promote develop to main to fix release-template.yml

[ZappoMan]

Summary

Promotes develop → main so the Release Template workflow can run on main.

After #226, the first Release Template dispatch failed because orhun/git-cliff-action@v3 builds a Docker image on Debian buster; those apt repositories are EOL (404). #229 landed the fix on develop; this promotion brings it to main.

Net change vs main: only .github/workflows/release-template.yml (+34 / −8).

What changed in the workflow

• Replaces git-cliff-action@v3 with a pinned git-cliff 2.13.1 binary install from GitHub Releases.
• Downloads the tarball to /tmp, verifies SHA256 (pinned digests for x86_64 and aarch64 linux-gnu assets), then extracts and runs git-cliff to write RELEASE_NOTES.md.
• Same CLI flags as before (cliff.toml, CalVer tag pattern, --latest).

Commit history note

develop includes c759ac4 and its revert (0673c41) from an aborted combined commit (test-utils + template); the revert cancels those changes. The effective diff to main is only the #229 workflow fix.

Merge strategy

Create a merge commit — do not squash.

Post-merge

1. Actions → Release Template → Run workflow on main (leave override_tag blank for 2026.001, or set explicitly).
2. Confirm: release notes generated, annotated tag pushed, GitHub Release created.

Test plan

• #229 merged to develop
• Merge this PR with Create a merge commit
• Re-run Release Template on main and confirm success

Related

• #229 — git-cliff binary install + SHA256 verification
• #226 — prior develop → main promotion

[github-actions]

⚠️ Merge Strategy Reminder

This PR targets the main branch. When merging, please use:

✅ "Create a merge commit" (NOT squash merge)

Using "Squash and merge" on PRs targeting main can cause merge conflicts when merging develop → main later.

See ARCHITECTURE.md for details.

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Updated at: May 16, 2026 at 3:24 PM PDT