configkit/docs/release.md

ConfigKit Release Procedure

This is the maintainer runbook for ConfigKit's release policy. A release publishes the Go source under a new Git tag, with a matching release note committed in the repository. The tag is annotated: it includes the release note text and points to the released commit. Published tags and contents are immutable. There is no binary, container image, generated package, or separate registry publication. Beginning with v1.0.0, maintainers also deliver a Gitea release page containing the complete checked-in note after source publication. Source publication and hosted delivery have separate outcomes.

A candidate is the committed revision you intend to release. The authoritative remote is the repository where ConfigKit publishes releases; its exact push URL is listed below. The consumer minimum is the oldest Go version supported for applications using ConfigKit.

Release identity and support

• Module: go.maximumdirect.net/configkit
• Primary branch: main
• Authoritative remote: origin
• Authoritative push URL: ssh://git@forge.maximumdirect.net:22222/base-layer/configkit.git
• Tags: stable Semantic Versions such as v0.5.0; no prereleases
• Minimum Go version: the first stable patch of the selected Go series, or a higher patch when required by a dependency or specific correctness fix, as recorded in go.mod; see the consumer minimum policy
• Release-gated targets: Linux amd64 and arm64
• Best-effort targets: macOS amd64 and arm64, under the platform support policy

Release validation runs the offline Go test suite once with the race detector, then a full vet pass and package compilation for both Linux targets with cgo disabled (CGO_ENABLED=0), followed by the selected committed-file checks described in publication. macOS and CI are not release gates; do not wait for or poll CI.

The vanity module path is the name applications put in Go imports. Source/tag browser links and public Go retrieval use the Forge HTTPS repository independently of SSH publication.

1. Select Go and prepare the tool

Use a clean checkout with Git, Bash 3.2 or newer, and a native compiler for race tests. Choose the release type before selecting Go. For a minor or major release, select the newest stable Go series available in the development environment. For a patch release, retain the series recorded in go.mod and leave its consumer minimum unchanged. Follow the toolchain selection policy.

Choose the latest compatible patch installed locally in that Go series. Put its go executable first on PATH and ensure it meets the minimum in go.mod. The same go executable must build ReleaseKit and run its child validation commands. Set local toolchain selection and verify it:

export GOTOOLCHAIN=local
go version
go env GOVERSION
command -v go

Only when a minor or major release advances the consumer minimum to a newer Go series, derive that series' initial stable release from the selected executable:

selected_go=$(GOTOOLCHAIN=local go env GOVERSION)
selected_series=${selected_go#go}
selected_series=${selected_series%.*}
release_minimum="$selected_series.0"
go mod edit -go="$release_minimum"

If a dependency or identified correctness fix requires a higher patch minimum, use that required version instead and document the reason. When the series is unchanged, leave the minimum unchanged unless a minor or major release deliberately changes it under the consumer minimum policy. For example:

Release situation	Go used for validation	Consumer minimum
Patch release in the 1.26 series	Latest compatible patch installed locally, such as 1.26.8	Keep the existing go.mod minimum unchanged.
Minor/major release staying in 1.26	Latest compatible patch installed locally	Normally retain the minimum; any deliberate change follows the linked policy.
Minor/major release adopting a newer installed stable series	Latest compatible patch installed locally in that series	Normally declare that series' initial stable patch, or the higher patch required by a dependency or identified fix.

Using Go 1.26.8 for validation can therefore leave go 1.26.0 unchanged. Users need the declared minimum, while maintainers validate with their selected patch. There is no separate requirement to validate with Go 1.26.0.

Prepare dependencies whether or not the minimum changes:

go mod download

Run the module-selected ReleaseKit tool from the repository root. Go builds and caches the executable; no temporary executable or launcher is needed. These commands use the version recorded in go.mod:

go list -m go.maximumdirect.net/releasekit
go tool releasekit version

This repository selects ReleaseKit v0.8.0. go tool releasekit preserves the tool's exit status and publication report; go run maps a nonzero child exit status to 1. ReleaseKit's child Go commands use the go found on PATH with GOTOOLCHAIN=local; keep the selected executable first on PATH through the publication command.

For hosted delivery, save the Gitea API token in the ignored local file .releasekit/gitea-token with owner-only permissions. The profile uses it when RELEASEKIT_GITEA_TOKEN is unset or blank; a nonblank environment value takes precedence. The file path resolves from the repository root, and ReleaseKit trims surrounding whitespace from its contents. Keep credentials out of release notes, diagnostic labels, command arguments, and commits. The selected forbidden_files check also rejects a committed token at that exact path; it does not scan other files or history. Source publication uses Git authentication and does not read or require this token.

Verify access to the authoritative remote without displaying credentials:

git ls-remote ssh://git@forge.maximumdirect.net:22222/base-layer/configkit.git HEAD refs/heads/main

Publication requires explicit authorization. Local implementation commits do not authorize a push or release.

2. Prepare and commit the candidate

Choose a stable version that has not been used locally or on the publication remote. Compare the candidate with the previous tag. Review public Go APIs and value ownership, YAML and resolution rules, diagnostic contracts, the minimum Go version, and platform support. Review maintained consumer examples and the migration guidance. Explain any consumer-minimum increase and required consumer action under the consumer minimum policy.

Create docs/releases/<version>.md. Its first line must be exactly # ConfigKit <version>, and it must end with the license and attribution footer:

[COPYRIGHT](https://forge.maximumdirect.net/base-layer/configkit/src/tag/VERSION/COPYRIGHT) | [LICENSE](https://forge.maximumdirect.net/base-layer/configkit/src/tag/VERSION/LICENSE) | [ATTRIBUTION](https://forge.maximumdirect.net/base-layer/configkit/src/tag/VERSION/docs/oss/attribution.md)

Replace VERSION with the full tag and confirm the three target files exist in the candidate. Retire completed roadmaps, preserve unfinished and deferred work, and repair affected links. Review the complete candidate for unintended files and credentials, then commit it on main. These are ordinary preparation tasks, not separate approval gates. Any go.mod change belongs in this candidate.

3. Push the candidate to main

Push only that committed candidate to the literal authoritative URL. This does not follow local tags:

git push --no-follow-tags ssh://git@forge.maximumdirect.net:22222/base-layer/configkit.git HEAD:refs/heads/main

ReleaseKit requires authoritative main to equal this candidate before it validates. A failure before this push means ReleaseKit publication has not started. If the push result is uncertain, inspect authoritative main and continue only when it is confirmed at the candidate. If validation later fails, no release tag is published; correct the issue in a new commit, push the new candidate to main, and invoke validation again.

4. Publish the committed candidate

Once publication is authorized and the candidate is on the publication remote's main, run the module-selected ReleaseKit tool once to validate and publish it:

go tool releasekit publish vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH

Replace the placeholder with the selected version. ReleaseKit checks the push URL Git will actually use, after URL rewrites, against expected_push_url. It verifies the candidate on main, and checks the release-note H1 for the product and version. It then runs the selected race-enabled standard suite once with test-time vet disabled, one full vet pass, and CGO-disabled package compilation for Linux amd64 and arm64. It also checks the committed candidate for the forbidden token path, filesystem replacements in module declarations, and local Markdown destinations and supported heading fragments. Markdown links outside the checkout are reported as out of scope without failing validation. These file checks inspect the committed candidate, not uncommitted or ignored working-tree content.

It publishes only the annotated tag for that candidate. Confirmed publication of the intended tag completes the release. The tag points to the captured commit and uses the complete checked-in note as its annotation message. Use the optional check command for diagnosis when useful. It validates without publishing and is not required before publish, which performs its own checks:

go tool releasekit check vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH

For publish, interpret the program's exit status as follows:

Status	Meaning	Next action
0	Publication succeeded.	The source release is complete. Continue with hosted delivery.
1	A known publication failure or conflict was reported.	Read the report and correct the stated problem. Preserve any published tag.
2	The command, profile, or version is invalid.	Correct the command or configuration before trying again.
3	The tag push outcome is still unknown.	Follow the recovery procedure below before retrying or declaring success.

Keep both the program's exit status and its diagnostic report. Using go run would lose the distinction between its nonzero exit statuses.

The command does not push or repair main, wait for CI, or publish binaries or a hosted release page. A successful intended-tag publication does not require remote read-back or consumer retrieval; those checks remain optional.

5. Deliver the hosted release page

After source publication succeeds, run local hosted delivery from the repository root. Keep the worktree clean and HEAD at the published tag's commit. Use the module-selected tool as in step 1. For the first release using this workflow:

go tool releasekit deliver v1.0.0

For subsequent releases, substitute the selected version. The profile selects Gitea at https://forge.maximumdirect.net, owner base-layer, repository configkit. With no build targets, delivery creates or accepts a stable, non-draft release page containing the complete committed note, including its licensing footer. It creates no binary assets, receipts, or checksum manifest. An existing page with matching content is accepted; conflicting content is not overwritten.

Delivery automatically performs an authenticated, read-only repository preflight before hosted writes. A separate preflight before source publication is not a release gate. Delivery does not rerun candidate validation, publish a tag, or wait for CI. Hosted-service availability and delivery credentials do not gate source publication. Report source-publication success and hosted-delivery status separately.

Delivery status	Meaning and next action
0	Delivery is complete; report the hosted release URL.
1	Preflight was unavailable, or delivery failed, conflicted, or made partial progress. Read the reported state and correct the cause; investigate conflicts before retrying.
2	Usage, profile, credential loading, or preflight configuration/access failed. Correct the reported problem before retrying delivery.
3	A hosted write has an unresolved outcome. Inspect the hosted release and resolve that state before retrying.

A delivery problem leaves the successfully published source tag intact. Retry delivery with the same immutable version after correcting the cause and resolving any uncertain write. For a later retry, use a clean checkout of the original tag, fetching that tag if needed. Use that checkout's module-selected CLI, prepare its dependencies and tool as in step 1 without changing the tagged module files, and make the token available there. For example, with the tag available locally:

release_version=v1.0.0
git switch --detach "$release_version"

After preparing the tool in that tagged checkout:

go tool releasekit deliver "$release_version"

Do not rerun publish, move a tag, or replace a hosted page to repair delivery. If published source or content needs correction, prepare a new appropriate version through the normal release procedure.

6. Recover from a failed or uncertain tag push

ReleaseKit attempts to save publication evidence before pushing a tag and reports the absolute record path, or a recording warning, separately from the publication outcome. A recording failure does not undo a successful publication or change its exit status. Confirmed publication still completes the source release; hosted delivery remains a separate operation.

Records default to a private store under the repository's Git common directory, shared by linked worktrees. publish --record-dir DIR can select another location; relative paths resolve from the source repository root. Records can contain exact endpoints, including credentials. Keep them private and remove them when their recovery value expires. There is no new tracked storage, credential-preflight gate, or required recording-success check.

After a failed push, ReleaseKit makes one bounded observation of the original publication endpoint. If the outcome remains unknown, use the explicitly saved record rather than rerunning publication. Copy the recovery command printed by ReleaseKit, or use the module-selected tool:

publication_record='/absolute/path/from/the/publication/report.json'
go tool releasekit reconcile --record "$publication_record"

If the path was lost, discover local attempts without contacting a remote:

go tool releasekit publication-attempts

Select the record for the intended attempt from its reported version, candidate, and tag evidence; discovery does not automatically choose the latest attempt. For an alternate store, supply publication-attempts --record-dir DIR. Both commands support optional --json output. Treat saved records as private regardless of the CLI's credential-redacted diagnostic output.

Reconciliation observes the captured endpoint and exact tag object using current supported Git transport settings. It does not load the current profile, require the original HEAD, rerun candidate validation, change tags, or contact Gitea hosted delivery. It needs no clean candidate checkout. Use ReleaseKit v0.8.0 or another CLI supporting the saved record format, including format 2 where exact non-UTF-8 endpoint/path bytes were retained.

Reconciliation status	Meaning and next action
0	The intended tag object is published. The source release is complete; continue with hosted delivery from its clean tagged checkout.
1	The tag is currently absent or conflicting. Read the reported state. Investigate conflicts; absence alone does not prove that the version was never published.
2	The record cannot be read/decoded, or the invocation is invalid. Correct the path, access, CLI compatibility, or command.
3	Observation remains unresolved, including insufficient evidence or cancellation. Correct the transport or other reported cause before another explicit observation; do not blindly republish.

These are recovery actions after failure, not read-back requirements after a successful push. A failed observation leaves the result unresolved. Do not poll CI or move a tag to settle uncertainty.

When no usable record exists (for example, storage failed or an older CLI made the attempt), use the captured endpoint and exact tag-object ID from the original report for a manual authoritative observation. Checking only the peeled commit would not establish that the intended annotated tag object arrived. Do not substitute current profile or local tag state for missing original evidence.

Only after establishing that a retained local tag was never published or used by another release channel may it be removed before retrying publication:

release_version='vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH'
git tag -d "$release_version"
go tool releasekit publish "$release_version"

Replace the placeholder with the original attempt's version. The next publish revalidates the candidate and publication guards. A conflicting published tag must never be moved or reused. A defect in published source requires a corrected commit, a new appropriate version, and a matching note. A validation failure after the candidate reached main leaves an untagged candidate there; correct it in a new commit rather than rewriting main.

7. Optional consumer verification

When useful or requested, read back the remote tag or retrieve the exact version into a new module without a local replace directive. These checks are optional and non-gating. Do not poll CI or wait for module propagation. For direct-origin verification, use the exact published version in a temporary consumer module:

release_version=vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH
consumer_dir=$(mktemp -d)
(
  cd "$consumer_dir"
  go mod init example.invalid/configkit-release-check
  GOWORK=off GOPROXY=direct go get "go.maximumdirect.net/configkit@$release_version"
  GOWORK=off go list -m -f '{{.Path}} {{.Version}}' go.maximumdirect.net/configkit
)

The output should show the exact module path and selected version. Report this optional check separately from publication success.