diff --git a/.github/actions/code-style/action.yml b/.github/actions/code-style/action.yml
index 1f963f79..7fe1b0f3 100644
--- a/.github/actions/code-style/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/code-style/action.yml
@@ -12,12 +12,18 @@ inputs:
 runs:
   using: "composite"
   steps:
-    - name: Checkout code
-      uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      with:
-        fetch-depth: 0
+    - name: Check for existing .NET SDK
+      id: check-dotnet
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        if dotnet --version >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+          echo "installed=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        else
+          echo "installed=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        fi
     - name: Setup .NET
-      uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v3
+      if: ${{ steps.check-dotnet.outputs.installed == 'false' }}
+      uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
       with:
         dotnet-version: '7.0.x'
     - name: Run dotnet-format
@@ -34,7 +40,7 @@ runs:
     - name: Process C# file headers
       uses: ./.github/actions/code-style/header-fixer
       with:
-        mode: ${{ inputs.mode }}
+        mode: soft-check
     - name: Process trailing whitespace
       uses: ./.github/actions/code-style/trailing-whitespace
       with:
@@ -46,7 +52,7 @@ runs:
     - name: Check namespaces
       uses: ./.github/actions/code-style/namespace-fixer
       with:
-        mode: check
+        mode: soft-check
     - name: Commit & push changes
       if: ${{ inputs.commit }}
       shell: bash
diff --git a/.github/actions/code-style/header-fixer/action.yml b/.github/actions/code-style/header-fixer/action.yml
index 51524fc1..c9f08f72 100644
--- a/.github/actions/code-style/header-fixer/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/code-style/header-fixer/action.yml
@@ -2,16 +2,12 @@ name: "Header Fixer"
 description: "Check or fix C# file headers to match .editorconfig header template"
 inputs:
   mode:
-    description: "Operation mode: fix or check"
+    description: "Operation mode: fix, check, or soft-check"
     required: false
-    default: "check"
+    default: "soft-check"
 runs:
   using: "composite"
   steps:
-    - name: Checkout code
-      uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      with:
-        fetch-depth: 0
     - name: Process C# file headers
       shell: bash
       env:
@@ -45,7 +41,7 @@ runs:
             HEADER_LINES=$(echo -e "$HEADER" | wc -l)
             CURRENT_HEADER=$(head -n $HEADER_LINES "$file")
             
-            if [ "$(echo -e "$HEADER")" != "$CURRENT_HEADER" ]; then
+            if [ "$HEADER" != "$CURRENT_HEADER" ]; then
               if [ "${{ inputs.mode }}" = "fix" ]; then
                 echo "Updating header in $file"
                 # Find namespace line
@@ -59,8 +55,13 @@ runs:
                   echo "Warning: Could not find namespace line in $file"
                 fi
               else
-                echo "Header mismatch in $file"
-                ERR=1
+                if [ "${{ inputs.mode }}" = "soft-check" ]; then
+                  # emit a non-blocking warning
+                  echo "::warning file=$file::Header mismatch in $file (run with mode=fix to auto-fix)"
+                else
+                  echo "Header mismatch in $file"
+                  ERR=1
+                fi
               fi
             fi
           fi
diff --git a/.github/actions/code-style/namespace-fixer/action.yml b/.github/actions/code-style/namespace-fixer/action.yml
index dac29911..e0f6da0f 100644
--- a/.github/actions/code-style/namespace-fixer/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/code-style/namespace-fixer/action.yml
@@ -2,16 +2,12 @@ name: "Namespace Fixer"
 description: "Check or fix C# file namespaces to match file path"
 inputs:
   mode:
-    description: "Operation mode: fix or check"
+    description: "Operation mode: fix, check, or soft-check"
     required: false
     default: "check"
 runs:
   using: "composite"
   steps:
-    - name: Checkout code
-      uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      with:
-        fetch-depth: 0
     - name: Process C# namespaces
       if: always()
       shell: bash
@@ -38,8 +34,13 @@ runs:
                 sed -i "s/^namespace .*/namespace $ns/" "$file"
                 echo "WARNING: References to this file may need manual updates."
               else
-                echo "Namespace mismatch in $file: expected $ns but found $actual"
-                ERR=1
+                if [ "${{ inputs.mode }}" = "soft-check" ]; then
+                  # emit a non-blocking warning
+                  echo "::warning file=$file::Namespace mismatch in $file (run with mode=fix to auto-fix)"
+                else
+                  echo "Namespace mismatch in $file: expected $ns but found $actual"
+                  ERR=1
+                fi
               fi
             fi
           fi
diff --git a/.github/actions/code-style/trailing-whitespace/action.yml b/.github/actions/code-style/trailing-whitespace/action.yml
index 765324f6..48e29e4e 100644
--- a/.github/actions/code-style/trailing-whitespace/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/code-style/trailing-whitespace/action.yml
@@ -2,16 +2,12 @@ name: "Trailing Whitespace"
 description: "Check or fix trailing whitespace and normalize line endings"
 inputs:
   mode:
-    description: "Operation mode: fix or check"
+    description: "Operation mode: fix, check, or soft-check"
     required: false
     default: "check"
 runs:
   using: "composite"
   steps:
-    - name: Checkout code
-      uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      with:
-        fetch-depth: 0
     - name: Process trailing whitespace
       shell: bash
       run: |
@@ -25,8 +21,13 @@ runs:
               sed -i 's/\r$//' "$file"
             else
               if grep -qE '[ \t]+$' "$file" || file "$file" | grep -q CRLF; then
-                echo "Trailing whitespace or CRLF found in $file"
-                ERR=1
+                if [ "${{ inputs.mode }}" = "soft-check" ]; then
+                  # emit a non-blocking warning
+                  echo "::warning file=$file::Trailing whitespace or CRLF found in $file (run with mode=fix to auto-fix)"
+                else
+                  echo "Trailing whitespace or CRLF found in $file"
+                  ERR=1
+                fi
               fi
             fi
           fi
diff --git a/.github/actions/code-style/using-sorter/action.yml b/.github/actions/code-style/using-sorter/action.yml
index fe3a07c4..63914839 100644
--- a/.github/actions/code-style/using-sorter/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/code-style/using-sorter/action.yml
@@ -2,18 +2,24 @@ name: "Using Sorter"
 description: "Check or fix C# using directives ordering and remove unused usings"
 inputs:
   mode:
-    description: "Operation mode: fix or check"
+    description: "Operation mode: fix, check, or soft-check"
     required: false
     default: "check"
 runs:
   using: "composite"
   steps:
-    - name: Checkout code
-      uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      with:
-        fetch-depth: 0
+    - name: Check for existing .NET SDK
+      id: check-dotnet
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        if dotnet --version >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+          echo "installed=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        else
+          echo "installed=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        fi
     - name: Setup .NET SDK
-      uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v3
+      if: ${{ steps.check-dotnet.outputs.installed == 'false' }}
+      uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
       with:
         dotnet-version: 7.0.x
     - name: Run using sorter
@@ -25,7 +31,7 @@ runs:
         export PATH="$HOME/.dotnet/tools:$PATH"
         for file in $FILES; do
           if [ -f "$file" ]; then
-            if [ "${{ inputs.mode }}" = "check" ]; then
+            if [ "${{ inputs.mode }}" = "check" ] || [ "${{ inputs.mode }}" = "soft-check" ]; then
               dotnet format "$file" --verify-no-changes --fix-analyzers
             else
               dotnet format "$file" --fix-analyzers
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-dotnet-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-dotnet-tests.yml
index f64a73f7..189e0ae8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-dotnet-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-dotnet-tests.yml
@@ -27,8 +27,19 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v3
 
+      - name: Check for existing .NET SDK
+        id: check-dotnet
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          if dotnet --version >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "installed=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          else
+            echo "installed=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          fi
+          
       - name: Setup .NET
-        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v3
+        if: ${{ steps.check-dotnet.outputs.installed == 'false' }}
+        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
         with:
           dotnet-version: '7.0.x'
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-1-milestone.yml b/.github/workflows/release-1-milestone.yml
index cfd35ea0..e8c37912 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-1-milestone.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-1-milestone.yml
@@ -10,10 +10,14 @@ name: 🏁 1 Prepare Release on Milestone Close
 # Permissions:
 # - contents:write - Required to create GitHub releases
 # - issues:read - Required to read issue information for release notes
-# - pull-requests:read - Required to read PR information for release notes
+# - pull-requests:write - Required to create pull requests
+#
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  issues: read
+  pull-requests: write
 
 on:
-  workflow_dispatch:
   milestone:
     types: [ closed ]
 
@@ -25,42 +29,68 @@ jobs:
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
           ref: dev
+
       - name: Set up Git user
         run: |
           git config user.name "github-actions"
           git config user.email "action@github.com"
+
+      - name: Check if release branch exists
+        id: check-branch
+        run: |
+          git ls-remote --heads origin release/${{ github.event.milestone.title }}
+          if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
+            echo "branch_exists=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          else
+            echo "branch_exists=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          fi
+
+      - name: Remove existing release branch if exists
+        if: steps.check-branch.outputs.branch_exists == 'true'
+        run: git push origin --delete release/${{ github.event.milestone.title }}
+
       - name: Create release branch
         run: git checkout -b release/${{ github.event.milestone.title }}
+
       - name: Update version in Solution.props
         uses: ./.github/actions/versioning/update-version
         with:
           new-version: ${{ github.event.milestone.title }}
+
       - name: Include missing issues in changelog
         uses: ./.github/actions/documentation/update-changelog-issues
         with:
           token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           days-lookback: 90
+
       - name: Update changelog section
         uses: ./.github/actions/documentation/update-changelog
         with:
           action: create-release
           version: ${{ github.event.milestone.title }}
-      - name: Fix code style
-        uses: ./.github/actions/code-style
-        with:
-          mode: fix
-          commit: false
+          
+      - name: Update README badges
+        uses: ./.github/actions/documentation/update-badges
+        id: update-badges
+
+      # - name: Fix code style
+      #   uses: ./.github/actions/code-style
+      #   with:
+      #     mode: fix
+      #     commit: false
+      
       - name: Commit and push changes
         run: |
-          git add Solution.props CHANGELOG.md
+          git add Solution.props CHANGELOG.md README.md
           git commit -m "chore: prepare release ${{ github.event.milestone.title }} with version update and code style fixes"
           git push origin release/${{ github.event.milestone.title }}
+
       - name: Create Pull Request
-        uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v4
-        with:
-          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          title: "chore: prepare release ${{ github.event.milestone.title }} with version update and code style fixes"
-          body: "This PR prepares the release for version ${{ github.event.milestone.title }} with version update and code style fixes:\n\n- Fixed header code style\n- Sorted usings\n- Removed trailing whitespace\n- Updated version in Solution.props\n- Updated changelog with closed-solved issues\n\nMILESTONE DESCRIPTION:\n${{ github.event.milestone.description }}"
-          base: dev
-          branch: release/${{ github.event.milestone.title }}
-          milestone: ${{ github.event.milestone.number }}
\ No newline at end of file
+        run: |
+          gh pr create \
+            --base dev \
+            --head release/${{ github.event.milestone.title }} \
+            --title "chore: prepare release ${{ github.event.milestone.title }} with version update and code style fixes" \
+            --body $'This PR prepares the release for version ${{ github.event.milestone.title }} with version update and code style fixes:\n\n- Fixed header code style\n- Sorted usings\n- Removed trailing whitespace\n- Updated version in Solution.props\n- Updated changelog with closed-solved issues\n- Updated README badges\n\nMILESTONE DESCRIPTION:\n${{ github.event.milestone.description }}'
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-2-pr-to-dev-closed.yml b/.github/workflows/release-2-pr-to-dev-closed.yml
index c72e5aa0..6bc94414 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-2-pr-to-dev-closed.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-2-pr-to-dev-closed.yml
@@ -8,37 +8,51 @@ name: 🏁 2 PR Release to Main from Dev
 # Permissions:
 # - contents:write - Required to create GitHub releases
 # - issues:read - Required to read issue information for release notes
-# - pull-requests:read - Required to read PR information for release notes
+# - pull-requests:write - Required to create PRs
 
 on:
-  workflow_dispatch:
   pull_request:
     types: [ closed ]
     branches:
       - dev
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      pr-title:
+        required: true
+        type: string
+      pr-body:
+        required: true
+        type: string
 
 jobs:
   create-pr-dev-to-main:
-    if: ${{ github.event.pull_request.merged == true && startsWith(github.event.pull_request.head.ref, 'release/') }}
+    if: ${{ ( github.event.pull_request.merged == true && startsWith(github.event.pull_request.head.ref, 'release/')) || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       contents: write
       issues: read
-      pull-requests: read
+      pull-requests: write
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
-          ref: dev
-      - name: Set up Git user
+      - name: Create PR (on PR closed)
+        if: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' }}
+        run: |
+          gh pr create \
+            --repo ${{ github.repository }} \
+            --base main \
+            --head dev \
+            --title "${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }}" \
+            --body "${{ github.event.pull_request.body }}"
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      - name: Create PR (manual dispatch)
+        if: ${{ github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' }}
         run: |
-          git config user.name "github-actions"
-          git config user.email "action@github.com"
-      - name: Create PR
-        uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v4
-        with:
-          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          title: "${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }}"
-          body: "${{ github.event.pull_request.body }}"
-          base: main
-          branch: ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.ref }}
+          gh pr create \
+            --repo ${{ github.repository }} \
+            --base main \
+            --head dev \
+            --title "${{ github.event.inputs['pr-title'] }}" \
+            --body "${{ github.event.inputs['pr-body'] }}"
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-3-pr-to-main-closed.yml b/.github/workflows/release-3-pr-to-main-closed.yml
index 00251d7a..08dc895c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-3-pr-to-main-closed.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-3-pr-to-main-closed.yml
@@ -13,15 +13,15 @@ name: 🏁 3 Create Release on Release PR Close
 # - pull-requests:read - Required to read PR information for release notes
 
 on:
-  workflow_dispatch:
   pull_request:
     types: [ closed ]
     branches:
       - main
+  workflow_dispatch:
 
 jobs:
   create-release:
-    if: ${{ github.event.pull_request.merged == true }}
+    if: ${{ github.event.pull_request.merged == true || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       contents: write
@@ -34,11 +34,15 @@ jobs:
           fetch-depth: 0
           ref: main # Checkout the main branch
 
-      - name: Get Release Info
+      - name: Get Release Version
         id: release_info
+        uses: ./.github/actions/versioning/get-version
+        with:
+          branch: main
+
+      - name: Set Release Info
         run: |
-          VERSION=$(grep -oPm1 "(?<=<Version>)[^<]+" Solution.props)
-          echo "RELEASE_VERSION=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "RELEASE_VERSION=${{ steps.release_info.outputs.version }}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
           echo "RELEASE_DESCRIPTION<<EOF" >> $GITHUB_ENV
           echo "${{ github.event.pull_request.body }}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
           echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_ENV
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-4-build.yml b/.github/workflows/release-4-build.yml
index 29212a46..dd683852 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-4-build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-4-build.yml
@@ -114,8 +114,19 @@ jobs:
         Write-Host "This is a draft release. Skipping build and upload."
         exit 0
     
-    - name: Setup .NET SDK
-      uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v3
+    - name: Check for existing .NET SDK
+      id: check-dotnet
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        if dotnet --version >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+          echo "installed=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        else
+          echo "installed=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        fi
+        
+    - name: Setup .NET
+      if: ${{ steps.check-dotnet.outputs.installed == 'false' }}
+      uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
       with:
         dotnet-version: '7.0.x'