diff --git a/.chloggen/TEMPLATE.yaml b/.chloggen/TEMPLATE.yaml
index 838782a0b4..75ca0c9231 100644
--- a/.chloggen/TEMPLATE.yaml
+++ b/.chloggen/TEMPLATE.yaml
@@ -1,15 +1,11 @@
 # One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
 change_type:
-
 # The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. agent, cluster reciever, gateway, network explorer, operator, chart, other)
 component:
-
 # A brief description of the change. Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
 note:
-
 # One or more tracking issues related to the change
 issues: []
-
 # (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
 # These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
 # Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
diff --git a/.chloggen/add-chloggen.yaml b/.chloggen/add-chloggen.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index c6c7be7c0d..0000000000
--- a/.chloggen/add-chloggen.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,16 +0,0 @@
-# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
-change_type: enhancement
-
-# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. agent, cluster reciever, gateway, network explorer, operator, chart, other)
-component: chart
-
-# A brief description of the change. Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
-note: Add support for OpenTelemetry CHANGELOG.md generator tool, see [chloggen](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-operator/tree/main/.chloggen)
-
-# Mandatory: One or more tracking issues related to the change. You can use the PR number here if no issue exists.
-issues: [923]
-
-# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
-# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
-# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
-subtext:
diff --git a/.chloggen/add-chloggen2.yaml b/.chloggen/add-chloggen2.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 20bd39e4b2..0000000000
--- a/.chloggen/add-chloggen2.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,16 +0,0 @@
-# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
-change_type: enhancement
-
-# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. agent, cluster reciever, gateway, network explorer, operator, chart, other)
-component: chart
-
-# A brief description of the change. Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
-note: Add support for OpenTelemetry CHANGELOG.md generator tool, see [chloggen](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-operator/tree/main/.chloggen)
-
-# Mandatory: One or more tracking issues related to the change. You can use the PR number here if no issue exists.
-issues: [923,924]
-
-# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
-# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
-# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
-subtext:
diff --git a/.chloggen/add-chloggen3.yaml b/.chloggen/add-chloggen3.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 2be957136b..0000000000
--- a/.chloggen/add-chloggen3.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,16 +0,0 @@
-# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
-change_type: enhancement
-
-# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. agent, cluster reciever, gateway, network explorer, operator, chart, other)
-component: chart
-
-# A brief description of the change. Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
-note: Add support for OpenTelemetry CHANGELOG.md generator tool, see [chloggen](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-operator/tree/main/.chloggen)
-
-# Mandatory: One or more tracking issues related to the change. You can use the PR number here if no issue exists.
-issues: [923,924,925]
-
-# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
-# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
-# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
-subtext:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/update_chart_dependencies.yaml b/.github/workflows/update_chart_dependencies.yaml
index 8e273dcfc2..8bc5c25980 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/update_chart_dependencies.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/update_chart_dependencies.yaml
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ name: Check for new chart dependency updates
 
 on:
   schedule:
-    # Run every Monday at noon.
-    - cron: "0 12 * * 1"
+    # Run every 12 hrs on the 11th hour at 30 minutes past.
+    - cron: '30 11 */12 * *'
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 env:
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        # Currently this worfklow will update the listed dependencies in the Chart.yaml
+        # Currently, this workflow will update the listed dependencies in the Chart.yaml
         repo: ['cert-manager', 'opentelemetry-operator'] # Add other repos here
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -25,13 +25,14 @@ jobs:
           make repo-update
 
           # Fetch the latest version using helm search repo
-          LATEST_VER=$(helm search repo ${{ matrix.repo }} --versions | awk 'NR==2{print $2}')
-          echo "LATEST_VER=$LATEST_VER" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          LATEST_VERSION=$(helm search repo ${{ matrix.repo }} --versions | awk 'NR==2{print $2}')
+          echo "LATEST_VERSION=$LATEST_VERSION" >> GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
           # Retrieve the current version from chart.yaml
-          DEP_PATH=$(yq eval ".dependencies[] | select(.name == \"${{ matrix.repo }}\") | .version" $CHART_YAML)
+          CURRENT_VERSION=$(yq eval ".dependencies[] | select(.name == \"${{ matrix.repo }}\") | .version" ${{ env.CHART_YAML }})
+          echo "CURRENT_VERSION=$CURRENT_VERSION" >> GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
-          echo "Current version of ${{ matrix.repo }} is $DEP_PATH, latest is $LATEST_VER"
+          echo "Current version of ${{ matrix.repo }} is $CURRENT_VERSION, latest is $LATEST_VERSION"
 
           if [ "$LATEST_VER" == "$DEP_PATH" ]; then
             echo We are already up to date. Nothing else to do.
@@ -49,15 +50,36 @@ jobs:
 
             echo "Current git diff:"
             git --no-pager diff
-          fi
-      - name: PR the new version
+      - name:
+        id: create_pr
         if: ${{ steps.update_chart.outputs.NEED_UPDATE == 1 }}
         uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v5
         with:
-          commit-message: Update ${{ matrix.repo }} chart version
-          title: Update ${{ matrix.repo }} chart version to ${{ steps.update_chart.outputs.LATEST_VER }}
-          body: Use the new version of the ${{ matrix.repo }} chart
-          branch: "update-${{ matrix.repo }}-${{ steps.update_chart.outputs.LATEST_VER }}"
+          commit-message: "Bump ${{ matrix.repo }} chart dependency from ${{ steps.update_chart.outputs.CURRENT_VERSION }} to ${{ steps.update_chart.outputs.LATEST_VERSION }}"
+          title: "Bump ${{ matrix.repo }} chart dependency from ${{ steps.update_chart.outputs.CURRENT_VERSION }} to ${{ steps.update_chart.outputs.LATEST_VERSION }}"
+          body: "Update to the new version of the ${{ matrix.repo }} chart dependency."
+          branch: "update-${{ matrix.repo }}"
+          base: main
+          delete-branch: true
+          modify-outputs: false
+      - name: Create changelog entry
+        if: ${{ steps.update_chart.outputs.NEED_UPDATE == 1 }}
+        run: |
+          # If a previous unreleased changelog entry already exist it is updated.
+          make chlog-new \
+            CHANGE_TYPE=enhancement \
+            COMPONENT=${{ matrix.repo }} \
+            NOTE="Update ${{ matrix.repo }} chart dependency version from $CURRENT_VERSION to $LATEST_VERSION" \
+            ISSUES="[${{ steps.create_pr.outputs.pull-request-number }}]" \
+            FILENAME="update-${{ matrix.repo }}-chart"
+      - name: Update PR with CHANGELOG
+        if: ${{ steps.update_chart.outputs.NEED_UPDATE == 1 }}
+        uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v5
+        with:
+          commit-message: "Add or update .chloggen/update-${{ matrix.repo }}-chart.yaml"
+          title: "Bump ${{ matrix.repo }} chart dependency from ${{ steps.update_chart.outputs.CURRENT_VERSION }} to ${{ steps.update_chart.outputs.LATEST_VERSION }}"
+          body: "Update to the new version of the ${{ matrix.repo }} chart dependency."
+          branch: "update-${{ matrix.repo }}"
           base: main
           delete-branch: true
           modify-outputs: false
diff --git a/.github/workflows/update_instrumentation_dependencies.yaml b/.github/workflows/update_instrumentation_dependencies.yaml
index 2adfe589b8..75fcb389d9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/update_instrumentation_dependencies.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/update_instrumentation_dependencies.yaml
@@ -20,46 +20,68 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - name: swizzle version
-        id: swizzle_version
+        id: update_instrumentation
         run: |
+          git config --global user.name 'GitHub Action'
+          git config --global user.email 'action@github.com'
+
           REPO=ghcr.io/signalfx/splunk-otel-${{ matrix.language }}/splunk-otel-${{ matrix.language }}
-          LOCAL_VER=$(grep $REPO $VALUES_YAML | awk -F: '{print $2}' | tr -d ' "')
-          LATEST_VER=$(curl -qs -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" $(echo $LATEST_API | sed "s/{lang}/${{ matrix.language }}/g") | jq -r .tag_name)
-          echo "LATEST_VER=$LATEST_VER" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "Current version of ${{ matrix.language }} is $LOCAL_VER, latest is $LATEST_VER"
+          CURRENT_VERSION=$(grep $REPO $VALUES_YAML | awk -F: '{print $2}' | tr -d ' "')
+          LATEST_VERSION=$(curl -qs -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" $(echo $LATEST_API | sed "s/{lang}/${{ matrix.language }}/g") | jq -r .tag_name)
+          echo "Current version of ${{ matrix.language }} is $CURRENT_VERSION, latest is $LATEST_VERSION"
 
-          if [ "$LATEST_VER" == "$LOCAL_VER" ]; then
+          if [ "$CURRENT_VERSION" == "$LATEST_VERSION"]; then
             echo We are already up to date. Nothing else to do.
           else
+            echo "CURRENT_VERSION=$CURRENT_VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "LATEST_VERSION=$LATEST_VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "NEED_UPDATE=1" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
             echo 'Verifying that the image is pullable...'
             echo '(If this fails, the image version is out of sync with ghcr version)'
-            docker pull $REPO:$LATEST_VER
+            docker pull $REPO:$LATEST_VERSION
             echo 'Looks like we are good to update...'
             echo Updating to new version in values.yaml
-            echo "NEED_UPDATE=1" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
             VLINE=$(grep -n "${REPO}" $VALUES_YAML | cut -f1 -d:)
             echo "Line number for ${REPO} in ${VALUES_YAML} is: ${VLINE}"
             OLD_VER=$(sed -n "${VLINE}p" $VALUES_YAML | grep -oP 'v\K[0-9.]+')
             echo "Old version number is: ${OLD_VER}"
-            NEW_VER=${LATEST_VER#v} # removes 'v' from the start of the string
-            echo "New version number is: ${NEW_VER}"
-            echo "sed: ${VLINE}s/${OLD_VER}/${NEW_VER}/"
-            sed -i "${VLINE}s/${OLD_VER}/${NEW_VER}/" $VALUES_YAML
+            NEW_VERSION=${LATEST_VERSION#v} # removes 'v' from the start of the string
+            echo "New version number is: ${NEW_VERSION}"
+            echo "sed: ${VLINE}s/${OLD_VER}/${NEW_VERSION}/"
+            sed -i "${VLINE}s/${OLD_VER}/${NEW_VERSION}/" $VALUES_YAML
 
-            echo Render chart template
+            echo Updating rendered examples
             make render
 
             echo "Current git diff:"
             git --no-pager diff
           fi
-      - name: PR the new version
-        if: ${{ steps.swizzle_version.outputs.NEED_UPDATE == 1 }}
+      - name:
+        id: create_pr
+        if: ${{ steps.update_instrumentation.outputs.NEED_UPDATE == 1 }}
         uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v5
         with:
-          commit-message: Update ${{ matrix.language }} instrumentation version
-          title: Update ${{ matrix.language }} instrumentation version to ${{ steps.swizzle_version.outputs.LATEST_VER }}
-          body: Use the new version of the ${{ matrix.language }} instrumentation
-          branch: "update-${{ matrix.language }}-${{ steps.swizzle_version.outputs.LATEST_VER }}"
+          commit-message: "Bump ${{ matrix.language }} instrumentation dependency from ${{ steps.update_instrumentation.outputs.CURRENT_VERSION }} to ${{ steps.update_instrumentation.outputs.LATEST_VERSION }}"
+          title: "Bump ${{ matrix.language }} instrumentation dependency from ${{ steps.update_instrumentation.outputs.CURRENT_VERSION }} to ${{ steps.update_instrumentation.outputs.LATEST_VERSION }}"
+          body: "Update to the new version of the ${{ matrix.language }} instrumentation dependency."
+          branch: "update-${{ matrix.language }}"
           base: main
           delete-branch: true
           modify-outputs: false
+      - name: Create changelog entry
+        if: ${{ steps.update_instrumentation.outputs.NEED_UPDATE == 1 }}
+        run: |
+          git fetch origin "update-${{ matrix.language }}"
+          git checkout "update-${{ matrix.language }}"
+
+          make chlog-new \
+            CHANGE_TYPE=enhancement \
+            COMPONENT=operator \
+            NOTE="Update ${{ matrix.language }} instrumentation version from ${{ steps.update_instrumentation.outputs.CURRENT_VERSION == 1 }} to ${{ steps.update_instrumentation.outputs.LATEST_VERSION == 1 }}" \
+            ISSUES="[${{ steps.create_pr.outputs.pull-request-number }}]" \
+            FILENAME="update-${{ matrix.language }}-instrumentation"
+
+          git add .
+          git commit -m "Add changelog for updating ${{ matrix.language }} instrumentation"
+          git push origin "update-${{ matrix.language }}"
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e334ac9b49..28ceea80db 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,16 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
  <!-- For unreleased changes, see entries in .chloggen -->
  <!-- next version -->
 
+## [0.86.0]
+
+This Splunk OpenTelemetry Collector for Kubernetes release adopts the [Splunk OpenTelemetry Collector v0.84.0](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector/releases/tag/v0.84.0).
+
+### 💡 Enhancements 💡
+
+- `chart`: Add support for OpenTelemetry CHANGELOG.md generator tool, see [chloggen](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-operator/tree/main/.chloggen) ([#923](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/923))
+- `chart`: Add support for OpenTelemetry CHANGELOG.md generator tool, see [chloggen](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-operator/tree/main/.chloggen) ([#923](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/923),[#924](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/#924))
+- `chart`: Add support for OpenTelemetry CHANGELOG.md generator tool, see [chloggen](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-operator/tree/main/.chloggen) ([#923](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/923),[#924](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/#924),[#925](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/#925))
+
 ## [0.84.0] - 2023-09-11
 
 ### 💡 Enhancements 💡
@@ -281,7 +291,7 @@ This Splunk OpenTelemetry Collector for Kubernetes release adopts the [Splunk Op
 
 ### 🚀 New components 🚀
 
-- A way to provide a custom image for init container patching host log directories (#534, #535)
+- A way to provide a custom image for init container patching host log directories ([#534](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/534),[#535](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/#535))
 
 ### 💡 Enhancements 💡
 
@@ -421,7 +431,7 @@ This Splunk OpenTelemetry Collector for Kubernetes release adopts the [Splunk Op
 
 ### 💡 Enhancements 💡
 
-- Migrate filelog operators to follow opentelemetry-log-collection v0.29.0 changes (#436, #441)
+- Migrate filelog operators to follow opentelemetry-log-collection v0.29.0 changes ([#436](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/436),[#441](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/#441))
   - [BREAKING CHANGE] Several breaking changes were made that affect the
     filelog, syslog, tcplog, and journald receivers. Any use of the
     extraFileLogs config, logsCollection.containers.extraOperators config,
@@ -481,7 +491,7 @@ This Splunk OpenTelemetry Collector for Kubernetes release adopts the [Splunk Op
 
 ### 🧰 Bug fixes 🧰
 
-- Bug where Prometheus errors out using default configuration on EKS and GKE (#401, #405)
+- Bug where Prometheus errors out using default configuration on EKS and GKE ([#401](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/401),[#405](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/#405))
 
 ## [0.44.1] - 2022-03-08
 
@@ -678,7 +688,7 @@ guidelines](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/blob/main/UP
   collection gets `container.id` attribute that allows container level
   correlation in Splunk Observability Cloud closing a feature parity gap with
   fluentd ([#238](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/238))
-- Add strict values.yaml schema validation (#227, #234, #239)
+- Add strict values.yaml schema validation ([#227](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/227),[#234](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/#234),[#239](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/#239))
 
 ### 💡 Enhancements 💡
 
@@ -690,8 +700,8 @@ guidelines](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/blob/main/UP
 - Change `run_id` log resource attribute to `k8s.container.restart_count` ([#226](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/226))
 - Use only `splunkPlatform.endpoint` and `splunkObservability.realm` parameters
   to identify which destination is enabled, remove default value for
-  `splunkObservability.realm` (#230, #233)
-- Upgrade splunk-otel-collector image to 0.37.1 (#237, #249)
+  `splunkObservability.realm` ([#230](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/230),[#233](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/#233))
+- Upgrade splunk-otel-collector image to 0.37.1 ([#237](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/237),[#249](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/#249))
 - Simplify configuration for switching to native OTel logs collection ([#246](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector-chart/pull/246))
 
 ### 🧰 Bug fixes 🧰
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 16ad2aa66c..f0b5ca7ab1 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 ##@ General
 # The general settings and variables for the project
-# Get the currently used golang install path (in GOPATH/bin, unless GOBIN is set)
 ifeq (,$(shell go env GOBIN))
 GOBIN=$(shell go env GOPATH)/bin
 else
@@ -32,13 +31,10 @@ init: install-tools ## Initialize the environment
 	# TODO: Add more execution steps here
 	@echo "Initialization complete."
 
-# install-tools: Set up dev environment
-# Installs/Upgrades dev tools via Homebrew. Supports macOS/Linux. Also installs chloggen.
-# Use OVERRIDE_OS_CHECK=true to skip OS check.
 OVERRIDE_OS_CHECK ?= false
 .PHONY: install-tools
-install-tools: ## Install tools (macOS/Linux)
-	@OVERRIDE_OS_CHECK=$(OVERRIDE_OS_CHECK) LOCALBIN=$(LOCALBIN) ./ci_scripts/install-tools.sh
+install-tools: $(LOCALBIN) ## Install tools (macOS/Linux)
+	@OVERRIDE_OS_CHECK=$(OVERRIDE_OS_CHECK) LOCALBIN=$(LOCALBIN) ./ci_scripts/install-tools.sh || exit 1
 
 ##@ Build
 # Tasks related to building the Helm chart
@@ -47,46 +43,45 @@ install-tools: ## Install tools (macOS/Linux)
 repo-update: ## Update Helm repositories to latest
 	@{ \
 	if ! (helm repo list | grep -q open-telemetry) ; then \
-		helm repo add open-telemetry https://open-telemetry.github.io/opentelemetry-helm-charts ;\
+		helm repo add open-telemetry https://open-telemetry.github.io/opentelemetry-helm-charts || exit 1; \
 	fi ;\
 	if ! (helm repo list | grep -q jetstack) ; then \
-		helm repo add jetstack https://charts.jetstack.io ;\
+		helm repo add jetstack https://charts.jetstack.io || exit 1; \
 	fi ;\
-	helm repo update open-telemetry jetstack ;\
+	helm repo update open-telemetry jetstack || exit 1; \
 	}
 
 .PHONY: dep-build
 dep-build: ## Build the Helm chart with latest dependencies from the current Helm repositories
 	@{ \
-  OK=true ;\
-  DIR=helm-charts/splunk-otel-collector ;\
-	if ! helm dependencies list $$DIR | grep open-telemetry | grep -q ok ; then OK=false ; fi ;\
-	if ! helm dependencies list $$DIR | grep jetstack | grep -q ok ; then OK=false ; fi ;\
-	if ! $$OK ; then helm dependencies build $$DIR ; fi ;\
+	DEP_OK=true ;\
+	DIR=helm-charts/splunk-otel-collector ;\
+	if ! helm dependencies list $$DIR | grep open-telemetry | grep -q ok ; then DEP_OK=false ; fi ;\
+	if ! helm dependencies list $$DIR | grep jetstack | grep -q ok ; then DEP_OK=false ; fi ;\
+	if [ "$$DEP_OK" = "false" ] ; then helm dependencies build $$DIR || exit 1; fi ;\
 	}
 
 .PHONY: render
 render: repo-update dep-build ## Render the Helm chart with the examples as input
-	bash ./examples/render-examples.sh
+	bash ./examples/render-examples.sh || exit 1
 
 ##@ Test
-# Tasks related to building the Helm chart
+# Tasks related to testing the Helm chart
 
 .PHONY: lint
 lint: ## Lint the Helm chart with ct
 	@echo "Linting Helm chart..."
-	ct lint --config=ct.yaml
+	ct lint --config=ct.yaml || exit 1
 
 .PHONY: pre-commit
 pre-commit: ## Test the Helm chart with pre-commit
 	@echo "Checking the Helm chart with pre-commit..."
-	pre-commit
+	pre-commit run --all-files || exit 1
 
 ##@ Changelog
 # Tasks related to changelog management
-# See: https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go-build-tools/tree/main/chloggen
+CHLOGGEN_NEW_SCRIPT := ./ci_scripts/chloggen-new.sh
 
-FILENAME?=$(shell git branch --show-current)
 .PHONY: chlog-available
 chlog-available: ## Validate the chloggen tool is available
 	@if [ -z "$(CHLOGGEN)" ]; then \
@@ -95,28 +90,26 @@ chlog-available: ## Validate the chloggen tool is available
 	fi
 
 .PHONY: chlog-new
-chlog-new: chlog-available ## Creates a new YAML file under .chloggen to later be inserted into CHANGELOG.md for the next release
-	$(CHLOGGEN) new --filename $(FILENAME)
-	echo "Make sure to update the contents of ${FILENAME} with information about your changes."
+chlog-new: chlog-available ## Creates or updates a YAML file under .chloggen
+	# Example Usage:
+	#   make chlog-new
+	#   make chlog-new CHANGE_TYPE=enhancement COMPONENT=agent NOTE="Add feature X" ISSUES='["4242"]' FILENAME=add-feature-x SUBTEXT="Supports Y"
+	@$(CHLOGGEN_NEW_SCRIPT) || exit 1
 
 .PHONY: chlog-validate
 chlog-validate: chlog-available ## Validates all YAML files in .chloggen
-	$(CHLOGGEN) validate
+	$(CHLOGGEN) validate || exit 1
 
 .PHONY: chlog-preview
 chlog-preview: chlog-available ## Provide a preview of the generated CHANGELOG.md file for a release
-	# Note: Issues will not be hyperlinked in the preview but will be when the actual update happens.
-	$(CHLOGGEN) update --dry
+	$(CHLOGGEN) update --dry || exit 1
 
 .PHONY: chlog-update
-chlog-update: chlog-available ## Updates the CHANGELOG.md file for a release. Example: make chlog-update VERSION=1.2.3
-	# Validate the version format
+chlog-update: chlog-available ## Creates a release CHANGELOG.md entry from content in .chloggen
 	@if [[ ! "$(VERSION)" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$$ ]]; then \
 		echo "Error: Invalid version. Try running something like 'make chlog-update VERSION=0.85.0'"; \
 		exit 1; \
 	fi
-	# Convert the version to the desired format
 	@FORMATTED_VERSION="[$(VERSION)] - $$(date +'%Y-%m-%d')"; \
-	$(CHLOGGEN) update --version $$FORMATTED_VERSION
-	# Update non-hyperlinked PR IDs in CHANGELOG.md
-	@./ci_scripts/update_changelog_links.sh
+	$(CHLOGGEN) update --version $$FORMATTED_VERSION || exit 1
+	@./ci_scripts/update_changelog_links.sh || exit 1
diff --git a/ci_scripts/base_util.sh b/ci_scripts/base_util.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..7ee8667294
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci_scripts/base_util.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Base Utility Functions Library For CI/CD
+# This script provides a set of utility functions for debugging, variable setting,
+# and common CI/CD operations. It's designed to be sourced by other scripts to
+# provide a standardized way of setting variables, debugging, and handling common
+# tasks like fetching Helm chart resources.
+
+# Note: This utility sets "set -e", which will cause any script that sources it
+# to exit if any command fails. Make sure your script is compatible with this behavior.
+set -e
+
+# Paths for the Helm chart resources
+CHART_FILE_PATH="$SCRIPT_DIR/../helm-charts/splunk-otel-collector/Chart.yaml"
+VALUES_FILE_PATH="$SCRIPT_DIR/../helm-charts/splunk-otel-collector/values.yaml"
+
+# Set default OWNER to "signalfx" if not already set
+: "${OWNER:=signalfx}"  # Sets OWNER to "signalfx" if it is not already set
+
+# Debug mode is off by default but can be enabled with --debug
+: "${DEBUG_MODE:=0}"  # Sets DEBUG_MODE to 0 if it is not already set
+
+# Iterate over all arguments of the calling script
+for arg in "$@"; do
+    if [[ "$arg" == "--debug" ]]; then
+        DEBUG_MODE=1  # Enable debug mode
+        # Remove --debug from arguments
+        for index in "${!@}"; do
+            if [[ "${!index}" == "--debug" ]]; then
+                unset "$index"
+                break
+            fi
+        done
+        # Re-index the arguments array
+        set -- "${@}"
+    fi
+done
+
+# ---- Debug Methods ----
+# These methods provide functions for setting and debugging variables.
+# To use this utility, source it in your script as shown in the example below:
+#
+# Example:
+# ```bash
+# #!/bin/bash
+# # Source the utility script to get access to its functions and variables
+# source /path/to/base_util.sh
+#
+# # Now you can use the utility functions and variables in this script
+# DEBUG_MODE=1  # Turn on debug mode
+# setd "my_var" "Hello, World!"
+# debug "a string value"
+# debug "$TEMP_FILE_WITH_CONTENT_PATH"
+# ```
+
+# Function: setd
+# Description: Sets a variable and outputs a debug message.
+# Usage: setd "variable_name" "value"
+setd() {
+    eval "$1=\"$2\""  # Set a variable with the given name and value
+    debug "$1"        # Call the debug function to output the variable
+}
+
+# Function: debug
+# Description: Outputs debug information based on the DEBUG_MODE setting.
+# Supports variables, strings, and file paths for file content.
+# Usage: debug "variable_name"
+debug() {
+    if [[ $DEBUG_MODE -eq 1 ]]; then
+        local var_name="$1"
+        local var_value="${!var_name}"  # Indirect reference to get the value
+        if [[ -f "$var_value" ]]; then
+            echo "[DEBUG] $var_name: Content of file $var_value:"
+            cat "$var_value"
+        else
+            echo "[DEBUG] $var_name: $var_value"
+        fi
+    fi
+}
+
+# Function: emit_output
+# Description: Outputs a given environment variable either to GitHub output or stdout.
+# Usage: emit_output "VAR_NAME"
+emit_output() {
+    local var_name="$1"
+    local var_value="${!var_name}"  # Indirect reference to get the value
+
+    if [ -n "$GITHUB_OUTPUT" ]; then
+        echo "${var_name}=${var_value}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+    else
+        echo "${var_name}=${var_value}"
+    fi
+}
diff --git a/ci_scripts/chloggen-new.sh b/ci_scripts/chloggen-new.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..378749a07a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci_scripts/chloggen-new.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Description: This script creates or updates a changelog entry using 'make chlog-new`.
+# Optional Parameters: CHANGE_TYPE, COMPONENT, NOTE, ISSUES, SUBCONTEXT, FILENAME
+
+# Validate input if FILENAME is not set
+if [[ -z "$FILENAME" ]]; then
+  FILENAME=$(git branch --show-current | tr -d '[:space:][:punct:]')
+fi
+
+# Check for the existence of TEMPLATE.yaml
+if [ ! -f ".chloggen/TEMPLATE.yaml" ]; then
+  echo "Error: .chloggen/TEMPLATE.yaml not found. Ensure it exists."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Check if a changelog entry with the given filename already exists
+if [ -f ".chloggen/${FILENAME}.yaml" ]; then
+  echo "Changelog entry ${FILENAME}.yaml already exists. Updating."
+  # Extend the .issues field and update it
+  OLD_ISSUES=$(yq eval '.issues' ".chloggen/${FILENAME}.yaml")
+  # Combine the old and new issues and deduplicate them
+  NEW_ISSUES=$(echo $OLD_ISSUES $ISSUES | jq -s 'add | unique')
+  echo "Resulting issues: $NEW_ISSUES"
+  yq eval -i ".issues = $NEW_ISSUES | .issues style=\"flow\" " .chloggen/${FILENAME}.yaml
+else
+  # Create a new changelog entry
+  echo "Creating new changelog entry ${FILENAME}.yaml."
+  cp .chloggen/TEMPLATE.yaml .chloggen/${FILENAME}.yaml
+fi
+
+# Update fields only if the argument was passed
+[[ ! -z "$CHANGE_TYPE" ]] && yq eval -i ".change_type = \"$CHANGE_TYPE\"" .chloggen/${FILENAME}.yaml
+[[ ! -z "$COMPONENT" ]] && yq eval -i ".component = \"$COMPONENT\"" .chloggen/${FILENAME}.yaml
+[[ ! -z "$NOTE" ]] && yq eval -i ".note = \"$NOTE\"" .chloggen/${FILENAME}.yaml
+[[ ! -z "$SUBTEXT" ]] && yq eval -i ".subtext = \"$SUBTEXT\"" .chloggen/${FILENAME}.yaml
+
+echo "${FILENAME}.yaml has been created or updated."
+exit 0
diff --git a/ci_scripts/install-tools.sh b/ci_scripts/install-tools.sh
index 05c28f0436..2e2f0dee8a 100755
--- a/ci_scripts/install-tools.sh
+++ b/ci_scripts/install-tools.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 #   - Installs tools like kubectl, helm, pre-commit, go, and chloggen.
 #   - Use OVERRIDE_OS_CHECK=true to bypass OS compatibility checks.
 #   - This script is intended to be run via `make install-tools`.
+#   - Prompts the user for approval to install or update each tool.
 #
 # Example Usage:
 #   Directly with bash: ./install-tools.sh [OVERRIDE_OS_CHECK=true]
diff --git a/ci_scripts/update-images-operator-otel.sh b/ci_scripts/update-images-operator-otel.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..00cc08afc7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci_scripts/update-images-operator-otel.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Purpose: Updates OpenTelemetry and Splunk images for auto-instrumentation.
+# Notes:
+#   - OpenTelemetry images are centralized and may change with operator subchart updates.
+#   - Splunk images are decentralized and have a separate update mechanism and release cadence.
+#
+# Example Usage:
+#   ./update-images-operator-otel.sh
+#   ./update-images-operator-otel.sh --debug
+
+# Include the base utility functions for setting and debugging variables
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
+source "$SCRIPT_DIR/base_util.sh"
+
+# ---- Initialize Temporary Files ----
+# Create a temporary file to hold a subsection of the values.yaml file
+setd "TEMP_VALUES_FILE" "$SCRIPT_DIR/temp_values_subsection.yaml"
+# Create a temporary file to store version information
+setd "TEMP_VERSIONS" "$SCRIPT_DIR/versions.txt"
+
+# ---- Operator Subchart Version Extraction ----
+# Extract the version of the opentelemetry-operator subchart from the main Chart.yaml
+# This version helps us fetch the corresponding appVersion and image versions.
+SUBCHART_VERSION=$(yq eval '.dependencies[] | select(.name == "opentelemetry-operator") | .version' "$CHART_FILE_PATH")
+echo "Opentelemetry Operator Subchart Version: $SUBCHART_VERSION"
+
+# ---- Fetching App Version ----
+# Fetch the appVersion corresponding to the Operator subchart Version.
+# This is extracted from the subchart's definition in the Chart.yaml file.
+SUBCHART_URL="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-helm-charts/opentelemetry-operator-$SUBCHART_VERSION/charts/opentelemetry-operator/Chart.yaml"
+debug "Fetching: $SUBCHART_URL"
+APP_VERSION=$(curl -s "$SUBCHART_URL" | grep 'appVersion:' | awk '{print $2}')
+debug "Operator App Version: $APP_VERSION"
+
+# ---- Fetch Version Mapping ----
+# Fetch the version mappings from versions.txt for the fetched appVersion.
+# This gives us a mapping of image keys to their corresponding version tags.
+VERSIONS_URL="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-operator/v$APP_VERSION/versions.txt"
+debug "Fetching: $VERSIONS_URL"
+curl -s "$VERSIONS_URL" > "$TEMP_VERSIONS"
+debug "Values from Operator OpenTelemetry versions.txt file containing image tags"
+debug "$TEMP_VERSIONS"
+
+# ---- Extract Subsection for Update ----
+# Extract the content between "# Auto-instrumentation Libraries (Start)" and "# Auto-instrumentation Libraries (End)"
+awk '/# Auto-instrumentation Libraries \(Start\)/,/# Auto-instrumentation Libraries \(End\)/' "$VALUES_FILE_PATH" | grep -v "# Auto-instrumentation Libraries " > "$TEMP_VALUES_FILE"
+
+# ---- Update Image Information ----
+while IFS='=' read -r IMAGE_KEY VERSION; do
+    NEED_UPDATE="${NEED_UPDATE:-0}"  # Sets NEED_UPDATE to its current value or 0 if not set
+    if [[ "$IMAGE_KEY" =~ ^autoinstrumentation-.* ]]; then
+        # Upstream Operator Values
+        setd "INST_LIB_NAME" "${IMAGE_KEY#autoinstrumentation-}"
+        setd "REPOSITORY_UPSTREAM" "ghcr.io/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-operator/autoinstrumentation-${INST_LIB_NAME}"
+        setd "TAG_UPSTREAM" "${VERSION}"
+
+        setd "REPOSITORY_LOCAL_PATH" "${INST_LIB_NAME}.repository"
+        setd "REPOSITORY_LOCAL" "$(yq eval ".${REPOSITORY_LOCAL_PATH}" "${TEMP_VALUES_FILE}")"
+
+        if [[ -z "${REPOSITORY_LOCAL}" || "${REPOSITORY_LOCAL}" != *"splunk"* ]]; then
+          yq eval -i ".${REPOSITORY_LOCAL_PATH} = \"${REPOSITORY_UPSTREAM}\"" "${TEMP_VALUES_FILE}"
+
+          setd "TAG_LOCAL_PATH" "${INST_LIB_NAME}.tag"
+          setd "TAG_LOCAL" "$(yq eval ".${TAG_LOCAL_PATH}" "${TEMP_VALUES_FILE}")"
+          if [[ -z "${TAG_LOCAL}" || "${TAG_LOCAL}" == "null" || "${TAG_LOCAL}" != "$TAG_UPSTREAM" ]]; then
+            debug "Upserting value for ${REPOSITORY_LOCAL}:${TAG_LOCAL}"
+            yq eval -i ".${TAG_LOCAL_PATH} = \"${TAG_UPSTREAM}\"" "${TEMP_VALUES_FILE}"
+            setd "NEED_UPDATE" 1
+          else
+            debug "Retaining existing value for ${REPOSITORY_LOCAL}:${TAG_LOCAL}"
+          fi
+        else
+          # Splunk instrumentation libraries are updated in a different workflow.
+          debug "Skipping updating ${REPOSITORY_LOCAL}:${TAG_LOCAL}"
+        fi
+    fi
+done < "${TEMP_VERSIONS}"
+
+# Emit the NEED_UPDATE variable to either GitHub output or stdout
+emit_output "NEED_UPDATE"
+
+# Merge the updated subsection back into values.yaml
+# This approach specifically updates only the subsection between the start and end tokens.
+# By doing so, we avoid reformatting the entire file, thus preserving the original structure and comments.
+awk '
+  !p && !/# Auto-instrumentation Libraries \(Start\)/ && !/# Auto-instrumentation Libraries \(End\)/ { print $0; next }
+  /# Auto-instrumentation Libraries \(Start\)/ {p=1; print $0; next}
+  /# Auto-instrumentation Libraries \(End\)/ {p=0; while((getline line < "'$TEMP_VALUES_FILE'") > 0) printf "      %s\n", line; print $0; next}
+' "$VALUES_FILE_PATH" > "${VALUES_FILE_PATH}.updated"
+
+# Replace the original values.yaml with the updated version
+mv "${VALUES_FILE_PATH}.updated" "$VALUES_FILE_PATH"
+# Cleanup temporary files
+rm "$TEMP_VALUES_FILE"
+rm "$TEMP_VERSIONS"
+
+echo "Image update process completed successfully!"
+exit 0
diff --git a/ci_scripts/update-images-operator-splunk.sh b/ci_scripts/update-images-operator-splunk.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..d5a4e4f721
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci_scripts/update-images-operator-splunk.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Purpose: Updates Splunk images for auto-instrumentation.
+# Notes:
+#   - This script updates the instrumentation libraries from Splunk's repositories.
+#   - This script will always pull the latest version of a specific Splunk instrumentation library.
+#   - OpenTelemetry images are updated differently and are not handled by this script.
+# Parameters:
+#   1: Name of the instrumentation library (mandatory)
+#   --debug: Enable debug mode (optional)
+#
+# Example Usage:
+#   ./update-images-operator-splunk.sh java
+#   ./update-images-operator-splunk.sh nodejs --debug
+
+# Include the base utility functions for setting and debugging variables
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
+source "$SCRIPT_DIR/base_util.sh"
+
+# ---- Validate Input Arguments ----
+# Check for command-line arguments
+if [ "$#" -eq 0 ]; then
+    echo "Error: No arguments provided."
+    echo "Usage: $0 <instrumentation-library-name> [--debug]"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# ---- Initialize Variables ----
+# Set the instrumentation library name
+setd "INST_LIB_NAME" "$1"
+
+# Set repository-related variables
+setd "REPO" "ghcr.io/${OWNER}/splunk-otel-${INST_LIB_NAME}/splunk-otel-${INST_LIB_NAME}"
+setd "REPOSITORY_LOCAL_PATH" "operator.instrumentation.spec.${INST_LIB_NAME}.repository"
+setd "REPOSITORY_LOCAL" "$(yq eval ".${REPOSITORY_LOCAL_PATH}" "${VALUES_FILE_PATH}")"
+setd "TAG_LOCAL_PATH" "operator.instrumentation.spec.${INST_LIB_NAME}.tag"
+setd "TAG_LOCAL" "$(yq eval ".${TAG_LOCAL_PATH}" "${VALUES_FILE_PATH}")"
+
+# ---- Fetch Latest Version ----
+# Fetch the latest version from GitHub
+setd "LATEST_API" "https://api.github.com/repos/${OWNER}/splunk-otel-${INST_LIB_NAME}/releases/latest"
+setd "LATEST_API_CURL" "curl -L -qs -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' \"$LATEST_API\" | jq -r .tag_name"
+setd "TAG_UPSTREAM" "$(eval $LATEST_API_CURL)"
+
+# ---- Display Version Information ----
+# Display current and latest versions
+echo "${REPOSITORY_LOCAL} -> Local tag: ${TAG_LOCAL}, Latest tag: $TAG_UPSTREAM"
+
+# ---- Update Version Information ----
+# If needed, update the tag version in values.yaml
+setd "NEED_UPDATE" "${NEED_UPDATE:-0}"  # Sets NEED_UPDATE to its current value or 0 if not set
+if [ "$TAG_UPSTREAM" == "$TAG_LOCAL" ]; then
+  echo "We are already up to date. Nothing else to do."
+elif [[ -z "$TAG_LOCAL" || "$TAG_LOCAL" == "null" || "$TAG_LOCAL" != "$TAG_UPSTREAM" ]]; then
+  debug "Upserting value for ${REPOSITORY_LOCAL}:${TAG_LOCAL}"
+  yq eval -i ".${TAG_LOCAL_PATH} = \"$TAG_UPSTREAM\"" "${VALUES_FILE_PATH}"
+  setd "NEED_UPDATE" 1  # Setting NEED_UPDATE to 1 as an update is required
+fi
+
+# Emit the NEED_UPDATE variable to either GitHub output or stdout
+emit_output "NEED_UPDATE"
+
+echo "Image update process completed successfully!"
+exit 0
diff --git a/ci_scripts/update_changelog_links.sh b/ci_scripts/update_changelog_links.sh
index ad26d933b4..45f63b29a5 100755
--- a/ci_scripts/update_changelog_links.sh
+++ b/ci_scripts/update_changelog_links.sh
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
 # Create a temporary file to hold the updated CHANGELOG.md content
 TEMP_CHANGELOG="CHANGELOG.md.tmp"
 
-# ---- Update PR Links in CHANGELOG.md ----
+# ---- Update CHANGELOG.md for Subcontext and PR Links ----
 while IFS= read -r line; do
     if [[ $line =~ \(\#([0-9,# ]+)\)$ ]]; then
         pr_ids=${BASH_REMATCH[1]}
@@ -51,7 +51,12 @@ while IFS= read -r line; do
         echo "$line" >> "$TEMP_CHANGELOG"
     fi
 done < "CHANGELOG.md"
+mv "$TEMP_CHANGELOG" "CHANGELOG.md"
 
+# Insert the line about the Splunk OpenTelemetry Collector version adopted in this Kubernetes release
+appVersion=$(grep "appVersion:" helm-charts/splunk-otel-collector/Chart.yaml | awk '{print $2}')
+insert_line="This Splunk OpenTelemetry Collector for Kubernetes release adopts the [Splunk OpenTelemetry Collector v${appVersion}](https://github.com/signalfx/splunk-otel-collector/releases/tag/v${appVersion}).\n"
+awk -v n=11 -v s="$insert_line" 'NR == n {print s} {print}' CHANGELOG.md > $TEMP_CHANGELOG
 mv "$TEMP_CHANGELOG" "CHANGELOG.md"
 
 echo "Successfully updated PR links in CHANGELOG.md"
diff --git a/helm-charts/splunk-otel-collector/Chart.yaml b/helm-charts/splunk-otel-collector/Chart.yaml
index d48cca8b9f..9adf7b4e9e 100644
--- a/helm-charts/splunk-otel-collector/Chart.yaml
+++ b/helm-charts/splunk-otel-collector/Chart.yaml
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ dependencies:
     repository: https://charts.jetstack.io
     condition: certmanager.enabled
   - name: opentelemetry-operator
-    version: 0.37.0
+    version: 0.36.0
     alias: operator
     repository: https://open-telemetry.github.io/opentelemetry-helm-charts
     condition: operator.enabled