Add bundle release date command options

config/changelog.example.yml

@@ -218,6 +218,9 @@ bundle:
   #   This release includes new features and bug fixes.
   #   
   #   For more information, see the [release notes](https://www.elastic.co/docs/release-notes/product#product-{version}).
+  # Whether to show release dates in rendered changelog output (default: false)
+  # When true, release-date fields are displayed as "Released: date" text
+  # show_release_dates: false
   # changelog-init-bundle-seed
   # PR/issue link allowlist: when set (including []), only links to these owner/repo pairs are kept
   # in bundle output; others are rewritten to '# PRIVATE:' sentinels (requires resolve: true).
@@ -255,6 +258,8 @@ bundle:
     #   # description: |
     #   #   Elasticsearch {version} includes:
     #   #   - Performance improvements
+    #   # Optional: profile-specific release date display setting (overrides bundle.show_release_dates)  
+    #   # show_release_dates: false
     #   #   - Bug fixes and stability enhancements
     #   #   
     #   #   Download the release binaries: https://github.com/{owner}/{repo}/releases/tag/v{version}

docs/cli/changelog/bundle.md

@@ -124,6 +124,18 @@ The `--input-products` option determines which changelog files are gathered for
 :   This value replaces information that would otherwise be derived from changelogs.
 :   When `rules.bundle.products` per-product overrides are configured, `--output-products` also supplies the product IDs used to choose the **rule context product** (first alphabetically) for Mode 3. To use a different product's rules, run a separate bundle with only that product in `--output-products`. For details, refer to [Single-product rule resolution algorithm](/contribute/changelog.md#changelog-bundle-rule-resolution).
 
+`--no-release-date`
+:   Optional: Skip auto-population of release date in the bundle.
+:   By default, bundles are created with a `release-date` field set to today's date (UTC) or the GitHub release published date when using `--release-version`.
+:   Mutually exclusive with `--release-date`.
+:   **Not available in profile mode** — use bundle configuration instead.
+
+`--release-date <string?>`
+:   Optional: Explicit release date for the bundle in YYYY-MM-DD format.
+:   Overrides the default auto-population behavior (today's date or GitHub release published date).
+:   Mutually exclusive with `--no-release-date`.
+:   **Not available in profile mode** — use bundle configuration instead.
+
 `--owner <string?>`
 :   Optional: The GitHub repository owner, required when pull requests or issues are specified as numbers.
 :   Precedence: `--owner` flag > `bundle.owner` in `changelog.yml` > `elastic`.

docs/cli/changelog/gh-release.md

@@ -38,6 +38,11 @@ docs-builder changelog gh-release <repo> [version] [options...] [-h|--help]
 `--output <string?>`
 :   Optional: Output directory for the generated changelog files. Falls back to `bundle.directory` in `changelog.yml` when not specified. Defaults to `./changelogs`.
 
+`--release-date <string?>`
+:   Optional: Explicit release date for the bundle in YYYY-MM-DD format.
+:   By default, the bundle uses the GitHub release's published date. This option overrides that behavior.
+:   If the GitHub release has no published date, falls back to today's date (UTC).
+
 `--strip-title-prefix`
 :   Optional: Remove square brackets and the text within them from the beginning of pull request titles, and also remove a colon if it follows the closing bracket.
 :   For example, `"[Inference API] New embedding model support"` becomes `"New embedding model support"`.

docs/contribute/changelog.md

@@ -821,6 +821,28 @@ You can add introductory text to bundles using the `description` field. This tex
 - `bundle.description`: Default description for all profiles
 - `bundle.profiles.<name>.description`: Profile-specific description (overrides the default)
 
+#### Release date control
+
+You can control whether release dates appear in rendered changelog output using the `show_release_dates` field.
+
+**Configuration locations:**
+
+- `bundle.show_release_dates`: Default setting for all profiles (defaults to `false`)  
+- `bundle.profiles.<name>.show_release_dates`: Profile-specific setting (overrides the default)
+
+**Behavior:**
+
+- `false` (default): Release date fields are ignored during rendering, even if present in bundles
+- `true`: Release dates are displayed when present (e.g., `_Released: April 9, 2026_`)
+
+**Auto-population:**
+
+Release dates are automatically added to bundles when using `changelog bundle` or `changelog gh-release`:
+
+- **Default**: Uses today's date (UTC) when bundling  
+- **GitHub releases**: Uses the GitHub release's published date when available
+- **Override**: Use `--release-date YYYY-MM-DD` or `--no-release-date` in option mode
+
 **Placeholder support:**
 
 Bundle descriptions support these placeholders:

docs/syntax/changelog.md

@@ -251,6 +251,8 @@ Download the release binaries: https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/releases
 
 When present, the `release-date` field is rendered immediately after the version heading as italicized text (e.g., `_Released: 2026-04-09_`). This is purely informative for end-users and is especially useful for components released outside the usual stack lifecycle, such as APM agents and EDOT agents.
 
+The `show_release_dates` setting in `changelog.yml` (boolean, defaults to `false`) controls whether release dates appear in the rendered output. When set to `false`, the `release-date` field is ignored during rendering.
+
 Bundle descriptions are rendered when present in the bundle YAML file. The description appears after the release date (if any) but before any entry sections. Descriptions support Markdown formatting including links, lists, and multiple paragraphs.
 
 ### Section types

src/Elastic.Documentation.Configuration/Changelog/BundleConfiguration.cs

@@ -51,6 +51,13 @@ public record BundleConfiguration
 	/// </summary>
 	public IReadOnlyList<string>? LinkAllowRepos { get; init; }
 
+	/// <summary>
+	/// Whether to show release dates in rendered changelog output.
+	/// When true, bundles with release-date fields will display "Released: date" text.
+	/// Defaults to false.
+	/// </summary>
+	public bool ShowReleaseDates { get; init; }
+
 	/// <summary>
 	/// Named bundle profiles for different release scenarios.
 	/// </summary>
@@ -111,6 +118,13 @@ public record BundleProfile
 	/// </summary>
 	public IReadOnlyList<string>? HideFeatures { get; init; }
 
+	/// <summary>
+	/// Whether to show release dates in rendered changelog output for this profile.
+	/// When provided, overrides the bundle.show_release_dates default.
+	/// When true, bundles with release-date fields will display "Released: date" text.
+	/// </summary>
+	public bool? ShowReleaseDates { get; init; }
+
 	/// <summary>
 	/// Profile source type. When set to <c>"github_release"</c>, the profile fetches
 	/// PR references directly from a GitHub release and uses them as the bundle filter.

src/Elastic.Documentation.Configuration/ReleaseNotes/Bundle.cs

@@ -24,6 +24,12 @@ public sealed record BundleDto
 	[YamlMember(Alias = "release-date", ApplyNamingConventions = false)]
 	public string? ReleaseDate { get; set; }
 	/// <summary>
+	/// Whether to show release dates in rendered changelog output for this bundle.
+	/// When true, the ReleaseDate field (if present) will be displayed as "Released: date" text.
+	/// </summary>
+	[YamlMember(Alias = "show-release-dates", ApplyNamingConventions = false)]
+	public bool? ShowReleaseDates { get; set; }
+	/// <summary>
 	/// Feature IDs that should be hidden when rendering this bundle.
 	/// Entries with matching feature-id values will be commented out in the output.
 	/// </summary>

src/Elastic.Documentation.Configuration/ReleaseNotes/BundleLoader.cs

@@ -242,7 +242,17 @@ private static LoadedBundle MergeBundleGroup(IGrouping<string, LoadedBundle> gro
 			_ => releaseDates[0]
 		};
 
-		var mergedData = first.Data with { Description = mergedDescription, ReleaseDate = mergedReleaseDate };
+		var showReleaseDatesValues = bundlesList
+			.Select(b => b.Data?.ShowReleaseDates ?? false)
+			.Distinct()
+			.ToList();
+
+		// If all bundles agree on ShowReleaseDates, use that value; otherwise default to first bundle's value
+		var mergedShowReleaseDates = showReleaseDatesValues.Count == 1 ? showReleaseDatesValues[0] : first.Data?.ShowReleaseDates ?? false;
+
+		var mergedData = first.Data != null
+			? first.Data with { Description = mergedDescription, ReleaseDate = mergedReleaseDate, ShowReleaseDates = mergedShowReleaseDates }
+			: new Bundle { Description = mergedDescription, ReleaseDate = mergedReleaseDate, ShowReleaseDates = mergedShowReleaseDates };
 
 		return new LoadedBundle(
 			first.Version,

src/Elastic.Documentation.Configuration/ReleaseNotes/ReleaseNotesSerialization.cs

@@ -138,6 +138,7 @@ public static string SerializeBundle(Bundle bundle)
 		Products = dto.Products?.Select(ToBundledProduct).ToList() ?? [],
 		Description = dto.Description,
 		ReleaseDate = ParseReleaseDate(dto.ReleaseDate),
+		ShowReleaseDates = dto.ShowReleaseDates ?? false,
 		HideFeatures = dto.HideFeatures ?? [],
 		Entries = dto.Entries?.Select(ToBundledEntry).ToList() ?? []
 	};
@@ -249,6 +250,7 @@ private static ChangelogEntryType ParseEntryType(string? value)
 		Products = bundle.Products.Select(ToDto).ToList(),
 		Description = bundle.Description,
 		ReleaseDate = bundle.ReleaseDate?.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture),
+		ShowReleaseDates = bundle.ShowReleaseDates ? bundle.ShowReleaseDates : null,
 		HideFeatures = bundle.HideFeatures.Count > 0 ? bundle.HideFeatures.ToList() : null,
 		Entries = bundle.Entries.Select(ToDto).ToList()
 	};

src/Elastic.Documentation/ReleaseNotes/Bundle.cs

@@ -27,6 +27,12 @@ public record Bundle
 	/// </summary>
 	public DateOnly? ReleaseDate { get; init; }
 
+	/// <summary>
+	/// Whether to show release dates in rendered changelog output for this bundle.
+	/// When true, the ReleaseDate field (if present) will be displayed as "Released: date" text.
+	/// </summary>
+	public bool ShowReleaseDates { get; init; }
+
 	/// <summary>
 	/// Feature IDs that should be hidden when rendering this bundle.
 	/// Entries with matching feature-id values will be commented out in the output.

src/Elastic.Markdown/Myst/Directives/Changelog/ChangelogInlineRenderer.cs

@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ private static string RenderSingleBundle(
 		};
 
 		var displayVersion = VersionOrDate.FormatDisplayVersion(bundle.Version);
-		return GenerateMarkdown(displayVersion, titleSlug, bundle.Repo, bundle.Owner, entriesByType, subsections, hideLinks, typeFilter, publishBlocker, bundle.Data?.Description, bundle.Data?.ReleaseDate);
+		return GenerateMarkdown(displayVersion, titleSlug, bundle.Repo, bundle.Owner, entriesByType, subsections, hideLinks, typeFilter, publishBlocker, bundle.Data?.Description, bundle.Data?.ReleaseDate, bundle.Data?.ShowReleaseDates ?? false);
 	}
 
 	/// <summary>
@@ -154,7 +154,8 @@ private static string GenerateMarkdown(
 		ChangelogTypeFilter typeFilter,
 		PublishBlocker? publishBlocker,
 		string? description = null,
-		DateOnly? releaseDate = null)
+		DateOnly? releaseDate = null,
+		bool showReleaseDates = false)
 	{
 		var sb = new StringBuilder();
 
@@ -178,8 +179,8 @@ private static string GenerateMarkdown(
 
 		_ = sb.AppendLine(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, $"## {title}");
 
-		// Add release date if present
-		if (releaseDate is { } date)
+		// Add release date if present and ShowReleaseDates is enabled
+		if (showReleaseDates && releaseDate is { } date)
 		{
 			_ = sb.AppendLine();
 			_ = sb.AppendLine(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, $"_Released: {date.ToString("MMMM d, yyyy", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)}_");

src/services/Elastic.Changelog/Bundling/ChangelogBundlingService.cs

@@ -91,6 +91,17 @@ public record BundleChangelogsArguments
 	/// </summary>
 	public string? Description { get; init; }
 
+	/// <summary>
+	/// Optional explicit release date for the bundle in YYYY-MM-DD format.
+	/// When provided, overrides auto-population behavior.
+	/// </summary>
+	public string? ReleaseDate { get; init; }
+
+	/// <summary>
+	/// Whether to show release dates in rendered output. When null, inherits from config/profile.
+	/// </summary>
+	public bool? ShowReleaseDates { get; init; }
+
 	/// <summary>
 	/// When non-null (including empty), PR/issue links are filtered to this <c>owner/repo</c> allowlist (from changelog.yml <c>bundle.link_allow_repos</c>).
 	/// </summary>
@@ -354,6 +365,36 @@ public async Task<bool> BundleChangelogs(IDiagnosticsCollector collector, Bundle
 				}
 			}
 
+			// Apply release date auto-population and ShowReleaseDates setting
+			var finalReleaseDate = bundleData.ReleaseDate; // Preserve existing date if present
+			if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(input.ReleaseDate))
+			{
+				// Explicit CLI override
+				if (DateOnly.TryParseExact(input.ReleaseDate, "yyyy-MM-dd", out var parsedDate))
+				{
+					finalReleaseDate = parsedDate;
+				}
+				else
+				{
+					collector.EmitError(string.Empty, $"Invalid release date format '{input.ReleaseDate}'. Expected YYYY-MM-DD format.");
+					return false;
+				}
+			}
+			else if (finalReleaseDate == null)
+			{
+				// Auto-populate with today's date (UTC) if no existing date
+				finalReleaseDate = DateOnly.FromDateTime(DateTime.UtcNow);
+			}
+
+			// Apply ShowReleaseDates setting (input takes precedence over config)
+			var showReleaseDates = input.ShowReleaseDates ?? config?.Bundle?.ShowReleaseDates ?? false;
+
+			bundleData = bundleData with
+			{
+				ReleaseDate = finalReleaseDate,
+				ShowReleaseDates = showReleaseDates
+			};
+
 			// Write bundle file
 			await WriteBundleFileAsync(bundleData, outputPath, ctx);
 
@@ -395,6 +436,7 @@ public async Task<bool> BundleChangelogs(IDiagnosticsCollector collector, Bundle
 		string? owner = null;
 		string[]? mergedHideFeatures = null;
 		string? profileDescription = null;
+		bool? profileShowReleaseDates = null;
 
 		if (config?.Bundle?.Profiles != null && config.Bundle.Profiles.TryGetValue(input.Profile!, out var profile))
 		{
@@ -437,6 +479,9 @@ public async Task<bool> BundleChangelogs(IDiagnosticsCollector collector, Bundle
 			owner = profile.Owner ?? config.Bundle.Owner;
 			mergedHideFeatures = profile.HideFeatures?.Count > 0 ? [.. profile.HideFeatures] : null;
 
+			// Profile-level ShowReleaseDates takes precedence; fall back to bundle-level default
+			profileShowReleaseDates = profile.ShowReleaseDates ?? config.Bundle.ShowReleaseDates;
+
 			// Handle profile-specific description with placeholder substitution
 			var descriptionTemplate = profile.Description ?? config.Bundle.Description;
 			if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(descriptionTemplate))
@@ -480,7 +525,8 @@ public async Task<bool> BundleChangelogs(IDiagnosticsCollector collector, Bundle
 			Repo = repo,
 			Owner = owner,
 			HideFeatures = mergedHideFeatures,
-			Description = profileDescription
+			Description = profileDescription,
+			ShowReleaseDates = profileShowReleaseDates ?? config?.Bundle?.ShowReleaseDates
 		};
 	}
 
@@ -507,6 +553,9 @@ private BundleChangelogsArguments ApplyConfigDefaults(BundleChangelogsArguments
 		// Apply description: CLI takes precedence; fall back to bundle-level config default
 		var description = input.Description ?? config.Bundle.Description;
 
+		// Apply ShowReleaseDates: CLI takes precedence; fall back to bundle-level config default
+		var showReleaseDates = input.ShowReleaseDates ?? config.Bundle.ShowReleaseDates;
+
 		return input with
 		{
 			Directory = directory,
@@ -515,6 +564,7 @@ private BundleChangelogsArguments ApplyConfigDefaults(BundleChangelogsArguments
 			Repo = repo,
 			Owner = owner,
 			Description = description,
+			ShowReleaseDates = showReleaseDates,
 			LinkAllowRepos = config.Bundle.LinkAllowRepos
 		};
 	}

src/services/Elastic.Changelog/Configuration/ChangelogConfigurationLoader.cs

@@ -521,6 +521,7 @@ private static PivotConfiguration ConvertPivot(PivotConfigurationYaml yamlPivot)
 						Repo = kvp.Value.Repo,
 						Owner = kvp.Value.Owner,
 						HideFeatures = kvp.Value.HideFeatures?.Values,
+						ShowReleaseDates = kvp.Value.ShowReleaseDates,
 						Source = kvp.Value.Source
 					});
 		}
@@ -534,6 +535,7 @@ private static PivotConfiguration ConvertPivot(PivotConfigurationYaml yamlPivot)
 			Repo = yaml.Repo,
 			Owner = yaml.Owner,
 			LinkAllowRepos = linkAllowRepos,
+			ShowReleaseDates = yaml.ShowReleaseDates ?? false,
 			Profiles = profiles
 		};
 	}

src/services/Elastic.Changelog/GitHub/GitHubReleaseService.cs

@@ -103,7 +103,8 @@ static GitHubReleaseService()
 			Body = releaseData.Body ?? string.Empty,
 			Prerelease = releaseData.Prerelease,
 			Draft = releaseData.Draft,
-			HtmlUrl = releaseData.HtmlUrl ?? string.Empty
+			HtmlUrl = releaseData.HtmlUrl ?? string.Empty,
+			PublishedAt = releaseData.PublishedAt
 		};
 	}
 
@@ -126,6 +127,9 @@ private sealed class GitHubReleaseResponse
 
 		[JsonPropertyName("html_url")]
 		public string? HtmlUrl { get; set; }
+
+		[JsonPropertyName("published_at")]
+		public DateTimeOffset? PublishedAt { get; set; }
 	}
 
 	[JsonSerializable(typeof(GitHubReleaseResponse))]

src/services/Elastic.Changelog/GitHub/IGitHubReleaseService.cs

@@ -38,6 +38,11 @@ public record GitHubReleaseInfo
 	/// The URL to the release page on GitHub
 	/// </summary>
 	public string HtmlUrl { get; init; } = "";
+
+	/// <summary>
+	/// The date and time when this release was published on GitHub
+	/// </summary>
+	public DateTimeOffset? PublishedAt { get; init; }
 }
 
 /// <summary>