paseo/docs/release.md

Release

All workspaces share one version and release together.

Two steps

A release has exactly two steps. The agent does the first, the user authorizes the second.

Preparation (local, reversible — agent does this):

• format, lint, typecheck all green
• resolve the release source to one commit and confirm that commit's existing CI is green
• classify the diff from the previous stable to the release source as patch or minor, then show the target version and rationale to the user
• draft the changelog, show it to the user, wait for review
• run the pre-release sanity check, surface findings to the user

Go-ahead (user says "go ahead"):

• commit the approved release inputs locally
• run the release, which publishes npm and pushes the prepared branch and tag
• create the release heartbeat immediately and babysit it to completion

Rules that apply to both steps:

• Last-minute changes always need approval. Every time.
• No code changes bundled into the changelog commit or the release commit. Code shims live in their own commit, reviewed on their own merits.
• A sanity-check finding is information, not a directive. The agent surfaces it; the user decides.
• Invoking a release skill is intent to start the flow, not blanket authorization to publish.
• If the user asks for a release preview, show the prospective changelog/release contents and answer questions, but do not commit, tag, publish, or run release commands until they explicitly authorize the release.

Release source and CI

The default release source is origin/main. Fetch origin, then record the resolved commit. The default release checkout is a clean local main whose HEAD equals origin/main.

An explicit user instruction can select another ref, such as a hotfix commit or tag. Resolve that ref once and apply every source, diff, and CI check to that commit instead of origin/main.

Before making release-preparation commits, confirm the existing CI run for the resolved commit is green. Pending CI is watched to completion. Release preparation then stays local through the changelog, any explicitly requested ACP catalog update, lockfile preparation, and the version commit. After approval, commit the prepared inputs locally and run the release command. Its branch and tag push is the one remote release batch and starts CI for the complete release commit.

ACP catalog updates

ACP catalog work enters a release through an explicit user request:

• Check ACP drift — run npm run acp:version-drift:check. When drift exists, run npm run acp:version-drift:update, verify the catalog, and include the update in the local release-preparation commits.
• Update ACP — run npm run acp:version-drift:update, verify the catalog, and include the update in the local release-preparation commits.

The release authorization covers the requested ACP commit. It ships in the same release push as the changelog and version commit.

Two paths

There are two supported release paths:

1. Direct stable release: you are ready to ship the current main commit to everyone immediately.
2. Beta flow: release candidates on the beta channel. Each beta carries its own changelog entry, publishes npm only on the explicit beta dist-tag, and stays behind the Stable/Beta switch on /download.

Paseo has one linear release track even though npm dist-tags are independent pointers. The npm invariant is:

• A beta release moves only beta; latest remains on the newest stable.
• A stable release moves both latest and beta to that stable version. This keeps users who install @getpaseo/cli@beta on the newest Paseo release after a beta is promoted or superseded by a direct stable release.

Release version decision

Every fresh release starts by classifying the full diff from the previous stable to the resolved release source. The highest-impact change determines the version:

• Minor — a user would experience the release as a significant upgrade. This includes substantial new workflows, providers, forges, platforms, integrations, or meaningful expansions of existing capabilities. Foundational internal work also qualifies when it materially changes reliability, performance, compatibility, deployment, or operation; diff size alone does not.
• Patch — fixes, polish, small enhancements, and reliability or performance improvements within existing capabilities. Follow-up corrections to a minor release are patches.

The release agent selects patch or minor during preparation and presents the target version with the changelog for approval. Agents never select a major version autonomously. A major release requires an explicit user instruction and approval; Paseo remains on major version zero until that deliberate decision.

Version bumps are never used to retry a failed build. Retry the existing version as described in Fixing a failed release build.

Standard release (stable)

Before running any stable release command:

• Make sure the resolved release source passed CI, the approved release inputs are committed locally on the intended branch, and the working tree is clean.
• Run npm run format, npm run lint, and npm run typecheck and commit any resulting changes BEFORE you start any release:* command. release:check runs npm install --workspaces --include-workspace-root as part of release:prepare, which can mutate package-lock.json (e.g. churning "dev": true markers on optional deps). The next step, version:all:*, runs npm version which aborts when the working tree is dirty. If this happens mid-flight you have to commit the lockfile churn before retrying — and the pre-commit format hook will reject a lockfile-only commit because oxfmt internally skips package-lock.json while lefthook's glob still matches it. Avoid the whole mess by running format/lint/typecheck first, then release:prepare once on its own to absorb any lockfile churn into a normal commit, then start the release.
• Do not use a release command as a substitute for checking whether the current commit is actually ready.

# Run exactly one, matching the approved decision:
npm run release:patch
npm run release:minor

This bumps the version across all workspaces, runs checks, publishes to npm, and pushes the branch + tag. The tag push triggers Desktop Release, Android APK Release, Docker, and Release Notes Sync on GitHub Actions. The workflows create the GitHub Release as a draft while builds and release-note sync run. EAS picks up the same tag via the EAS GitHub app and starts the iOS + Android store builds in parallel (see "Mobile builds (EAS)" below) — there is no mobile-release workflow under .github/workflows.

After the stable release succeeds, move npm's beta pointer to the new stable version for every published package. This changes dist-tags only; do not republish the packages:

PASEO_VERSION=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")
for package in highlight relay protocol client plugin server cli; do
  npm dist-tag add "@getpaseo/$package@$PASEO_VERSION" beta
done

Verify both npm tags now resolve to PASEO_VERSION before considering the stable release complete.

The Docker workflow builds images from the checked-out source tree on pull requests and on main as non-publishing checks. Stable vX.Y.Z tag pushes publish ghcr.io/getpaseo/paseo:X.Y.Z and ghcr.io/getpaseo/paseo:latest; beta vX.Y.Z-beta.N tag pushes publish only ghcr.io/getpaseo/paseo:X.Y.Z-beta.N and never move latest.

The production relay is the Elixir service in getpaseo/paseo-relay, with its own deployment process. Paseo releases and pushes to this repository do not deploy it. The Cloudflare relay code and workflow in this repository are legacy and are not used in production.

Stable means stable. If the user says "stable" or "ship stable", do not ask whether they want a beta first. They picked stable; treat it as a direct stable release. Only run the beta flow when the user explicitly says "beta".

Manual step-by-step

npm run typecheck            # Verify the exact commit you intend to release
npm run release:check        # Typecheck, build, dry-run pack
# Run exactly one approved version command:
npm run version:all:patch
npm run version:all:minor
npm run release:publish      # Publish to npm
npm run release:push         # Push HEAD + tag (triggers CI workflows)
# Then move npm's beta dist-tag to this stable version using the command above.

Beta flow

npm run release:beta:patch       # Start the next patch beta line
npm run release:beta:minor       # Start the next minor beta line
# ... test desktop and APK prerelease assets from GitHub Releases ...
npm run release:beta:next        # Optional: cut X.Y.Z-beta.2, beta.3, ...
npm run release:promote          # Promote X.Y.Z-beta.N to stable X.Y.Z

• Beta tags are published GitHub prereleases like v0.1.41-beta.1
• Betas publish npm packages with --tag beta, so npm install @getpaseo/cli@beta opts in while plain npm install @getpaseo/cli stays on latest
• Betas publish desktop assets and APKs for testing. They also build iOS, upload it to TestFlight, add it to the Paseo Beta external group, and submit it for Beta App Review. They do not submit mobile builds to the production stores.
• release:promote creates a fresh stable tag like v0.1.41; the final release never reuses the beta tag
• Desktop assets now come from the Electron package at packages/desktop
• Beta releases use Electron's beta update channel. Users on the stable channel only receive stable releases; users on the beta channel receive beta releases and the final stable release when it is published.
• Each beta carries its own changelog entry. Release Notes Sync mirrors the matching ## X.Y.Z-beta.N entry into that prerelease body. Promotion collapses every beta entry for the version into one final stable entry. See the Changelog policy section.

Use the beta path when you need to:

• smoke a build yourself before promoting it to everyone
• test a build manually in a Linux or Windows VM
• send a build to a user who is hitting a specific problem
• iterate on beta.1, beta.2, beta.3, and so on before deciding to ship broadly

Staged rollout (stable channel)

Stable desktop releases go out via a linear time-based rollout for automatic update checks: 0% admitted when the updater manifests appear, 100% admitted 36 hours later, linear ramp in between. Manual checks bypass the rollout so a user can install immediately when they click Check. Beta releases bypass the rollout entirely — beta users always receive updates immediately.

The rollout is driven by a rolloutHours field stamped into the GitHub Release manifests (latest-mac.yml, latest-linux.yml, latest.yml) by the finalize-rollout job in desktop-release.yml.

Desktop release builds now publish in two phases:

• The GitHub Release stays a draft while platform build jobs upload the installers/packages (.dmg, .zip, .exe, .AppImage, etc.).
• The final job merges and stamps every channel manifest, uploads them with the final releaseDate and rolloutHours, then publishes the GitHub Release.

Drafts do not appear in GitHub's releases feed. Updater clients continue to see the previous complete release until all three manifests are available. If a desktop build or manifest upload fails, the new release stays a draft.

Default behavior

npm run release:patch or npm run release:minor → tag push → 36h ramp. No extra action needed.

The rollout_hours input on desktop-release.yml is only read on workflow_dispatch — tag-push runs always default to 36. To get any other rollout duration on a fresh release, use the post-publish flip below.

Instant-admit release (rollout_hours=0 from publish)

For a fresh release that should admit everyone immediately (low-risk change, doc-only, hotfix, or just a release you want out fast), cut the release normally and queue the rollout flip immediately after:

# 1. Cut and publish (default 36h ramp from tag push).
npm run release:patch

# 2. Immediately queue the flip — runs as soon as finalize-rollout completes.
gh workflow run desktop-rollout.yml \
  -f tag=v0.1.64 \
  -f rollout_hours=0

Why this is gap-free: desktop-release.yml's finalize-rollout job and desktop-rollout.yml share the concurrency group desktop-rollout-<tag>. Dispatching desktop-rollout.yml while the tag-push pipeline is still running queues it safely behind finalize-rollout. The first public manifests already carry rolloutHours=36, then desktop-rollout.yml flips them to rolloutHours=0 shortly afterward. The renderer polls every 30 minutes, so active stable users pick up the new manifest on their next check.

Run the dispatch right after release:patch or release:minor returns. Don't wait for the tag-push CI to finish.

Adjusting an already-published release

To change the rollout duration on a release that's already shipped — e.g. flip a hotfix to instant admit, or slow a release down — use the dedicated desktop-rollout.yml workflow. It edits the manifests in place on the GitHub release without rebuilding anything. It only rewrites rolloutHours; releaseDate is preserved, so the rollout clock keeps ticking from the original publish time.

Hotfix (instant admit) on an already-shipped release:

gh workflow run desktop-rollout.yml \
  -f tag=v0.1.42 \
  -f rollout_hours=0

rollout_hours=0 admits 100% of stable users on their next update check (within ~30 min for active clients).

Slow a rollout down (e.g. extend total duration to 72h since the original release):

gh workflow run desktop-rollout.yml \
  -f tag=v0.1.42 \
  -f rollout_hours=72

rollout_hours is total duration since the original release date, not "extend by N more hours from now." If v0.1.42 was published 2h ago and you set rollout_hours=72, the ramp finishes 70h from now.

The dispatch is idempotent and shares the desktop-rollout-<tag> concurrency group with desktop-release.yml's finalize-rollout job, so it serializes safely against an in-flight tag-push pipeline targeting the same release.

Custom ramp on a manually-dispatched build

desktop-release.yml accepts rollout_hours only on workflow_dispatch, which is the path used to rebuild an existing tag (retry a failed release, force a rebuild on a different ref). When you go that route, you can stamp a non-default ramp directly:

gh workflow run desktop-release.yml \
  -f tag=v0.1.43 \
  -f rollout_hours=6

This does not apply to fresh releases cut via npm run release:patch or npm run release:minor — those paths always tag-push and stamp 36. For a fresh release with a custom ramp, cut normally and then dispatch desktop-rollout.yml (same pattern as the instant-admit flow above, with your chosen rollout_hours).

Releasing during an active rollout

If you ship N+1 while N is still ramping, N+1 starts a fresh rollout from its own publish timestamp. N's rollout effectively ends — the newer manifest supersedes it. Rollout-aware clients revalidate the manifest for up to five seconds before installing a downloaded update on quit. If N+1 has replaced N but the client is not admitted to N+1 yet, it skips the downloaded N and waits rather than installing two updates in succession. If revalidation times out, the app exits without installing the cached update.

If N+1 is a hotfix for a bug in N, dispatch desktop-rollout.yml -f tag=v0.1.<N+1> -f rollout_hours=0 after N+1 publishes so the users who already got N reach the fix fast.

Limitations

• No pause / kill switch. To stop new admissions, ship a superseding release. Clients revalidate on quit and will not install the superseded download, but a client that already completed installation cannot be recalled; ship a hotfix +1 patch.
• No rollback. allowDowngrade = false. Bad release = ship a hotfix.
• Bootstrap caveat. Clients running a build older than the rollout feature ignore rolloutHours and admit immediately. Rollout protection only applies to clients running the rollout-aware version or later.
• Up to ~30 min automatic admission latency. Renderer polls every 30 minutes, so a stable user may take up to that long to be evaluated against the rollout window. Clicking Check is manual and bypasses rollout admission.

Mobile builds (EAS)

iOS and Android store builds are not in .github/workflows. They are triggered by the EAS GitHub app the moment the v* tag is pushed:

• Android (Play Store) — EAS builds with profile production and auto-submits to the Play Store via eas submit (EAS-managed credentials, no Fastlane).
• iOS (TestFlight + App Store) — EAS builds with profile production, uploads to TestFlight, and a Fastlane lane submits the build for App Store review.
• Android APK (GitHub Release asset) — separate, via .github/workflows/android-apk-release.yml. This is the only Android-related workflow that lives in this repo.

EAS uses the local app version source. packages/app/app.config.js derives the native version from the package version. Android versionCode is major * 1_000_000 + minor * 1_000 + patch. iOS reserves 1,000 build slots per app version: beta N uses slot N, and stable uses slot 999. For example, 0.2.6-beta.2 appears in App Store Connect as version 0.2.6 build 2006002; stable uses build 2006999. Rebuilding the same tag produces the same native build number; if a store has already accepted a binary and you need a different binary, cut the next beta or patch instead of relying on EAS remote auto-increment.

Beta tags run Release iOS Beta. The workflow uploads the build to TestFlight, distributes it to the persistent Paseo Beta external group, and submits it for Beta App Review. Testers and the group are managed once in App Store Connect; releases require no dashboard action.

There is no mobile-release workflow under .github/workflows. The EAS GitHub app reads the workflows under packages/app/.eas/workflows and handles tag triggering directly.

Watching mobile builds from the terminal

Use the EAS CLI from packages/app/:

cd packages/app

# Recent builds (newest first). Pipe to jq for status only.
npx eas build:list --limit 8 --non-interactive --json | jq '.[] | {platform, status, appVersion, gitCommitHash}'

# Recent EAS workflow runs. This is the source of truth for submit/review jobs.
npx eas workflow:runs --json | jq '.[] | {status, workflowName, trigger, gitCommitHash, startedAt, finishedAt}'

# Filter by platform.
npx eas build:list --platform ios --limit 5 --non-interactive --json
npx eas build:list --platform android --limit 5 --non-interactive --json

# Inspect a specific build.
npx eas build:view <build-id>

# Inspect the full release workflow, including submit_ios, submit_android,
# and submit_ios_for_review.
npx eas workflow:view <workflow-run-id> --json

# Read failed submit/review job logs.
npx eas workflow:logs <workflow-job-id> --all-steps --non-interactive

# Stream logs for a build.
npx eas build:view <build-id> --json | jq '.logFiles[]'

A build's gitCommitHash must match the release tag commit. status walks through NEW → IN_QUEUE → IN_PROGRESS → FINISHED (or ERRORED/CANCELED). The EAS workflow run's gitCommitHash and trigger must also match the release tag.

Once a build is FINISHED, EAS still has release-critical work to do: Android must submit to the Play Store, and iOS must upload to TestFlight and submit the build for App Store review. The release is not done until all platforms are on their way through the stores.

For the Release Mobile EAS workflow, these jobs must pass:

• build_ios — iOS binary built
• submit_ios — iOS binary uploaded to App Store Connect/TestFlight
• submit_ios_for_review — iOS build submitted for App Store review via Fastlane
• build_android — Android store binary built
• submit_android — Android binary submitted to the Play Store

Do not treat build_ios: SUCCESS or submit_ios: SUCCESS as a completed iOS release. submit_ios_for_review: FAILURE means the iOS release is blocked even if the build is visible in TestFlight.

To confirm the submission landed, inspect the EAS workflow with npx eas workflow:view <workflow-run-id> --json. App Store Connect (review state for the matching version/build) and the Play Console track are the final ground truth.

Release completion and heartbeat

A release is in progress after npm publication and tag push. Report it as shipped only after every applicable build, publication, asset, manifest, and store submission passes the completion checklist.

Immediately after every beta, stable, or promotion tag push, create a heartbeat that resumes the release in the current conversation. Create it automatically with create_heartbeat. The heartbeat owns the release until it either reaches the completion checklist or finds a failure that needs new user authority.

Each heartbeat checks the release tag commit, all GitHub Actions runs for the release branch and tag, npm dist-tags, the GitHub Release body and assets, desktop updater manifests, the published Docker image, and the applicable EAS workflow. Inspect the GitHub Release itself and confirm that the macOS, Linux, Windows, and Android APK assets are present along with the channel manifests (latest-mac.yml, latest-linux.yml, and latest.yml for stable; beta-mac.yml, beta-linux.yml, and beta.yml for beta).

For stable releases, also confirm every required mobile build, upload, store submission, and review-submission job for the release commit. For betas, confirm the beta EAS workflow completed its TestFlight distribution and Beta App Review path. Delete the heartbeat only after every applicable checklist item passes, then report the release as shipped.

Pattern:

// mcp__paseo__create_heartbeat arguments
{
  "name": "vX.Y.Z release babysit heartbeat",
  "cron": "*/10 * * * *",
  "timezone": "UTC",
  "maxRuns": 120,
  "expiresIn": "24h",
  "prompt": "Resume the vX.Y.Z release babysit for commit <sha>. Check npm tags; every GitHub Actions run for the release branch and tag; the published GitHub Release body, expected desktop/APK assets, and channel manifests; the Docker image; and the matching EAS workflow. Completion requires every applicable checklist item. For stable, require build_ios, submit_ios, submit_ios_for_review, build_android, and submit_android to succeed. For beta, require the beta TestFlight distribution and Beta App Review path. If work is pending, wait for the next heartbeat. If a failure can be retried safely for the same version, follow the failed-release procedure; otherwise report the blocker. When every applicable completion-checklist item passes, delete THIS heartbeat, report shipped, and stop.",
}

Run an immediate status check after creating the heartbeat. The heartbeat handles later transitions and stops itself when the release is complete.

Release notes on GitHub

The GitHub Release body is populated automatically by the Release Notes Sync workflow (.github/workflows/release-notes-sync.yml). It triggers on every v* tag push and on any push to main that touches CHANGELOG.md, then runs scripts/sync-release-notes-from-changelog.mjs to mirror the matching changelog entry into the release body. You don't need to write release notes on GitHub manually — keep CHANGELOG.md correct and the workflow will sync it. To force a re-sync, dispatch the workflow with the tag input.

Website behavior

• The website download page defaults to GitHub's latest published stable release.
• A published beta prerelease is offered behind the Stable/Beta switch on /download (?channel=beta), never as the default. The switch only appears while the newest prerelease leads stable on its core version, so promoting X.Y.Z-beta.N to X.Y.Z retires the beta channel from the page until the next beta line opens.
• Homebrew, the Play Store, the App Store, and app.paseo.sh have no beta. The Beta view drops those rows, and the whole Web section, rather than showing an inert "stable only" placeholder. When a surface gains a beta path — say a public TestFlight link — add its row back in packages/website/src/routes/download.tsx.
• The default download target only moves when you publish the final stable release tag like v0.1.41.
• The public /changelog page renders CHANGELOG.md as-is, so the in-flight -beta.N entry shows there once it lands on main — that's intended, it's where beta users check what's coming. Only the default download target stays pinned to the latest stable; the download links read GitHub's releases API, not the changelog, so a -beta.N heading on top never affects them.
• The download page's "What's new" link deep-links the minor group anchor (/changelog#release-0.3), not the exact entry: promotion collapses the beta entries into one stable entry, so the minor group remains the durable target. A version with no entry in the bundled changelog — a tag whose changelog commit hasn't redeployed the site yet — links the plain /changelog instead of a dead anchor.
• The website itself is deployed by Deploy Website (Cloudflare Workers), which redeploys on the release: published event emitted when a stable draft is published and on pushes to main that touch CHANGELOG.md or packages/website/**. Its job condition excludes beta prereleases.

Fixing a failed release build

NEVER bump the version to fix a build problem. New versions are reserved for meaningful product changes (features, fixes, improvements). Build/CI failures are fixed on the current version.

Do not rely on workflow_dispatch for tagged code fixes. The workflow_dispatch trigger runs the workflow file from the default branch but checks out the code at the tag ref (ref: ${{ inputs.tag }}). That means fixes committed to main won't change the tagged source tree being built. workflow_dispatch only helps when the fix lives in the workflow file itself.

For Docker-only retries, do not push or force-push a v* release tag. v* tag pushes rebuild desktop assets, the Android APK, Docker, release notes, and EAS mobile release builds. Use the Docker workflow dispatch instead:

gh workflow run docker.yml \
  --ref main \
  -f paseo_version=X.Y.Z-beta.N \
  -f publish=true

This replaces ghcr.io/getpaseo/paseo:X.Y.Z-beta.N in place without touching desktop, APK, or EAS release builders. The Docker exception is safe because the dispatch runs from --ref main and uses the explicit paseo_version; it does not check out or move the v* release tag.

To retry a failed non-Docker release workflow, push a retry tag on the commit you want to build. Reusing the same tag name is expected: move it with git tag -f ... and push it with --force so the workflow rebuilds the commit you actually want.

A failed desktop build leaves the GitHub Release as a draft. finalize-rollout uploads manifests from successful platforms before it fails. A later single-platform retry reuses those manifests, stamps the complete set with one release date, and publishes the draft. Use desktop-vX.Y.Z when more than one platform failed. A workflow_dispatch rebuild with publishing enabled follows the same path against the existing draft.

Prefer a tag push over workflow_dispatch when rebuilding desktop or APK release assets. Prefer Docker workflow dispatch when rebuilding only the Docker image.

The retry tag patterns below still work and remain the supported way to rebuild specific release targets:

# Desktop (all platforms)
git tag -f desktop-v0.1.28 HEAD && git push origin desktop-v0.1.28 --force

# Desktop (single platform)
git tag -f desktop-macos-v0.1.28 HEAD && git push origin desktop-macos-v0.1.28 --force
git tag -f desktop-linux-v0.1.28 HEAD && git push origin desktop-linux-v0.1.28 --force
git tag -f desktop-windows-v0.1.28 HEAD && git push origin desktop-windows-v0.1.28 --force

# Android APK
git tag -f android-v0.1.28 HEAD && git push origin android-v0.1.28 --force

# Beta
git tag -f v0.1.29-beta.2 HEAD && git push origin v0.1.29-beta.2 --force

This ensures the checkout ref matches the actual code on main with the fix included.

• vX.Y.Z or vX.Y.Z-beta.N rebuilds the full tagged release
• desktop-vX.Y.Z rebuilds desktop for all desktop platforms only
• desktop-macos-vX.Y.Z, desktop-linux-vX.Y.Z, and desktop-windows-vX.Y.Z rebuild only that desktop platform
• android-vX.Y.Z rebuilds the Android APK release only

If you decide to publish a release without working desktop builds, inspect its assets first, then publish it manually:

RELEASE_LOOKUP=$(node scripts/github-release.mjs --repo getpaseo/paseo --tag vX.Y.Z)
gh release view "$RELEASE_LOOKUP" --json isDraft,isPrerelease,assets
gh release edit "$RELEASE_LOOKUP" --tag vX.Y.Z --draft=false

# Keep a beta marked as a prerelease:
RELEASE_LOOKUP=$(node scripts/github-release.mjs --repo getpaseo/paseo --tag vX.Y.Z-beta.N)
gh release edit "$RELEASE_LOOKUP" --tag vX.Y.Z-beta.N --draft=false --prerelease

This bypasses the updater-manifest guarantee. Use it only when the release is intentionally unavailable to desktop updater clients.

Notes

• version:all:* bumps root + syncs workspace versions and @getpaseo/* dependency versions
• The npm version lifecycle regenerates F-Droid changelog files from CHANGELOG.md for stable releases only (npm run fdroid:changelogs) and stages them, so the release tag carries them. Betas are a no-op. A stable run aborts the release if CHANGELOG.md has no entry for the version being cut — commit the changelog entry first. See docs/android.md for why these files are generated per ABI.
• release:prepare refreshes workspace node_modules links to prevent stale types
• npm run dev:desktop and npm run build:desktop target the Electron desktop package in packages/desktop
• If release:publish partially fails, re-run it — npm skips already-published versions
• If release:publish:beta partially fails, re-run it — npm skips already-published versions and keeps prereleases off latest because every publish uses --tag beta
• The website uses GitHub's latest published release API for download links, so published beta prereleases do not replace the stable download target.

Changelog format

Release notes depend on the changelog heading format. The heading must be strictly followed:

## X.Y.Z - YYYY-MM-DD
## X.Y.Z-beta.N - YYYY-MM-DD

No prefix (v), no extra text. Release Notes Sync matches the ## X.Y.Z (or ## X.Y.Z-beta.N) line for the pushed tag to extract the version. A malformed heading breaks the release-notes sync for that tag.

Changelog policy

• CHANGELOG.md includes stable releases and every entry in the current beta series.
• The first beta of a version inserts a top entry like ## 0.1.60-beta.1 - YYYY-MM-DD.
• Each subsequent beta inserts a new top entry with the next beta number. Its notes cover the changes since the previous beta tag.
• Stable promotion replaces every beta entry for that version with one ## 0.1.60 - YYYY-MM-DD entry.
• The promoted stable entry covers the full diff from the previous stable tag and collapses internal iterations across the beta series.

Changelog ownership

• The agent running the release writes the changelog entry — beta or stable. The release context and final wording stay with that agent.
• Commit history is only an index of the changes. Never draft the changelog from commit subjects or diffs alone. For every PR in the release range, read the full PR description and every issue it links to before deciding what changed, why users care, or how changes should be grouped. Use the implementation only to verify the resulting understanding.
• For the first beta or a direct stable release, draft from the previous stable tag to the release source. For later betas, draft from the previous beta tag to the release source. Promotion replaces the beta series with one entry drafted from the previous stable tag to the release source. Review the result against the changelog policy below, show it to the user, and wait for approval before committing it.

Changelog wording

The changelog is shown on the Paseo homepage. Each bullet is a compact factual record of product behavior that changed.

• Name the exact change. Prefer Added <capability>, Removed <behavior>, Changed <behavior>, or Fixed <failure> when <condition>.
• Keep the scope exact. A conditional bug is not a general reliability problem. Do not broaden one failure into claims that Paseo is now faster, smoother, responsive, or reliable.
• Use concrete product and runtime terms. Git polling, persisted cache, provider catalog, and WebSocket reconnects can identify the affected behavior. Component names, internal modules, code symbols, and implementation techniques cannot: omit WorkingIndicator, reconcileAndEmitWorkspaceUpdates, remounts, memoization, and controlled inputs.
• State the consequence only when the change itself is unclear. Keep the condition that makes the consequence true. Do not replace a precise change with a broad benefit claim.
• Do not invent context. Mention an upgrade, platform, workload, or user action only when the PR or linked issue establishes that scope.

Avoid	Write
Paseo stays responsive with many idle Git workspaces	Removed periodic Git polling for idle workspaces
Incompatible saved app data no longer crashes after upgrades	Fixed crash when persisted cache was incompatible
Splitting layouts no longer remounts the active agent	Fixed scroll position resetting when splitting a pane
Mobile model selector is faster and more straightforward	Added search to the mobile model selector

Test each bullet against the source PR and issue: can a reviewer point to the exact behavior that changed, the failure that was fixed, or the capability that was added? If the bullet only claims a general improvement, rewrite it with the concrete change.

• Use the entry's release scope. Include changes within the matching range in Changelog scope.
• Collapse internal iterations within that scope. Present a feature added and fixed in one range as working. A later beta can describe a fix to behavior delivered in an earlier beta; promotion folds the complete beta series into the final stable behavior.
• Cut low-signal entries. "Toolbar buttons have consistent sizing" is too granular. Combine small polish items or drop them.

Changelog conciseness

Every bullet must be scannable at a glance. The changelog is not release documentation — it's a list.

• One sentence per bullet, max. If a bullet contains two sentences, the second one is doing work that belongs in product docs, not the changelog. Cut it.
• No trailing periods. Bullets are list items, not prose. Drop the period at the end of every bullet, including the period inside any bolded lead-in. **Configurable terminal scrollback** not **Configurable terminal scrollback.**.
• One line per bullet. If a bullet wraps to three lines in a narrow column, it's too long.
• Split bullets that pack multiple distinct changes. If a bullet uses "and", "plus", a comma list, or an em-dash to chain several independent improvements, break them into separate bullets — even when they share a theme or author. One bullet = one user-facing change.
• Trim qualifying clauses. Drop "with a hint shown when…", "matching the CLI's behaviour", "across common install shapes". If the detail doesn't change whether a user cares, cut it.
• Stop after identifying the change. Do not explain LAN/WAN topology, TLS handshakes, IPC, or other architecture in a changelog bullet. Put necessary background in product docs.
• Attribution follows the split. When you split a dense bullet, move each PR/author to the bullet it belongs to. Never duplicate the same PR across multiple bullets.

Changelog attribution

Every changelog bullet must credit contributors and link to the PR(s) that delivered the change. This is not one-PR-per-line — a single bullet describes a user-facing change and may reference multiple PRs.

Format: append ([#123](https://github.com/getpaseo/paseo/pull/123) by [@user](https://github.com/user)) at the end of each bullet. For changes spanning multiple PRs or contributors:

- Voice mode now works on tablets with proper microphone permissions. ([#210](https://github.com/getpaseo/paseo/pull/210), [#215](https://github.com/getpaseo/paseo/pull/215) by [@alice](https://github.com/alice), [@bob](https://github.com/bob))

Rules:

• Always link the PR number as [#N](https://github.com/getpaseo/paseo/pull/N).

• Always link the contributor's GitHub profile as [@user](https://github.com/user).

• One bullet = one user-facing change, regardless of how many PRs went into it. Group related PRs on the same bullet.

• De-duplicate contributors. If the same person authored multiple PRs in one bullet, list them once.

• Only credit external contributors. Skip attribution for @boudra. The changelog credits community contributions — core team work is the default.

• Credit the commit author, not the PR opener. A maintainer often opens a PR that lands work authored by someone else (cherry-pick, rebase of a contributor's branch, manual extraction from a stacked PR). The squash commit preserves the original commit's author, but gh pr view N --json author returns the PR opener — using that field will silently mis-credit the work to the maintainer (and then the "skip @boudra" rule drops the attribution entirely). Always resolve attribution from commit authors.

  Use this command to get the GitHub logins for each PR:

  gh pr view N --json commits --jq '[.commits[].authors[].login] | unique | .[]'
  

  This returns every distinct GitHub login that authored or co-authored a commit in the PR. Use those logins for attribution. Fall back to gh pr view N --json author only if the commits command returns nothing (which should not happen for merged PRs).

  When listing PR numbers, git log --format='%H %s' v<previous>..<release-source-sha> | grep -E '\(#[0-9]+\)$' pulls the PR number out of squash commit subjects.

Changelog ordering

Entries within each section (Added, Improved, Fixed) are ordered by user impact:

1. User-facing features and changes first — things users will notice, want to try, or that change their workflow.
2. Quality-of-life improvements — polish, performance, smoother interactions.
3. Internal/infra changes last — only include if they have a tangible user benefit (e.g. "faster startup" is user-facing even if the fix was internal).

Pre-release sanity check

Before cutting a stable release, the release agent reviews the diff as a last line of defence against shipping bugs. Skip this for betas — the beta itself is the smoke test, and gating each beta on a code review defeats the point of using betas as fast release candidates.

Review the diff between the latest release tag and the resolved release source. Focus on:

1. Breaking changes — especially in the WebSocket protocol, agent lifecycle, and any server↔client contract.
2. Backward compatibility — the important direction is old app clients talking to newly updated daemons. Users update desktop and daemon first, then keep running the old app for a while. Flag anything that breaks old clients against new daemons or requires both sides to update in lockstep.
3. Regressions — anything that looks like it could break existing functionality.

Use git diff <latest-release-tag>..<release-source-sha> as the review input. This is a deep sanity check, not a full code review. If anything looks risky, investigate before proceeding and surface the finding to the user.

Changelog scope

Changelog scope follows the release being described:

• First beta: previous stable tag → release source
• Later beta: previous beta tag → release source
• Direct stable release: previous stable tag → release source
• Stable promotion: replace the full beta series with one entry covering previous stable tag → release source

Each beta entry records what its testers receive. Promotion produces the single stable record for the full jump from one stable version to the next.

Completion checklist

Beta release

• The resolved release source is the intended commit (default origin/main) and its existing CI is green
• Every PR in the release range has been opened, and its full description and every linked issue have been read before drafting the changelog
• Add a new CHANGELOG.md entry for this beta (heading ## X.Y.Z-beta.N - YYYY-MM-DD), review it against the changelog policy, get approval, and commit it before cutting the release
• The diff from the previous stable to the resolved release source is classified as patch or minor, with the target version and rationale approved
• Release preparation stayed local until the approved release command pushed the complete branch and tag
• npm run release:beta:patch, npm run release:beta:minor, or npm run release:beta:next completes successfully
• Every GitHub Actions run for the complete release commit and tag is green
• npm shows the version under the beta dist-tag, not latest
• The GitHub prerelease was published only after the three beta manifests were uploaded, and it has the changelog body and every expected macOS, Linux, Windows, and Android APK asset
• GitHub Desktop Release workflow for the v*-beta.N tag is green
• The GitHub prerelease contains beta-mac.yml, beta-linux.yml, and beta.yml
• GitHub Android APK Release workflow for the same tag is green
• GitHub Docker workflow is green and the versioned beta image is published without moving latest
• GitHub Release Notes Sync mirrored the beta entry into the prerelease body
• EAS Release iOS Beta completed its build, TestFlight distribution, external beta group, and Beta App Review path
• The release heartbeat was created after the tag push and deleted only after every item above passed

Stable release (or promotion)

• Run the pre-release sanity check (see above) and address any findings
• The diff from the previous stable to the resolved release source is classified as patch or minor, with the target version and rationale approved
• The resolved release source is the intended commit (default origin/main) and its existing CI is green
• Every PR in the release range has been opened, and its full description and every linked issue have been read before drafting the changelog
• Ensure the approved release inputs are committed locally and the git worktree is clean before running any release command
• Ensure local npm run typecheck passes on that exact commit before running any release command
• Update CHANGELOG.md with user-facing release notes (features, fixes — not refactors). Promotion replaces every ## X.Y.Z-beta.N entry in the series with one ## X.Y.Z - YYYY-MM-DD entry covering the full release
• Verify the changelog heading follows strict ## X.Y.Z - YYYY-MM-DD format
• Release preparation stayed local until the approved release command pushed the complete branch and tag
• npm run release:patch, npm run release:minor, or npm run release:promote completes successfully
• Every GitHub Actions run for the complete release commit and tag is green
• Move npm's beta dist-tag to the new stable version for every published package and verify both latest and beta resolve to it
• The GitHub Release was published only after the three stable manifests were uploaded, and it has the changelog body and every expected macOS, Linux, Windows, and Android APK asset
• GitHub Desktop Release workflow for the v* tag is green
• The GitHub Release contains latest-mac.yml, latest-linux.yml, and latest.yml
• GitHub Android APK Release workflow for the same tag is green
• GitHub Docker workflow is green and both the versioned and latest images are published
• GitHub Release Notes Sync is green and the release body matches the stable changelog entry
• EAS Release Mobile workflow for the same tag is green
• EAS iOS build_ios completes for the same tag
• EAS iOS submit_ios succeeds, uploading the build to App Store Connect/TestFlight
• EAS iOS submit_ios_for_review succeeds, putting the build into App Store review
• EAS Android build_android completes for the same tag
• EAS Android submit_android succeeds, putting the build on its Play Store track
• The release heartbeat was created after the tag push and deleted only after every item above passed