If you add towncrier --check as a CI check, it is possible to verify that every PR that is merged has a matching release note. This is useful for ensuring final release notes are complete.

However, when you cut a release, a user will submit a PR that incorporates the final compiled release notes, along with a version number bump and any other release procedures.

This "release PR" then fails the towncrier CI check, as it doesn't have a news snippet.

You can make the PR pass CI by adding a 'misc' release note for the release PR. However this means the release notes for the next version include an entry about cutting the previous release.

There should be a way to avoid this "chicken and egg" problem without irrelevant dummy entries in changelog history.