a full verification with hashes on the latest release and report any broken links.”

Requirements

  • The release-notes CLI installed from the GitHub Packages feed
  • A checkout of dotnet/core's release-notes directory

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Check tool version
  2. Run verification
  3. Interpret results
  4. Report results

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 44927bc. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • dotnet
    • npx

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:

    • nuget.pkg.github.com

    Also links to:

    • github.com

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:

    • GITHUB_TOKEN

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

.NET Release Verification loads about 1.8k tokens when it runs, and up to ~3k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 193 tokens; SKILL.md has 591 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~193
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.8k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from dotnet/core at commit 44927bc, republished under its MIT licence (© dotnet). 591 words, ~1,831 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/verify-releases/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
verify-releases
description
Validate releases and release links: URL liveness, file hashes, CDN latest.version files, and aka.ms redirect targets. Uses release-notes verify and generate commands against the local release-notes directory. USE FOR: validate the latest release, validate release links, validating that all download links return HTTP 200, verifying SHA512 hashes match downloaded content, checking CDN latest.version files match releases.json, checking aka.ms redirects point to the correct download URLs, regenerating releases-index.json and releases.md after source data changes. DO NOT USE FOR: editing releases.json or release.json (edit source data directly), graph regeneration (use update-release-graph skill), supported-os changes (use update-supported-os skill).

Verify Releases

Validate .NET release data in release-notes/ using the release-notes CLI tool. This skill checks that download URLs are live, file hashes match, CDN latest.version files are current, and aka.ms redirects resolve correctly.

Prerequisites

release-notes

The release-notes tool is published to GitHub Packages. The public dotnet-release tool is now for browsing release data and CVEs.

bash
# Install
dotnet tool install -g release-notes \
  --add-source https://nuget.pkg.github.com/richlander/index.json

# Verify — must show "verify releases" in usage output
release-notes

Note: GitHub Packages requires authentication even for public repositories. If you get a 401 error, configure credentials:

bash
dotnet nuget add source https://nuget.pkg.github.com/richlander/index.json \
  --name github-richlander \
  --username USERNAME \
  --password "$GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  --store-password-in-clear-text

Version check: If the tool usage output does not include verify releases in its command list, the installed version is too old. Update with:

bash
dotnet tool update -g release-notes \
  --add-source https://nuget.pkg.github.com/richlander/index.json

Commands

Verify all supported versions (full — with hash verification)

Downloads every binary and verifies SHA512 hashes against releases.json. This is the most thorough check and takes several minutes.

bash
release-notes verify releases release-notes
Verify all supported versions (quick — skip hashes)

Checks URL liveness, CDN latest.version, and aka.ms redirects only. Much faster — typically under 30 seconds.

bash
release-notes verify releases release-notes --skip-hash
Verify a specific major version
bash
release-notes verify releases 10.0 release-notes
release-notes verify releases 10.0 release-notes --skip-hash
Verify a specific patch release
bash
release-notes verify releases 10.0.5 release-notes

What gets verified

CheckDescriptionSkippable?
URL livenessHTTP HEAD on every download URL in the latest patch of each supported version's releases.jsonNo
SHA512 hashesDownloads each binary and computes SHA512, compares against releases.json hashYes (--skip-hash)
CDN latest.versionFetches CDN latest.version files for SDK, Runtime, and ASP.NET Core Runtime; compares against releases.jsonNo
aka.ms redirectsFollows aka.ms short URLs and verifies they redirect to the correct download URLNo

Exit codes

CodeMeaning
0No issues found — all checks passed
2Issues found — markdown report written to stdout

Timing expectations

ScenarioExpected duration
All versions, --skip-hash10–30 seconds
Single version, --skip-hash5–15 seconds
All versions, with hashes3–10 minutes (downloads all binaries)
Single version, with hashes1–3 minutes

CRITICAL: Never cancel the verification command early. Hash verification downloads large binaries and needs time to complete. Set your timeout to at least 10 minutes for full hash verification.

Process

1. Check tool version

Confirm release-notes is installed and has the verify releases command:

bash
release-notes

The usage output must include release-notes verify releases [version] [path] [--skip-hash]. If it does not, update the tool (see Prerequisites).

Show full SKILL.md (237 more words)Show less
2. Run verification

For a standard validation (recommended for release sign-off):

bash
cd ~/git/core
release-notes verify releases release-notes

For a quick check during development:

bash
release-notes verify releases release-notes --skip-hash
3. Interpret results

If exit code is 0: All checks passed. Report the results as a summary table.

If exit code is 2: The tool prints a markdown report to stdout listing all failures. Common issues:

IssueLikely causeFix
URL returns non-200Binary not yet published to CDNWait for CDN propagation, or fix URL in releases.json
Hash mismatchWrong hash in releases.json, or file was republishedRe-download and recompute hash, update releases.json
CDN latest.version mismatchCDN hasn't been updated for the new releaseWait for CDN update, or escalate
aka.ms redirect wrongShort URL not yet updatedUpdate aka.ms redirect configuration
4. Report results

Present a summary table with per-version results:

markdown
## .NET Release Link Verification Report

**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Tool:** `release-notes` vX.Y.Z
**Command:** `release-notes verify releases release-notes`

| Version | Latest Release | Download URLs | SHA512 Hashes | CDN latest.version | aka.ms | Status |
|---------|---------------|---------------|---------------|-------------------|--------|--------|
| .NET 11.0 | `11.0.0-preview.2` | 82/82 ✅ | 81/81 ✅ | ✅ | 1/1 ✅ | **Pass** |
| .NET 10.0 | `10.0.5` | 85/85 ✅ | 84/84 ✅ | ✅ | 1/1 ✅ | **Pass** |
| .NET 9.0 | `9.0.14` | 56/56 ✅ | 53/53 ✅ | ✅ | 1/1 ✅ | **Pass** |
| .NET 8.0 | `8.0.25` | 55/55 ✅ | 53/53 ✅ | ✅ | 1/1 ✅ | **Pass** |

**Total:** 278 URLs verified, 271 hashes verified, all CDN and aka.ms checks passed.

When --skip-hash is used, omit the SHA512 Hashes column and note it in the report.

Regenerating legacy files

After verifying releases, you may also want to regenerate the legacy index and markdown:

bash
# Regenerate releases-index.json
release-notes generate releases-index release-notes

# Regenerate releases.md
release-notes generate releases release-notes

# Lint the generated markdown
npx markdownlint --config .github/linters/.markdown-lint.yml release-notes/releases.md

Common mistakes

MistakeCorrection
Cancelling verification earlyNever cancel — hash downloads need time. Wait for completion.
Running with outdated tool versionCheck that usage shows verify releases. Update if needed.
Ignoring exit code 2Exit code 2 means issues were found. Read the stdout report.
Only running --skip-hash for release sign-offFull hash verification should be run before signing off a release.
Running from wrong directoryRun from the repo root so release-notes resolves correctly.

© dotnet, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file (references) in .github/skills/verify-releases of dotnet/core.

  • SKILL.md
  • references/verify-output-example.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 44927bc

Compare with similar skills

.NET Release Verification next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

.NET Release Verification compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
.NET Release Verification this skilldotnet/core22k—~1.8kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Release Roslynatordotnet/roslynator3.5k—~1kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence
Cutting A ReleaseTriliumNext/Trilium38k—~3.2kAutomated safety check: PassAGPL-3.0
Mole CLI Release Flowtw93/Mole70k—~2.5kAutomated safety check: PassGPL-3.0
Draft Release Notesjamiepine/voicebox57k—~941Automated safety check: PassMIT
Mole Release Notes Publishertw93/Mole70k—~1.9kAutomated safety check: PassGPL-3.0

Similar skills

  • Release Roslynator

    dotnet/roslynator

    Official

    A skill your agent uses when shipping a roslynator release, rolling CHANGELOG.md [Unreleased], updating the VS Code extension changelog, creating a GitHub v release, or optionally tagging cli-v.

    3.5k GitHub stars~1k tokensUpdated 4 days ago
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Cutting A Release

    TriliumNext/Trilium

    A skill your agent uses when cutting, preparing, or debugging a Trilium release — bumping the monorepo version, tagging, or diagnosing a failed "Release" workflow run.

    38k GitHub stars~3.2k tokensUpdated today
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Mole CLI Release Flow

    tw93/Mole

    Runbook for assessing and executing a Mole CLI release: distribution channels, pre-flight checks, capital-V tags, build artifacts and the handoff to curated release notes.

    70k GitHub stars~2.5k tokensUpdated today
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Draft Release Notes

    jamiepine/voicebox

    Writes or refreshes the Unreleased section of CHANGELOG.md as a themed narrative built from the commits, PRs and diff since the last version tag.

    57k GitHub stars~941 tokensUpdated yesterday
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Mole Release Notes Publisher

    tw93/Mole

    Publishes curated, bilingual release notes for an existing Mole version tag with gh release edit, including contributor thanks and reactions, after the release workflow finishes.

    70k GitHub stars~1.9k tokensUpdated today
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Release Bump

    jamiepine/voicebox

    Ends a release cycle by moving the Unreleased changelog notes under a dated version heading, bumping version files with bumpversion and tagging the commit.

    57k GitHub stars~1.1k tokensUpdated yesterday
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

More from dotnet/core

All 15 skills in this repo

  • Update .NET OS Packages

    dotnet/core

    Official

    Audits and updates os-packages.json files listing the Linux packages each .NET release needs per distro, then regenerates the Markdown from the JSON.

    22k GitHub stars~2.3k tokensUpdated today
    Auto-check passed

  • Update .NET Supported OS Matrix

    dotnet/core

    Official

    Audits and updates the supported-os.json files for .NET releases, checking them against upstream lifecycle data and regenerating the markdown with the release-notes tool.

    22k GitHub stars~4.1k tokensUpdated today
    Auto-check passed

  • Generate .NET Release changes.json

    dotnet/core

    Official

    Produces the changes.json manifest for a .NET preview, RC or GA milestone by choosing the right VMR base and head refs and running release-notes generate changes.

    22k GitHub stars~1.7k tokensUpdated today
    Auto-check passed

  • Release Feature Scoring

    dotnet/core

    Official

    Ranks the changes in a release manifest and writes a scored features file that release notes, docs and blog posts can each cut at their own threshold.

    22k GitHub stars~2.2k tokensUpdated today
    Auto-check passed

  • Release Notes Editorial Review

    dotnet/core

    Official

    Audits a scored features.json file and its draft release notes against editorial examples to catch over-scored, under-scored, or missing entries.

    22k GitHub stars~1.6k tokensUpdated today
    Auto-check passed

  • Update .NET Distro Packages

    dotnet/core

    Official

    Creates and maintains the per-distro JSON files that list the native packages .NET needs on each Linux distribution, scoped to one .NET version.

    22k GitHub stars~4.3k tokensUpdated today
    Auto-check: notes

Works with

Categories

Questions about .NET Release Verification

What does .NET Release Verification do?

Validates .NET release data with the release-notes CLI: download URL liveness, SHA512 hashes, CDN latest.version files and aka.ms redirects. ms redirects point to the right download URLs. The tool is installed from a GitHub Packages feed, which needs authentication even for this public package, and the skill notes how to add credentials and how to tell if the installed version is too old.

When should I use .NET Release Verification?

.NET Release Verification fits situations like: validating that all download links for the latest .NET release return HTTP 200; verifying that SHA512 hashes of downloaded binaries match releases.json; checking that aka.ms redirects point to the correct .NET download URLs; regenerating releases-index.json and releases.md after release data changes.

How do I install .NET Release Verification in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add dotnet/core --skill verify-releases -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.github/skills/verify-releases in dotnet/core) into .claude/skills/verify-releases in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install .NET Release Verification in Codex?

Run `npx skills add dotnet/core --skill verify-releases -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.github/skills/verify-releases in dotnet/core) into .agents/skills/verify-releases in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use .NET Release Verification in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add dotnet/core --skill verify-releases -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/verify-releases, .gemini/skills/verify-releases, .github/skills/verify-releases and .opencode/skills/verify-releases in your project.

What does .NET Release Verification need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, .NET Release Verification needs the command-line tools its instructions call (dotnet and npx) and credentials named GITHUB_TOKEN. Our summary lists: The release-notes CLI installed from the GitHub Packages feed; A checkout of dotnet/core's release-notes directory.

Does .NET Release Verification access the network?

SKILL.md names 2 domains. In commands or code: nuget.pkg.github.com; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. As links in the text: github.com. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is .NET Release Verification safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does .NET Release Verification use?

.NET Release Verification is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does .NET Release Verification use?

About 1.8k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 7.3k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 1.2k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to .NET Release Verification?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with .NET Release Verification: Release Roslynator (dotnet/roslynator, 3.5k stars), Cutting A Release (TriliumNext/Trilium, 38k stars), Mole CLI Release Flow (tw93/Mole, 70k stars) and Draft Release Notes (jamiepine/voicebox, 57k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains .NET Release Verification?

dotnet (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in dotnet/core, which has 22,038 GitHub stars. The repository holds 15 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.

Source: dotnet/core on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.