feat(release): add human-gated beta channel with stable soak enforcement (#11008)

> Follow-up to #11006 (merged): rebased onto master and ready for
review.

## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - The release subsystem now publishes canary (every master push),
nightly (scheduled, smoke-gated, added in #11006), and stable (manual)
> - There is still no human-approved release-candidate lane between
nightly and stable, and nothing enforces that a stable actually soaked
anywhere before shipping
> - Betas need a real approval gate, and stables need a soak policy that
is data, not prose
> - This pull request adds the beta channel: a manual promotion of a
chosen nightly behind the `npm-beta` environment gate, re-smoked after
publish, plus a stable preflight that enforces a 3-day beta soak with a
written-justification bypass
> - The benefit is a complete canary → nightly → beta → stable train
where every stable shipped as a beta first, and emergencies leave a
written trace

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

**Subsystem affected**

Release automation: `scripts/release.sh`, `scripts/release-lib.sh`,
`.github/workflows/release.yml`, `.github/workflows/docker.yml`,
`.github/workflows/release-smoke.yml`.

**Problem or motivation**

After #11006 the project has canary and nightly prerelease lanes, but no
release-candidate lane. Stable promotion has no enforced soak: any ref
can ship as stable directly. There is no approval boundary for a
broader-audience prerelease, and no structured way to record why an
emergency release skipped validation.

**Proposed solution**

Add a `beta` channel: a manual dispatch that promotes a chosen nightly's
source commit, publishes behind the `npm-beta` GitHub environment
(required reviewers are the gate), re-smokes the published beta, and
tags `beta/vX`. Enforce in the stable path that the source commit
shipped as a beta at least 3 days earlier (measured from the beta's npm
publish time), with a `skip_soak_justification` input as the recorded
emergency bypass.

**Alternatives considered**

Codifying the soak policy in docs only. Rejected: an unenforced policy
decays; the preflight makes the policy executable while the
justification input keeps the emergency path usable and auditable.

## What Changed

- `scripts/release.sh` + `scripts/release-lib.sh`: `beta` channel —
requires HEAD to carry a `nightly/v*` tag, publishes the package set as
`YYYY.MDD.P-beta.N` under dist-tag `beta`, tags
`beta/vYYYY.MDD.P-beta.N`
- `.github/workflows/release.yml`:
- `channel: beta` dispatch path: `select_beta` resolves the newest (or
an explicit `source_version`) nightly and fails loudly on selection
problems; `publish_beta` runs behind the `npm-beta` environment, pushes
the tag, and dispatches `docker.yml`; `smoke_beta` re-runs the release
smoke suite against the exact published beta version
- stable path: new `preflight_stable` job enforces the 3-day beta soak
from the beta's npm publish time; `skip_soak_justification` bypasses
with the reason echoed into the job summary; dry runs report without
blocking
- `.github/workflows/docker.yml`: `beta/v*` tags publish `:beta` on both
images, with exact version stamping
- `.github/workflows/release-smoke.yml`: `beta` added to the dispatch
choice list
- Docs: `CHANNELS.md` beta entries; `RELEASING.md` beta lane, soak gate,
and failure playbook; `RELEASE-AUTOMATION-SETUP.md` `npm-beta`
environment setup, including the warning to create the environment
before the first beta dispatch (GitHub auto-creates unprotected
environments on first reference)
- Tests: beta version-counting coverage in
`scripts/release-registry-versions.test.mjs`; beta identity and
nightly-tag guard coverage in
`scripts/__tests__/release-dry-run-notes.test.mjs`

## Verification

- `node --test` on the two touched suites: 17 pass, including the 3 new
beta tests
- `bash -n` on both shell scripts and YAML parse of all three workflows
- After merge, in order: create the `npm-beta` environment, dispatch
`channel: beta` with `dry_run: true` to preview, then a real promotion
of a published nightly through the approval gate, then a stable dry-run
against a young beta to see the soak gate report

## Risks

- If the `npm-beta` environment does not exist when the first beta
dispatch runs, GitHub creates it with no protection rules and the beta
publishes without approval. Mitigated by documentation and by creating
the environment before merge (operator step)
- Until the first beta exists, every stable dispatch requires
`skip_soak_justification`. This is deliberate — the first beta ships
immediately after this merges — but it is a behavior change to the
stable dispatch
- The soak clock reads the beta's npm publish time from the registry; a
registry outage makes the preflight fall back to requiring justification
(fail-closed)

## Model Used

Claude Fable 5 (`claude-fable-5`, Anthropic) in Claude Code, with
extended thinking and full tool use (repository exploration, local test
execution, live registry and git verification). All code, tests, and
docs in this PR were model-authored under human direction.

## Checklist

- [x] I have included a thinking path that traces from project context
to this change
- [x] I have specified the model used (with version and capability
details)
- [x] I have checked ROADMAP.md and confirmed this PR does not duplicate
planned core work
- [x] I have searched GitHub for duplicate or related PRs and linked
them above
- [x] I have either (a) linked existing issues with `Fixes: #` / `Closes
#` / `Refs #` OR (b) described the issue in-PR following the relevant
issue template
- [x] I have not referenced internal/instance-local Paperclip issues or
links (only public GitHub `#NNN` / `github.com/paperclipai/paperclip`
URLs)
- [x] My branch name describes the change (e.g. `docs/...`, `fix/...`)
and contains no internal Paperclip ticket id or instance-derived details
- [x] I have run tests locally and they pass
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes
- [x] I have considered and documented any risks above
- [ ] All Paperclip CI gates are green (pending — will confirm before
merge)
- [ ] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups
(pending — will confirm before merge)
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
This commit is contained in:
Devin Foley 2026-08-10 16:52:59 -07:00 committed by GitHub
parent 459469638e
commit 8f7b8b3fda
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13 changed files with 514 additions and 43 deletions

View File

@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ on:
tags:
- "v*"
- "nightly/v*"
- "beta/v*"
# Release workflows push lane tags with GITHUB_TOKEN, and GitHub suppresses
# push-triggered runs for those, so release.yml dispatches this workflow at
# the new tag ref instead. The tag mapping below keys off github.ref either
@ -52,6 +53,9 @@ jobs:
# instead of describing drift from the nearest stable tag.
version="${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/nightly/v}"
;;
refs/tags/beta/v*)
version="${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/beta/v}"
;;
*)
version="$(git describe --tags --match 'v*' --long --dirty 2>/dev/null || true)"
;;
@ -157,6 +161,7 @@ jobs:
tags: |
type=raw,value=canary,enable=${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/master' }}
type=raw,value=nightly,enable=${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/nightly/v') }}
type=raw,value=beta,enable=${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/beta/v') }}
type=raw,value=latest,enable=${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v') }}
type=semver,pattern={{version}},enable=${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v') }}
type=semver,pattern={{major}}.{{minor}},enable=${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v') }}
@ -223,6 +228,9 @@ jobs:
# instead of describing drift from the nearest stable tag.
version="${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/nightly/v}"
;;
refs/tags/beta/v*)
version="${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/beta/v}"
;;
*)
version="$(git describe --tags --match 'v*' --long --dirty 2>/dev/null || true)"
;;
@ -330,6 +338,7 @@ jobs:
tags: |
type=raw,value=canary,enable=${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/master' }}
type=raw,value=nightly,enable=${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/nightly/v') }}
type=raw,value=beta,enable=${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/beta/v') }}
type=raw,value=latest,enable=${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v') }}
type=semver,pattern={{version}},enable=${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v') }}
type=semver,pattern={{major}}.{{minor}},enable=${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v') }}

View File

@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ on:
options:
- canary
- nightly
- beta
- latest
host_port:
description: Host port for the Docker smoke container

View File

@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ on:
type: choice
options:
- stable
- beta
- nightly
default: stable
source_ref:
@ -27,7 +28,11 @@ on:
required: false
type: string
source_version:
description: (nightly) Explicit canary version to promote, for example 2026.806.0-canary.7. Leave empty to select the newest canary on master.
description: For nightly, the explicit canary version to promote (empty selects the newest canary on master). For beta, the explicit nightly version to promote (empty selects the newest nightly on master).
required: false
type: string
skip_soak_justification:
description: (stable) Written justification for publishing a stable whose source has not soaked as a beta for 3 days. Leave empty for normal releases.
required: false
type: string
dry_run:
@ -314,17 +319,306 @@ jobs:
} >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
gh workflow run docker.yml --ref "refs/tags/${tag}" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY"
# ----- Beta lane --------------------------------------------------------
# Beta is a manual, human-approved promotion of a nightly. Unlike the
# scheduled nightly lane, a beta dispatch is explicit operator intent, so
# selection problems fail the run loudly instead of skipping quietly. The
# publish runs behind the npm-beta environment, whose required reviewers
# are the approval gate.
select_beta:
if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.channel == 'beta'
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
timeout-minutes: 10
permissions:
contents: read
outputs:
sha: ${{ steps.select.outputs.sha }}
nightly_version: ${{ steps.select.outputs.nightly_version }}
steps:
- name: Checkout repository
uses: actions/checkout@v7
with:
ref: master
fetch-depth: 0
- name: Select beta candidate
id: select
env:
EXPLICIT_NIGHTLY_VERSION: ${{ inputs.source_version }}
run: |
set -euo pipefail
git fetch origin --tags --prune --quiet
if [ -n "${EXPLICIT_NIGHTLY_VERSION:-}" ]; then
tag="nightly/v${EXPLICIT_NIGHTLY_VERSION}"
sha="$(git rev-list -n 1 "$tag" 2>/dev/null || true)"
if [ -z "$sha" ]; then
echo "Error: tag $tag does not exist." >&2
exit 1
fi
else
# Newest nightly-tagged commit on master.
sha="$(grep -m1 -F \
-f <(git for-each-ref 'refs/tags/nightly/v*' --format='%(objectname)') \
<(git rev-list origin/master -n 2000) || true)"
if [ -z "$sha" ]; then
echo "Error: no nightly/v* tag found on the last 2000 commits of master. Publish a nightly first, or pass source_version." >&2
exit 1
fi
tag="$(git tag --points-at "$sha" | grep '^nightly/v' | sort -V | tail -1)"
fi
nightly_version="${tag#nightly/v}"
existing_beta="$(git tag --points-at "$sha" | grep '^beta/v' | head -1 || true)"
if [ -n "$existing_beta" ]; then
echo "Error: candidate $sha (nightly $nightly_version) already shipped as $existing_beta." >&2
exit 1
fi
echo "sha=$sha" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
echo "nightly_version=$nightly_version" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
{
echo "## Beta candidate"
echo ""
echo "- Source SHA: \`$sha\`"
echo "- Source nightly: \`$nightly_version\`"
} >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
publish_beta:
needs: select_beta
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
timeout-minutes: 45
environment: npm-beta
# Serialize beta publishes so two dispatches cannot race to the same next
# -beta.N version; release.sh additionally refuses to double-publish a
# commit that already carries a beta tag.
concurrency:
group: release-publish-beta
cancel-in-progress: false
permissions:
contents: write
id-token: write
actions: write
outputs:
beta_version: ${{ steps.result.outputs.beta_version }}
steps:
- name: Checkout repository
uses: actions/checkout@v7
with:
ref: ${{ needs.select_beta.outputs.sha }}
fetch-depth: 0
- name: Setup pnpm
uses: pnpm/action-setup@v6
with:
version: 9.15.4
- name: Setup Node.js
uses: actions/setup-node@v7
with:
node-version: 24
cache: pnpm
- name: Validate release package manifest
run: node ./scripts/release-package-map.mjs check
- name: Install dependencies
run: pnpm install --no-frozen-lockfile
- name: Restore tracked install-time changes
run: git checkout -- pnpm-lock.yaml
- name: Configure git author
run: |
git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
git config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
- name: Publish beta
env:
GITHUB_ACTIONS: "true"
run: |
args=(beta --skip-verify)
if [ "${{ inputs.dry_run }}" = "true" ]; then
args+=(--dry-run)
fi
./scripts/release.sh "${args[@]}"
- name: Dump npm debug logs
if: failure()
run: |
shopt -s nullglob
for f in "$HOME"/.npm/_logs/*.log; do
echo "===== $f ====="
tail -n 300 "$f" | sed -E \
-e 's#((authorization|_authToken|_auth|node_auth_token|npm_token)"?[[:space:]]*[:=][[:space:]]*"?)(Bearer[[:space:]]+)?[^",[:space:]]+#\1***REDACTED***#Ig'
done
- name: Push beta tag
if: ${{ !inputs.dry_run }}
run: |
tag="$(git tag --points-at HEAD | grep '^beta/v' | head -1)"
if [ -z "$tag" ]; then
echo "Error: no beta tag points at HEAD after release." >&2
exit 1
fi
git push origin "refs/tags/${tag}"
# Tag pushes made with GITHUB_TOKEN do not fire docker.yml's tag
# trigger (GitHub suppresses workflow runs caused by GITHUB_TOKEN
# pushes), so dispatch the image build at the new tag explicitly.
- name: Build Docker images for the beta tag
id: result
if: ${{ !inputs.dry_run }}
env:
GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
run: |
tag="$(git tag --points-at HEAD | grep '^beta/v' | head -1)"
echo "beta_version=${tag#beta/v}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
{
echo "## Beta published"
echo ""
echo "- Source SHA: \`${{ needs.select_beta.outputs.sha }}\`"
echo "- Source nightly: \`${{ needs.select_beta.outputs.nightly_version }}\`"
echo "- Published beta: \`${tag#beta/v}\`"
echo "- Docker build dispatched at \`${tag}\`"
} >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
gh workflow run docker.yml --ref "refs/tags/${tag}" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY"
# Post-publish verification: run the release smoke suite against the exact
# beta version that was just published.
smoke_beta:
needs: publish_beta
if: ${{ !inputs.dry_run }}
uses: ./.github/workflows/release-smoke.yml
with:
paperclip_version: ${{ needs.publish_beta.outputs.beta_version }}
artifact_name: beta-release-smoke
# ----- Stable lane ------------------------------------------------------
# Stable releases promote a soaked beta. The preflight enforces that the
# source commit shipped as a beta at least 3 days ago (measured from the
# npm publish time of that beta version), unless a written justification
# is provided. Dry runs report soak state without blocking.
# Resolves source_ref to an immutable commit exactly once; every downstream
# stable job consumes that SHA. Otherwise a branch or movable tag that
# advances mid-run could be soak-checked at one commit and verified or
# published at another.
preflight_stable:
if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.channel == 'stable'
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
timeout-minutes: 10
permissions:
contents: read
outputs:
sha: ${{ steps.soak.outputs.sha }}
steps:
- name: Checkout repository
uses: actions/checkout@v7
with:
ref: master
fetch-depth: 0
- name: Check beta soak
id: soak
env:
SOURCE_REF: ${{ inputs.source_ref }}
JUSTIFICATION: ${{ inputs.skip_soak_justification }}
DRY_RUN: ${{ inputs.dry_run }}
run: |
set -euo pipefail
git fetch origin --tags --prune --quiet
sha="$(git rev-parse --verify "${SOURCE_REF}^{commit}" 2>/dev/null || true)"
if [ -z "$sha" ]; then
git fetch origin "$SOURCE_REF" --quiet || true
sha="$(git rev-parse --verify "FETCH_HEAD^{commit}" 2>/dev/null || true)"
fi
if [ -z "$sha" ]; then
echo "Error: could not resolve source_ref '$SOURCE_REF' to a commit." >&2
exit 1
fi
echo "sha=$sha" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
{
echo "## Stable source pinned"
echo ""
echo "- source_ref: \`${SOURCE_REF}\` -> \`$sha\`"
} >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
fail_or_justify() {
if [ -n "${JUSTIFICATION:-}" ]; then
{
echo "## Stable soak gate bypassed"
echo ""
echo "$1"
echo ""
echo "Justification: ${JUSTIFICATION}"
} >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
echo "::warning::Soak gate bypassed: $1"
return 0
fi
if [ "${DRY_RUN}" = "true" ]; then
echo "::warning::Soak gate would block a real release: $1"
{
echo "## Stable soak gate (dry run)"
echo ""
echo "A real release would be blocked: $1"
} >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
return 0
fi
echo "Error: $1" >&2
echo "Pass skip_soak_justification with a written reason to release anyway." >&2
exit 1
}
beta_tag="$(git tag --points-at "$sha" | grep '^beta/v' | sort -V | tail -1 || true)"
if [ -z "$beta_tag" ]; then
fail_or_justify "source commit $sha never shipped as a beta (no beta/v* tag)."
exit 0
fi
beta_version="${beta_tag#beta/v}"
publish_time="$(npm view "paperclipai@${beta_version}" time --json 2>/dev/null \
| node -e 'let d="";process.stdin.on("data",c=>d+=c).on("end",()=>{const t=JSON.parse(d);process.stdout.write(typeof t === "string" ? t : (t[process.argv[1]] ?? ""))})' "$beta_version" || true)"
if [ -z "$publish_time" ]; then
fail_or_justify "could not determine the npm publish time of beta ${beta_version}."
exit 0
fi
age_seconds="$(node -e 'process.stdout.write(String(Math.floor((Date.now() - Date.parse(process.argv[1])) / 1000)))' "$publish_time")"
min_seconds=$((3 * 24 * 60 * 60))
age_days="$(node -e 'process.stdout.write((Number(process.argv[1]) / 86400).toFixed(1))' "$age_seconds")"
if [ "$age_seconds" -lt "$min_seconds" ]; then
fail_or_justify "beta ${beta_version} has only soaked ${age_days} days (minimum is 3)."
exit 0
fi
{
echo "## Stable soak gate passed"
echo ""
echo "- Source beta: \`${beta_version}\`"
echo "- Soak time: ${age_days} days"
} >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
verify_stable:
if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.channel == 'stable'
needs: preflight_stable
uses: ./.github/workflows/release-verify.yml
with:
ref: ${{ inputs.source_ref }}
ref: ${{ needs.preflight_stable.outputs.sha }}
preview_stable:
if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.channel == 'stable' && inputs.dry_run
needs: verify_stable
needs: [preflight_stable, verify_stable]
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
timeout-minutes: 45
permissions:
@ -335,7 +629,7 @@ jobs:
uses: actions/checkout@v7
with:
fetch-depth: 0
ref: ${{ inputs.source_ref }}
ref: ${{ needs.preflight_stable.outputs.sha }}
- name: Setup pnpm
uses: pnpm/action-setup@v6
@ -366,7 +660,7 @@ jobs:
publish_stable:
if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.channel == 'stable' && !inputs.dry_run
needs: verify_stable
needs: [preflight_stable, verify_stable]
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
timeout-minutes: 45
environment: npm-stable
@ -380,7 +674,7 @@ jobs:
uses: actions/checkout@v7
with:
fetch-depth: 0
ref: ${{ inputs.source_ref }}
ref: ${{ needs.preflight_stable.outputs.sha }}
- name: Setup pnpm
uses: pnpm/action-setup@v6

View File

@ -7,14 +7,20 @@ install.
| Channel | What it is | Updates | npm | Docker |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `stable` | The recommended release | every week or two | `paperclipai@latest` | `ghcr.io/paperclipai/paperclip:latest` |
| `beta` | Release candidates soaking before stable | when promoted | *(coming soon)* | *(coming soon)* |
| `beta` | Release candidates soaking before stable | when promoted | `paperclipai@beta` | `ghcr.io/paperclipai/paperclip:beta` |
| `nightly` | Yesterday's merges, smoke-tested as a unit | once a night | `paperclipai@nightly` | `ghcr.io/paperclipai/paperclip:nightly` |
| `canary` | Every merge to `master`, as it happens | many times a day | `paperclipai@canary` | `ghcr.io/paperclipai/paperclip:canary` |
## Choosing a channel
**stable** is the right choice for almost everyone. It only moves when a
release has been explicitly vetted and promoted by a maintainer.
release has been explicitly vetted and promoted by a maintainer, and every
stable must first soak as a beta for at least 3 days.
**beta** is for people who want the next stable early. A beta is a nightly
that a maintainer hand-picked and explicitly promoted behind an approval
gate, and it is re-smoked after publishing. Betas are the release candidates:
what you run on beta today is what stable becomes a few days later.
**nightly** is for people who want new features quickly but not the churn of
tracking every merge. Once a night, the newest master build that published
@ -33,6 +39,7 @@ npm / npx:
```bash
npx paperclipai@latest onboard # stable
npx paperclipai@beta onboard
npx paperclipai@nightly onboard
npx paperclipai@canary onboard
```
@ -41,6 +48,7 @@ Docker:
```bash
docker pull ghcr.io/paperclipai/paperclip:latest # stable
docker pull ghcr.io/paperclipai/paperclip:beta
docker pull ghcr.io/paperclipai/paperclip:nightly
docker pull ghcr.io/paperclipai/paperclip:canary
```
@ -61,17 +69,19 @@ directory before switching down.
The version tells you which channel a build came from:
- `2026.807.0` — stable, published Aug 7 2026
- `2026.807.0-beta.0` — beta promoted on Aug 7 2026
- `2026.807.0-nightly.0` — nightly cut on Aug 7 2026
- `2026.807.0-canary.4` — the fifth canary for the Aug 7 line
A nightly republishes the exact source commit of a specific canary; the
version dates the nightly cut, and the two share a source SHA (visible in the
release job summary and as git tags on the commit).
Each promotion republishes the exact source commit of the previous lane's
build: a nightly shares its source SHA with a canary, and a beta with a
nightly. The version dates the promotion, and the shared SHA is visible in
the release job summaries and as git tags on the commit.
One quirk to be aware of: npm's semver ordering compares prerelease names
alphabetically, so `-canary.N` sorts *below* `-nightly.N` for the same base
version. This never matters when installing by dist-tag (the recommended way),
only if you write version ranges by hand.
alphabetically, so `-beta.N` sorts below `-canary.N`, which sorts below
`-nightly.N` for the same base version. This never matters when installing by
dist-tag (the recommended way), only if you write version ranges by hand.
## For maintainers

View File

@ -113,9 +113,10 @@ Goal:
## 4. Create GitHub Environments
Create two environments in the GitHub repository:
Create three environments in the GitHub repository:
- `npm-canary`
- `npm-beta`
- `npm-stable`
Path:
@ -147,6 +148,29 @@ the branch rule is satisfied, and reusing the environment means the nightly
lane required no new environments and no npm trusted-publisher changes
(publishing still happens from `release.yml`, see section 2.2).
## 5.1. Configure `npm-beta`
Recommended settings for `npm-beta`:
- environment name: `npm-beta`
- required reviewers: at least one maintainer
- prevent self-review: enabled when your team size allows it
- wait timer: none
- deployment branches and tags:
- selected branches only
- allow `master`
Reasoning:
- beta promotions are deliberate human decisions; the required reviewer on
this environment is the promotion gate
- create this environment before the first `channel: beta` dispatch. If the
workflow runs first, GitHub auto-creates the environment with no
protection rules, and that first beta would publish without approval
Like nightly, beta publishing lives in `release.yml`, so no npm
trusted-publisher changes are needed (see section 2.2).
## 6. Configure `npm-stable`
Recommended settings for `npm-stable`:

View File

@ -7,9 +7,11 @@ The release model is now commit-driven:
1. Every push to `master` publishes a canary automatically.
2. Once a night, the newest master commit with a green canary publish is
smoke-tested and republished as the nightly.
3. Stable releases are manually promoted from a chosen tested commit or canary tag.
4. Stable release notes live in `releases/vYYYY.MDD.P.md`.
5. Only stable releases get GitHub Releases.
3. Betas are manual, human-approved promotions of a chosen nightly.
4. Stable releases promote a beta that has soaked for at least 3 days
(bypass requires a written justification).
5. Stable release notes live in `releases/vYYYY.MDD.P.md`.
6. Only stable releases get GitHub Releases.
The user-facing guide to the channels is [`CHANNELS.md`](CHANNELS.md).
@ -20,6 +22,7 @@ Paperclip uses calendar versions that still fit semver syntax:
- stable: `YYYY.MDD.P`
- canary: `YYYY.MDD.P-canary.N`
- nightly: `YYYY.MDD.P-nightly.N`
- beta: `YYYY.MDD.P-beta.N`
Examples:
@ -27,10 +30,11 @@ Examples:
- second stable on March 18, 2026: `2026.318.1`
- fourth canary for the `2026.318.1` line: `2026.318.1-canary.3`
- first nightly cut on March 18, 2026: `2026.318.1-nightly.0`
- first beta promoted on March 18, 2026: `2026.318.1-beta.0`
A nightly republishes the exact source commit of an existing canary; its
version dates the nightly cut (the scheduled run's UTC date), not the source
canary.
A promotion republishes the exact source commit of the previous lane's build
(canary → nightly → beta); the version dates the promotion, not the source
build.
Important constraints:
@ -51,8 +55,8 @@ Every stable release has four separate surfaces:
A stable release is done only when all four surfaces are handled.
Canaries and nightlies only cover the first two surfaces plus an internal
traceability tag.
Canaries, nightlies, and betas only cover the first two surfaces plus an
internal traceability tag.
## Core Invariants
@ -60,13 +64,18 @@ traceability tag.
- nightlies republish a commit that already shipped a canary (the commit must
carry a `canary/v*` tag), and only after the release smoke suite passes
against that exact published canary
- stables publish from an explicitly chosen source ref
- betas republish a commit that already shipped a nightly (the commit must
carry a `nightly/v*` tag), behind the `npm-beta` approval gate, and the
published beta is re-smoked
- stables publish from an explicitly chosen source ref, which must have
shipped as a beta at least 3 days earlier unless a written justification
is provided
- tags point at the original source commit, not a generated release commit
- stable notes are always `releases/vYYYY.MDD.P.md`
- canaries and nightlies never create GitHub Releases
- canaries and nightlies never require changelog generation
- canaries, nightlies, and betas never create GitHub Releases
- canaries, nightlies, and betas never require changelog generation
- Docker `:latest` moves only on stable releases; master builds publish
`:canary` and nightly builds publish `:nightly`
`:canary`, nightly builds `:nightly`, and beta builds `:beta`
## TL;DR
@ -128,6 +137,31 @@ Users install nightlies with:
npx paperclipai@nightly onboard
```
### Beta
Betas are manual promotions. Dispatch
[`release.yml`](../.github/workflows/release.yml) with `channel: beta`.
- leave `source_version` empty to promote the newest nightly, or set it to an
exact nightly version such as `2026.807.0-nightly.0`
- the selection job resolves the nightly's source commit and fails loudly if
it does not exist or already shipped as a beta
- the publish waits for approval in the **`npm-beta` environment** — its
required reviewers are the promotion gate
- the same commit is republished as `YYYY.MDD.P-beta.N` under the npm
dist-tag `beta`, tagged `beta/vYYYY.MDD.P-beta.N`, and `docker.yml` is
dispatched at that tag to publish the `:beta` images
- after publishing, the release smoke suite runs against the exact published
beta version as verification
- `dry_run: true` previews the publish and skips the tag push, Docker
dispatch, and post-publish smoke
Users install betas with:
```bash
npx paperclipai@beta onboard
```
### Stable
Use [`.github/workflows/release.yml`](../.github/workflows/release.yml) from the Actions tab with the manual `workflow_dispatch` inputs.
@ -137,22 +171,31 @@ Use [`.github/workflows/release.yml`](../.github/workflows/release.yml) from the
Inputs:
- `channel`
- `stable` (the default) for a stable release; `nightly` forces a nightly
run (see above)
- `stable` (the default) for a stable release; `beta` and `nightly` run
those lanes instead (see above)
- `source_ref`
- commit SHA, branch, or tag
- `stable_date`
- optional UTC date override in `YYYY-MM-DD`
- enter a date like `2026-03-18`, not a version like `2026.318.0`
- `skip_soak_justification`
- written reason for releasing a stable whose source has not soaked as a
beta for 3 days; leave empty for normal releases
- `dry_run`
- preview only when true
The stable preflight enforces the beta soak: the source commit must carry a
`beta/v*` tag whose npm publish time is at least 3 days old. If it is not,
the run fails unless `skip_soak_justification` is provided; the justification
is echoed into the job summary. Dry runs report soak state without blocking.
Before running stable:
1. pick the canary commit or tag you trust
2. resolve the target stable version with `./scripts/release.sh stable --date "$(date +%F)" --print-version`
3. create or update `releases/vYYYY.MDD.P.md` on that source ref
4. run the stable workflow from that source ref
1. pick the beta you are promoting (its source commit is the `source_ref`)
2. confirm the beta has soaked for 3 days with no open blockers
3. resolve the target stable version with `./scripts/release.sh stable --date "$(date +%F)" --print-version`
4. create or update `releases/vYYYY.MDD.P.md` on that source ref
5. run the stable workflow from that source ref
Example:
@ -179,6 +222,7 @@ image and the `-cloud` variant with the same lane mapping:
| --- | --- |
| `master` push | `:canary`, `:sha-<short>` |
| `nightly/v*` tag | `:nightly`, `:sha-<short>` |
| `beta/v*` tag | `:beta`, `:sha-<short>` |
| `v*` tag (stable) | `:latest`, `:YYYY.MDD.P`, `:YYYY.MDD`, `:sha-<short>` |
Lane tags are pushed by release workflows using `GITHUB_TOKEN`, and GitHub
@ -203,6 +247,15 @@ Requires HEAD to be a commit that already shipped a canary (it must carry a
./scripts/release.sh nightly --dry-run
```
### Preview a beta locally
Requires HEAD to be a commit that already shipped a nightly (it must carry a
`nightly/v*` tag):
```bash
./scripts/release.sh beta --dry-run
```
### Preview a stable locally
```bash
@ -266,11 +319,13 @@ Automated browser smoke is also available:
```bash
gh workflow run release-smoke.yml -f paperclip_version=canary
gh workflow run release-smoke.yml -f paperclip_version=nightly
gh workflow run release-smoke.yml -f paperclip_version=beta
gh workflow run release-smoke.yml -f paperclip_version=latest
```
The nightly lane runs this same suite automatically against its candidate
before publishing.
before publishing, and the beta lane runs it against the published beta as
post-publish verification.
Minimum checks:
@ -321,6 +376,16 @@ force one: dispatch `release.yml` with `channel: nightly` (optionally pinning
If the nightly published to npm but the tag push or Docker dispatch failed,
push the `nightly/v*` tag manually and run `docker.yml` at that tag.
### If a beta looks bad during soak
Do not promote it to stable. Fix forward: land the fix on `master`, let it
ship through canary and nightly, and promote a new beta. The soak clock
starts over for the new beta.
If the published beta is actively harmful to beta users, move the `beta`
dist-tag back to the previous beta version with `npm dist-tag add` per
package, and re-point the `:beta` Docker tags at the previous beta's images.
### If stable npm publish succeeds but tag push or GitHub release creation fails
This is a partial release. npm is already live.

View File

@ -195,3 +195,35 @@ test("nightly refuses commits that already shipped as a nightly", () => {
assert.match(result.output, /HEAD already shipped as nightly\/v/);
assert.doesNotMatch(result.calls, /^pnpm /m);
});
test("beta dry-run publishes under the beta identity without release notes", () => {
const result = runRelease(["beta", "--skip-verify", "--dry-run"]);
assert.equal(result.status, 42);
assert.match(result.output, /\[fixture\] require_channel_tag_at_head nightly/);
assert.match(result.output, /Beta version: 2026\.710\.0-beta\.0/);
assert.match(result.output, /Dist-tag: beta/);
assert.match(result.output, /Git tag: beta\/v2026\.710\.0-beta\.0/);
assert.doesNotMatch(result.output, /stable release notes file is required/);
assert.match(result.calls, /^pnpm build$/m);
});
test("beta refuses commits that already shipped as a beta", () => {
const result = runRelease(["beta", "--skip-verify", "--dry-run"], {
FAKE_PRESENT_CHANNEL_TAG: "beta",
});
assert.equal(result.status, 1);
assert.match(result.output, /HEAD already shipped as beta\/v/);
assert.doesNotMatch(result.calls, /^pnpm /m);
});
test("beta refuses commits that never shipped a nightly", () => {
const result = runRelease(["beta", "--skip-verify", "--dry-run"], {
FAKE_MISSING_CHANNEL_TAG: "nightly",
});
assert.equal(result.status, 1);
assert.match(result.output, /HEAD has no nightly\/v\* tag/);
assert.doesNotMatch(result.calls, /^pnpm /m);
});

View File

@ -20,9 +20,11 @@ test("release workflow delegates stable and canary verification to the reusable
// The stable lane is gated on the stable channel since the nightly lane
// was added; a `needs:` line (for example a preflight job) may sit between
// the gate and the delegation.
// The stable preflight resolves source_ref to an immutable SHA exactly
// once; verification must consume that pin, not re-resolve the ref.
assert.match(
releaseWorkflow,
/verify_stable:\n\s+if: github\.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs\.channel == 'stable'\n(?:\s+needs: [^\n]+\n)?\s+uses: \.\/\.github\/workflows\/release-verify\.yml\n\s+with:\n\s+ref: \$\{\{ inputs\.source_ref \}\}/,
/verify_stable:\n\s+if: github\.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs\.channel == 'stable'\n(?:\s+needs: [^\n]+\n)?\s+uses: \.\/\.github\/workflows\/release-verify\.yml\n\s+with:\n\s+ref: \$\{\{ needs\.preflight_stable\.outputs\.sha \}\}/,
);
assert.doesNotMatch(releaseWorkflow, /verify_(?:canary|stable):[\s\S]*?pnpm test:run(?:\n|$)/);
});

View File

@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ NODE
require_prerelease_channel() {
case "$1" in
canary|nightly) ;;
canary|nightly|beta) ;;
*) release_fail "unknown prerelease channel: $1" ;;
esac
}

View File

@ -217,6 +217,27 @@ test("next_prerelease_version counts per channel so nightly numbering ignores ca
assert.doesNotMatch(result.calls, /npm view/);
});
test("next_prerelease_version counts beta numbering independently of other channels", () => {
const fixture = makeFixture();
const versionsFile = join(fixture.fixtureDir, "versions.json");
writeFileSync(
versionsFile,
JSON.stringify({
"@paperclipai/a": ["2026.707.1-canary.4", "2026.707.1-nightly.3", "2026.707.1-beta.0"],
}),
);
const result = runReleaseLibHelper(
'next_prerelease_version beta 2026.707.1 "@paperclipai/a"',
fixture,
{ RELEASE_PACKAGE_VERSIONS_FILE: versionsFile },
);
assert.equal(result.status, 0);
assert.equal(result.output, "2026.707.1-beta.1");
assert.doesNotMatch(result.calls, /npm view/);
});
test("next_prerelease_version rejects unknown channels", () => {
const fixture = makeFixture();
const result = runReleaseLibHelper(

View File

@ -18,12 +18,13 @@ cleanup_on_exit=false
usage() {
cat <<'EOF'
Usage:
./scripts/release.sh <canary|nightly|stable> [--date YYYY-MM-DD] [--dry-run] [--skip-verify] [--print-version]
./scripts/release.sh <canary|nightly|beta|stable> [--date YYYY-MM-DD] [--dry-run] [--skip-verify] [--print-version]
Examples:
./scripts/release.sh canary
./scripts/release.sh canary --date 2026-03-17 --dry-run
./scripts/release.sh nightly --dry-run
./scripts/release.sh beta --dry-run
./scripts/release.sh stable
./scripts/release.sh stable --date 2026-03-17 --dry-run
./scripts/release.sh stable --date 2026-03-18 --print-version
@ -37,6 +38,9 @@ Notes:
must carry a canary/v* tag) as YYYY.MDD.P-nightly.N under the npm
dist-tag "nightly", with the git tag nightly/vYYYY.MDD.P-nightly.N.
The version dates the nightly cut, not the source canary.
- Beta releases republish a commit that already shipped a nightly (HEAD
must carry a nightly/v* tag) as YYYY.MDD.P-beta.N under the npm
dist-tag "beta", with the git tag beta/vYYYY.MDD.P-beta.N.
- Stable releases publish YYYY.MDD.P under the npm dist-tag "latest" and
create the git tag vYYYY.MDD.P.
- Non-dry-run stable release notes must already exist at releases/vYYYY.MDD.P.md.
@ -90,7 +94,7 @@ set_cleanup_trap() {
while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
case "$1" in
canary|nightly|stable)
canary|nightly|beta|stable)
if [ -n "$channel" ]; then
release_fail "only one release channel may be provided."
fi
@ -162,6 +166,13 @@ elif [ "$channel" = "nightly" ]; then
TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION="$(next_prerelease_version nightly "$TARGET_STABLE_VERSION" "${PUBLIC_PACKAGE_NAMES[@]}")"
DIST_TAG="nightly"
tag_name="$(prerelease_tag_name nightly "$TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION")"
elif [ "$channel" = "beta" ]; then
# Beta promotes an already-shipped nightly commit.
require_channel_tag_at_head nightly
require_channel_tag_absent_at_head beta
TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION="$(next_prerelease_version beta "$TARGET_STABLE_VERSION" "${PUBLIC_PACKAGE_NAMES[@]}")"
DIST_TAG="beta"
tag_name="$(prerelease_tag_name beta "$TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION")"
else
tag_name="$(stable_tag_name "$TARGET_STABLE_VERSION")"
fi
@ -209,6 +220,7 @@ release_info " Target stable version: $TARGET_STABLE_VERSION"
case "$channel" in
canary) release_info " Canary version: $TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION" ;;
nightly) release_info " Nightly version: $TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION" ;;
beta) release_info " Beta version: $TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION" ;;
*) release_info " Stable version: $TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION" ;;
esac
release_info " Dist-tag: $DIST_TAG"
@ -372,7 +384,7 @@ if [ "$dry_run" = true ]; then
release_info "Dry run complete for $channel ${TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION}."
else
case "$channel" in
canary|nightly)
canary|nightly|beta)
release_info "Published $channel ${TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION}."
release_info "Install with: npx paperclipai@$channel onboard"
release_info "Next step: git push ${PUBLISH_REMOTE} refs/tags/${tag_name}"

View File

@ -3,9 +3,9 @@
import { pathToFileURL } from "node:url";
const CANARY_VERSION_RE = /-canary\.\d+$/;
const PRERELEASE_VERSION_RE = /-(?:canary|nightly)\.\d+$/;
const PRERELEASE_VERSION_RE = /-(?:canary|nightly|beta)\.\d+$/;
// Channels that publish prerelease versions and must never move `latest`.
const PRERELEASE_CHANNELS = new Set(["canary", "nightly"]);
const PRERELEASE_CHANNELS = new Set(["canary", "nightly", "beta"]);
const EXIT_RETRIABLE_FAILURE = 1;
const EXIT_NON_RETRIABLE_FAILURE = 2;
@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ function usage() {
process.stderr.write(
[
"Usage:",
" node scripts/verify-release-registry-state.mjs --channel <canary|nightly|stable> --dist-tag <tag> --target-version <version> --package <name> [--package <name> ...] [--allow-canary-latest]",
" node scripts/verify-release-registry-state.mjs --channel <canary|nightly|beta|stable> --dist-tag <tag> --target-version <version> --package <name> [--package <name> ...] [--allow-canary-latest]",
"",
].join("\n"),
);
@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ function parseArgs(argv) {
}
if (!PRERELEASE_CHANNELS.has(options.channel) && options.channel !== "stable") {
throw createExitError("--channel must be canary, nightly, or stable", EXIT_NON_RETRIABLE_FAILURE);
throw createExitError("--channel must be canary, nightly, beta, or stable", EXIT_NON_RETRIABLE_FAILURE);
}
if (!options.distTag) {

View File

@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ test("isCanaryVersion matches release canaries", () => {
test("isPrereleaseVersion matches canary and nightly versions", () => {
assert.equal(isPrereleaseVersion("2026.427.0-canary.3"), true);
assert.equal(isPrereleaseVersion("2026.427.0-nightly.0"), true);
assert.equal(isPrereleaseVersion("2026.427.0-beta.2"), true);
assert.equal(isPrereleaseVersion("2026.427.0"), false);
});