## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - The release subsystem uses GitHub Actions dry-run previews so
maintainers can validate stable and canary release behavior before
publishing.
> - Stable release publishing needs a release notes gate so real
`latest` publishes never happen without authored notes.
> - The same gate was also blocking stable dry-run previews, which made
release QA fail before publish-sensitive work could be previewed.
> - This pull request narrows the notes requirement to real non-dry-run
stable publishes.
> - The benefit is that stable dry-run dispatches can preview the
release without same-day notes, while real stable publishes remain
protected.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
No public GitHub issue exists for this release-QA blocker, so the bug is
described inline below.
### What happened?
Stable dry-run release previews fail when the same-day release notes
file is absent. The release script runs the stable notes-file gate
before release preview work even when `--dry-run` is set.
### Expected behavior
`./scripts/release.sh stable --dry-run` should preview the stable
release without requiring `releases/vYYYY.MDD.P.md`. Real non-dry-run
stable publishes must still fail before build/publish work starts when
the notes file is missing.
### Steps to reproduce
1. Check out current `master` before this fix.
2. Ensure the computed same-day stable release notes file does not exist
under `releases/`.
3. Run `./scripts/release.sh stable --skip-verify --dry-run`.
4. Observe that the script exits with `stable release notes file is
required` instead of reaching the release preview plan.
### Paperclip version or commit
Reproduced on `master` at `9a1d4b7983dfd50e8eb40ee9770e44999d405f60`.
### Deployment mode
Built from source / GitHub Actions release workflow.
## What Changed
- Narrowed the stable release notes gate to `channel=stable` and
`dry_run=false`.
- Updated the release script usage note to say the notes file is
required for non-dry-run stable releases.
- Added a targeted Node test covering dry-run allowed behavior and
non-dry-run blocked behavior.
- Stubbed release fixture registry-version checks so the test isolates
the notes gate without hitting npm.
## Verification
- `node --test scripts/__tests__/release-dry-run-notes.test.mjs` passed
with 2/2 subtests.
- `bash -n scripts/release.sh` exited 0.
## Risks
Low risk. The behavior change only relaxes the notes-file gate for
stable dry-runs. The new test verifies real non-dry-run stable publish
still fails before build/publish work starts when notes are missing.
## Model Used
OpenAI Codex, GPT-5-based coding agent, with shell/tool execution in a
local repository workspace.
## 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
- [x] All Paperclip CI gates are green
- [x] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
---------
Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
Dotta