Openclaw Release Maintainer

OpenClaw Release Maintainer

Use this skill for release and publish-time workflow. 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 run /changelog on main and commit/push/pull that changelog rewrite immediately before creating the release branch.
• Do not delete or rewrite beta tags after they leave the machine. If a published or pushed beta needs a fix, commit the fix on the release branch and increment to the next -beta.N.
• For a beta release train, run the full pre-npm test roster before publishing each beta. After a beta is published, run the smaller published-install roster focused on install/update/Docker/Parallels. If anything fails, fix it on the release branch, commit/push/pull, increment beta number, and repeat. Operators may authorize up to 4 autonomous beta attempts; after 4 failed beta attempts, stop and report.
• Use /changelog before version/tag preparation so the top changelog section is deduped and ordered by user impact.
• 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 Peter's bot token from .profile; 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 and macOS app together. Beta releases normally ship npm/package artifacts first and skip mac app build/sign/notarize unless the operator requests mac beta validation.
• 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.

Build changelog-backed release notes

• Changelog entries should be user-facing, not internal release-process notes.
• 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.
• Tone: high-signal, slightly cheeky, confident, not corporate. One joke is enough. Avoid punching down, insulting users, or promising what was not verified.
• Length: release tweets are always standard tweets under 280 characters. Trim to 3-4 bullets and count the final text before posting.
• Links/media: include the GitHub release or changelog link at the end. Add a short docs follow-up reply only when there is a standout feature that needs setup instructions.
• 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 release:check
pnpm test:install:smoke

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.
• Source Peter's profile before live release validation so OpenAI and Anthropic credentials are available without printing secrets: set -a; source "$HOME/.profile"; set +a.
• Release QA and Parallels validation for this train must use both OPENAI_API_KEY and ANTHROPIC_API_KEY. If either is missing after sourcing .profile, stop before starting the long lanes and report the missing key.
• 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: OpenAI live suite with openai/gpt-5.4 in fast mode, Anthropic live suite with anthropic/claude-opus-4-6, and the repo-backed character evals
• 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
  • Parallels published beta install/update coverage with both OpenAI and Anthropic provider keys available
  • targeted QA reruns only for areas touched by fixes after the full pre-npm roster, unless the operator requests the full QA roster again
• 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 the full QA live OpenAI + Anthropic roster
  • 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 that has already been pushed or published; increment to the next beta number instead.
• 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, confirm the latest beta already passed the broader release workflows before cutting stable.
• 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.
• 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 so the publish job promotes the prepared tarball instead of rebuilding it.
• 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, public mac validation, private mac validation, and private mac preflight must all pass before any real publish run starts. For beta releases, npm preflight plus the selected Docker, install/update, Parallels, and release-check lanes are sufficient unless mac beta validation was explicitly 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. Run the full pre-npm beta test roster from the release branch before any npm preflight or publish.
10. 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.
11. Confirm the target npm version is not already published.
12. Create and push the git tag from the release branch.
13. Create or refresh the matching GitHub release.
14. 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.
15. For stable releases, start .github/workflows/macos-release.yml in openclaw/openclaw and wait for the public validation-only run to pass.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. Wait for npm-release approval from @openclaw/openclaw-release-managers.
21. Run postpublish verification: node --import tsx scripts/openclaw-npm-postpublish-verify.ts <published-version>.
22. Run the post-published beta verification roster. If any lane fails after the beta tag/package is pushed or published, fix, commit/push/pull, increment to the next beta tag, and restart at the full pre-npm beta test roster for the new beta. 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.
23. Announce the beta/stable release on Discord best-effort using Peter's bot token from .profile.
24. If the operator requested beta only, stop after beta verification and the announcement.
25. If the stable release was published to beta, start the private openclaw/releases-private/.github/workflows/openclaw-npm-dist-tags.yml workflow after beta validation passes to promote that stable version from beta to latest, then verify latest now points at that version.
26. 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.
27. 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.
28. Verify the successful real private mac run uploaded the .zip, .dmg, and .dSYM.zip artifacts to the existing GitHub release in openclaw/openclaw.
29. 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.
30. 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.
31. 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.