CI Validation Gates

Context

CI workflows must be defensive. These patterns capture lessons from prior release incidents; they are maintained as version-agnostic gates rather than claims about a particular repository release.

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.

- 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

- 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

Installer and Generated-Artifact Gates

• Pin downloaded scripts and binaries to an immutable release or commit; never execute a moving branch reference.
• Use curl -f (normally curl -fsSL) so HTTP failures cannot be interpreted as scripts.
• Download to a named file before execution when practical, then remove it after a successful install. This leaves a diagnosable artifact if the installer fails.
• Use set -euo pipefail in Bash steps. When a download must feed an extractor, pipefail prevents the extractor from masking a failed download.
• Lint and validate canonical workflow sources and every committed generated/template mirror. A successful source-only check does not prove the artifact that executes is valid.
• Keep suppressions narrow: exact tool diagnostic plus exact affected path, and revalidate them when the pinned tool changes.

The root build invokes scripts/bump-build.mjs, which can mutate package versions. Local validation MUST set SKIP_BUILD_BUMP=1 (or use an existing CI environment that guarantees no mutation) and MUST verify the package manifests and lockfile are unchanged afterward. Prefer an affected workspace build when it covers the check. Never let a validation build rewrite package versions or create a version-only diff.

Known Failure Modes

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