ci-validation-gates

## Context CI workflows must be defensive. These patterns were learned from the v0.8.22 release disaster where invalid semver, wrong token types, missing retry logic, and draft releases caused a multi-hour outage. Both Drucker (CI/CD) and Trejo (Release Manager) carried this knowledge in their charters — now centralized here. ## Patterns ### Semver Validation Gate Every publish workflow MUST validate version format before `npm publish`. 4-part versions (e.g., 0.8.21.4) are NOT valid semver — npm mangles them. ```yaml - name: Validate semver run: | VERSION="${{ github.event.release.tag_name }}" VERSION="${VERSION#v}" if ! npx semver "$VERSION" > /dev/null 2>&1; then echo "❌ Invalid semver: $VERSION" echo "Only 3-part versions (X.Y.Z) or prerelease (X.Y.Z-tag.N) are valid." exit 1 fi echo "✅ Valid semver: $VERSION" ``` ### NPM Token Type Verification NPM_TOKEN MUST be an Automation token, not a User token with 2FA: - User tokens require OTP — CI can't provide it → EOTP error - Create Automation tokens at npmjs.com → Settings → Access Tokens → Automation - Verify before first publish in any workflow ### Retry Logic for npm Registry Propagation npm registry uses eventual consistency. After `npm publish` succeeds, the package may not be immediately queryable. - Propagation: typically 5-30s, up to 2min in rare cases - All verify steps: 5 attempts, 15-second intervals - Log each attempt: "Attempt 1/5: Checking package..." - Exit loop on success, fail after max attempts ```yaml - name: Verify package (with retry) run: | MAX_ATTEMPTS=5 WAIT_SECONDS=15 for attempt in $(seq 1 $MAX_ATTEMPTS); do echo "Attempt $attempt/$MAX_ATTEMPTS: Checking $PACKAGE@$VERSION..." if npm view "$PACKAGE@$VERSION" version > /dev/null 2>&1; then echo "✅ Package verified" exit 0 fi [ $attempt -lt $MAX_ATTEMPTS ] && sleep $WAIT_SECONDS done echo "❌ Failed to verify after $MAX_ATTEMPTS attempts" exit 1 ``` ### Draft Release Detection Draft releases don't emit `release: published` event. Workflows MUST: - Trigger on `release: published` (NOT `created`) - If using workflow_dispatch: verify release is published via GitHub API before proceeding ### Build Script Protection Set `SKIP_BUILD_BUMP=1` (or `$env:SKIP_BUILD_BUMP = "1"` on Windows) before ANY release build. bump-build.mjs is for dev builds ONLY — it silently mutates versions. ## Known Failure Modes (v0.8.22 Incident) | # | What Happened | Root Cause | Prevention | |---|---------------|-----------|------------| | 1 | 4-part version published, npm mangled it | No semver validation gate | `npx semver` check before every publish | | 2 | CI failed 5+ times with EOTP | User token with 2FA | Automation token only | | 3 | Verify returned false 404 | No retry logic for propagation | 5 attempts, 15s intervals | | 4 | Workflow never triggered | Draft release doesn't emit event | Never create draft releases | | 5 | Version mutated during release | bump-build.mjs ran in release | SKIP_BUILD_BUMP=1 | ## Anti-Patterns - ❌ Publishing without semver validation gate - ❌ Single-shot verification without retry - ❌ Hard-coded secrets in workflows - ❌ Silent CI failures — every error needs actionable output with remediation - ❌ Assuming npm publish is instantly queryable