I. Skill Overview

Release OpenClaw Maintainer serves as the central orchestrator for the full OpenClaw release pipeline, covering the complete end-to-end workflow from release branch creation to official npm package publishing. It delegates CI validation tasks to release-openclaw-ci and source-level changelog rewriting to openclaw-changelog-update, while taking charge of cross-workflow coordination, scheduling and decision-making — including version number determination, release type selection, preflight check execution, release command triggering, and post-release community announcements.

Core Governing Principle: This skill acts as an operator, not a validator. It executes tangible production release operations such as version bumping, npm publishing and GitHub release creation, yet every high-risk action requires explicit operator approval before execution.

II. Core Functional Capabilities

1. Release Type & Version Number Determination

The skill resolves the release type strictly following operator instructions:

Default Beta Release: If the operator does not explicitly specify a stable/full production release, a beta build is executed by default.
Version Format: Adopts the YYYY.M.PATCH schema, where the PATCH segment represents the sequential release count within the month, not the calendar date.

Beta Version Increment Rules

Select the latest ongoing beta train from existing stable or beta releases, then assign the next sequential beta.N suffix.
If no active beta train exists, increment the highest patch number of all stable/beta releases and initialize the new train with beta.1.
Alpha-only Git tags do not consume or advance beta/stable patch counters.

Example: After stable release 2026.6.5, the next fresh beta train is 2026.6.6-beta.1, even if standalone alpha tags such as 2026.6.10-alpha.1 exist in the repository.

2. Release Branch Management

Branch Naming Convention

Cut a dedicated release branch from main with the naming pattern release/YYYY.M.PATCH.

Preconditions Before Branch Creation

Pull the latest upstream main and confirm all main-branch CI jobs return green passing status.
Stage all uncommitted dirty files grouped by logical function, push commits, then pull/rebase against remote main.
Generate the full CHANGELOG.md on the main branch by aggregating merged pull requests and all direct commits, commit and push the updated changelog immediately, and only then create the release branch.

3. Deprecation Compatibility Audit

Before branch creation and final release dispatch, audit the removeAfter expiry timestamps in two core files:

src/plugins/compat/registry.ts
src/commands/doctor/shared/deprecation-compat.ts

For any deprecation record whose removeAfter date falls on or before the target release date:

Remove the legacy compatibility logic if safe to do so, then run all impacted test suites for validation.
If removal is blocked by dependent workflows, document the blocking rationale and obtain explicit operator approval to proceed with release.
Doctor migration retention rule: When stripping deprecated runtime/config compatibility layers, retain all doctor migration scripts, automated fixes and user prompts until maintainers confirm they are no longer required.

4. Beta Release Lifecycle

Pre-Beta Mandatory Step

Run the full pre-npm validation checklist before every beta release.

Post-Beta Mandatory Step

Execute a lightweight published-install verification suite covering package installation, updates, Docker container builds and parallel runtime validation.

Beta Failure Remediation Workflow

If a beta publish fails:

Apply all fixes directly on the release branch
Commit and push correction commits, pull the latest remote branch state
Increment the beta sequence number
Re-run the full beta release pipeline

Operators are authorized to permit up to 4 autonomous beta retry attempts. The workflow halts and generates a full failure report once four retries are exhausted.

Beta Git Tag Governance Rules

Never delete or overwrite existing beta Git tags after the corresponding npm package has been published.
If a pushed beta tag fails prior to npm publishing (the version was never consumed by the registry), the original tag may be deleted, recreated, or force-moved to the fixed commit, followed by a full preflight re-run.
If a published beta requires hotfixes, submit corrective commits on the release branch and advance to the next sequential beta.N suffix.

5. Changelog & Release Note Standards

Changelog Generation

Invoke the dedicated changelog command before version/tag preparation to deduplicate top-level section entries and sort all items by end-user impact priority.

Beta Release Note Format

Beta builds reuse the stable-version section template. For instance, release v2026.4.20-beta.1 references the core section header ## 2026.4.20 for all release notes. No beta-exclusive section headers are created.

README.md Constraints

README.md edits are not treated as a substitute for formal release preparation or official release notes. Root package README validation is a hard packaging gate, yet README content is only modified for releases when core user-facing documentation contracts have been materially altered.

6. Post-Release Announcement Automation

Discord Notifications

Upon successful beta or stable release deployment, the skill attempts to publish official announcements to Discord via Peter’s dedicated bot token. If the announcement dispatch fails, the release pipeline proceeds unblocked with no rollback triggered.

X (Twitter) Notifications

When social media announcement is requested, invoke the local binary ~/Projects/bird/bird and follow standardized release tweet formatting guidelines.

III. Primary Use Cases

Beta Release Delivery

Cut dedicated release branches from main, generate consolidated changelogs, execute pre-npm validation suites, publish beta npm packages, run post-install verification, and broadcast release announcements to Discord communities.
Stable Production Release

Promote beta builds to full stable production releases only after all beta validation gates pass and the operator explicitly requests a full production deployment.
Automated Sequential Beta + Stable Train

When operators request end-to-end automated release trains, the skill autonomously executes the full pipeline spanning beta iteration through stable production publishing.
Deprecation Compatibility Cleanup

Identify and resolve all expired deprecation compatibility records within every release cycle to maintain a clean, streamlined codebase.
Post-Release Validation & Community Outreach

Run package install/update verification after publish, then distribute official release announcements across Discord and X social platforms.

IV. Cross-Skill Collaboration Matrix

Partner Skill	Collaboration Logic
release-openclaw-ci	This skill orchestrates end-to-end release scheduling; the CI skill validates whether release candidates pass all mandatory inspection gates.
openclaw-changelog-update	This skill invokes changelog generation workflows; the dedicated changelog skill handles source-level structural rewriting of `CHANGELOG.md`.
release-openclaw-mac	All macOS asset compilation, notarization and AppCast promotion workflows are delegated to the dedicated macOS release skill.
release-private	Loaded prior to resolving credential locators owned by Peter or private host topology definitions (if deployed in the environment).
one-password	Retrieves all required release credentials and secret values securely.

V. Critical Governing Principles

Version changes require explicit approval: No version number adjustments are permitted without formal operator consent.
Permission prompt before npm publish: Confirm operator authorization before executing any npm publish or core release steps.
Git tags do not trigger automatic releases: Core OpenClaw publishing relies on manual workflow_dispatch invocations; tag creation or push events never initiate release pipelines automatically.
Preserve published beta tags: Do not delete or overwrite beta Git tags after the corresponding npm package has been published to public registries.
Release branches originate from main: All standard release workflows run on branches cut from the main base branch; direct production operations on main are prohibited.
Generate changelogs before branch creation: The full consolidated CHANGELOG.md must be generated, committed and pushed on the main branch prior to cutting any release branch.
Mandatory deprecation cleanup per cycle: Every release iteration must audit and resolve all expired deprecation compatibility records.
Failed announcements do not block releases: Discord announcement delivery failures do not pause or trigger rollbacks of completed production releases.

VI. Summary

Release OpenClaw Maintainer is the central control skill powering the full OpenClaw release pipeline. It delivers an end-to-end workflow covering release branch creation, version number governance, deprecation compatibility cleanup, beta/stable release execution and post-release community announcements. It offloads CI validation and source-level changelog rewriting to release-openclaw-ci and openclaw-changelog-update respectively, acting as the unified orchestrator for all release phases. Every high-stakes decision point (version modification, npm publishing) enforces mandatory operator approval. Built for OpenClaw core maintainers executing monthly beta and stable release cycles, this skill standardizes, automates and creates full audit traceability for all official software release operations.

End-to-end release process management skills