release-openclaw-maintainer

name	release-openclaw-maintainer
description	Prepare or verify OpenClaw stable/beta releases, changelogs, release notes, publish commands, and artifacts.

OpenClaw Release Maintainer

Use this skill for release and publish-time workflow. Load $release-private if it exists before resolving Peter-owned credential locators or private host topology. Keep ordinary development changes and GHSA-specific advisory work outside this skill.

Respect release guardrails

• Do not change version numbers without explicit operator approval.
• Ask permission before any npm publish or release step.
• This skill should be sufficient to drive the normal release flow end-to-end.
• Use the private maintainer release docs for credentials, recovery steps, and mac signing/notary specifics, and use docs/reference/RELEASING.md for public policy.
• Core openclaw publish is manual workflow_dispatch; creating or pushing a tag does not publish by itself.
• Normal release work happens on a branch cut from main, not directly on main. Use release/YYYY.M.D for the branch name.
• If the operator asks for a release without saying stable/full, default to beta only. Continue from beta to stable only when the operator explicitly asks for the full release or an automated beta-and-stable train.
• Before release branching, pull latest main and confirm current main CI is green. Then branch from that commit so regular development can continue on main while release validation runs.
• Before release branching, commit any dirty files in coherent groups, push, pull/rebase, then generate CHANGELOG.md on main from merged PRs and all direct commits since the last reachable release tag. Commit/push/pull that changelog rewrite immediately before creating the release branch.
• During release planning, inspect both src/plugins/compat/registry.ts and src/commands/doctor/shared/deprecation-compat.ts before branching and again before final publish. For every deprecated or removal-pending compatibility record whose removeAfter date is on or before the release date, either remove the compatibility path where safe and validate the affected tests, or write down why removal is blocked and get explicit maintainer approval before shipping the expired compatibility path.
• When removing deprecated runtime/config compatibility, preserve any doctor migration, repair, or hint that is still needed by supported upgrade paths. Doctor-side compatibility should stay tracked in src/commands/doctor/shared/deprecation-compat.ts until maintainers confirm the repair is no longer needed.
• Revalidate compatibility replacement text during release planning. The recommended replacement can shift as plugin ownership, externalization, and config footprint move, so do not blindly copy stale replacement annotations into release notes.
• Do not delete or rewrite beta tags after their matching npm package has been published. If a pushed beta tag fails before npm publish, the version is not consumed: keep the same -beta.N, delete/recreate or force-move the git tag and prerelease to the fixed commit, and rerun preflight. Do not increment to the next beta number until the matching npm package has actually published. If a published beta needs a fix, commit the fix on the release branch and increment to the next -beta.N.
• For a beta release train, keep Full Release Validation as a pre-publish gate unless the operator explicitly waives it. Run the fast local preflight, npm preflight, full release validation, and performance in parallel where safe. If anything fails before npm publish, fix it on the release branch, forward-port the fix to main, move the unpublished beta tag/prerelease to the fixed commit, and rerun the affected pre-publish gates. If anything fails after npm publish, fix it, forward-port to main, increment beta number, and repeat. After each beta publish, run the published-package roster focused on install/update/Docker/Parallels/NPM Telegram. For later beta attempts, rerun only lanes whose evidence changed unless the fix touches broad release, install/update, plugin, Docker, Parallels, or live QA behavior. After each beta is live, scan current main once for critical fixes that landed after the release branch cut and backport only important low-risk fixes. Operators may authorize up to 4 autonomous beta attempts; after 4 failed beta attempts, stop and report.
• As soon as the release candidate SHA exists, dispatch OpenClaw Performance with target_ref=<release-sha> in parallel with the other release work. Do not wait for full release validation to start the performance signal.
• Before publish/closeout, compare available product performance metrics with earlier releases: Kova agent-turn/resource metrics, gateway startup ready/listen/RSS/CPU metrics, and CLI startup metrics from release evidence or clawgrit reports. Report regressions explicitly. A major regression is a release blocker unless the operator waives it or the data clearly proves infrastructure noise.
• Generate the changelog before every beta, beta rerun, stable release, or stable rerun, before version/tag preparation. Use $openclaw-changelog-update for the rewrite. Do not continue release prep if the target CHANGELOG.md section does not have ### Highlights, ### Changes, and ### Fixes, grouped by user-facing surface while preserving every relevant PR/issue ref and every human Thanks @... attribution in the grouped bullet.
• Do not create beta-specific CHANGELOG.md headings. Beta releases use the stable base version section, for example v2026.4.20-beta.1 uses ## 2026.4.20 release notes.
• When any beta or stable release is live, make a best-effort Discord announcement using the configured secret workflow; do not block or roll back the release if the announcement fails.
• When asked to announce on X, use ~/Projects/bird/bird and follow the release tweet style below.

Keep release channel naming aligned

• stable: tagged releases only, published to npm beta by default; operators may target npm latest explicitly or promote later
• beta: prerelease tags like vYYYY.M.D-beta.N, with npm dist-tag beta
• Prefer -beta.N; do not mint new -1 or -2 beta suffixes
• dev: moving head on main
• When using a beta Git tag, publish npm with the matching beta version suffix so the plain version is not consumed or blocked

Handle versions and release files consistently

• Version locations include:
  • package.json
  • apps/android/app/build.gradle.kts
  • apps/ios/Sources/Info.plist
  • apps/ios/Tests/Info.plist
  • apps/macos/Sources/OpenClaw/Resources/Info.plist
  • docs/install/updating.md
  • Peekaboo Xcode project and plist version fields
• Before creating a release tag, make every version location above match the version encoded by that tag.
• For fallback correction tags like vYYYY.M.D-N, the repo version locations still stay at YYYY.M.D.
• “Bump version everywhere” means all version locations above except appcast.xml.
• Release signing and notary credentials live outside the repo in the private maintainer docs.
• Every stable OpenClaw release ships the npm package, macOS app, and signed Windows Hub installers together. Beta releases normally ship npm/package artifacts first and skip native app build/sign/notarize/promote unless the operator requests native beta validation.
• Do not let the slower macOS signing/notary path block npm publication once the npm preflight has passed. Keep mac validation/publish running in parallel, publish npm from the successful npm preflight, then start published npm install/update, Docker, and Parallels verification while mac artifacts continue.
• After a beta is published, overlap remote/manual release rosters where useful, but avoid piling local Docker, Parallels, and QA-Lab work onto the same host when it would create system-load noise. Use selective reruns after failures or fixes, but keep proof that Docker, Parallels, and QA-Lab each passed at least once before stable/latest promotion.
• Mac packaging may be built from a slight release-branch variation of the tagged commit when the delta is mac packaging, signing, workflow, or validation-only release machinery. If mac packaging needs release-branch-only fixes after the stable npm package or GitHub tag is already published, do not create a vYYYY.M.D-N correction tag just to change the workflow source. Dispatch the private mac workflows for the original tag=vYYYY.M.D with source_ref=release/YYYY.M.D and public_release_branch=release/YYYY.M.D; provenance checks must prove the source SHA descends from the tag and validation/preflight use the same source. Reserve vYYYY.M.D-N correction tags for emergency hotfixes that must publish a new npm package/release identity, not for ordinary mac-only packaging recovery.
• The production Sparkle feed lives at https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openclaw/openclaw/main/appcast.xml, and the canonical published file is appcast.xml on main in the openclaw repo.
• That shared production Sparkle feed is stable-only. Beta mac releases may upload assets to the GitHub prerelease, but they must not replace the shared appcast.xml unless a separate beta feed exists.
• For fallback correction tags like vYYYY.M.D-N, the repo version still stays at YYYY.M.D, but the mac release must use a strictly higher numeric APP_BUILD / Sparkle build than the original release so existing installs see it as newer.
• Stable Windows Hub release closeout requires the signed OpenClawCompanion-Setup-x64.exe, OpenClawCompanion-Setup-arm64.exe, and OpenClawCompanion-SHA256SUMS.txt assets on the canonical openclaw/openclaw GitHub Release. Use the public Windows Node Release workflow after the matching openclaw/openclaw-windows-node release exists; it verifies Authenticode signatures on Windows before uploading assets.
• Website Windows Hub download links should target exact canonical openclaw/openclaw/releases/download/vYYYY.M.D/... assets for the current stable release, or releases/latest/download/... only after verifying the redirect resolves to that same tag, so the installable signed Windows artifact is visible from both the GitHub release page and openclaw.ai.

Build changelog-backed release notes

• CHANGELOG.md is release-owned. Normal PRs and direct main fixes should not edit it.
• Before release branching or tagging, rewrite the target CHANGELOG.md section from history, not existing notes. Use the last reachable stable or beta release tag as the base, then inspect every commit through the target release SHA.
• The changelog rewrite is not optional for beta reruns: any beta.N after a rebase or backport must refresh the same stable-base ## YYYY.M.D section before the new version/tag commit.
• Include both merged PR commits and direct commits on main. Direct commits matter: infer notes from their subject, body, touched files, linked issues, tests, and nearby code when no PR body exists.
• Prefer PR bodies, issue links, review proof, and commit bodies over commit subjects alone. If a commit fixed an issue directly, the commit body should name the user-visible behavior, affected surface, issue ref, and credited reporter/contributor when known.
• Treat missing context as a release-note audit gap: inspect the diff and linked issue, draft the best accurate entry, and note the uncertainty for maintainer review rather than inventing impact.
• Add missed user-facing changes, remove internal-only noise, dedupe overlapping PR/direct-commit entries, and sort each section from most to least interesting for users.
• Group related highlights, changes, and fixes by user-facing surface and impact, but never lose traceability: each grouped bullet keeps every relevant #issue, (#PR), Fixes #..., and every human Thanks @... handle. Multiple thanks in one bullet are expected when multiple contributor PRs are grouped.
• Changelog entries should be user-facing, not internal release-process notes.
• GitHub release and prerelease bodies must use the full matching CHANGELOG.md version section, not highlights or an excerpt. When creating or editing a release, extract from ## YYYY.M.D through the line before the next level-2 heading and use that complete block as the release notes.
• To update an existing GitHub Release body, resolve the numeric release id and patch that resource with the notes file as the body field: gh api repos/openclaw/openclaw/releases/tags/vYYYY.M.D --jq .id, then gh api -X PATCH repos/openclaw/openclaw/releases/<id> -F body=@/tmp/notes.md. Do not trust gh release edit --notes-file or --input JSON if verification disagrees; verify with gh api repos/openclaw/openclaw/releases/<id> because the tag lookup and gh release view can lag or show stale body text.
• When preparing release notes, scan src/plugins/compat/registry.ts and src/commands/doctor/shared/deprecation-compat.ts for compatibility records with warningStarts or removeAfter within 7 days after the release date. Add an Upcoming deprecations note to the release notes when any exist, including the compatibility code, target date, replacement, and a link to the record's docsPath or /plugins/compatibility when no more specific deprecation page exists.
• When cutting a mac release with a beta GitHub prerelease:
  • tag vYYYY.M.D-beta.N from the release commit
  • create a prerelease titled openclaw YYYY.M.D-beta.N
  • use release notes from the stable base CHANGELOG.md version section (## YYYY.M.D), not a beta-specific heading
  • attach at least the zip and dSYM zip, plus dmg if available
• Keep the top version entries in CHANGELOG.md sorted by impact:
  • ### Changes first
  • ### Fixes deduped with user-facing fixes first

Write release tweets

Use the OpenClaw account's existing release-post style:

• Format: OpenClaw YYYY.M.D 🦞 or 🦞 OpenClaw YYYY.M.D is live, blank line, then 3-4 emoji-led bullets, blank line, one short punchline, then the release link.
• For beta: say OpenClaw YYYY.M.D-beta.N 🦞 or OpenClaw YYYY.M.D beta N is live; keep it clearly beta and avoid implying stable promotion.
• Lead with user-visible capabilities, then important integrations, then reliability/security/install fixes. Compress "lots of fixes" into one readable bullet.
• Read the full changelog section before drafting. Do not lead with coverage, CI, validation, or internal release mechanics unless the release is explicitly about those. Peter prefers concrete user wins: features, integrations, workflow improvements, and practical reliability fixes.
• Do not feature QA parity, test coverage, release gates, or validation lanes in user-facing launch tweets. Keep them for release notes or maintainer proof unless the operator explicitly asks for validation-focused copy.
• Do not feature plugin-author or developer tooling such as SDK helpers, tool-plugin scaffolding, build/validate/init commands, or internal CLI plumbing in general user-facing launch tweets unless the operator explicitly asks for developer-focused copy.
• Tone: high-signal, slightly cheeky, confident, not corporate. One joke is enough. Avoid punching down, insulting users, or promising what was not verified.
• Peter likes dry, compact taglines when they feel earned. Good example: Big release, tiny release notes... kidding. Keep the joke short and let the feature bullets carry the tweet; do not turn the punchline into a second paragraph or a forced bit.
• Length: release tweets are always standard tweets under 280 characters, with room for one URL. Trim to 3-4 bullets and count the final text before posting.
• Links/media: include the GitHub release or changelog link at the end of the first release tweet.
• Thread follow-ups: if doing a thread, keep the first release tweet as the compact launch post, then publish one focused feature explainer per reply. Follow-up replies should not repeat "new in VERSION" or the version number when the thread context already makes it obvious.
• Peter's preferred thread workflow: first agree on the generic launch tweet, then proceed through follow-up tweets one by one. When he says next, provide or copy the next follow-up only; do not dump the full thread again unless asked.
• Every follow-up tweet should include a docs URL for that specific feature. Prefer a bare URL over Docs: <url> unless the label is needed for clarity. Keep follow-ups concise: around 160-220 raw characters is usually the sweet spot; under 280 is the hard cap. If a URL makes a tweet fail, trim prose before dropping the URL. Prefer explaining diagnostics, trajectory/export, provider setup, model commands, or other setup-heavy features in follow-ups instead of overloading the first release tweet.
• Hotfix/correction: be direct and accountable. State what slipped, what is fixed, and the new version. Keep jokes out of incident-style posts.

Examples to adapt:

OpenClaw 2026.4.20-beta.1 🦞

🐳 Docker install/update smoke
🖥️ Parallels upgrade checks
🔧 Package verification tightened

Beta first. Stable after the gauntlet.
<release link>

OpenClaw 2026.4.20 🦞

🚀 Faster install + update
🐳 Docker + Parallels verified
🍎 macOS signed + notarized
🔧 Channel/plugin fixes

Good boring release. Best kind.
<release link>

Packaging issue in 2026.4.20-beta.1.

2026.4.20-beta.2 fixes install/update verification. No tag rewrites; beta moves
forward.

Upgrade with the beta channel.
<release link>

Run publish-time validation

Before tagging or publishing, run:

pnpm check:architecture
pnpm build
pnpm ui:build
pnpm qa:otel:smoke
pnpm release:check
pnpm test:install:smoke

• Use pnpm qa:otel:smoke when release validation needs telemetry coverage. It starts a local OTLP/HTTP trace receiver, runs QA-lab's otel-trace-smoke, and checks span names plus content/identifier redaction without external Opik or Langfuse credentials.

For a non-root smoke path:

  OPENCLAW_INSTALL_SMOKE_SKIP_NONROOT=1 pnpm test:install:smoke

After npm publish, run:

node --import tsx scripts/openclaw-npm-postpublish-verify.ts <published-version>

• This verifies the published registry install path in a fresh temp prefix.
• For stable correction releases like YYYY.M.D-N, it also verifies the upgrade path from YYYY.M.D to YYYY.M.D-N so a correction publish cannot silently leave existing global installs on the old base stable payload.
• Treat install smoke as a pack-budget gate too. pnpm test:install:smoke now fails the candidate update tarball when npm reports an oversized unpackedSize, so release-time e2e cannot miss pack bloat that would risk low-memory install/startup failures.
• Keep direct npm global coverage enabled in install smoke. It exercises plain npm install -g <candidate> fresh installs and npm-driven update installs, because many users install with npm even when docs prefer pnpm.
• Use pnpm test:live:media video for bounded video-provider smoke when video generation is in release scope. The default video smoke skips fal, runs one text-to-video attempt per provider with a one-second lobster prompt, and caps each provider operation with OPENCLAW_LIVE_VIDEO_GENERATION_TIMEOUT_MS (180000 by default).
• Run pnpm test:live:media video --video-providers fal only when FAL-specific proof is required. Its queue latency can dominate release time.
• Set OPENCLAW_LIVE_VIDEO_GENERATION_FULL_MODES=1 only when intentionally validating the slower image-to-video and video-to-video transform lanes.

Check all relevant release builds

• Always validate the OpenClaw npm release path before creating the tag.
• Use the configured secret workflow before live release validation so OpenAI and Anthropic credentials are available without printing secrets.
• Parallels validation and any local live model QA for this train must use both OPENAI_API_KEY and ANTHROPIC_API_KEY. If either cannot be injected, stop before starting those local long lanes and report the missing key.
• Live credentialed channel QA is the GitHub Actions workflow QA-Lab - All Lanes (.github/workflows/qa-live-telegram-convex.yml), not a local substitute. Dispatch it from Actions against the release tag and wait for it to pass before npm preflight/publish readiness. Use a SHA only when it satisfies the workflow's secret-bearing trust gate: main ancestor or open PR head. It runs the QA Lab mock parity gate plus live Matrix and live Telegram lanes using the qa-live-shared environment; Telegram uses Convex CI credential leases.
• Default release checks:
  • pnpm check
  • pnpm check:test-types
  • pnpm check:architecture
  • pnpm build
  • pnpm ui:build
  • pnpm release:check
  • OPENCLAW_INSTALL_SMOKE_SKIP_NONROOT=1 pnpm test:install:smoke
• Full pre-npm beta test roster:
  • default release checks above
  • all Docker tests: pnpm test:docker:all, plus standalone Docker live lanes not covered by the aggregate when operator says "all docker tests": pnpm test:docker:live-acp-bind, pnpm test:docker:live-cli-backend, and pnpm test:docker:live-codex-harness
  • all Parallels install/update tests: pnpm test:parallels:npm-update -- --json plus any needed individual rerun lanes from openclaw-parallels-smoke
  • all QA release validation: dispatch GitHub Actions > QA-Lab - All Lanes against the release tag and require success. This is the release gate for live credentialed Matrix/Telegram channel coverage. Use a SHA only when it satisfies the workflow trust gate. Run local OpenAI/Anthropic suites or repo-backed character evals only when the operator asks for extra model coverage or a failure needs local debugging.
• Post-published beta verification roster:
  • node --import tsx scripts/openclaw-npm-postpublish-verify.ts <beta-version>
  • install/update smoke against the published beta channel
  • Docker install/update coverage that exercises the published beta package
  • published npm Telegram proof: dispatch Actions > NPM Telegram Beta E2E from main with package_spec=openclaw@<beta-version> and provider_mode=mock-openai, and require success. This workflow is maintainer-dispatched and intentionally has no npm-release approval gate; qa-live-shared only supplies the shared QA secrets. This is the default button path for installed-package onboarding, Telegram setup, and real Telegram E2E against the published npm package. Use the local pnpm test:docker:npm-telegram-live lane with the matching OPENCLAW_NPM_TELEGRAM_PACKAGE_SPEC and Convex CI env only as a fallback or debugging path.
  • Parallels published beta install/update coverage with both OpenAI and Anthropic provider keys available
  • Parallels install/update proof must keep plugin installs enabled unless the operator explicitly scopes a harness-only isolation check; a lane that disables bundled plugin installs is not valid plugin/dependency release evidence.
  • targeted QA reruns only for areas touched by fixes after the full pre-npm roster, unless the operator requests the full QA roster again. If the fix touches live channel QA, credential plumbing, Matrix, Telegram, or the QA harness, rerun Actions > QA-Lab - All Lanes.
• Check all release-related build surfaces touched by the release, not only the npm package.
• For beta-style full e2e batteries, hard-cap top-level long lanes instead of letting them run indefinitely. Use host timeout --foreground/gtimeout --foreground caps such as:
  • 45m for OPENCLAW_INSTALL_SMOKE_SKIP_NONROOT=1 pnpm test:install:smoke
  • 90m for pnpm test:docker:all
  • 60m each for standalone Docker live lanes
  • 180m for local full QA live OpenAI + Anthropic rosters when explicitly requested; the default release channel QA gate is Actions > QA-Lab - All Lanes
  • Parallels caps from the openclaw-parallels-smoke skill If a lane hits its cap, stop and inspect/fix the affected lane before continuing; do not continue to wait on the same process.
• Actual npm install/update phases are capped at 5 minutes. If npm install -g, installer package install, or openclaw update takes longer than 300s in release e2e, stop treating the run as healthy progress and debug the installer/updater or harness.
• Serialize host build/package mutations ahead of VM lanes. Finish pnpm build, pnpm ui:build, pnpm release:check, install smoke, and any Docker/package-prep lanes before starting Parallels npm pack lanes; otherwise dist can disappear during VM pack prep and produce false failures.
• Include mac release readiness in preflight by running the public validation workflow in openclaw/openclaw and the real mac preflight in openclaw/releases-private for every release.
• Treat the appcast.xml update on main as part of mac release readiness, not an optional follow-up.
• The workflows remain tag-based. The agent is responsible for making sure preflight runs complete successfully before any publish run starts.
• Any fix after preflight means a new commit. Delete and recreate the tag and matching GitHub release from the fixed commit, then rerun preflight from scratch before publishing. Exception: never delete or recreate a beta tag whose matching npm package has already been published; increment to the next beta number instead. If only the pushed tag/prerelease exists and npm publish has not happened, recreate that same beta tag at the fixed commit.
• For stable mac releases, generate the signed appcast.xml before uploading public release assets so the updater feed cannot lag the published binaries.
• Serialize stable appcast-producing runs across tags so two releases do not generate replacement appcast.xml files from the same stale seed.
• For stable releases, rely primarily on the latest beta's broader release workflow confidence. When promoting the matching non-beta build to npm latest, prefer a light time-bounded verification pass: published npm postpublish verify, Docker install/update smoke, macOS-only Parallels install/update smoke, and required QA signal. Do not rerun the full Docker/Parallels matrix unless the beta evidence is stale, the stable build differs materially from beta, or the operator explicitly asks for full retesting.
• If any required build, packaging step, or release workflow is red, do not say the release is ready.

Use the right auth flow

• OpenClaw publish uses GitHub trusted publishing.
• Stable npm promotion from beta to latest uses the private openclaw/releases-private/.github/workflows/openclaw-npm-dist-tags.yml workflow because npm dist-tag management needs NPM_TOKEN, while the public npm release workflow stays OIDC-only.
• Prefer fixing the private workflow token path over any local 1Password fallback. The desired setup is a granular npm token stored as the private repo's NPM_TOKEN secret, scoped to the openclaw package with read/write and 2FA bypass for automation.
• If the private dist-tag workflow cannot promote because NPM_TOKEN is absent or stale, use the local tmux + 1Password fallback:
  • Start or reuse a tmux session so interactive npm login and OTP prompts are observable and recoverable.
  • Hard rule: never run op directly in the main agent shell during release work. Any 1Password CLI use must happen inside that tmux session so prompts and alerts are contained and observable.
  • Use $release-private for the npm credentials and OTP item. Do not print passwords, tokens, or OTPs to the transcript; send them through tmux buffers, env vars scoped to the tmux command, or expect with log_user 0.
  • Re-authenticate npm inside that tmux session with npm login --auth-type=legacy, then confirm npm whoami reports steipete.
  • Promote with a fresh OTP: npm dist-tag add openclaw@YYYY.M.D latest --otp "$OTP".
  • Verify with a cache-bypassed registry read, for example: npm view openclaw dist-tags --json --prefer-online --cache /tmp/openclaw-npm-cache-verify-$$ and npm view openclaw@latest version dist.tarball --json --prefer-online.
• Direct stable publishes can also use that private dist-tag workflow to point beta at the already-published latest version when the operator wants both tags aligned immediately.
• The publish run must be started manually with workflow_dispatch.
• The npm workflow and the private mac publish workflow accept preflight_only=true to run validation/build/package steps without uploading public release assets.
• Real npm publish requires a prior successful npm preflight run id and the successful Full Release Validation run id for the same tag/SHA so the publish job promotes the prepared tarball instead of rebuilding it and attaches the correct release evidence.
• Real private mac publish requires a prior successful private mac preflight run id so the publish job promotes the prepared artifacts instead of rebuilding or renotarizing them again.
• The private mac workflow also accepts smoke_test_only=true for branch-safe workflow smoke tests that use ad-hoc signing, skip notarization, skip shared appcast generation, and do not prove release readiness.
• preflight_only=true on the npm workflow is also the right way to validate an existing tag after publish; it should keep running the build checks even when the npm version is already published.
• npm validation-only preflight may still be dispatched from ordinary branches when testing workflow changes before merge. Release checks and real publish use only main or release/YYYY.M.D.
• .github/workflows/macos-release.yml in openclaw/openclaw is now a public validation-only handoff. It validates the tag/release state and points operators to the private repo. It still rebuilds the JS outputs needed for release validation, but it does not sign, notarize, or publish macOS artifacts.
• openclaw/releases-private/.github/workflows/openclaw-macos-validate.yml is the required private mac validation lane for swift test; keep it green before any real stable mac publish run starts.
• Real mac preflight and real mac publish both use openclaw/releases-private/.github/workflows/openclaw-macos-publish.yml.
• The private mac validation lane runs on GitHub's standard macOS runner.
• The private mac preflight path runs on GitHub's xlarge macOS runner and uses a SwiftPM cache because the build/sign/notarize/package path is CPU-heavy.
• Private mac preflight uploads notarized build artifacts as workflow artifacts instead of uploading public GitHub release assets.
• Private smoke-test runs upload ad-hoc, non-notarized build artifacts as workflow artifacts and intentionally skip stable appcast.xml generation.
• For stable releases, npm preflight, Full Release Validation, public mac validation, private mac validation, and private mac preflight must all pass before any real publish run starts. For beta releases, npm preflight and Full Release Validation must pass before npm publish unless the operator explicitly waives the full gate; mac beta validation is still only required when requested.
• Real publish runs may be dispatched from main or from a release/YYYY.M.D branch. For release-branch runs, the tag must be contained in that release branch, and the real publish must reuse a successful preflight from the same branch.
• The release workflows stay tag-based; rely on the documented release sequence rather than workflow-level SHA pinning.
• The npm-release environment must be approved by @openclaw/openclaw-release-managers before publish continues.
• Mac publish uses openclaw/releases-private/.github/workflows/openclaw-macos-publish.yml for private mac preflight artifact preparation and real publish artifact promotion.
• Real private mac publish uploads the packaged .zip, .dmg, and .dSYM.zip assets to the existing GitHub release in openclaw/openclaw automatically when OPENCLAW_PUBLIC_REPO_RELEASE_TOKEN is present in the private repo mac-release environment.
• For stable releases, the agent must also download the signed macos-appcast-<tag> artifact from the successful private mac workflow and then update appcast.xml on main.
• For beta mac releases, do not update the shared production appcast.xml unless a separate beta Sparkle feed exists.
• The private repo targets a dedicated mac-release environment. If the GitHub plan does not yet support required reviewers there, do not assume the environment alone is the approval boundary; rely on private repo access and CODEOWNERS until those settings can be enabled.
• Do not use NPM_TOKEN or the plugin OTP flow for the OpenClaw package publish path; package publishing uses trusted publishing.
• Use NPM_TOKEN only for explicit npm dist-tag management modes, because npm does not support trusted publishing for npm dist-tag add.
• @openclaw/* plugin publishes use a separate maintainer-only flow.
• Only publish plugins that already exist on npm; bundled disk-tree-only plugins stay unpublished.

Fallback local mac publish

• Keep the original local macOS publish workflow available as a fallback in case CI/CD mac publishing is unavailable or broken.
• Preserve the existing maintainer workflow Peter uses: run it on a real Mac with local signing, notary, and Sparkle credentials already configured.
• Follow the private maintainer macOS runbook for the local steps: scripts/package-mac-dist.sh to build, sign, notarize, and package the app; manual GitHub release asset upload; then scripts/make_appcast.sh plus the appcast.xml commit to main.
• scripts/package-mac-dist.sh now fails closed for release builds if the bundled app comes out with a debug bundle id, an empty Sparkle feed URL, or a CFBundleVersion below the canonical Sparkle build floor for that short version. For correction tags, set a higher explicit APP_BUILD.
• scripts/make_appcast.sh first uses generate_appcast from PATH, then falls back to the SwiftPM Sparkle tool output under apps/macos/.build.
• For stable tags, the local fallback may update the shared production appcast.xml.
• For beta tags, the local fallback still publishes the mac assets but must not update the shared production appcast.xml unless a separate beta feed exists.
• Treat the local workflow as fallback only. Prefer the CI/CD publish workflow when it is working.
• After any stable mac publish, verify all of the following before you call the release finished:
  • the GitHub release has .zip, .dmg, and .dSYM.zip assets
  • appcast.xml on main points at the new stable zip
  • the packaged app reports the expected short version and a numeric CFBundleVersion at or above the canonical Sparkle build floor

Run the release sequence

1. Confirm the operator explicitly wants to cut a release.
2. Choose the exact target version and git tag.
3. Commit any dirty files in coherent groups, push, pull/rebase, and verify the worktree is clean.
4. Pull latest main and confirm current main CI is green.
5. Run /changelog for the stable base target version on main, commit the changelog rewrite immediately, push, and pull/rebase. For beta releases, keep the changelog heading as ## YYYY.M.D, not ## YYYY.M.D-beta.N.
6. Create release/YYYY.M.D from that post-changelog main commit.
7. Make every repo version location match the beta tag before creating it.
8. Commit release preparation changes on the release branch and push the branch.
9. Immediately dispatch Actions > OpenClaw Performance from main with target_ref=<release-sha>, profile=release, repeat=3, deep profiling off, live OpenAI off, and regression failure off. Let it run in parallel with preflight and validation work.
10. Run the fast local beta preflight from the release branch before any npm preflight or publish. Keep expensive Docker, Parallels, and published-package install/update lanes for after the beta is live unless the operator asks to run them before beta publication.
11. For beta releases, skip mac app build/sign/notarize unless beta scope or a release blocker specifically requires it. For stable releases, include the mac app, signing, notarization, and appcast path.
12. Confirm the target npm version is not already published.
13. Create and push the git tag from the release branch.
14. Create or refresh the matching GitHub release.
15. Dispatch Actions > QA-Lab - All Lanes against the release tag and wait for the mock parity, live Matrix, and live Telegram credentialed-channel lanes to pass.
16. Start .github/workflows/openclaw-npm-release.yml from the release branch with preflight_only=true and choose the intended npm_dist_tag (beta default; latest only for an intentional direct stable publish). Wait for it to pass. Save that run id because the real publish requires it to reuse the prepared npm tarball.
17. Before real publish, review the early performance run if it has completed. Compare against earlier release evidence or clawgrit reports where available. Call out minor regressions in the release proof; block on major regressions unless waived or proven noisy.
18. For stable releases, start .github/workflows/macos-release.yml in openclaw/openclaw and wait for the public validation-only run to pass.
19. For stable releases, start openclaw/releases-private/.github/workflows/openclaw-macos-validate.yml with the same tag and wait for the private mac validation lane to pass.
20. For stable releases, start openclaw/releases-private/.github/workflows/openclaw-macos-publish.yml with preflight_only=true and wait for it to pass. Save that run id because the real publish requires it to reuse the notarized mac artifacts.
21. If any preflight or validation run fails, fix the issue on a new commit, delete the tag and matching GitHub release, recreate them from the fixed commit, and rerun all relevant preflights from scratch before continuing. Never reuse old preflight results after the commit changes. For pushed or published beta tags, do not delete/recreate; increment to the next beta tag. For preflight-only failures where npm did not publish the beta version, delete/recreate the same beta tag and prerelease at the fixed commit instead of skipping a prerelease number.
22. Start .github/workflows/openclaw-npm-release.yml from the same branch with the same tag for the real publish, choose npm_dist_tag (beta default, latest only when you intentionally want direct stable publish), keep it the same as the preflight run, and pass the successful npm preflight_run_id.
23. Wait for npm-release approval from @openclaw/openclaw-release-managers.
24. Run postpublish verification: node --import tsx scripts/openclaw-npm-postpublish-verify.ts <published-version>.
25. Run the post-published beta verification roster. First scan current main for critical fixes that landed after the release branch cut; backport only important low-risk fixes before starting expensive lanes, or increment to the next beta if the fix must change the already-published package. If any lane fails after the beta package is published, fix, commit/push/pull, increment to the next beta tag, and rerun the affected beta evidence. Once the beta is live, start remote/manual rosters where they can overlap safely, but keep local Docker and Parallels load controlled. Ensure the full expensive roster has passed at least once before stable/latest promotion. The roster includes the manual Actions > NPM Telegram Beta E2E workflow against the exact published beta package. If a pre-npm lane fails before any tag/package leaves the machine, fix and rerun the same intended beta attempt. Repeat up to the operator's authorized beta-attempt limit, normally 4.
26. Announce the beta/stable release on Discord best-effort using the configured secret workflow.
27. If the operator requested beta only, stop after beta verification and the announcement.
28. If the stable release was published to beta, use the light stable promotion roster when the matching beta already carried the full confidence pass: published npm postpublish verify, Docker install/update smoke, macOS-only Parallels install/update smoke, and required QA signal. Then start the private openclaw/releases-private/.github/workflows/openclaw-npm-dist-tags.yml workflow to promote that stable version from beta to latest, then verify latest now points at that version.
29. If the stable release was published directly to latest and beta should follow it, start that same private dist-tag workflow to point beta at the stable version, then verify both latest and beta point at that version.
30. For stable releases, start openclaw/releases-private/.github/workflows/openclaw-macos-publish.yml for the real publish with the successful private mac preflight_run_id and wait for success.
31. Verify the successful real private mac run uploaded the .zip, .dmg, and .dSYM.zip artifacts to the existing GitHub release in openclaw/openclaw.
32. For stable releases, download macos-appcast-<tag> from the successful private mac run, update appcast.xml on main, and verify the feed. Merge or cherry-pick release branch changes back to main after stable succeeds.
33. For beta releases, publish the mac assets only when intentionally requested; expect no shared production appcast.xml artifact and do not update the shared production feed unless a separate beta feed exists.
34. After publish, verify npm and the attached release artifacts.

GHSA advisory work

• Use openclaw-ghsa-maintainer for GHSA advisory inspection, patch/publish flow, private-fork validation, and GHSA API-specific publish checks.