ci: Automate version updates with pull requests and auto-merge

Refactors the version update process to create an automated pull request instead of directly pushing changes to the default branch. This improves traceability and allows for better integration practices.

Enables auto-merge for these generated pull requests, ensuring efficient integration of version bumps.

Updates `checkout` actions to use `github.token` for standard repository operations, simplifying token management. A conditional check is added to only create a pull request if version changes are detected.

Author: MuhammadZeshan382

.github/workflows/ci-cd-pipeline.yml

@@ -110,15 +110,16 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
-          token: ${{ secrets.GH_TOKEN }}
           fetch-depth: 0
+          token: ${{ github.token }}
 
       - name: Configure Git
         run: |
           git config --local user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
           git config --local user.name "github-actions[bot]"
       
       - name: Update Directory.Build.props
+        id: update
         run: |
           VERSION="${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.version }}"
           ASSEMBLY_VERSION="${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.assembly_version }}"
@@ -139,17 +140,43 @@ jobs:
           
           echo "Updated Directory.Build.props:"
           grep -E "(VersionPrefix|AssemblyVersion|FileVersion)" Directory.Build.props
-      
-      - name: Commit and push version changes
-        run: |
+          
+          # Check if there are changes
           if git diff --quiet Directory.Build.props; then
-            echo "No version changes to commit"
+            echo "No version changes detected"
+            echo "has_changes=false" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           else
-            git add Directory.Build.props
-            git commit -m "chore: update version to ${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.version }} (assembly: ${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.assembly_version }}) [skip ci]"
-            git push origin HEAD:${{ github.event.repository.default_branch }}
-            echo "Version changes committed and pushed"
+            echo "Version changes detected"
+            echo "has_changes=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           fi
+      
+      - name: Create Pull Request
+        if: steps.update.outputs.has_changes == 'true'
+        id: cpr
+        uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v6
+        with:
+          token: ${{ github.token }}
+          commit-message: 'chore: update version to ${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.version }} (assembly: ${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.assembly_version }}) [skip ci]'
+          branch: version-update-${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.version }}
+          delete-branch: true
+          title: 'Update version to ${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.version }}'
+          body: |
+            Automated version update for release ${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.tag_name }}
+            
+            - Version: ${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.version }}
+            - Assembly Version: ${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.assembly_version }}
+            - Commit Count: ${{ needs.extract-version.outputs.commit_count }}
+            
+            Auto-generated by GitHub Actions
+          labels: automated
+      
+      - name: Enable auto-merge for PR
+        if: steps.cpr.outputs.pull-request-number != ''
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          PR_NUMBER: ${{ steps.cpr.outputs.pull-request-number }}
+        run: |
+          gh pr merge --auto --rebase --delete-branch "$PR_NUMBER"
 
   create-release:
     name: Create GitHub Release
@@ -162,7 +189,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
-          token: ${{ secrets.GH_TOKEN }}
+          token: ${{ github.token }}
 
       - name: Generate release notes
         id: release_notes