Release Processreporter

Release ProcessReporter

Produce one auditable release commit and annotated tag. Let GitHub Actions own the deterministic Apple Silicon arm64 build, distribution signing mode, DMG creation, Sparkle EdDSA appcast, and GitHub Release publication. Developer ID signing and notarization are preferred but optional until Apple credentials are available.

Safety contract

• Read AGENTS.md, .github/workflows/release.yml, ExportOptions.plist, and the current Xcode build settings before acting.
• Require a clean working tree and main checked out at origin/main before changing versions.
• Treat an explicit request to release a named version as authorization to commit, tag, and atomically push. Otherwise, obtain confirmation before the external push.
• Never move, replace, force-push, or delete an existing tag. Never replace an existing public GitHub Release.
• Stop when the version is not strictly greater than the version inside the newest real distributed application. Do not trust GitHub's latest label alone; inspect semantic tags and release assets when history is inconsistent.
• Stop when notes contain claims that cannot be traced to source changes or verification evidence.
• Preserve unrelated user changes; do not use destructive restore/reset commands.

One-time repository setup

The release job always requires this stable Sparkle key pair, either as repository secrets or in the protected GitHub release environment:

Generate the Sparkle pair once, back it up securely, and reuse it for every release. Never generate a new key in CI. This key pair does not require an Apple developer account.

Developer ID distribution uses the following optional, all-or-none group:

When all five Apple secrets are absent, the workflow publishes an ad-hoc-signed, unnotarized application and places a visible warning in both the GitHub Release and Sparkle notes. The warning must state that Gatekeeper and Accessibility approval may need to be granted again because ad-hoc identity is not stable across builds. In this mode, integration credentials remain in a permissions-restricted local credential journal; the first stable team-signed build migrates them to Keychain. When all five Apple secrets are present, the workflow automatically performs Developer ID signing and notarization. A partial Apple configuration is invalid and must stop the release. Protect v* tags from deletion or force updates.

Leave the repository or environment variable REQUIRE_DEVELOPER_ID unset (or set to false) while Apple credentials are unavailable. After the first Developer ID release, set it permanently to true; this prevents accidental credential deletion from silently downgrading later releases to ad-hoc signing.

Release workflow

1. Establish the release boundary

1. Fetch tags and inspect git status, the current branch, origin/main, semantic tags, and GitHub Releases.
2. Inspect the actual version in the newest distributed app when tag history or latest is inconsistent.
3. Select a semantic version X.Y.Z strictly greater than the distributed version.
4. Confirm that no local/remote tag or public Release already uses vX.Y.Z.

2. Update deterministic versions

Run:

rtk proxy python3 .agents/skills/release-processreporter/scripts/set-release-version.py X.Y.Z

The script updates every Xcode configuration to MARKETING_VERSION=X.Y.Z and increments the unique positive CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION.

3. Write evidence-based release notes

Create .github/release-notes/vX.Y.Z.md with this structure:

# ProcessReporter vX.Y.Z

## Highlights

- User-visible outcome.

## Fixes and reliability

- Corrected behavior and affected boundary.

## Update notes

- Compatibility or configuration note, if required.

Derive statements from the committed diff since the relevant previous release. Prefer observable behavior over implementation details. Omit empty sections and speculative claims. Mention migrations, permission changes, removed compatibility, or required secret/configuration changes explicitly.

4. Verify before tagging

Run the repository's focused checks, at minimum:

rtk proxy bash scripts/setup_discord_sdk.sh
rtk proxy xcodebuild -project ProcessReporter.xcodeproj -scheme ProcessReporter -configuration Debug -destination 'generic/platform=macOS' build
rtk proxy xcodebuild -project ProcessReporter.xcodeproj -scheme ProcessReporter -configuration Release -destination 'generic/platform=macOS' ARCHS=arm64 build
rtk git diff --check
rtk proxy plutil -lint ProcessReporter/Info.plist ExportOptions.plist

Also run strict-concurrency and static-analysis checks when the release changes Swift runtime or data-flow code. The workflow runs scripts/prepare_arm64_app.sh after export because Sparkle's macOS binary framework contains multiple architecture slices even when the app target builds for arm64. Verify that Sparkle resolves to the reviewed version, every shipped executable and the Discord dylib are arm64-only after that preparation step, release notes are non-empty, and tag/project versions match.

5. Commit, tag, and atomically push

Review the complete diff. Then create one release commit and annotated tag:

rtk git add ProcessReporter.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj .github/release-notes/vX.Y.Z.md
rtk git commit -m "release: vX.Y.Z"
rtk git tag -a vX.Y.Z -m "ProcessReporter vX.Y.Z"
rtk git push --atomic origin main vX.Y.Z

Do not create the GitHub Release manually. The tag-triggered workflow selects Developer ID or ad-hoc distribution from the available Apple secrets, creates a hidden draft, validates the arm64-only application, generates an appcast whose DMG enclosure has a Sparkle EdDSA signature, publishes the release, and explicitly repairs GitHub's latest pointer. The Developer ID branch additionally validates the notarized application and DMG.

6. Monitor the real endpoint

Watch the Release Actions run through completion. Confirm all of the following before reporting success:

• The workflow concluded successfully.
• The Release is public, non-prerelease, and marked latest.
• The DMG, appcast.xml, checksum-covered Markdown notes, and SHA256SUMS.txt exist.
• The latest appcast references the new tag, marketing version, build number, and an EdDSA signature.
• The published notes accurately state whether the artifact is Developer ID notarized or ad-hoc signed.
• The asset URLs return successfully.

If Actions fails, preserve the immutable tag, report the failing stage and evidence, and fix forward with explicit user direction. Do not silently republish different bytes under an already public version.