tutti-app-release

name	tutti-app-release
description	Set up, review, run, or debug external repositories that publish a Tutti workspace app through the reusable Tutti App Release GitHub Actions workflow. Use for caller workflows, tutti.app.json manifests, @tutti-os/app-release-tools, S3/CloudFront release hosting, latest.json, versions.json, catalog.json, catalog-only repairs, and App Center visibility issues.

Tutti App Release

Use this skill when an external app repository publishes a remote Tutti workspace app into App Center release metadata.

The external repository calls the reusable workflow from the Tutti/Tutti repository:

uses: tutti-os/tutti/.github/workflows/publish-tutti-app-release.yml@main

That workflow builds one app package, runs @tutti-os/app-release-tools, uploads immutable release files plus mutable latest.json and versions.json, and can optionally merge that app into the shared catalog.json.

Operating Rules

Inspect before acting:

• Read the caller workflow, tutti.app.json, package script, and recent GitHub Actions runs.
• Confirm whether the user wants a new app release, a catalog refresh, or CI debugging. Do not rerun a release just to repair catalog state.

For catalog publication:

• There are three valid modes. Explain them explicitly when helping a user choose.
• Release only: publish_catalog: false. This uploads a new app version and updates apps/<appId>/latest.json and versions.json; App Center will see it the next time catalog.json is published.
• Release and catalog: publish_catalog: true. This uploads the app release, then immediately merges that release into catalog.json.
• Catalog only: catalog_only: true. Use this after a release already succeeded when the user forgot to publish catalog, wants to validate first, or wants to refresh catalog without bumping or uploading a new version.
• Do not rerun a full app release just to repair catalog state.
• If the app caller workflow exposes catalog_only, use that. If it does not, use the Tutti catalog workflow directly or add the caller input when the user wants that repo to support catalog-only dispatch.

For versioning:

• Production releases should be workflow-driven. Run the production caller workflow with release_bump (patch, minor, or major); the reusable workflow calculates the next version from the greater of the packaged manifest version and existing release tags, then creates the tag after the S3 release verifies.
• The workflow never bumps or commits app manifest versions. Do not add caller-side release PRs or manifest bump commits to work around protected branches.
• Staging releases should leave release_bump empty. The workflow uses manifest.version+<short git sha> from the packaged manifest and does not create a release tag.

For reusable workflow changes:

• Keep long-lived release behavior in the Tutti reusable workflows and app release tools.
• Keep caller workflows small and stable: app id, package command/dir, runner/tool versions when needed, and environment-specific AWS/CDN values.
• Require callers to declare min_tutti_version explicitly. Use 0.0.0 only for releases that are safe for every legacy Tutti client.
• Avoid requiring app repositories to change for catalog repair behavior. Use an existing catalog-only path for that.

Release Contract

The caller repository must be compatible with pnpm. The reusable workflow runs pnpm install --frozen-lockfile before package_command, so the repository should commit pnpm-lock.yaml and define the package script used by package_command.

The caller repository must commit a source manifest:

tutti.app.json

The generated package directory must contain:

• tutti.app.json
• bootstrap.sh
• AGENTS.md
• the manifest icon asset, such as icon.png or icon.svg
• all runtime files and assets

The source and package manifests must use schemaVersion: "tutti.app.manifest.v1". appId must match the workflow app_id input.

The workflow writes release objects under:

apps/<appId>/<version>/
apps/<appId>/latest.json
apps/<appId>/versions.json

For production, the workflow derives the next release version by fetching existing stable semver tags with the configured release_tag_prefix (default <appId>-v), reading the packaged manifest version, and applying release_bump to the greater version. It creates the annotated release tag after the S3 release has been uploaded and verified. If release_bump is empty, the workflow uses manifest.version+<short git sha> from the packaged manifest, which is intended for staging.

Reference Caller Workflow

Use this as the default single-app production caller. Production releases should be workflow-driven so publishing does not need to write version bump commits back to the protected source branch. Keep new app repositories as close to this reference as their package command allows.

name: Publish Tutti App Production

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      release_bump:
        description: Semver bump to publish.
        required: true
        type: choice
        default: patch
        options:
          - patch
          - minor
          - major
      publish_catalog:
        description: Whether to publish the production App Center catalog after this release.
        required: false
        type: boolean
        default: true
      catalog_only:
        description: Whether to skip app release upload and only       
         
         
         

   
   


  
     
    
       
       
        
       
       
       
         
         
         
         
           
           
           
           
           
             

Use only workflow_dispatch for staging unless every merge should publish staging too. Keep staging and production on separate S3 prefixes and base URLs.

Pin the reusable workflow ref only when the caller needs reproducible release behavior:

uses: tutti-os/tutti/.github/workflows/publish-tutti-app-release.yml@<tag-or-commit-sha>

For monorepos that publish multiple apps, keep the caller shape the same but resolve a target matrix from repository config. Each matrix target should expose the same reusable workflow inputs:

app_id: ${{ matrix.target.app_id }}
min_tutti_version: ${{ matrix.target.min_tutti_version }}
package_command: ${{ matrix.target.package_command }}
package_dir: ${{ matrix.target.package_dir }}
icon_path: ${{ matrix.target.icon_path }}
release_tag_prefix: ${{ matrix.target.release_tag_prefix }}
release_bump: ${{ inputs.release_bump }}
create_release_tag: ${{ !inputs.catalog_only }}

Reusable Workflow Inputs

Required release inputs:

• app_id: app id, matching the source and package tutti.app.json.
• min_tutti_version: minimum compatible Tutti SemVer for a normal release. It has no permissive default; catalog-only repairs read the stored rule from versions.json.
• aws_region: AWS region for the release bucket.
• aws_role_arn: IAM role assumed through GitHub OIDC.
• s3_bucket: bucket receiving release files.

Conditionally required inputs:

• package_command: builds or copies the final package. Required unless catalog_only is true.
• package_dir: package directory produced by package_command. Required unless catalog_only is true.
• release_assets_base_url: public base URL for s3_bucket plus s3_prefix. Required unless catalog_only is true.

Optional release/version inputs:

• icon_path: package-local icon path override. Use when the manifest icon should be resolved from a generated package path.
• release_tag_prefix: release tag prefix used when calculating and creating production release tags. Defaults to <appId>-v.
• release_bump: production semver bump. Valid values are patch, minor, and major. Leave empty for staging.
• create_release_tag: create the annotated release tag after the S3 release verifies. Production callers should set this to true; staging callers should leave it false.

Optional catalog inputs:

• publish_catalog: after uploading the app release, merge that release into catalog.json. Default: false.
• catalog_only: skip package build, release metadata generation, and app release upload; rebuild the app from apps/<appId>/versions.json into catalog.json. Default: false.
• catalog_cloudfront_distribution_id: CloudFront distribution id for invalidating /<s3_prefix>/catalog.json after catalog upload. Default: empty. Caller workflows normally read this from TUTTI_APP_RELEASES_PRODUCTION_CLOUDFRONT_DISTRIBUTION_ID or TUTTI_APP_RELEASES_CLOUDFRONT_DISTRIBUTION_ID; prefer storing the shared value as an organization variable with selected repository access, and use repository variables only for overrides or when organization variables are unavailable. If neither variable is configured, invalidation is skipped and readers rely on the catalog cache TTL.

Optional runtime/tooling inputs:

• runner: GitHub runner label. Default: ubuntu-latest.
• node_version: Node.js version. Default: 24.
• pnpm_version: pnpm version. Default: 10.11.0.
• release_tools_package: app release tools package spec. Default: @tutti-os/app-release-tools@latest. Pin this only when debugging or when the reusable workflow depends on a version not yet intended for general use.

Catalog Publication

An app release writes apps/<appId>/latest.json and updates apps/<appId>/versions.json. App Center sees it only after the shared catalog includes that app.

Publishing modes:

• Release only: run the app release workflow with publish_catalog: false and catalog_only: false. This updates apps/<appId>/latest.json and versions.json; catalog changes wait until a later catalog publish.
• Release and catalog: run the app release workflow with publish_catalog: true. This publishes the app and then updates catalog.json in the same run.
• Catalog only: run with catalog_only: true after a release already exists. This reads the existing apps/<appId>/versions.json and updates catalog.json without rebuilding, uploading, or bumping a new app version.

Catalog merge semantics:

• App repository release workflows are scoped to their current app_id. publish_catalog: true and catalog_only: true merge only that app's apps/<appId>/versions.json into catalog.json.
• A release-only app that is not already in catalog.json will not be picked up by another app's later publish_catalog: true run.
• The Tutti catalog workflows can merge one or more explicitly selected app ids through app_ids. Use that path when refreshing multiple apps, or run each app's catalog-only dispatch separately.
• Neither path scans S3 for every published app index. Every app that should be added or refreshed must be the current caller app id or be explicitly listed in app_ids.

catalog.json keeps schema tutti.app.catalog.v1. Its apps[] array contains the highest active minTuttiVersion: 0.0.0 release for old clients. New clients read the additive compact compatibility.apps frontier. Mutable metadata writes use S3 ETag preconditions because GitHub concurrency groups do not serialize workflows across different repositories.

Catalog-only can be exposed by the app repository caller workflow, or run from the Tutti catalog workflows:

• Production: https://github.com/tutti-os/tutti/actions/workflows/publish-tutti-app-catalog.yml
• Staging: https://github.com/tutti-os/tutti/actions/workflows/publish-tutti-app-catalog-staging.yml

Recommended inputs for refresh/repair:

• catalog_mode: merge
• app_ids: the released remote app id, such as vibe-design
• Leave AWS, S3, prefix, and CloudFront inputs empty unless overriding organization or repository variables.

Use replace only for deliberate full catalog replacement. Built-in app ids such as automation are not published through the remote catalog workflow.

Catalog writes:

s3://<s3_bucket>/<s3_prefix>/catalog.json

If catalog.json changed but App Center still shows old metadata, check CloudFront invalidation and confirm TUTTI_APP_CATALOG_URL points at the expected staging or production URL.

AWS Requirements

The caller repository needs a GitHub OIDC role that can write release files:

s3://<s3_bucket>/<s3_prefix>/apps/<appId>/<version>/*
s3://<s3_bucket>/<s3_prefix>/apps/<appId>/latest.json
s3://<s3_bucket>/<s3_prefix>/apps/<appId>/versions.json

When publish_catalog or catalog_only is used in the app release workflow, that role also needs catalog read/write access:

s3://<s3_bucket>/<s3_prefix>/catalog.json

CloudFront invalidation requires permission for the matching distribution id. Store shared non-secret configuration such as the CloudFront distribution id in GitHub organization variables with selected repository access when possible; use repository variables only for repository-specific overrides.

Local Validation

Before relying on GitHub Actions, validate the package locally:

pnpm --package @tutti-os/app-release-tools@latest dlx build-tutti-app-release \
  --app-id your-app-id \
  --package-dir build/tutti-app/package \
  --output-dir /tmp/tutti-app-release \
  --base-url https://cdn.example.com/tutti-app-releases \
  --version 0.1.0+local \
  --git-sha local

Expected output:

• /tmp/tutti-app-release/apps/<appId>/<version>/<appId>-<version>.zip
• /tmp/tutti-app-release/apps/<appId>/<version>/release.json
• /tmp/tutti-app-release/apps/<appId>/latest.json

Normal publishing also creates or updates the remote apps/<appId>/versions.json compatibility index.

Completion Checklist

• Caller workflow uses tutti-os/tutti/.github/workflows/publish-tutti-app-release.yml.
• package_command produces package_dir.
• package_dir/tutti.app.json is valid JSON and appId matches workflow app_id.
• Package contains bootstrap.sh, AGENTS.md, icon asset, and runtime files.
• s3_prefix and release_assets_base_url point to the same public release root.
• Staging and production use separate prefixes.
• Catalog refresh after an existing successful release uses catalog_only or the Tutti catalog workflow instead of a new release.

Common Failures

• manifest appId must match app id: align workflow app_id and manifest appId.
• missing tutti.app.json: fix package generation so the package directory contains a manifest.
• release_bump must be one of major, minor, or patch: production callers must pass a supported bump type.
• create_release_tag requires release_bump: release tags are only created for workflow-driven production bumps.
• manifest icon asset missing: include the asset inside the package or pass icon_path.
• AWS AccessDenied: check OIDC trust policy, role ARN, bucket policy, region, prefix, and catalog/CloudFront permissions.
• Release succeeded but App Center does not show it: publish or refresh the catalog with catalog_only or the Tutti catalog workflow in merge mode.