# Releasing ForgeFlow

ForgeFlow releases are built only from a clean, reviewed commit on Node 22 LTS.

## Quality gate

```powershell
npm ci
npm run quality
npm audit --omit=dev --audit-level=high
```

## Signed Windows build

Production signing is fail-closed. Configure electron-builder's Authenticode
certificate through its supported CSC environment variables, then set:

```powershell
$env:FORGEFLOW_SIGNED_RELEASE = '1'
$env:FORGEFLOW_EXPECTED_PUBLISHER = 'CN=Exact Legal Publisher, O=Exact Legal Organization, C=BE'
npm run dist:win
```

Both installer and portable executable must have a valid Authenticode signature,
the expected publisher and a timestamp. The build also creates SHA-256 files, a
CycloneDX SBOM and a provenance document containing commit and build ID.

Without `FORGEFLOW_SIGNED_RELEASE=1`, local builds may be unsigned for development
testing but must never be published as production releases.

## Atomic publication

`npm run release:binary` keeps the Gitea release in draft state while uploading
the installer, portable executable, two checksums, provenance and SBOM. It only
publishes after all six assets are present. A failed upload leaves a draft rather
than exposing an incomplete updater target.

The publisher check is an exact subject match, not a substring match. Before a
production certificate is available, validate the complete local chain with:

```powershell
npm run test:signing
```

This disposable fixture signs installer, portable, update-helper and uninstaller
stand-ins, requires an RFC 3161 timestamp, and proves rejection of a missing
timestamp, wrong publisher and a modified binary. Its certificate is removed
from the current-user certificate store after the test.

The production Authenticode certificate and exact legal publisher identity are
`PENDING_HUMAN_INPUT`; all surrounding build and verification code is complete.