.17 changelog and link to changelog in installer output

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,101 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [6.0.0-alpha.17]
+
+**Release: December 16, 2025**
+
+### 🚀 Revolutionary Installer Overhaul
+
+**Unified Installation Experience:**
+
+- **Streamlined Module Installation**: Completely redesigned installer with unified flow for both core and custom content
+- **Single Install Panel**: Eliminated disjointed clearing between modules for smoother, more intuitive installation
+- **Quick Default Selection**: New quick install feature with default selections for faster setup of selected modules
+- **Enhanced UI/UX**: Improved question order, reduced verbose output, and cleaner installation interface
+- **Logical Question Flow**: Reorganized installer questions to follow natural progression and user expectations
+
+**Custom Content Installation Revolution:**
+
+- **Full Custom Content Support**: Re-enabled complete custom content generation and sharing through the installer
+- **Custom Module Tracking**: Manifest now tracks custom modules separately to ensure they're always installed from the custom cache
+- **Custom Installation Order**: Custom modules now install after core modules for better dependency management
+- **Quick Update with Custom Content**: Quick update now properly retains and updates custom content
+- **Agent Customization Integration**: Customizations are now applied during quick updates and agent compilation
+
+### 🧠 Revolutionary Agent Memory & Visibility System
+
+**Breaking Through Dot-Folder Limitations:**
+
+- **Dot-Folder to Underscore Migration**: Critical change from `.bmad` to `_bmad` ensures LLMs (Codex, Claude, and others) can no longer ignore or skip BMAD content - dot folders are commonly filtered out by AI systems
+- **Universal Content Visibility**: Underscore folders are treated as regular content, ensuring full AI agent access to all BMAD resources and configurations
+- **Agent Memory Architecture**: Rolled out comprehensive agent memory support for installed agents with `-sidecar` folders
+- **Persistent Agent Learning**: Sidecar content installs to `_bmad/_memory`, giving each agent the ability to learn and remember important information specific to its role
+
+**Content Location Strategy:**
+
+- **Standardized Memory Location**: All sidecar content now uses `_bmad/_memory` as the unified location for agent memories
+- **Segregated Output System**: New architecture supports differentiating between ephemeral Phase 4 artifacts and long-term documentation
+- **Forward Compatibility**: Existing installations continue working with content in docs folder, with optimization coming in next release
+- **Configuration Cleanup**: Renamed `_cfg` to `_config` for clearer naming conventions
+- **YAML Library Consolidation**: Reduced dependency to use only one YAML library for better stability
+
+### 🎯 Future-Ready Architecture
+
+**Content Organization Preview:**
+
+- **Phase 4 Artifact Segregation**: Infrastructure ready for separating ephemeral workflow artifacts from permanent documentation
+- **Planning vs Implementation Docs**: New system will differentiate between planning artifacts and long-term project documentation
+- **Backward Compatibility**: Current installs maintain full functionality while preparing for optimized content organization
+- **Quick Update Path**: Tomorrow's quick update will fully optimize all BMM workflows to use new segregated output locations
+
+### 🎯 Sample Modules & Documentation
+
+**Comprehensive Examples:**
+
+- **Sample Unitary Module**: Complete example with commit-poet agent and quiz-master workflow
+- **Sample Wellness Module**: Meditation guide and wellness companion agents demonstrating advanced patterns
+- **Enhanced Documentation**: Updated README files and comprehensive installation guides
+- **Custom Content Creation Guides**: Step-by-step documentation for creating and sharing custom modules
+
+### 🔧 Bug Fixes & Optimizations
+
+**Installer Improvements:**
+
+- **Fixed Duplicate Entry Issue**: Resolved duplicate entries in files manifest
+- **Reduced Log Noise**: Less verbose logging during installation for cleaner user experience
+- **Menu Wording Updates**: Improved menu text for better clarity and understanding
+- **Fixed Quick Install**: Resolved issues with quick installation functionality
+
+**Code Quality:**
+
+- **Minor Code Cleanup**: General cleanup and refactoring throughout the codebase
+- **Removed Unused Code**: Cleaned up deprecated and unused functionality
+- **Release Workflow Restoration**: Fixed automated release workflow for v6
+
+**BMM Phase 4 Workflow Improvements:**
+
+- **Sprint Status Enhancement**: Improved sprint-status validation with interactive correction for unknown values and better epic status handling
+- **Story Status Standardization**: Normalized all story status references to lowercase kebab-case (ready-for-dev, in-progress, review, done)
+- **Removed Stale Story State**: Eliminated deprecated 'drafted' story state - stories now go directly from creation to ready-for-dev
+- **Code Review Clarity**: Improved code review completion message from "Story is ready for next work!" to "Code review complete!" for better clarity
+- **Risk Detection Rules**: Rewrote risk detection rules for better LLM clarity and fixed warnings vs risks naming inconsistency
+
+### 📊 Statistics
+
+- **40+ commits** since alpha.16
+- **Major installer refactoring** with complete UX overhaul
+- **2 new sample modules** with comprehensive examples
+- **Full custom content support** re-enabled and improved
+
+### 🌟 Key Highlights
+
+1. **Installer Revolution**: The installation system has been completely overhauled for better user experience, reliability, and speed
+2. **Custom Content Freedom**: Users can now easily create, share, and install custom content through the streamlined installer
+3. **AI Visibility Breakthrough**: Migration from `.bmad` to `_bmad` ensures LLMs can access all BMAD content (dot folders are commonly ignored by AI systems)
+4. **Agent Memory System**: Rolled out persistent agent memory support - agents with `-sidecar` folders can now learn and remember important information in `_bmad/_memory`
+5. **Quick Default Selection**: Installation is now faster with smart default selections for popular configurations
+6. **Future-Ready Architecture**: Infrastructure in place for segregating ephemeral artifacts from permanent documentation (full optimization coming in next release)
+
 ## [6.0.0-alpha.16]
 
 **Release: December 10, 2025**

docs/sample-custom-modules/sample-unitary-module/README.md

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 # Example Custom Content module
 
-This is a demonstration of custom stand along agents and workflows. By having this content all in a folder with a custom.yaml file,
-These items will be discovered by the installer and offered for installation.
+This is a demonstration of custom stand along agents and workflows. By having this content all in a folder with a module.yaml file,
+these items can be installed with the standard bmad installer custom local content menu item.
 
 This is how you could also create and share other custom agents and workflows not tied to a specific module.
 
-To see how these become installable, rename custom.bak -> custom.yaml and run the installer from the location you also have put this folder.
+The main distinction with this colelction is module.yaml includes type: unitary

tools/cli/commands/install.js

@@ -26,6 +26,11 @@ module.exports = {
         const result = await installer.quickUpdate(config);
         console.log(chalk.green('\n✨ Quick update complete!'));
         console.log(chalk.cyan(`Updated ${result.moduleCount} modules with preserved settings`));
+        console.log(
+          chalk.magenta(
+            "\n📋 Want to see what's new? Check out the changelog: https://github.com/bmad-code-org/BMAD-METHOD/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md",
+          ),
+        );
         process.exit(0);
         return;
       }

tools/cli/lib/ui.js

@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ class UI {
   async promptInstall() {
     CLIUtils.displayLogo();
 
+    // Display changelog link
+    console.log(chalk.cyan('\n📋 Read the latest updates: https://github.com/bmad-code-org/BMAD-METHOD/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md\n'));
+
     const confirmedDirectory = await this.getConfirmedDirectory();
 
     // Preflight: Check for legacy BMAD v4 footprints immediately after getting directory
@@ -584,6 +587,13 @@ class UI {
 
     console.log(chalk.yellow('\nThank you for helping test the early release version of the new BMad Core and BMad Method!'));
     console.log(chalk.cyan('Stable Beta coming soon - please read the full README.md and linked documentation to get started!'));
+
+    // Add changelog link at the end
+    console.log(
+      chalk.magenta(
+        "\n📋 Want to see what's new? Check out the changelog: https://github.com/bmad-code-org/BMAD-METHOD/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md",
+      ),
+    );
   }
 
   /**