paseo/docs/RELEASE.md

# Release

All workspaces share one version and release together.

## Two paths

There are two supported ways to ship from `main`:

1. **Direct stable release**: you are ready to ship the current `main` commit to everyone immediately.
2. **Release candidate flow**: you want public test builds first, but you are not ready for the website, npm, or production mobile release flows to move yet.

## Standard release (patch)

```bash
npm run release:patch
```

This bumps the version across all workspaces, runs checks, publishes to npm, and pushes the branch + tag (triggering desktop, APK, and EAS mobile workflows).

If asked to "release paseo" without specifying major/minor, treat it as a patch release.

Use the direct stable path when the current `main` changes are ready to become the public release immediately.

## Manual step-by-step

```bash
npm run release:check        # Typecheck, build, dry-run pack
npm run version:all:patch    # Bump version, create commit + tag
npm run release:publish      # Publish to npm
npm run release:push         # Push HEAD + tag (triggers CI workflows)
```

## Release candidate flow

```bash
npm run release:rc:patch       # Bump to X.Y.Z-rc.1, push commit + tag
# ... test desktop and APK prerelease assets from GitHub Releases ...
npm run release:rc:next        # Optional: cut X.Y.Z-rc.2, rc.3, ...
npm run release:promote        # Promote X.Y.Z-rc.N to stable X.Y.Z
```

- RC tags are published GitHub prereleases like `v0.1.41-rc.1`
- RCs publish desktop assets and APKs for testing, but they do not publish npm packages and do not trigger the production web/mobile release flows
- `release:promote` creates a fresh stable tag like `v0.1.41`; the final release never reuses the RC tag
- Desktop assets now come from the Electron package at `packages/desktop`
- **Do NOT create a changelog entry for RCs.** The changelog remains stable-only. RC release notes are generated automatically so the website stays pinned to the latest published stable release.

Use the RC path when you need to:

- test a build manually in a Linux or Windows VM
- send a build to a user who is hitting a specific problem
- iterate on `rc.1`, `rc.2`, `rc.3`, and so on before deciding to ship broadly

## Website behavior

- The website download page points to GitHub's latest published **stable** release.
- Published RC prereleases are public on GitHub Releases, but they do **not** become the website download target.
- The website only moves when you publish the final stable release tag like `v0.1.41`.

## 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.

To retry a failed workflow, **always 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.

Prefer a tag push over `workflow_dispatch` whenever you are rebuilding release code or release assets.

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

```bash
# 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

# RC
git tag -f v0.1.29-rc.2 HEAD && git push origin v0.1.29-rc.2 --force
```

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

- `vX.Y.Z` or `vX.Y.Z-rc.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

## Notes

- `version:all:*` bumps root + syncs workspace versions and `@getpaseo/*` dependency versions
- `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
- The website uses GitHub's latest published release API for download links, so published RC prereleases do not replace the stable download target.

## Changelog format

Stable release notes depend on the changelog heading format. The heading **must** be strictly followed:

```
## X.Y.Z - YYYY-MM-DD
```

No prefix (`v`), no extra text. The parser matches the first `## X.Y.Z` line to extract the version. A malformed heading will break download links on the homepage.

## Changelog policy

- `CHANGELOG.md` is for **final stable releases only**.
- Do not add or edit changelog entries while iterating on RCs.
- Write the proper changelog entry when you are cutting the final stable release that comes after the RC cycle.
- Between stable releases, keep changelog work out of the repo until the final release is ready.

## Changelog ownership

- **Only Claude should write changelog entries.**
- If you are Codex and a stable release needs a changelog entry, launch a Claude agent with Paseo to draft it, then review and commit the result.

## Completion checklist

- [ ] Update `CHANGELOG.md` with user-facing release notes (features, fixes — not refactors)
- [ ] Verify the changelog heading follows strict `## X.Y.Z - YYYY-MM-DD` format
- [ ] `npm run release:patch` or `npm run release:promote` completes successfully
- [ ] GitHub `Desktop Release` workflow for the `v*` tag is green
- [ ] GitHub `Android APK Release` workflow for the same tag is green
- [ ] EAS `release-mobile.yml` workflow for the same tag is green