diff --git a/.github/workflows/deployment-strategy.yml b/.github/workflows/deployment-strategy.yml
index fb58eb9526..e6729d7751 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deployment-strategy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deployment-strategy.yml
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ jobs:
     name: Deployment Summary
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: [npm-publish, docker-manifest]
-    if: always()
+    if: "!cancelled()"
     outputs:
       status: ${{ steps.summary.outputs.status }}
       npm_url: ${{ steps.summary.outputs.npm_url }}
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@ jobs:
   notify:
     name: Discord Notification
     needs: deploy-summary
-    if: always()
+    if: "!cancelled()"
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     env:
       DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/generate-changelog.yml b/.github/workflows/generate-changelog.yml
index 33775fa3da..28207ab6ba 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/generate-changelog.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/generate-changelog.yml
@@ -7,11 +7,6 @@ on:
         description: "Version for the changelog"
         required: true
         type: string
-      commits:
-        description: "JSON string of commits"
-        required: false
-        type: string
-        default: ""
       release_type:
         description: "Release type: alpha, beta, or stable"
         required: true
diff --git a/.github/workflows/promote-branch.yml b/.github/workflows/promote-branch.yml
index 72b507741f..33fa8d20a9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/promote-branch.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/promote-branch.yml
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: false
 
 permissions:
-  contents: read
+  contents: write
   pull-requests: write
 
 jobs:
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ jobs:
     name: Create Promotion PR
     needs: [determine-target, ensure-target-branch, run-tests]
     if: |
-      always() &&
+      !cancelled() &&
       needs.determine-target.outputs.should_promote == 'true' &&
       (needs.run-tests.outputs.test_status == 'passed' || inputs.skip_tests)
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ jobs:
   notify-promotion:
     name: Notify Promotion
     needs: [determine-target, create-promotion-pr]
-    if: always() && needs.create-promotion-pr.outputs.pr_url != ''
+    if: "!cancelled() && needs.create-promotion-pr.outputs.pr_url != ''"
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     env:
       DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL }}
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ jobs:
     name: Notify Test Failure
     needs: [determine-target, run-tests]
     if: |
-      always() &&
+      !cancelled() &&
       needs.run-tests.outputs.test_status != 'passed' &&
       !inputs.skip_tests
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-orchestrator.yml b/.github/workflows/release-orchestrator.yml
index 8df119a6db..1a165a82d0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-orchestrator.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-orchestrator.yml
@@ -153,7 +153,6 @@ jobs:
     uses: ./.github/workflows/generate-changelog.yml
     with:
       version: ${{ needs.version.outputs.new_version }}
-      commits: ${{ needs.get-commits.outputs.commits }}
       release_type: ${{ needs.determine-params.outputs.release_type }}
 
   # Run full test suite for the release type
@@ -212,7 +211,7 @@ jobs:
   notify-success:
     name: Notify Success
     needs: [determine-params, version, release]
-    if: ${{ always() && needs.release.result == 'success' }}
+    if: ${{ !cancelled() && needs.release.result == 'success' }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     env:
       DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL }}
@@ -236,7 +235,7 @@ jobs:
     name: Notify Failure
     needs: [determine-params, version, test, deploy, release]
     if: |
-      always() &&
+      !cancelled() &&
       needs.version.result != 'skipped' &&
       (needs.test.result == 'failure' || needs.deploy.result == 'failure' || needs.release.result == 'failure')
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/.github/workflows/rollback.yml b/.github/workflows/rollback.yml
index 0087ed93ba..0a464cf450 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/rollback.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/rollback.yml
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ jobs:
   create-rollback-release:
     name: Create Rollback Release
     needs: [validate, rollback-npm, rollback-docker]
-    if: always() && needs.validate.result == 'success'
+    if: "!cancelled() && needs.validate.result == 'success'"
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ jobs:
   notify:
     name: Discord Notification
     needs: [validate, rollback-npm, rollback-docker, create-rollback-release]
-    if: always() && needs.validate.result == 'success'
+    if: "!cancelled() && needs.validate.result == 'success'"
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     env:
       DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/testing-strategy.yml b/.github/workflows/testing-strategy.yml
index 570201c192..8a8a2c4d96 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/testing-strategy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/testing-strategy.yml
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ jobs:
     name: Test Summary (${{ inputs.test_stage }})
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: [ci, install-smoke]
-    if: always()
+    if: "!cancelled()"
     outputs:
       overall_status: ${{ steps.summary.outputs.overall_status }}
     steps:
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ jobs:
   notify:
     name: Discord Notification
     needs: test-summary
-    if: always()
+    if: "!cancelled()"
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     env:
       DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL }}