Release retrospective: v18.1.2

[flyingrobots]

Release retrospective: v18.1.2

Released

v18.1.2 was a release-hygiene and public-reference patch for the v18.1 line.

Released scope:

• Source-backed reference topic for package entrypoints, root API exports, CLI commands, structured CLI error output, and public error classes.
• Docs topology/source-backed-reference gate so the generated reference shelf is required by release validation.
• Corrected release publication path: merged release/* PRs autotag the exact main commit after final preflight, then a JSR scope-member maintainer manually dispatches the registry publish workflow for that tag.
• Updated release preflight/preview behavior for the manual registry publication path.
• Version metadata for 18.1.2 across package, lockfile, JSR metadata, and private workspace metadata.
• README, architecture, topic index, and changelog signposts updated for the patch release.

Not released

• A Continuum-wide release contract and repo-local release profile were not part of v18.1.2; this is now tracked by Formalize Continuum release contract for git-warp #688 and PR docs: formalize Continuum release contract #687.
• Release guards do not yet consume .continuum/release.yml; this is tracked by Make release guards consume the Continuum release profile #689.
• Automatic retrospective scaffolding is not shipped; this is tracked by COOL IDEA: generate post-release retrospective scaffolds #690.
• Release state-machine validation is not shipped; this is tracked by COOL IDEA: validate the release state machine #691.
• Full open-issue release-bucket triage was not completed before this retrospective; this is tracked by Triage unmilestoned issues into release buckets or backlog #692.
• The Wesley/Bunny deterministic codec boundary work landed after the tag and belongs to the v19 train, not v18.1.2.

Plan vs actual

Planned release thesis: publish the source-backed public reference shelf and fix the release publication path so npm, JSR, GitHub Release evidence, and the exact merged main commit stay aligned.

Actual release: matched the thesis. The release shipped the generated/source-backed reference shelf, release guard wiring, and manual maintainer-dispatched registry publication flow.

Scope expanded after release: the post-release review exposed that the runbook was still git-warp-specific rather than Continuum-profiled. That expansion is intentionally handled after v18.1.2, not retroactively folded into the patch.

Scope moved forward: deterministic generated codec boundaries, release profile consumption by guards, retrospective automation, and release-state validation.

Evidence

• Tag: v18.1.2
• Tag commit: d2c08252e4299b589c0198403ba37dfb659833f0
• GitHub Release: https://github.com/git-stunts/git-warp/releases/tag/v18.1.2
• Release workflow run: https://github.com/git-stunts/git-warp/actions/runs/28201933077
• Release PR: release: prepare v18.1.2 #680
• Source-backed reference PR: docs: add source-backed reference gate #679
• Manual registry publication PR: release: require manual registry publication #678
• Previous tag comparison: v18.1.1..v18.1.2
• Diff stat: 18 files changed, 762 insertions, 50 deletions.
• npm registry: npm view @git-stunts/git-warp@18.1.2 version --registry=https://registry.npmjs.org returned 18.1.2.
• JSR npm-compat registry: npm view @jsr/git-stunts__git-warp@18.1.2 version --registry=https://npm.jsr.io returned 18.1.2.
• npm tarball: https://registry.npmjs.org/@git-stunts/git-warp/-/git-warp-18.1.2.tgz
• JSR tarball: https://npm.jsr.io/~/11/@jsr/git-stunts__git-warp/18.1.2.tgz

Went well

• The release stayed honest about patch scope: source-backed reference plus release-publication repair, not a broad feature train.
• The generated reference shelf converted drift-prone public inventories into source-backed evidence, which matches the repository doctrine.
• The tag points at the reviewed merge commit, so release evidence and source history line up.
• Manual JSR dispatch solved the OIDC actor problem without pretending bot-dispatched registry publication was equivalent.
• The release notes were concise and matched the actual diff.

Improve next time

• Split universal release doctrine from repo-specific release mechanics earlier. Mitigation: Formalize Continuum release contract for git-warp #688 / PR docs: formalize Continuum release contract #687 introduce the Continuum Release Contract and .continuum/release.yml profile.
• Make the release profile executable rather than documentary. Mitigation: Make release guards consume the Continuum release profile #689 tracks moving profile-owned facts out of hardcoded shell arrays.
• Generate retrospective evidence scaffolds from the tag/profile. Mitigation: COOL IDEA: generate post-release retrospective scaffolds #690 tracks a future scaffold command.
• Validate the release state machine directly. Mitigation: COOL IDEA: validate the release state machine #691 tracks state validation across milestones, PRs, tags, workflow runs, and retrospectives.
• Finish open issue bucket hygiene before the next planned train. Mitigation: Triage unmilestoned issues into release buckets or backlog #692 tracks the 196 currently unmilestoned open issues.

Fallout issues

• Formalize Continuum release contract for git-warp #688: Formalize Continuum release contract for git-warp
• Make release guards consume the Continuum release profile #689: Make release guards consume the Continuum release profile
• COOL IDEA: generate post-release retrospective scaffolds #690: COOL IDEA: generate post-release retrospective scaffolds
• COOL IDEA: validate the release state machine #691: COOL IDEA: validate the release state machine
• Triage unmilestoned issues into release buckets or backlog #692: Triage unmilestoned issues into release buckets or backlog
• Goalpost: v19 release-system activation #693: Goalpost: v19 release-system activation
• Goalpost: v19 generated deterministic codec boundary #694: Goalpost: v19 generated deterministic codec boundary
• Goalpost: v19 domain codec leak removal #695: Goalpost: v19 domain codec leak removal
• Goalpost: v19 test-law and serialization paydown #696: Goalpost: v19 test-law and serialization paydown

Next release recommendation

Skip v18.2.0 unless a patch thesis and must-ship maintenance fix appear. Treat it as an inactive patch bucket.

Make v19.0.0 the next planned feature train. Thesis: make git-warp serialization boundaries deterministic and generated where drift can occur. Bunny/Wesley GraphQL contract profiles should drive boundary DTOs/codecs at adapters, while domain runtime nouns stop owning serde, raw persistence bytes, and infrastructure defaults.

Current v19 goalposts:

• Goalpost: v19 release-system activation #693: release-system activation
• Goalpost: v19 generated deterministic codec boundary #694: generated deterministic codec boundary
• Goalpost: v19 domain codec leak removal #695: domain codec leak removal
• Goalpost: v19 test-law and serialization paydown #696: test-law and serialization paydown

[flyingrobots]

Retrospective filed and next-release fallout issues created. Closing this evidence record as complete.