release-process

name	release-process
description	Step-by-step release checklist for Squad — prevents v0.8.22 and v0.9.4-style disasters
domain	release-management
confidence	high
source	team-decision

Context

This is the definitive release runbook for Squad. Born from the v0.8.22 release disaster (4-part semver mangled by npm, draft release never triggered publish, wrong NPM_TOKEN type, 6+ hours of broken latest dist-tag) and hardened by v0.9.4 lessons (root package.json drift, CHANGELOG validation, GITHUB_TOKEN propagation limitation — PRs #1042, #1043, #1044).

See also: .squad/skills/release-process/SKILL.md for the team-level skill with full incident history.

Rule: No agent releases Squad without following this checklist. No exceptions. No improvisation.

---

Pre-Release Validation

Before starting ANY release work, validate the following:

1. Version Number Validation

Rule: Only 3-part semver (major.minor.patch) or prerelease (major.minor.patch-tag.N) are valid. 4-part versions (0.8.21.4) are NOT valid semver and npm will mangle them.

# Check version is valid semver
node -p "require('semver').valid('0.8.22')"
# Output: '0.8.22' = valid
# Output: null = INVALID, STOP

# For prerelease versions
node -p "require('semver').valid('0.8.23-preview.1')"
# Output: '0.8.23-preview.1' = valid

If semver.valid() returns null: STOP. Fix the version. Do NOT proceed.

2. NPM_TOKEN Verification

Rule: NPM_TOKEN must be an Automation token (no 2FA required). User tokens with 2FA will fail in CI with EOTP errors.

# Check token type (requires npm CLI authenticated)
npm token list

Look for:

• ✅ read-write tokens with NO 2FA requirement = Automation token (correct)
• ❌ Tokens requiring OTP = User token (WRONG, will fail in CI)

How to create an Automation token:

1. Go to npmjs.com → Settings → Access Tokens
2. Click "Generate New Token"
3. Select "Automation" (NOT "Publish")
4. Copy token and save as GitHub secret: NPM_TOKEN

If using a User token: STOP. Create an Automation token first.

3. Branch and Tag State

Rule: Release from main branch. Ensure clean state, no uncommitted changes, latest from origin.

# Ensure on main and clean
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git status  # Should show: "nothing to commit, working tree clean"

# Check tag doesn't already exist
git tag -l "v0.8.22"
# Output should be EMPTY. If tag exists, release already done or collision.

If tag exists: STOP. Either release was already done, or there's a collision. Investigate before proceeding.

4. Disable bump-build.mjs

Rule: bump-build.mjs is for dev builds ONLY. It must NOT run during release builds (it increments build numbers, creating 4-part versions).

# Set env var to skip bump-build.mjs
export SKIP_BUILD_BUMP=1

# Verify it's set
echo $SKIP_BUILD_BUMP
# Output: 1

For Windows PowerShell:

$env:SKIP_BUILD_BUMP = "1"

If not set: bump-build.mjs will run and mutate versions. This causes disasters (see v0.8.22).

5. Root package.json Version Sync (v0.9.4 Lesson — PR #1043)

Rule: squad-release.yml reads version from ROOT package.json (lines 31-35). If root is behind sub-packages (e.g., 0.9.1 while sub-packages are 0.9.4), the release workflow FAILS.

# Verify all 3 package.json files match
grep '"version"' package.json packages/squad-sdk/package.json packages/squad-cli/package.json
# All 3 MUST show the same version

# Fix if mismatched:
npm version $VERSION --workspaces --include-workspace-root --no-git-tag-version

If versions don't match: STOP. Run the npm version command above. This was the root cause of the v0.9.4 release delay.

6. CHANGELOG.md Version Entry (v0.9.4 Lesson — PR #1042)

Rule: squad-release.yml validates that CHANGELOG.md contains ## [$VERSION]. An [Unreleased] section alone is NOT sufficient.

# Check CHANGELOG has the version entry
grep -q "## \[$VERSION\]" CHANGELOG.md && echo "OK" || echo "MISSING — add version section"

Before promoting to main:

1. Convert [Unreleased] to [$VERSION] - YYYY-MM-DD in CHANGELOG.md
2. Add a fresh [Unreleased] section above it

If ## [$VERSION] is missing: STOP. Update CHANGELOG.md before promoting.

---

Release Workflow

Step 1: Version Bump

Update version in all 3 package.json files (root + both workspaces) in lockstep.

# Set target version (no 'v' prefix)
VERSION="0.8.22"

# Validate it's valid semver BEFORE proceeding
node -p "require('semver').valid('$VERSION')"
# Must output the version string, NOT null

# Update all 3 package.json files
npm version $VERSION --workspaces --include-workspace-root --no-git-tag-version

# Verify all 3 match
grep '"version"' package.json packages/squad-sdk/package.json packages/squad-cli/package.json
# All 3 should show: "version": "0.8.22"

Checkpoint: All 3 package.json files have identical versions. Run semver.valid() one more time to be sure.

Step 2: Commit and Tag

# Commit version bump
git add package.json packages/squad-sdk/package.json packages/squad-cli/package.json
git commit -m "chore: bump version to $VERSION

Co-authored-by: Copilot <[e-mail]>"

# Create tag (with 'v' prefix)
git tag -a "v$VERSION" -m "Release v$VERSION"

# Push commit and tag
git push origin main
git push origin "v$VERSION"

Checkpoint: Tag created and pushed. Verify with git tag -l "v$VERSION".

Step 3: Create GitHub Release

CRITICAL: Release must be published, NOT draft. Draft releases don't trigger publish.yml workflow.

# Create GitHub Release (NOT draft)
gh release create "v$VERSION" \
  --title "v$VERSION" \
  --notes "Release notes go here" \
  --latest

# Verify release is PUBLISHED (not draft)
gh release view "v$VERSION"
# Output should NOT contain "(draft)"

If output contains (draft): STOP. Delete the release and recreate without --draft flag.

# If you accidentally created a draft, fix it:
gh release edit "v$VERSION" --draft=false

Checkpoint: Release is published (NOT draft). The release: published event fired and triggered publish.yml.

Step 4: Monitor Workflow

The publish.yml workflow should start automatically within 10 seconds of release creation.

# Watch workflow runs
gh run list --workflow=publish.yml --limit 1

# Get detailed status
gh run view --log

Expected flow:

1. publish-sdk job runs → publishes @bradygaster/squad-sdk
2. Verify step runs with retry loop (up to 5 attempts, 15s interval) to confirm SDK on npm registry
3. publish-cli job runs → publishes @bradygaster/squad-cli
4. Verify step runs with retry loop to confirm CLI on npm registry

If workflow fails: Check the logs. Common issues:

• EOTP error = wrong NPM_TOKEN type (use Automation token)
• Verify step timeout = npm propagation delay (retry loop should handle this, but propagation can take up to 2 minutes in rare cases)
• Version mismatch = package.json version doesn't match tag

Checkpoint: Both jobs succeeded. Workflow shows green checkmarks.

Step 5: Verify npm Publication

Manually verify both packages are on npm with correct latest dist-tag.

# Check SDK
npm view @bradygaster/squad-sdk version
# Output: 0.8.22

npm dist-tag ls @bradygaster/squad-sdk
# Output should show: latest: 0.8.22

# Check CLI
npm view @bradygaster/squad-cli version
# Output: 0.8.22

npm dist-tag ls @bradygaster/squad-cli
# Output should show: latest: 0.8.22

If versions don't match: Something went wrong. Check workflow logs. DO NOT proceed with GitHub Release announcement until npm is correct.

Checkpoint: Both packages show correct version. latest dist-tags point to the new version.

Step 6: Test Installation

Verify packages can be installed from npm (real-world smoke test).

# Create temp directory
mkdir /tmp/squad-release-test && cd /tmp/squad-release-test

# Test SDK installation
npm init -y
npm install @bradygaster/squad-sdk
node -p "require('@bradygaster/squad-sdk/package.json').version"
# Output: 0.8.22

# Test CLI installation
npm install -g @bradygaster/squad-cli
squad --version
# Output: 0.8.22

# Cleanup
cd -
rm -rf /tmp/squad-release-test

If installation fails: npm registry issue or package metadata corruption. DO NOT announce release until this works.

Checkpoint: Both packages install cleanly. Versions match.

Step 7: Sync dev to Next Preview

After main release, sync dev to the next preview version.

# Checkout dev
git checkout dev
git pull origin dev

# Bump to next preview version (e.g., 0.8.23-preview.1)
NEXT_VERSION="0.8.23-preview.1"

# Validate semver
node -p "require('semver').valid('$NEXT_VERSION')"
# Must output the version string, NOT null

# Update all 3 package.json files
npm version $NEXT_VERSION --workspaces --include-workspace-root --no-git-tag-version

# Commit
git add package.json packages/squad-sdk/package.json packages/squad-cli/package.json
git commit -m "chore: bump dev to $NEXT_VERSION

Co-authored-by: Copilot <[e-mail]>"

# Push
git push origin dev

Checkpoint: dev branch now shows next preview version. Future dev builds will publish to @preview dist-tag.

---

Manual Publish (Fallback)

If publish.yml workflow fails or needs to be bypassed, use workflow_dispatch to manually trigger publish.

# Trigger manual publish — ALWAYS use --ref main
gh workflow run squad-npm-publish.yml --ref main -f version="0.8.22"

# Monitor the run
gh run watch

Rule: Only use this if automated publish failed. Always investigate why automation failed and fix it for next release.

GITHUB_TOKEN Event Propagation Limitation (v0.9.4 — CRITICAL)

When squad-release.yml creates a GitHub Release using the default GITHUB_TOKEN, the release: published event does NOT trigger squad-npm-publish.yml. This is a GitHub security feature to prevent infinite workflow loops.

After the release workflow succeeds, check if squad-npm-publish.yml started automatically. If it didn't:

gh workflow run squad-npm-publish.yml --ref main -f version=X.Y.Z

IMPORTANT: Use --ref main — the repo default branch is dev, and the workflow must run against main where the release tag and artifacts exist.

Permanent fix (TODO): Use a PAT or GitHub App token in squad-release.yml instead of GITHUB_TOKEN.

---

Rollback Procedure

If a release is broken and needs to be rolled back:

1. Unpublish from npm (Nuclear Option)

WARNING: npm unpublish is time-limited (24 hours) and leaves the version slot burned. Only use if version is critically broken.

# Unpublish (requires npm owner privileges)
npm unpublish @bradygaster/squad-sdk@0.8.22
npm unpublish @bradygaster/squad-cli@0.8.22

2. Deprecate on npm (Preferred)

Preferred approach: Mark version as deprecated, publish a hotfix.

# Deprecate broken version
npm deprecate @bradygaster/squad-sdk@0.8.22 "Broken release, use 0.8.22.1 instead"
npm deprecate @bradygaster/squad-cli@0.8.22 "Broken release, use 0.8.22.1 instead"

# Publish hotfix version
# (Follow this runbook with version 0.8.22.1)

3. Delete GitHub Release and Tag

# Delete GitHub Release
gh release delete "v0.8.22" --yes

# Delete tag locally and remotely
git tag -d "v0.8.22"
git push origin --delete "v0.8.22"

4. Revert Commit on main

# Revert version bump commit
git checkout main
git revert HEAD
git push origin main

Checkpoint: Tag and release deleted. main branch reverted. npm packages deprecated or unpublished.

---

Common Failure Modes

EOTP Error (npm OTP Required)

Symptom: Workflow fails with EOTP error.
Root cause: NPM_TOKEN is a User token with 2FA enabled. CI can't provide OTP.
Fix: Replace NPM_TOKEN with an Automation token (no 2FA). See "NPM_TOKEN Verification" above.

Verify Step 404 (npm Propagation Delay)

Symptom: Verify step fails with 404 even though publish succeeded.
Root cause: npm registry propagation delay (5-30 seconds).
Fix: Verify step now has retry loop (5 attempts, 15s interval). Should auto-resolve. If not, wait 2 minutes and re-run workflow.

Version Mismatch (package.json ≠ tag)

Symptom: Verify step fails with "Package version (X) does not match target version (Y)".
Root cause: package.json version doesn't match the tag version.
Fix: Ensure all 3 package.json files were updated in Step 1. Re-run npm version if needed.

4-Part Version Mangled by npm

Symptom: Published version on npm doesn't match package.json (e.g., 0.8.21.4 became 0.8.2-1.4).
Root cause: 4-part versions are NOT valid semver. npm's parser misinterprets them.
Fix: NEVER use 4-part versions. Only 3-part (0.8.22) or prerelease (0.8.23-preview.1). Run semver.valid() before ANY commit.

Draft Release Didn't Trigger Workflow

Symptom: Release created but publish.yml never ran.
Root cause: Release was created as a draft. Draft releases don't emit release: published event.
Fix: Edit release and change to published: gh release edit "v$VERSION" --draft=false. Workflow should trigger immediately.

Root package.json Version Drift (v0.9.4 — PR #1043)

Symptom: squad-release.yml fails with "Version $VERSION not found in CHANGELOG.md" even though CHANGELOG looks correct.
Root cause: Root package.json version is behind sub-packages. The workflow reads version from root, not from workspace packages.
Fix: Run npm version $VERSION --workspaces --include-workspace-root --no-git-tag-version to sync all 3 package.json files.

CHANGELOG Missing Version Section (v0.9.4 — PR #1042)

Symptom: squad-release.yml fails with "Version $VERSION not found in CHANGELOG.md".
Root cause: CHANGELOG.md still has [Unreleased] but no ## [$VERSION] section.
Fix: Convert [Unreleased] to [$VERSION] - YYYY-MM-DD and add a fresh [Unreleased] above it.

Publish Workflow Not Triggered After Release (v0.9.4 — GITHUB_TOKEN)

Symptom: squad-release.yml succeeds, creates tag + GitHub Release, but squad-npm-publish.yml never starts.
Root cause: GITHUB_TOKEN-created events don't trigger other workflows (GitHub security feature).
Fix: Manually trigger: gh workflow run squad-npm-publish.yml --ref main -f version=X.Y.Z

Lockfile Integrity Check Rejects Workspace Packages (v0.9.4 — PR #1044)

Symptom: squad-npm-publish.yml lockfile stability check fails on workspace packages.
Root cause: Workspace packages resolve to bare relative paths (packages/squad-sdk), not file: URLs. The check tried to validate integrity hashes on non-registry packages.
Fix: Filter lockfile integrity check to only validate packages resolved from npm registry (startsWith('https://')).

Prebuild Bump Breaks Workspace Linking (v0.9.4)

Symptom: Local npm run build fails with resolution errors after running prebuild.
Root cause: scripts/bump-build.mjs bumps 0.9.4 → 0.9.4-build.1, breaking exact version match in CLI's dependency on SDK.
Fix: Reset and reinstall:

git checkout -- package.json packages/*/package.json
rm -rf node_modules packages/*/node_modules
npm install
npm run build

---

Validation Checklist

Before starting ANY release, confirm:

• Version is valid semver: node -p "require('semver').valid('VERSION')" returns the version string (NOT null)
• NPM_TOKEN is an Automation token (no 2FA): npm token list shows read-write without OTP requirement
• Branch is clean: git status shows "nothing to commit, working tree clean"
• Tag doesn't exist: git tag -l "vVERSION" returns empty
• SKIP_BUILD_BUMP=1 is set: echo $SKIP_BUILD_BUMP returns 1
• Root package.json version matches sub-packages (v0.9.4): grep '"version"' package.json packages/*/package.json — all 3 identical
• CHANGELOG.md has ## [$VERSION] section (v0.9.4): grep "## \[$VERSION\]" CHANGELOG.md returns a match

Before creating GitHub Release:

• All 3 package.json files have matching versions: grep '"version"' package.json packages/*/package.json
• Commit is pushed: git log origin/main..main returns empty
• Tag is pushed: git ls-remote --tags origin vVERSION returns the tag SHA

After GitHub Release:

• Release is published (NOT draft): gh release view "vVERSION" output doesn't contain "(draft)"
• Workflow is running: gh run list --workflow=squad-npm-publish.yml --limit 1 shows "in_progress"
• If workflow didn't trigger (GITHUB_TOKEN limitation): gh workflow run squad-npm-publish.yml --ref main -f version=X.Y.Z

After workflow completes:

• Both jobs succeeded: Workflow shows green checkmarks
• SDK on npm: npm view @bradygaster/squad-sdk version returns correct version
• CLI on npm: npm view @bradygaster/squad-cli version returns correct version
• latest tags correct: npm dist-tag ls @bradygaster/squad-sdk shows latest: VERSION
• Packages install: npm install @bradygaster/squad-cli succeeds

After dev sync:

• dev branch has next preview version: git show dev:package.json | grep version shows next preview

---

Post-Mortem Reference

This skill was created after the v0.8.22 release disaster and updated after v0.9.4. Full retrospective: .squad/decisions/inbox/keaton-v0822-retrospective.md

Key learnings (v0.8.22):

1. No release without a runbook = improvisation = disaster
2. Semver validation is mandatory — 4-part versions break npm
3. NPM_TOKEN type matters — User tokens with 2FA fail in CI
4. Draft releases are a footgun — they don't trigger automation
5. Retry logic is essential — npm propagation takes time

Key learnings (v0.9.4 — PRs #1042, #1043, #1044): 6. Root package.json MUST match sub-packages — squad-release.yml reads from root 7. CHANGELOG.md must have ## [$VERSION] section — [Unreleased] is not enough 8. GITHUB_TOKEN events don't trigger downstream workflows — manual dispatch required 9. Lockfile integrity checks must filter out workspace packages (not from registry) 10. Prebuild version bump breaks local workspace linking — reset with git checkout

The full promotion chain (v0.9.4 documented):

dev → preview → main (via squad-promote.yml)
main push → squad-release.yml validates CHANGELOG, creates tag + GitHub Release
release published → squad-npm-publish.yml (⚠️ may be BLOCKED by GITHUB_TOKEN limitation)
manual workaround → gh workflow run squad-npm-publish.yml --ref main -f version=X.Y.Z

Never again.

---

Local Development

Recovering from Prebuild Version Bump (v0.9.4)

scripts/bump-build.mjs runs during npm run prebuild and mutates versions (e.g., 0.9.4 → 0.9.4-build.1). This breaks workspace linking because CLI depends on exact version match with SDK.

Recovery steps:

git checkout -- package.json packages/*/package.json
rm -rf node_modules packages/*/node_modules
npm install
npm run build

Prevention: Set SKIP_BUILD_BUMP=1 before running builds locally if you don't need build-number incrementing.

---

Related

• Team-level skill: .squad/skills/release-process/SKILL.md
• v0.9.4 fixes: PR #1042 (CHANGELOG), PR #1043 (root package.json), PR #1044 (lockfile integrity)
• v0.8.22 retrospective: .squad/decisions/inbox/keaton-v0822-retrospective.md
• Playbook: PUBLISH-README.md (repo root)