pan-release git:20260727.08ecbfcA

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---
name: pan-release
description: Overdeck-specific stable vs canary release workflow from main
allowed-tools:
  - Bash
  - Read
---

# Overdeck Release Workflow

Use this skill when the user asks how to release Overdeck, whether they should use a `develop` branch, or how stable vs canary publishing works.

## Core policy

Overdeck develops directly on `main`.

`main` is the active development branch, not the stable channel by itself. A release only happens when someone intentionally cuts and pushes a tag.

Do not recommend GitFlow or a long-lived `develop` branch unless the user explicitly asks for a different workflow.

## Release channels

### Stable
- Version format: `X.Y.Z`
- Tag format: `vX.Y.Z`
- npm dist-tag: `latest`
- GitHub Release: normal release

### Canary
- Version format: `X.Y.Z-canary.N`
- Tag format: `vX.Y.Z-canary.N`
- npm dist-tag: `canary`
- GitHub Release: prerelease

## Preferred operator flow

1. Run:
   ```bash
   pan release check
   ```
2. Create a stable or canary release:
   ```bash
   pan release stable --version 0.7.1
   pan release canary --version 0.8.0-canary.1
   ```
3. Push intentionally:
   ```bash
   git push origin main
   git push origin v0.7.1
   ```

## What the CLI does

`pan release stable` and `pan release canary`:
- validate the version format
- require release-from-`main`
- require a clean working tree
- run preflight verification
- update `package.json`
- create a release commit
- create an annotated tag
- print push commands instead of pushing automatically

## Publishing (how a pushed tag actually ships)

Pushing a `vX.Y.Z` tag triggers `.github/workflows/release.yml`, which **publishes
`@overdeck/core`, `@overdeck/contracts`, and `@overdeck/desktop` to npm and cuts
the GitHub Release with desktop binaries — automatically**. There is **no manual
`npm publish`, no token, and no OTP**:

- CI authenticates via **npm Trusted Publishing (OIDC)** — the workflow's
  `id-token: write` plus a Trusted Publisher configured on each package. The
  publish steps are retry-safe (skip a package if that version already exists).
- **Do NOT add `registry-url` or a `NODE_AUTH_TOKEN` to the npm job's
  `setup-node`.** `registry-url` writes a dummy `_authToken` into `.npmrc` that
  shadows OIDC and makes `npm publish` fail with a 404. (This broke the
  v0.30.0/v0.30.1 publishes; removing it was the fix.)

Prerequisites that must stay true or publishing breaks:
- Each `@overdeck/*` package has a **Trusted Publisher** on npmjs.com
  (GitHub Actions · `eltmon`/`overdeck` · `release.yml`).
- **No `workspace:*` in runtime `dependencies`** — bundled workspace packages
  (e.g. `@overdeck/contracts`) belong in `devDependencies`, or consumers'
  `npm install` fails with `EUNSUPPORTEDPROTOCOL`.
- `publishConfig.access: "public"` on every publishable package.

First-time setup for a brand-new package (npm org creation, the one-time
bootstrap publish, configuring the Trusted Publisher) and full publish
troubleshooting live in `docs/RELEASING.md`.

## Releasing as an agent (guards you will hit)

An agent cutting a release trips guards a human operator never sees. All three
have sanctioned levers — **never reach for `--no-verify`**, which is a one-way
door.

**1. The commit path guard.** `scripts/guard-flywheel-orchestrator-commit.sh`
(via `.husky/pre-commit`) refuses a `flywheel-orchestrator` commit that touches
anything outside `docs/FLYWHEEL-STATE.md` and the state paths — and a release
commit necessarily touches three `package.json` files. The guard's own
operator-directed escape hatch is:

```bash
OVERDECK_OPERATOR_COMMIT=1 pan release stable --version X.Y.Z
```

It mirrors `OVERDECK_OPERATOR_PUSH=1` for the push guard. Use it only when the
operator has actually directed the release.

**2. The push guard.** `scripts/guard-agent-main-push.sh` exempts `conv-`
prefixed agent ids but not pipeline roles, so pushing `main` and the tag needs:

```bash
OVERDECK_OPERATOR_PUSH=1 git push origin main
OVERDECK_OPERATOR_PUSH=1 git push origin vX.Y.Z
```

**3. Preflight tests fail for the wrong reason (PAN-3081).** An agent session
carries `~/.overdeck/agents/<id>/git-guard` on `PATH`. That shim intercepts
`git reset --hard` and `git rebase` *inside test fixtures that legitimately run
them against their own temp repos*, so preflight reports failures that do not
exist. Observed repeatedly: **10 failures with the shim on `PATH`, 0 without.**

Verify the suite yourself with the shim dropped, and only then skip the
preflight re-run:

```bash
CLEAN=$(echo $PATH | tr ':' '\n' | grep -v git-guard | paste -sd:)
PATH="$CLEAN" npm test          # must be genuinely green
pan release stable --version X.Y.Z --skip-tests
```

`--skip-tests` is legitimate **only** when you have run the suite clean and seen
it pass. It skips a corrupted measurement, not the verification itself. Note the
precedent in `src/cli/commands/restart.ts:194-198`, which already strips the
guard from `PATH` for agent-launched restarts — release preflight does not, yet.

**Ordering note.** If `git push origin main` is rejected because the remote moved
ahead, merge rather than rebase (`git rebase` is blocked by the agent git guard)
and push again. Push the tag even if `main` is momentarily behind — the tag is
its own ref and triggers the publish workflow independently.

## Notes

- Stable is for “ship this to normal users now.”
- Canary is for “publish a real prerelease without moving latest yet.”
- The GitHub workflow decides whether to publish `latest` or `canary` based on the tag format.
- If asked for docs, point to `docs/RELEASING.md`.