Remove releases.json aliases and stable release channel support (#23755)

Author: Copilot

.github/aw/releases.json

@@ -2,9 +2,5 @@
   "$schema": "./releases.schema.json",
   "blockedVersions": [],
   "minimumVersion": "v0.64.4",
-  "minRecommendedVersion": "v0.64.4",
-  "aliases": {
-    "latest": "latest",
-    "stable": "v0.64.5"
-  }
+  "minRecommendedVersion": "v0.64.4"
 }

.github/aw/releases.schema.json

@@ -31,16 +31,6 @@
       "description": "The minimum recommended compile-agentic version in vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH format. Workflows compiled with a version below this will emit a warning (but not fail) at activation, nudging users to upgrade. Use an empty string to disable this check.",
       "pattern": "^(v[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+)?$",
       "default": ""
-    },
-    "aliases": {
-      "type": "object",
-      "description": "A map of release alias names to version strings. The special value 'latest' resolves to the most recent release. Other values must be a version string in vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH format.",
-      "additionalProperties": {
-        "type": "string",
-        "pattern": "^(latest|v[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+)$",
-        "description": "A version string in vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH format or the special value 'latest'"
-      },
-      "default": {}
     }
   }
 }

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -870,30 +870,13 @@ jobs:
             const errors = [];
 
             // Check additionalProperties (only allow known keys)
-            const allowedKeys = new Set(['$schema', 'blockedVersions', 'minimumVersion', 'minRecommendedVersion', 'aliases']);
+            const allowedKeys = new Set(['$schema', 'blockedVersions', 'minimumVersion', 'minRecommendedVersion']);
             for (const key of Object.keys(config)) {
               if (!allowedKeys.has(key)) {
                 errors.push(`Unknown property: '${key}'`);
               }
             }
 
-            // Validate aliases
-            if ('aliases' in config) {
-              const aliases = config.aliases;
-              if (typeof aliases !== 'object' || aliases === null || Array.isArray(aliases)) {
-                errors.push("'aliases' must be an object");
-              } else {
-                const aliasValuePattern = /^(latest|v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+)$/;
-                for (const [alias, value] of Object.entries(aliases)) {
-                  if (typeof value !== 'string') {
-                    errors.push(`'aliases.${alias}' must be a string`);
-                  } else if (!aliasValuePattern.test(value)) {
-                    errors.push(`'aliases.${alias}' ('${value}') must be 'latest' or a version in vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH format (e.g. 'v1.2.3')`);
-                  }
-                }
-              }
-            }
-
             // Validate blockedVersions
             if ('blockedVersions' in config) {
               const bv = config.blockedVersions;
@@ -2801,66 +2784,6 @@ jobs:
 
           echo "" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
 
-  install-script:
-    name: Install Script (stable)
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    timeout-minutes: 10
-    permissions:
-      contents: read
-    concurrency:
-      group: ci-${{ github.ref }}-install-script
-      cancel-in-progress: true
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout code
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
-
-      - name: Validate stable alias in releases.json
-        id: validate-stable
-        run: |
-          STABLE=$(jq -r '.aliases.stable // empty' .github/aw/releases.json)
-          echo "stable_version=$STABLE" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-
-          if [ -z "$STABLE" ]; then
-            echo "❌ 'stable' alias is not set in releases.json"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-
-          if [ "$STABLE" = "stable" ]; then
-            echo "❌ 'stable' alias points to itself - misconfiguration in releases.json"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-
-          if ! echo "$STABLE" | grep -qE '^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$'; then
-            echo "❌ 'stable' alias '$STABLE' is not a valid semver version (expected vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH)"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-
-          echo "✅ 'stable' alias resolves to a valid version: $STABLE"
-
-      - name: Run install-gh-aw.sh with stable version
-        run: bash install-gh-aw.sh stable
-
-      - name: Verify installation
-        run: |
-          BINARY="$HOME/.local/share/gh/extensions/gh-aw/gh-aw"
-          EXPECTED="${{ steps.validate-stable.outputs.stable_version }}"
-
-          if [ ! -f "$BINARY" ]; then
-            echo "❌ Binary not found at $BINARY"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-
-          INSTALLED_VERSION=$("$BINARY" version 2>&1 | grep -oE 'v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' | head -1)
-          echo "Installed version: $INSTALLED_VERSION"
-          echo "Expected version:  $EXPECTED"
-
-          if [ "$INSTALLED_VERSION" != "$EXPECTED" ]; then
-            echo "❌ Version mismatch: installed $INSTALLED_VERSION but expected $EXPECTED"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-
-          echo "✅ install-gh-aw.sh successfully installed stable release: $INSTALLED_VERSION" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-
   sh-difc-proxy:
     name: DIFC Proxy sh Integration Test
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest

.github/workflows/update-stable-release.yml

@@ -545,6 +545,8 @@ This project follows the GitHub Community Guidelines. Please be respectful and i
 
 Releases are triggered manually by a core team member using the GitHub Actions release workflow.
 
+> **Note:** The release workflow publishes the new version as a **prerelease** on GitHub. Once the release is verified, a maintainer must **manually promote it to a full release and move the `latest` tag** so that users installing with `version: latest` receive the new version.
+
 ### Steps
 
 1. **Launch the release action**
@@ -563,7 +565,17 @@ Releases are triggered manually by a core team member using the GitHub Actions r
 
 3. **Approve the environment gate**
 
-   Return to the paused release run in [`github/gh-aw`](https://github.com/github/gh-aw/actions). Approve the **`gh-aw-actions-release`** environment gate. The workflow will verify that the new tag exists in `github/gh-aw-actions` and then publish the GitHub release.
+   Return to the paused release run in [`github/gh-aw`](https://github.com/github/gh-aw/actions). Approve the **`gh-aw-actions-release`** environment gate. The workflow will verify that the new tag exists in `github/gh-aw-actions` and then publish the GitHub release as a **prerelease**.
+
+4. **Promote to latest** _(manual step)_
+
+   After verifying the prerelease is working correctly:
+
+   a. **Edit the GitHub release** — go to the [Releases page](https://github.com/github/gh-aw/releases), open the new prerelease, uncheck **This is a pre-release**, and save. This promotes the release to a stable full release.
+
+   b. **Move the `latest` tag** — GitHub's release API resolves `latest` to the most recent non-prerelease release. Promoting the release in step (a) is sufficient for the `latest` resolution to update automatically.
+
+   Users who install with `version: latest` (the default) will now receive the new release.
 
 ### Summary
 
@@ -583,7 +595,13 @@ Merge the sync-actions PR
 Approve the gh-aw-actions-release environment gate
         │
         ▼
-Release published 🎉
+Release published as prerelease 🎉
+        │
+        ▼  (manual)
+Promote prerelease → full release on GitHub Releases page
+        │
+        ▼
+'latest' now resolves to the new version ✅
 ```
 
 ## 🎯 Why This Contribution Model?