diff --git a/.github_changelog_generator b/.github_changelog_generator
index f5bee9c..ebeb260 100644
--- a/.github_changelog_generator
+++ b/.github_changelog_generator
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
 project=vmpooler
 user=puppetlabs
-exclude_labels=maintenance
\ No newline at end of file
+exclude_labels=maintenance
+github-api=https://api.github.com
+release-branch=main
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/release-notes.md b/release-notes.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7e9892e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/release-notes.md
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+## [3.8.1](https://github.com/puppetlabs/vmpooler/tree/3.8.1) (2026-01-14)
+
+[Full Changelog](https://github.com/puppetlabs/vmpooler/compare/3.7.0...3.8.1)
+
+**Implemented enhancements:**
+
+- \(P4DEVOPS-9434\) Add rate limiting and input validation security enhancements [\#690](https://github.com/puppetlabs/vmpooler/pull/690) ([mahima-singh](https://github.com/mahima-singh))
+- \(P4DEVOPS-8570\) Add Phase 2 optimizations: status API caching and improved Redis pipelining [\#689](https://github.com/puppetlabs/vmpooler/pull/689) ([mahima-singh](https://github.com/mahima-singh))
+- \(P4DEVOPS-8567\) Add DLQ, auto-purge, and health checks for Redis queues [\#688](https://github.com/puppetlabs/vmpooler/pull/688) ([mahima-singh](https://github.com/mahima-singh))
+- Add retry logic for immediate clone failures [\#687](https://github.com/puppetlabs/vmpooler/pull/687) ([mahima-singh](https://github.com/mahima-singh))
+
+**Fixed bugs:**
+
+- \(P4DEVOPS-8567\) Prevent VM allocation for already-deleted request-ids [\#688](https://github.com/puppetlabs/vmpooler/pull/688) ([mahima-singh](https://github.com/mahima-singh))
+- Prevent re-queueing requests already marked as failed [\#687](https://github.com/puppetlabs/vmpooler/pull/687) ([mahima-singh](https://github.com/mahima-singh))