Release checklist

No step below implies that a release or registry publication has occurred.

Source and version

• Clean checkout on the intended protected revision; CI green.
• Git author and repository destination verified.
• One explicit version across all workspace crates and the extension.
• Changelog contains complete notes for that version.
• Documentation no longer describes the selected version as unpublished.
• No signing files, environment files, generated platform artifacts, or developer-specific paths tracked.

Licensing

• Run python3 scripts/check-licenses.py --generate; inspect the inventory diff instead of accepting it mechanically.
• Run python3 scripts/check-licenses.py with no stale inventory.
• Confirm RustFerry root licenses and the release license bundle are present.
• Record the Slint license path for every generated mobile binary considered for attachment. Do not attach such binaries when the choice is unresolved.
• Recheck third-party notices if the VSIX gains any production npm import.

Rust and packages

• cargo fmt --all -- --check
• cargo clippy --locked --workspace --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings
• cargo test --locked --workspace --all-features
• RUSTDOCFLAGS="-D warnings" cargo doc --locked --workspace --all-features --no-deps
• python3 scripts/check-release-contract.py reports every internal edge exact.
• cargo package --workspace --locked --list
• cargo package --workspace --locked
• cargo publish --workspace --dry-run --locked --no-verify
• python3 scripts/check-release-archives.py --check-sources --target-dir target/package-source-check target/package/*.crate
• Inspect all six .crate archives and their normalized manifests; confirm both canonical license files are regular root members.

VS Code extension

• npm ci from editors/vscode.
• npm run check passes, including VSIX structural smoke.
• npm run test:host passes with the intended real cargo-ferry binary.
• Ordinary Rust stays inactive; a ferry.toml workspace auto-activates, registers commands, discovers the project, and opens its manifest.
• npm run perf results reviewed and recorded with host and revision context.
• Views and trust gating checked manually when their behavior changed.
• VSIX size and SHA-256 recorded from the final bytes.

Platform evidence

• Android and iOS Simulator artifact workflows green for the release commit.
• Exact artifact validation recorded; no simulator/device/signing claim beyond observed evidence.
• Physical-device binaries excluded unless signing, installation, launch, and required license notices were actually validated.

Draft release

1. Run the Draft release workflow with the exact workspace version and create_draft_release disabled.
2. Download the release assembly. Verify package count, schema, versioned VSIX, license bundle, notes, and every entry in SHA256SUMS.
3. Configure required reviewers on the GitHub release environment.
4. Rerun the same revision with create_draft_release enabled.
5. Confirm the workflow accepted successful exact-SHA push jobs for CI, VS Code, both platform artifacts, and mdBook/Pages.
6. Inspect the draft body and attachments before any publish operation.

Registry and Marketplace publication

• Publish crates manually in the order documented in Rust package readiness, waiting for registry visibility between dependency groups.
• Verify each crate version, tarball, checksum, dependency metadata, docs.rs build, and registry timestamp.
• Install cargo-ferry from crates.io into an isolated Cargo root; generate and check a project without a runtime-path override.
• Publish the already-inspected VSIX to Marketplace only through a protected manual environment with the required secret.
• Verify Marketplace version and install the public extension into an isolated VS Code profile.
• Publish the GitHub draft only after registry and Marketplace verification.
• Create the next patch Unreleased changelog section and commit release closeout.