🚀 Release 0.1.2

The release commit message is a machine-read convention (release-gate
in ci.yml skips the redundant main CI run on it), so the emoji carries
weight: change the mint in scripts/release.sh, the recognized pattern,
and both docs in one atomic commit. No tags or release commits exist
yet, so nothing historical parses differently. 🚀 matches the
gitmoji semantic (deploy/publish) better than 🔖 here.

.gitea/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -12,7 +12,42 @@ on:
     workflow_dispatch: {}
 
 jobs:
+    # Cheap gate that collapses the release double-run. `scripts/release.sh`
+    # pushes `main` and the tag seconds apart, and the tag points at exactly
+    # the HEAD commit that push delivers — so the branch run would verify the
+    # identical tree the tag run verifies anyway (plus `publish`). When a push
+    # to `main` is headed by a release commit (`:rocket: Release x.y.z`, the
+    # single commit release.sh creates), the full CI is skipped here and the
+    # tag run becomes the authoritative one for that SHA. All other pushes —
+    # PRs, tags, ordinary `main` merges — see `skip=false` and run as before.
+    #
+    # Coupling: the pattern below MUST stay in sync with the release commit
+    # message in `scripts/release.sh`. Failure mode if the tag push ever fails
+    # after `main` accepted the release commit: no CI fires; fix by re-running
+    # `git push --tags`.
+    release-gate:
+        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+        outputs:
+            skip: ${{ steps.decide.outputs.skip }}
+        steps:
+            - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+            - id: decide
+              env:
+                  REF: ${{ gitea.ref }}
+              run: |
+                  # Keyed on the ref, not just the message: a tag run checks out
+                  # the same release commit, and `publish` needs its `build`.
+                  if [ "${REF}" = "refs/heads/main" ] &&
+                      git log -1 --format=%s | grep -qE '^:rocket: Release [0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$'; then
+                      echo 'Release commit on main — the tag run covers this SHA; skipping full CI.'
+                      echo 'skip=true' >>"${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
+                  else
+                      echo 'skip=false' >>"${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
+                  fi
+
     build:
+        needs: release-gate
+        if: needs.release-gate.outputs.skip != 'true'
         runs-on: ubuntu-latest
         # Bind-mount the shared pages tree so the coverage step below can write
         # into it. The runner whitelists this path via `container.valid_volumes`
@@ -69,6 +104,8 @@ jobs:
     # the Actions tab for visibility, but must never gate a merge — so
     # continue-on-error and intentionally NOT in `publish`'s `needs`.
     maintain:
+        needs: release-gate
+        if: needs.release-gate.outputs.skip != 'true'
         runs-on: ubuntu-latest
         continue-on-error: true
         steps:

AGENTS.md

@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ Never start a long-lived / blocking process such as `npm run watch`. It runs unt
     **Known problems:** <open issues, caveats, follow-ups>
     ```
 
-    Once the user has no further objections, merge back: `git checkout main && git merge --no-ff <branch>`. The branching model is documented in [CONTRIBUTING.md § Branching model](./CONTRIBUTING.md#branching-model).
+    Once the user has no further objections, merge back: `npm run create:finish` (on the branch — it merges `--no-ff`, runs `npm run verify`, and deletes the branch). The branching model is documented in [CONTRIBUTING.md § Branching model](./CONTRIBUTING.md#branching-model).
 
 - **Leaf task** (no indented children): implement on the current branch and commit.
 

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,4 +7,19 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
-[Unreleased]: https://gitea.e1nsnull.de/tmu/tiny-pattern-ts
+## [0.1.2] - 2026-09-14
+
+- upgrade dependencies
+
+## [0.1.1] - 2026-09-14
+
+- upgrade dependencies
+
+## [0.1.0] - 2026-09-14
+
+- basic setup
+
+[Unreleased]: https://gitea.e1nsnull.de/tmu/tiny-pattern-ts/compare/0.1.2...main
+[0.1.2]: https://gitea.e1nsnull.de/tmu/tiny-pattern-ts/compare/0.1.1...0.1.2
+[0.1.1]: https://gitea.e1nsnull.de/tmu/tiny-pattern-ts/compare/0.1.0...0.1.1
+[0.1.0]: https://gitea.e1nsnull.de/tmu/tiny-pattern-ts/compare/20308c5a6d8cccfb09b02ac2ebebd8055e91cd11...0.1.0

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ CI and review will bounce these even though `npm run check` and the linters don'
 - **`oxlint-disable` directives live in source, not `.oxlintrc.json`.** The trade-off must sit next to the code it silences. This is a _human_ last-resort convention; agents must not add these — see [AGENTS.md § Never do](./AGENTS.md#never-do). (rationale: README § Tooling decisions)
 - **Don't put slow / network / whole-project scans in `check` or pre-commit.** Advisory scans are not correctness gates; they belong under `maintain:`. (see [Feedback tiers](#feedback-tiers) and [Script prefix convention](#script-prefix-convention))
 - **New work starts with `npm run create:branch`, never a hand-written `git switch -c`/`git checkout -b`.** The command carries the branch precondition; branching around it skips the clean-tree, current-`main` and green-baseline checks, and the skip is invisible until a failure can no longer be attributed. (see [Branching model](#branching-model))
+- **Work is merged back with `npm run create:finish`, never a hand-written `git merge`.** The command carries the merge-side preconditions (clean tree, current `main`, a `feature/`/`fix/`/`chore/` branch) and runs `npm run verify` after the merge, so a merge cannot land unverified. (see [Branching model](#branching-model))
 - **There is no local `npm run publish`, and `publish:publint` / `publish:attw` don't go in `check`.** (see [Publishing workflow](#publishing-workflow))
 
 ## Editor configuration
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ Examples from history: `:sparkles: Add watch tier with watch:test child`, `:recy
 
 Script names in `package.json` use a prefix that signals _when_ the script is intended to run. A `<prefix>:<name>` script is implicitly aggregated by a `<prefix>` script (if one exists) and run by the corresponding lefthook hook or CI step. Picking the right prefix documents the script's intended lifecycle:
 
-- `create:*` — front doors of the repo's own workflow; these mutate git state rather than the source. `create:branch` opens a unit of work (asserts a clean tree, a current `main` and a green baseline before it branches), `create:release` closes one (maintainer-only). No bare `create` aggregator on purpose — see `publish:*` for the precedent.
+- `create:*` — front doors of the repo's own workflow; these mutate git state rather than the source. `create:branch` opens a unit of work (asserts a clean tree, a current `main` and a green baseline before it branches), `create:finish` closes the branch half (merges the current unit of work into `main` and verifies the result), `create:release` closes the release half (maintainer-only). No bare `create` aggregator on purpose — see `publish:*` for the precedent.
 - `check:*` — read-only verification; never modifies files. Aggregated by `npm run check`.
 - `fix:*` — mutating counterpart of a `check:*` script. Aggregated by `npm run fix`; the diff is the review surface.
 - `test:*` — test scripts. `test` is the canonical entry point (`check:tsc` + unit tests); `test:unit` skips the typecheck for fast local iteration; `test:ci` adds c8 coverage.
@@ -85,8 +86,8 @@ This is why every test in the suite pairs an `expectTypeOf(...)` with an `assert
 - **Base branch:** `main`
 - **Branch naming:** `feature/<desc>` / `fix/<desc>` / `chore/<desc>`
 - **Starting work:** `npm run create:branch -- <prefix>/<desc>`. It refuses, without changing anything, unless the working tree is clean (untracked files included), no merge/rebase/cherry-pick is in progress, `main` matches its upstream, and `npm run test` is green on `main` — so a later failure is always attributable to your edits. The prefix is still _your_ call, inferred from the task; the script validates it rather than guessing it.
-- **Merging:** `git checkout main && git merge --no-ff <branch>` (local PR — review the diff yourself before closing the branch).
+- **Merging:** `npm run create:finish` (on the branch). It asserts the same clean-tree / no-operation / current-`main` preconditions, fast-forwards a stale `main` (a true divergence is refused), merges the branch `--no-ff`, runs `npm run verify`, and deletes the branch only after the merge is green. The push is deliberately left to `create:release`, so the merge stays local and reviewable — read the diff yourself before finishing.
-- CI runs `npm run check` + `npm run test:ci` on every push to `main` — this is the authoritative gate.
+- CI runs `npm run check` + `npm run test:ci` on every push to `main` — this is the authoritative gate. The one exception: a push headed by a release commit (`:rocket: Release x.y.z`) skips the full `build`/`maintain` jobs, because `create:release` pushes the tag for that exact commit right after and the tag run is the authoritative one (see `release-gate` in [.gitea/workflows/ci.yml](./.gitea/workflows/ci.yml)).
 - **Releases are NOT triggered by pushes.** Only the maintainer triggers a release (see [Publishing workflow](#publishing-workflow)).
 
 ## Publishing workflow
@@ -94,6 +95,6 @@ This is why every test in the suite pairs an `expectTypeOf(...)` with an `assert
 Publishing is CI-only by policy. Local `npm publish` is not supported. The maintainer triggers releases from `main`:
 
 1. All intended changes are merged to `main` and passing CI.
-2. The maintainer runs `npm run create:release` — an interactive prompt suggests a version (based on the latest CHANGELOG entry); the maintainer confirms or edits it.
+2. The maintainer runs `npm run create:release`. VS Code opens `CHANGELOG.md` to finalize the `[Unreleased]` notes; because pubv refuses a dirty tree, any edit is committed first (then folded into the release commit), and pubv's interactive prompt suggests a version from those notes — the maintainer confirms or edits it.
-3. `scripts/release.sh` creates a single release commit (changelog + package.json bump, amended into one commit), tags it, and pushes everything to Gitea.
+3. `scripts/release.sh` creates a single release commit (graduated changelog + package.json bump, amended into one commit), tags it, and pushes everything to Gitea.
-4. CI runs on the push (the `build` and `maintain` jobs); the `publish` job then fires on the tag, consuming the `dist/` artifact the `build` job produced. The job graph lives in [.gitea/workflows/ci.yml](./.gitea/workflows/ci.yml) — keep that file, not this list, as the source of truth. The publish-tier checks must pass before the artifact is published. The `publish` job also creates the Gitea release page from the matching Keep-a-Changelog section (`scripts/release-notes.sh`); it runs _before_ `npm publish` so a broken page fails CI without consuming a version, and `npm publish` stays the last step.
+4. CI fires on both pushes: the `publish` job runs on the tag (`build` + publish-tier checks + release page + `npm publish`), while the branch run's `release-gate` job recognizes the release commit and skips `build`/`maintain` — the tag verifies the identical SHA, so no work is duplicated. The job graph lives in [.gitea/workflows/ci.yml](./.gitea/workflows/ci.yml) — keep that file, not this list, as the source of truth. The publish-tier checks must pass before the artifact is published. The `publish` job also creates the Gitea release page from the matching Keep-a-Changelog section (`scripts/release-notes.sh`); it runs _before_ `npm publish` so a broken page fails CI without consuming a version, and `npm publish` stays the last step.

backlog.tasks

@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ Maintenance:
     ✔ Add a minimal dir-listing webserver to the gitea docker setup (e.g. caddy `file_server browse` reusing the existing reverse proxy, or any single-binary static server, lipanski/docker-static-website) @done (9/13/2026, 9:02:37 PM)
     ✔ drop the `actions/upload-artifact` coverage step in favour of the shared-dir layout @done (9/13/2026, 10:37:22 PM)
     ☐ Explore serving coverage for non-tag pushes (e.g. `main/coverage`, PR previews) @low
-    ☐ Manually verify the coverage was created on a real tag push (needs main) @low
+    ✔ Manually verify the coverage was created on a real tag push (needs main) @low @done (9/14/2026, 1:55:03 PM)
     → design: no deploy step in CI; the webserver just exposes the shared directory (decided over Gitea Pages / Codecov — neither confirmed available/ wanted)
 ☐ serve docs over self hosted server @low
     ☐ Add a minimal dir-listing webserver to the gitea docker setup for serving docs (reuse existing reverse proxy)

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
     "name": "tiny-pattern-ts",
-    "version": "0.0.0",
+    "version": "0.1.2",
     "description": "Pattern matching for TypeScript/ESM environments (F#-style, not regex)",
     "keywords": [
         "adt",
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@
         "fix:oxfmt": "oxfmt ${LEFTHOOK_FILES:-.}",
         "fix:oxlint": "oxlint --fix src scripts",
         "create:branch": "./scripts/branch.sh",
+        "create:finish": "./scripts/finish.sh",
         "create:release": "./scripts/release.sh",
         "maintain": "npm run maintain:knip; npm run maintain:outdated",
         "maintain:knip": "knip --include dependencies,exports,files",
@@ -76,7 +77,7 @@
         "expect-type": "1.4.0",
         "knip": "^6.34.0",
         "lefthook": "^2.1.12",
-        "oxfmt": "^0.66.0",
+        "oxfmt": "^0.67.0",
         "oxlint": "^1.81.0",
         "oxlint-tsgolint": "^7.0.2001",
         "publint": "^0.3.24",
@@ -86,6 +87,6 @@
         "node": ">=26"
     },
     "allowScripts": {
-        "lefthook@2.1.12": true
+        "lefthook@2.1.14": true
     }
 }

scripts/branch.sh

@@ -31,11 +31,12 @@ set -eu
 # describes nothing anyone wants, and `publish:*` already sets the precedent for
 # a prefix without one.
 #
-# Also rejected: a full git-flow CLI wrapping the merge too (merging ends in
+# Also rejected here: reusing `pubv`'s preflight (release-shaped, third-party,
-# "review the diff yourself", which is judgment, and only the start half carries
+# and it would make branch start pay a build + pack it has no use for). The
-# a verification burden); and reusing `pubv`'s preflight (release-shaped,
+# merge half was originally rejected too ("review the diff yourself" is
-# third-party, and it would make branch start pay a build + pack it has no use
+# judgment), but it now has its own front door — `create:finish` — which owns
-# for).
+# the merge-side preconditions and the post-merge `verify`, so the start half
+# does not have to carry that burden.
 #
 # Every refusal is non-mutating except the baseline test, which runs on `main`
 # after we switch there — so a red `main` restores the branch you started on
@@ -105,7 +106,10 @@ git show-ref --verify --quiet "refs/heads/${BASE}" || {
 # Derive the remote rather than hardcoding it: this repo has `origin` (ssh) and
 # `origin_https`, and `main` tracks the latter — `git fetch origin main` would
 # check currency against a ref that is never updated here.
-UPSTREAM=$(git rev-parse --quiet --abbrev-ref --symbolic-full-name "${BASE}@{upstream}" 2>/dev/null || true)
+# `--quiet` echoes the unresolved `main@{upstream}` literal to stdout on
+# failure, so it cannot be paired with a `$(...) || fallback`; the non-quiet
+# form prints nothing on failure and the fallback runs.
+UPSTREAM=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref --symbolic-full-name "${BASE}@{upstream}" 2>/dev/null) || UPSTREAM=""
 if [ -n "${UPSTREAM}" ]; then
     git fetch --quiet "${UPSTREAM%/*}" "${UPSTREAM#*/}" || {
         echo "error: '${UPSTREAM}' check failed: could not reach '${UPSTREAM%/*}'." >&2

scripts/finish.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+set -eu
+
+# Feature-finish front door. Run as `npm run create:finish`.
+#
+# Why this exists: `create:branch` opens a unit of work, but the close half
+# (`git checkout main && git merge --no-ff <branch>`) stayed prose in the
+# branching model, so it drifted per contributor and per session. This is the
+# mirror image of `create:branch`: it asserts the same preconditions (clean
+# tree, no in-progress operation, `main` matching its upstream), merges the
+# current `feature/`/`fix/`/`chore/` branch into `main`, proves the result with
+# `npm run verify`, and only then deletes the branch.
+#
+# `create:branch`'s comment argued against wrapping the merge as "judgment —
+# review the diff yourself". That judgment still lives here, just moved: the
+# maintainer reviews the handover *before* invoking this, and the script only
+# commits the merge, never the push. The push is owned by `create:release`, so
+# the release commit and its tag leave together and a local merge stays
+# reviewable (and can be reverted with `git revert -m 1`) until then. `--no-ff`
+# keeps the unit of work visible in `git log`.
+#
+# Unlike `create:branch` a stale `main` is fast-forwarded instead of refused:
+# the tree is clean (checked above) and `main` is not the checked-out branch
+# yet, so there is no local state to lose. True divergence (local commits *and*
+# upstream commits) is still refused — that needs a human.
+#
+# On a merge conflict we abort and return to the feature branch, so a failed
+# finish never strands you on a half-merged `main`.
+
+BASE="main"
+PREFIXES="feature fix chore"
+
+git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
+    echo "error: not inside a git work tree." >&2
+    exit 1
+}
+
+STATE_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --absolute-git-dir)
+for state in MERGE_HEAD rebase-merge rebase-apply CHERRY_PICK_HEAD BISECT_LOG; do
+    [ -e "${STATE_ROOT}/${state}" ] && {
+        echo "error: a '${state}' operation is in progress; finish or abort it first." >&2
+        exit 1
+    }
+done
+
+# `--porcelain` is deliberately stricter than `git diff --quiet`: it also
+# reports untracked files, which would otherwise not be part of the merge and
+# silently outlive the branch deletion.
+DIRTY=$(git status --porcelain)
+if [ -n "${DIRTY}" ]; then
+    echo "error: working tree is not clean:" >&2
+    echo "${DIRTY}" | sed 's/^/         /' >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+START_REF=$(git symbolic-ref --quiet --short HEAD || true)
+if [ -z "${START_REF}" ]; then
+    echo "error: detached HEAD; switch to the branch you want to finish." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+if [ "${START_REF}" = "${BASE}" ]; then
+    echo "error: already on '${BASE}'; switch to the branch to finish." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+MATCH=0
+for p in ${PREFIXES}; do
+    case "${START_REF}" in
+    "${p}/"*) MATCH=1 ;;
+    esac
+done
+if [ "${MATCH}" -ne 1 ]; then
+    echo "error: '${START_REF}' must start with one of: ${PREFIXES}." >&2
+    echo "       refusing to merge a branch that is not a unit of work." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+git show-ref --verify --quiet "refs/heads/${BASE}" || {
+    echo "error: no local '${BASE}' to merge into." >&2
+    exit 1
+}
+
+# Derive the remote rather than hardcoding it: this repo has `origin` (ssh) and
+# `origin_https`, and `main` tracks the latter — `git fetch origin main` would
+# check currency against a ref that is never updated here.
+# `--quiet` echoes the unresolved `main@{upstream}` literal to stdout on
+# failure, so it cannot be paired with a `$(...) || fallback`; the non-quiet
+# form prints nothing on failure and the fallback runs.
+UPSTREAM=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref --symbolic-full-name "${BASE}@{upstream}" 2>/dev/null) || UPSTREAM=""
+BEHIND=0
+if [ -n "${UPSTREAM}" ]; then
+    git fetch --quiet "${UPSTREAM%/*}" "${UPSTREAM#*/}" || {
+        echo "error: '${UPSTREAM}' check failed: could not reach '${UPSTREAM%/*}'." >&2
+        echo "       refusing to merge onto a possibly stale '${BASE}'." >&2
+        exit 1
+    }
+    BEHIND=$(git rev-list --count "${BASE}..${UPSTREAM}")
+    AHEAD=$(git rev-list --count "${UPSTREAM}..${BASE}")
+    if [ "${AHEAD}" -ne 0 ] && [ "${BEHIND}" -ne 0 ]; then
+        echo "error: '${BASE}' has diverged from '${UPSTREAM}' (ahead ${AHEAD}, behind ${BEHIND})." >&2
+        echo "       reconcile '${BASE}' with '${UPSTREAM}' before finishing." >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+else
+    echo "warning: '${BASE}' has no upstream; freshness against the remote is unchecked." >&2
+fi
+
+echo "Finishing into ${BASE}:"
+git --no-pager log --oneline --no-decorate "${BASE}..${START_REF}" | sed 's/^/  /'
+
+git switch --quiet "${BASE}"
+if [ "${BEHIND}" -ne 0 ]; then
+    echo "Fast-forwarding ${BASE} to ${UPSTREAM} (${BEHIND} commit(s))."
+    git merge --quiet --ff-only "${UPSTREAM}"
+fi
+
+if ! git merge --quiet --no-ff -m ":twisted_rightwards_arrows: Merge ${START_REF} into ${BASE}" "${START_REF}"; then
+    echo "error: merge of '${START_REF}' failed; aborting and returning to it." >&2
+    git merge --abort 2>/dev/null || true
+    git switch --quiet "${START_REF}"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "Verify: npm run verify"
+if ! npm run --silent verify; then
+    echo "error: 'npm run verify' is red after the merge." >&2
+    echo "       the merge is local and not yet pushed; fix it on '${BASE}' and commit," >&2
+    echo "       then drop the now-merged branch with 'git branch -d ${START_REF}'." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+git branch --delete "${START_REF}" >/dev/null
+echo "Merged ${START_REF} into ${BASE} and deleted the branch."
+echo "Next: npm run create:release (or git push, for a merge with no release)."

scripts/release.sh

@@ -13,6 +13,12 @@ set -eu
 # package.json + the lockfile; `--amend` folds them into pubv's single commit;
 # tag AFTER the amend (so the tag is never orphaned) and push.
 #
+# The notes are finalized in VS Code *before* pubv: the [Unreleased] body is
+# what pubv's bump heuristic reads, so editing afterwards would inform the
+# changelog only, not the version choice. pubv refuses a dirty tree, so that
+# edit is committed as a staging commit and folded back into the single release
+# commit below.
+#
 # Rejected: the conventional-commits family (our history is gitmoji, not
 # Conventional; and we want hand-written notes); changesets/rtk (config + a
 # heavier version/publish flow that fights our CI-only publish); knope/kacl/
@@ -23,18 +29,52 @@ set -eu
 # exactly what this ~30-line version replaces.
 
 CHANGELOG="CHANGELOG.md"
+BASE="main"
 
 if ! command -v code >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     echo "Error: 'code' (VS Code CLI) not found; install it or remove the editor step." >&2
     exit 1
 fi
 
+# Releases are cut from `main` (see CONTRIBUTING § Publishing workflow). Make
+# that explicit rather than relying on pubv's default-branch check, so the
+# error names `main` even when the remote's default is configured differently.
+CURRENT=$(git symbolic-ref --quiet --short HEAD || true)
+if [ "${CURRENT}" != "${BASE}" ]; then
+    echo "Error: releases are cut from '${BASE}', but HEAD is '${CURRENT:-detached}'." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# pubv decides the "default branch" by reading the *local*
+# `refs/remotes/origin/HEAD`, not by asking the remote, and `git fetch` never
+# updates that ref. After a default-branch change — or a clone from when the
+# default was different — it goes stale and pubv warns/fails because the
+# current branch (main) does not match it, even though main *is* the remote
+# default. Refresh it from the remote first, so pubv's branch preflight
+# compares against reality. (Without a network this fails, but so would the
+# push pubv is about to do, so it is a real error rather than one to swallow.)
+if ! git remote set-head origin --auto >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "Error: could not refresh origin/HEAD; check connectivity to origin." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# The [Unreleased] body drives pubv's bump heuristic, so finalize it first.
+echo "Opening ${CHANGELOG} in VS Code to finalize the release notes..."
+code --wait "${CHANGELOG}"
+
+# pubv refuses a dirty tree (its "continue with a dirty tree?" prompt defaults
+# to No), so a changed changelog must be committed before it runs. That commit
+# is staging only — the fold below rewrites it into the single release commit.
+NOTES_MSG=":memo: Finalize release notes"
+if [ -n "$(git status --porcelain -- "${CHANGELOG}")" ]; then
+    echo "Committing finalized release notes..."
+    git add "${CHANGELOG}"
+    git commit -m "${NOTES_MSG}"
+fi
+
 echo "Running pubv..."
 pubv --no-tag --no-push --tag-prefix=none
 
-echo "Opening ${CHANGELOG} in VS Code..."
-code --wait "${CHANGELOG}"
-
 echo "Reading version from ${CHANGELOG}..."
 
 VERSION=$(
@@ -52,9 +92,21 @@ echo "Release version: ${VERSION}"
 echo "Updating package.json and package-lock.json..."
 npm version "${VERSION}" --no-git-tag-version
 
+# If pubv's graduation commit sits on top of our staging notes commit, drop it
+# back into the index so the amend below rewrites the notes commit into the one
+# release commit. A message check, not a flag, so a re-run after pubv aborted
+# still folds a notes commit left behind by the earlier attempt.
+if [ "$(git log -1 --format=%s HEAD~1 2>/dev/null || true)" = "${NOTES_MSG}" ]; then
+    git reset --soft HEAD~1
+fi
+
 echo "Amending release commit..."
 git add package.json package-lock.json "${CHANGELOG}"
-git commit --amend -m ":bookmark: Release ${VERSION}"
+# The exact message format is load-bearing: the `release-gate` job in
+# .gitea/workflows/ci.yml recognizes `:rocket: Release x.y.z` on main and
+# skips the full CI run, since the tag push immediately after verifies the
+# identical SHA (and publishes). Keep the two in sync.
+git commit --amend -m ":rocket: Release ${VERSION}"
 
 echo "Creating tag ${VERSION}..."
 git tag "${VERSION}"