diff --git a/.github_changelog_generator b/.github_changelog_generator
index ebeb260..f5bee9c 100644
--- a/.github_changelog_generator
+++ b/.github_changelog_generator
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
 project=vmpooler
 user=puppetlabs
-exclude_labels=maintenance
-github-api=https://api.github.com
-release-branch=main
\ No newline at end of file
+exclude_labels=maintenance
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/release-notes.md b/release-notes.md
deleted file mode 100644
index 7e9892e..0000000
--- a/release-notes.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-## [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))