diff --git a/.claude/commands/release.md b/.claude/commands/release.md
index e8e1810f0c..97dd671b0a 100644
--- a/.claude/commands/release.md
+++ b/.claude/commands/release.md
@@ -103,6 +103,15 @@ Every time you run `release_checklist.py`, you MUST:
 This summary should be provided EVERY time you run the checklist, not just after creating new PRs.
 The user needs to see the complete picture of what's waiting for review.
 
+## Checking PR Status When Asked
+
+When the user asks for "status" or you need to report on PRs between checklist runs:
+- **ALWAYS check actual PR state** using `gh pr view <number> --repo <repo> --json state,mergedAt`
+- Do NOT rely on cached CI results or previous checklist output
+- The user may have merged PRs since your last check
+- Report which PRs are MERGED, which are OPEN with CI status, and which are still pending
+- After discovering merged PRs, rerun `release_checklist.py` to advance the release process
+
 ## Nightly Infrastructure
 
 The nightly build system uses branches and tags across two repositories:
diff --git a/doc/dev/release_checklist.md b/doc/dev/release_checklist.md
index b16f46993a..487575285c 100644
--- a/doc/dev/release_checklist.md
+++ b/doc/dev/release_checklist.md
@@ -70,6 +70,9 @@ We'll use `v4.6.0` as the intended release version as a running example.
         The `release_steps.py` script handles this automatically by looking up the latest
         ProofWidgets4 tag compatible with the target toolchain.
       - Push the PR branch to the main Mathlib repository rather than a fork, or CI may not work reliably
+      - The "Verify Transient and Automated Commits" CI check on toolchain bump PRs can be ignored —
+        it often fails on automated commits (`x:` prefixed) from the nightly-testing history that can't be
+        reproduced in CI. This does not block merging.
     - `repl`:
       There are two copies of `lean-toolchain`/`lakefile.lean`:
       in the root, and in `test/Mathlib/`. Edit both, and run `lake update` in both directories.
@@ -150,6 +153,9 @@ We'll use `v4.7.0-rc1` as the intended release version in this example.
     * The repository does not need any changes to move to the new version.
     * Note that sometimes there are *unreviewed* but necessary changes on the `nightly-testing` branch of the repository.
       If so, you will need to merge these into the `bump_to_v4.7.0-rc1` branch manually.
+    * The `nightly-testing` branch may also contain temporary fix scripts (e.g. `fix_backward_defeq.py`,
+      `fix_deprecations.py`) that were used to adapt to breaking changes during the nightly cycle.
+      These should be reviewed and removed if no longer needed, as they can interfere with CI checks.
   - For each of the repositories listed in `script/release_repos.yml`,
     - Run `script/release_steps.py v4.7.0-rc1 <repo>` (e.g. replacing `<repo>` with `batteries`), which will walk you through the following steps:
       - Create a new branch off `master`/`main` (as specified in the `branch` field), called `bump_to_v4.7.0-rc1`.