diff --git a/.github/workflows/auto_release.yml b/.github/workflows/auto_release.yml
index e02848360..c25a80dce 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/auto_release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/auto_release.yml
@@ -46,8 +46,14 @@ jobs:
       run: |
         echo "::set-output name=ver::$(jq --raw-output .version metadata.json)"
 
-    - name: "Commit changes"
+    - name: "Check if a release is necessary"
       if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'puppetlabs' }}
+      id: check
+      run: |
+        git diff --quiet CHANGELOG.md && echo "::set-output name=release::false" || echo "::set-output name=release::true"
+
+    - name: "Commit changes"
+      if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'puppetlabs' && steps.check.outputs.release == 'true' }}
       run: |
         git config --local user.email "${{ github.repository_owner }}@users.noreply.github.com"
         git config --local user.name "GitHub Action"
@@ -57,7 +63,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Create Pull Request
       id: cpr
       uses: puppetlabs/peter-evans-create-pull-request@v3
-      if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'puppetlabs' }}
+      if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'puppetlabs' && steps.check.outputs.release == 'true' }}
       with:
         token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         commit-message: "Release prep v${{ steps.gv.outputs.ver }}"
@@ -73,7 +79,7 @@ jobs:
         labels: "maintenance"
 
     - name: PR outputs
-      if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'puppetlabs' }}
+      if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'puppetlabs' && steps.check.outputs.release == 'true' }}
       run: |
         echo "Pull Request Number - ${{ steps.cpr.outputs.pull-request-number }}"
         echo "Pull Request URL - ${{ steps.cpr.outputs.pull-request-url }}"
diff --git a/.sync.yml b/.sync.yml
index 9fe0564c7..c50c04d3c 100644
--- a/.sync.yml
+++ b/.sync.yml
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ spec/spec_helper.rb:
   - require 'spec_helper_local'
   coverage_report: true
 "  changelog_user": puppetlabs
+Rakefile:
+  changelog_max_issues: 500
 .gitpod.Dockerfile:
   unmanaged: false
 .gitpod.yml:
diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index f80035657..64e5cd1f0 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ if Bundler.rubygems.find_name('github_changelog_generator').any?
     config.user = "#{changelog_user}"
     config.project = "#{changelog_project}"
     config.since_tag = "v11.0.3"
+    config.max_issues = 500
     config.future_release = "#{changelog_future_release}"
     config.exclude_labels = ['maintenance']
     config.header = "# Change log\n\nAll notable changes to this project will be documented in this file. The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/) and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org)."
diff --git a/metadata.json b/metadata.json
index 13dbdbb9c..33ed065c3 100644
--- a/metadata.json
+++ b/metadata.json
@@ -68,6 +68,6 @@
   ],
   "description": "MySQL module",
   "template-url": "https://github.com/puppetlabs/pdk-templates#main",
-  "template-ref": "heads/main-0-g2381db6",
-  "pdk-version": "2.1.0"
+  "template-ref": "heads/main-0-g51828b4",
+  "pdk-version": "2.2.0"
 }