ci: exclude deleted files from changelog-location check

.github/workflows/deploy.yml

@@ -26,14 +26,16 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Check for CHANGELOG file in commit
         run: |
-          # Get files changed in this push/PR
+          # Get files changed in this push/PR.
+          # Use --diff-filter=ACMR so deletions don't count — removing a file
+          # shouldn't fail a rule that's checking for file presence.
           if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" = "pull_request" ]; then
-            FILES=$(git diff --name-only HEAD~1 HEAD 2>/dev/null || git diff --name-only ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.sha }} HEAD)
+            FILES=$(git diff --name-only --diff-filter=ACMR HEAD~1 HEAD 2>/dev/null || git diff --name-only --diff-filter=ACMR ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.sha }} HEAD)
           else
-            FILES=$(git diff --name-only HEAD~1 HEAD)
+            FILES=$(git diff --name-only --diff-filter=ACMR HEAD~1 HEAD)
           fi
 
-          echo "Changed files:"
+          echo "Changed files (added/modified/copied/renamed):"
           echo "$FILES"
 
           # Check if any code files changed (ignore docs-only)
@@ -44,7 +46,8 @@ jobs:
             exit 0
           fi
 
-          # Reject changelogs placed in repo root instead of changelogs/
+          # Reject changelogs placed in repo root instead of changelogs/.
+          # Only checks added/modified files (see --diff-filter above); pure deletions are allowed.
           ROOT_CHANGELOG=$(echo "$FILES" | grep -E '^CHANGELOG-.*\.md$' || true)
           if [ -n "$ROOT_CHANGELOG" ]; then
             echo ""

changelogs/CHANGELOG-ci-changelog-check.md

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# CI — Exclude Deletions from Changelog-Location Check
+
+- Added `--diff-filter=ACMR` to both `git diff --name-only` invocations in the `check-changelog` job of `.github/workflows/deploy.yml`
+- The job now only inspects Added / Copied / Modified / Renamed paths; pure deletions are ignored
+
+---
+
+## Summary
+The `check-changelog` CI gate was firing on commits that **removed** a root-level `CHANGELOG-*.md` file. Because `git diff --name-only` returns the path of a file regardless of whether it was added, modified, or deleted, the regex `^CHANGELOG-.*\.md$` matched the deleted root-level changelog and the job failed with `❌ FAILED: Changelog found in repo root`.
+
+This meant any legitimate cleanup commit that moved a stray root changelog into `changelogs/` (or removed an identical duplicate) would be blocked — the very kind of fix the rule wants to encourage.
+
+## 1. Workflow Fix
+**Files:** `.github/workflows/deploy.yml`
+**What:** Both `git diff` calls in the `check-changelog` step now pass `--diff-filter=ACMR`, restricting the file list to Added / Copied / Modified / Renamed entries. Deletions are excluded.
+**Impact:** Cleanup commits that remove or move root-level changelogs into `changelogs/` no longer fail the gate. New violations (a fresh `CHANGELOG-*.md` added at the repo root) are still caught, because added files are kept in the filter.
+
+---
+
+## Files Changed (1 total)
+
+| File | Lines Changed | Type |
+|------|:---:|------|
+| `.github/workflows/deploy.yml` | +8 −5 | Added `--diff-filter=ACMR` and updated step comment |