Release Automation Setup

This document covers the GitHub and npm setup required for the current Paperclip release model:

• automatic canaries from master
• manual stable promotion from a chosen source ref
• npm trusted publishing via GitHub OIDC
• protected release infrastructure in a public repository

Repo-side files that depend on this setup:

• .github/workflows/release.yml
• .github/CODEOWNERS

Note:

• the release workflows intentionally use pnpm install --no-frozen-lockfile
• this matches the repo's current policy where pnpm-lock.yaml is refreshed by GitHub automation after manifest changes land on master
• the publish jobs then restore pnpm-lock.yaml before running scripts/release.sh, so the release script still sees a clean worktree

1. Merge the Repo Changes First

Before touching GitHub or npm settings, merge the release automation code so the referenced workflow filenames already exist on the default branch.

Required files:

• .github/workflows/release.yml
• .github/CODEOWNERS

2. Configure npm Trusted Publishing

Do this for every public package that Paperclip publishes.

At minimum that includes:

• paperclipai
• @paperclipai/server
• @paperclipai/ui
• public packages under packages/

2.1. In npm, open each package settings page

For each package:

1. open npm as an owner of the package
2. go to the package settings / publishing access area
3. add a trusted publisher for the GitHub repository paperclipai/paperclip

2.2. Add one trusted publisher entry per package

npm currently allows one trusted publisher configuration per package.

Configure:

• workflow: .github/workflows/release.yml

Repository:

• paperclipai/paperclip

Environment name:

• leave the npm trusted-publisher environment field blank

Why:

• the single release.yml workflow handles both canary and stable publishing
• GitHub environments npm-canary and npm-stable still enforce different approval rules on the GitHub side

2.2.1. Newly added public packages need a bootstrap phase

Trusted publishing is configured on the npm package itself, not at the repo scope. That means a brand-new public package must not be auto-enrolled into CI publishing until its npm package exists and its trusted publisher has been configured.

Repo policy:

1. add every non-private package to scripts/release-package-manifest.json
2. set "publishFromCi": true only when CI is expected to publish that package
3. if the package is not ready for CI publishing yet, keep "publishFromCi": false
4. complete the package bootstrap before merging any PR that changes a release-enabled new package

Bootstrap sequence for a new package:

1. publish the package once from a trusted maintainer machine using normal npm auth
2. open that package on npm and add the paperclipai/paperclip trusted publisher for .github/workflows/release.yml
3. rerun or dry-run the release flow as needed to confirm CI publishing now works
4. only then enable "publishFromCi": true

PR CI enforces this by checking changed release-enabled package manifests against npm. That keeps master canary publishing healthy while preserving the no-long-lived-token model for normal CI releases.

2.3. Verify trusted publishing before removing old auth

After the workflows are live:

1. run a canary publish
2. confirm npm publish succeeds without any NPM_TOKEN
3. run a stable dry-run
4. run one real stable publish

Only after that should you remove old token-based access.

3. Remove Legacy npm Tokens

After trusted publishing works:

1. revoke any repository or organization NPM_TOKEN secrets used for publish
2. revoke any personal automation token that used to publish Paperclip
3. if npm offers a package-level setting to restrict publishing to trusted publishers, enable it

Goal:

• no long-lived npm publishing token should remain in GitHub Actions

4. Create GitHub Environments

Create three environments in the GitHub repository:

• npm-canary
• npm-beta
• npm-stable

Path:

1. GitHub repository
2. Settings
3. Environments
4. New environment

5. Configure npm-canary

Recommended settings for npm-canary:

• environment name: npm-canary
• required reviewers: none
• wait timer: none
• deployment branches and tags:
  • selected branches only
  • allow master

Reasoning:

• every push to master should be able to publish a canary automatically
• no human approval should be required for canaries

The scheduled nightly lane also publishes under npm-canary: it is the same trust level (fully automated, no human gate), its runs execute on master so the branch rule is satisfied, and reusing the environment means the nightly lane required no new environments and no npm trusted-publisher changes (publishing still happens from release.yml, see section 2.2).

5.1. Configure npm-beta

Recommended settings for npm-beta:

• environment name: npm-beta
• required reviewers: at least one maintainer
• prevent self-review: enabled when your team size allows it
• wait timer: none
• deployment branches and tags:
  • selected branches only
  • allow master

Reasoning:

• beta promotions are deliberate human decisions; the required reviewer on this environment is the promotion gate
• create this environment before the first channel: beta dispatch. If the workflow runs first, GitHub auto-creates the environment with no protection rules, and that first beta would publish without approval

Like nightly, beta publishing lives in release.yml, so no npm trusted-publisher changes are needed (see section 2.2).

6. Configure npm-stable

Recommended settings for npm-stable:

• environment name: npm-stable
• required reviewers: at least one maintainer other than the person triggering the workflow when possible
• prevent self-review: enabled
• admin bypass: disabled if your team can tolerate it
• wait timer: optional
• deployment branches and tags:
  • selected branches only
  • allow master

Reasoning:

• stable publishes should require an explicit human approval gate
• the workflow is manual, but the environment should still be the real control point

7. Protect master

Open the branch protection settings for master.

Recommended rules:

1. require pull requests before merging
2. require status checks to pass before merging
3. require review from code owners
4. dismiss stale approvals when new commits are pushed
5. restrict who can push directly to master

At minimum, make sure workflow and release script changes cannot land without review.

8. Enforce CODEOWNERS Review

This repo now includes .github/CODEOWNERS, but GitHub only enforces it if branch protection requires code owner reviews.

In branch protection for master, enable:

• Require review from Code Owners

Then verify the owner entries are correct for your actual maintainer set.

Current file:

• .github/CODEOWNERS

If @cryppadotta is not the right reviewer identity in the public repo, change it before enabling enforcement.

9. Protect Release Infrastructure Specifically

These files should always trigger code owner review:

• .github/workflows/release.yml
• scripts/release.sh
• scripts/release-lib.sh
• scripts/release-package-map.mjs
• scripts/create-github-release.sh
• scripts/rollback-latest.sh
• doc/RELEASING.md
• doc/PUBLISHING.md

If you want stronger controls, add a repository ruleset that explicitly blocks direct pushes to:

• .github/workflows/**
• scripts/release*

10. Do Not Store a Claude Token in GitHub Actions

Do not add a personal Claude or Anthropic token for automatic changelog generation.

Recommended policy:

• stable changelog generation happens locally from a trusted maintainer machine
• canaries never generate changelogs

This keeps LLM spending intentional and avoids a high-value token sitting in Actions.

11. Verify the Canary Workflow

After setup:

1. merge a harmless commit to master
2. open the Release workflow run triggered by that push
3. confirm it passes verification
4. confirm publish succeeds under the npm-canary environment
5. confirm npm now shows a new canary release
6. confirm a git tag named canary/vYYYY.MDD.P-canary.N was pushed

Install-path check:

npm install --prefix "$(mktemp -d)" paperclipai@canary --no-audit --no-fund

The release script runs this clean-prefix install after publishing every workspace package dependency-first and publishing paperclipai last. A package that is not yet registry-visible stops the train before the channel entrypoint can advance.

12. Verify the Stable Workflow

After at least one good canary exists:

1. resolve the target stable version with ./scripts/release.sh stable --date YYYY-MM-DD --print-version
2. prepare releases/vYYYY.MDD.P.md on the source commit you want to promote
3. open Actions -> Release
4. run it with:
   • source_ref: the tested commit SHA or canary tag source commit
   • stable_date: leave blank or set the intended UTC date like 2026-03-18 do not enter a version like 2026.318.0; the workflow computes that from the date
   • dry_run: true
5. confirm the dry-run succeeds
6. rerun with dry_run: false
7. approve the npm-stable environment when prompted
8. confirm npm latest points to the new stable version
9. confirm git tag vYYYY.MDD.P exists
10. confirm the GitHub Release was created

Implementation note:

• the GitHub Actions stable workflow calls create-github-release.sh with PUBLISH_REMOTE=origin
• local maintainer usage can still pass PUBLISH_REMOTE=public-gh explicitly when needed

13. Suggested Maintainer Policy

Use this policy going forward:

• canaries are automatic and cheap
• stables are manual and approved
• only stables get public notes and announcements
• release notes are committed before stable publish
• rollback uses npm dist-tag, not unpublish

14. Troubleshooting

Trusted publishing fails with an auth error

Check:

1. the workflow filename on GitHub exactly matches the filename configured in npm
2. the package has the trusted publisher entry for the correct repository
3. the job has id-token: write
4. the job is running from the expected repository, not a fork

Stable workflow runs but never asks for approval

Check:

1. the publish job uses environment npm-stable
2. the environment actually has required reviewers configured
3. the workflow is running in the canonical repository, not a fork

CODEOWNERS does not trigger

Check:

1. .github/CODEOWNERS is on the default branch
2. branch protection on master requires code owner review
3. the owner identities in the file are valid reviewers with repository access

Related Docs

• doc/RELEASING.md
• doc/PUBLISHING.md
• doc/plans/2026-03-17-release-automation-and-versioning.md