diff --git a/.bumpversion.cfg b/.bumpversion.cfg
index 4f0dcc9..68536e2 100644
--- a/.bumpversion.cfg
+++ b/.bumpversion.cfg
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [bumpversion]
-current_version = 1.1.17
+current_version = 1.1.19
 commit = True
 tag = False
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/version-controller.yml b/.github/workflows/version-controller.yml
index 80f3a0d..816b1d6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/version-controller.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/version-controller.yml
@@ -11,9 +11,16 @@ on:
       - prod
       - main
 
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
+
 jobs:
   version-controller:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    env:
+      REPO_NAME: ${{ github.event.repository.name }}
+      REPO_FULL: ${{ github.repository }}
     steps:
       - name: Checkout Repository
         id: checkout_repository
@@ -98,8 +105,6 @@ jobs:
         if: steps.check_arrow.outputs.contains_arrow == 'true'
         run: |
           git push origin "${{ steps.create_tag.outputs.tag_name }}"
-        env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.ACCESS_TOKEN }}
       - name: Ensure on Current Branch
         id: ensure_branch
         if: steps.check_arrow.outputs.contains_arrow == 'true'
@@ -147,5 +152,98 @@ jobs:
           TAG_NAME="v${VERSION}"
           git tag "$TAG_NAME"
           git push origin "$TAG_NAME"
+          echo "tag_name=$TAG_NAME" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+      - name: Generate Release Notes
+        id: release_notes
+        if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && steps.check_arrow.outputs.contains_arrow == 'true'
+        run: |
+          TAG="${{ steps.push_tag_to_main.outputs.tag_name }}"
+          PREV_TAG=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 "${TAG}^" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+
+          if [ -z "$PREV_TAG" ]; then
+            COMMITS=$(git log "$TAG" --pretty=format:"%s")
+          else
+            COMMITS=$(git log "${PREV_TAG}..${TAG}" --pretty=format:"%s")
+          fi
+
+          FEATURES=""
+          FIXES=""
+          DOCS=""
+          REFACTORS=""
+          PERF=""
+          CHORES=""
+          STYLES=""
+          TESTS=""
+          OTHER=""
+
+          while IFS= read -r line; do
+            case "$line" in
+              "Bump version:"*|"Merge branch"*|"Merge pull request"*) continue ;;
+            esac
+
+            clean=$(echo "$line" | sed 's/^[^a-zA-Z]* *//')
+
+            if echo "$clean" | grep -qE '^(feat|fix|docs|style|refactor|perf|test|chore)(\([^)]+\))?:'; then
+              TYPE=$(echo "$clean" | sed -E 's/^(feat|fix|docs|style|refactor|perf|test|chore).*/\1/')
+              DESC=$(echo "$clean" | sed -E 's/^(feat|fix|docs|style|refactor|perf|test|chore)(\([^)]+\))?:\s*//')
+              DESC=$(echo "$DESC" | sed -E 's/\s*\[(minor|major|patch) candidate\]\s*$//')
+              SCOPE=$(echo "$clean" | sed -nE 's/^[a-z]+\(([^)]+)\):.*/\1/p')
+
+              if [ -n "$SCOPE" ]; then
+                ENTRY="- **${SCOPE}**: ${DESC}"
+              else
+                ENTRY="- ${DESC}"
+              fi
+
+              case "$TYPE" in
+                feat)     FEATURES="${FEATURES}${ENTRY}\n" ;;
+                fix)      FIXES="${FIXES}${ENTRY}\n" ;;
+                docs)     DOCS="${DOCS}${ENTRY}\n" ;;
+                style)    STYLES="${STYLES}${ENTRY}\n" ;;
+                refactor) REFACTORS="${REFACTORS}${ENTRY}\n" ;;
+                perf)     PERF="${PERF}${ENTRY}\n" ;;
+                test)     TESTS="${TESTS}${ENTRY}\n" ;;
+                chore)    CHORES="${CHORES}${ENTRY}\n" ;;
+              esac
+            else
+              if [ -n "$clean" ]; then
+                OTHER="${OTHER}- ${clean}\n"
+              fi
+            fi
+          done <<< "$COMMITS"
+
+          BODY="## What's Changed\n\n"
+
+          [ -n "$FEATURES" ] && BODY="${BODY}### Features\n${FEATURES}\n"
+          [ -n "$FIXES" ] && BODY="${BODY}### Bug Fixes\n${FIXES}\n"
+          [ -n "$DOCS" ] && BODY="${BODY}### Documentation\n${DOCS}\n"
+          [ -n "$REFACTORS" ] && BODY="${BODY}### Refactors\n${REFACTORS}\n"
+          [ -n "$PERF" ] && BODY="${BODY}### Performance\n${PERF}\n"
+          [ -n "$STYLES" ] && BODY="${BODY}### Styles\n${STYLES}\n"
+          [ -n "$TESTS" ] && BODY="${BODY}### Tests\n${TESTS}\n"
+          [ -n "$CHORES" ] && BODY="${BODY}### Chores\n${CHORES}\n"
+          [ -n "$OTHER" ] && BODY="${BODY}### Other\n${OTHER}\n"
+
+          if [ -n "$PREV_TAG" ]; then
+            BODY="${BODY}**Full Changelog**: https://github.com/${REPO_FULL}/compare/${PREV_TAG}...${TAG}\n"
+          fi
+
+          {
+            echo "body<<RELEASE_NOTES_EOF"
+            echo -e "$BODY"
+            echo "RELEASE_NOTES_EOF"
+          } >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        env:
+          REPO_FULL: ${{ env.REPO_FULL }}
+      - name: Create GitHub Release
+        id: create_release
+        if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && steps.check_arrow.outputs.contains_arrow == 'true'
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
+        with:
+          tag_name: ${{ steps.push_tag_to_main.outputs.tag_name }}
+          name: Release ${{ steps.push_tag_to_main.outputs.tag_name }}
+          body: ${{ steps.release_notes.outputs.body }}
+          draft: false
+          prerelease: false
         env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.ACCESS_TOKEN }}
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 6e1e48c..a82aaf9 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,13 @@
+## [1.1.17] - 2026-03-03
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+- **core**: use access token for tag push to trigger release workflow (`patch candidate`)
+
+### Documentation
+
+- **core**: update changelog
+
 ## [1.1.16] - 2026-03-03
 
 ### Features
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index ef72022..6368976 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [tool.poetry]
 name = "scripts"
-version = "1.1.17"
+version = "1.1.19"
 description = "CICD Core Scripts"
 authors = ["B <g46327wsj1.marbling129@passinbox.com>"]
 license = "GLPv3"