Release Branching

Shared workflows treat release branching as consumer-repo policy. The target repo's AGENTS.md must define how to identify release trackers, target branches, and merge gates.

The portable default vocabulary is:

• beta: ordinary development work, usually targeting the base branch.
• rc: stabilization work targeting a release branch.
• final: promotion or final-release work requiring explicit human sign-off.

Agents must select the gate from the target branch's phase, then apply the consumer repo's release policy from AGENTS.md.

If the repo uses release branches, AGENTS.md should specify:

• branch naming, such as release/X.Y.Z;
• whether fixes on release branches must be forward-ported to the base branch;
• whether final promotion can be automated;
• which checks, audits, or human approvals are required in each phase.

If release phase cannot be verified, report UNKNOWN and avoid auto-merge.