## Summary
Fusion can now ship on two release tracks. Betas are cut from `main` as
`vX.Y.Z-beta.N` (npm dist-tag `beta`, GitHub prerelease), stable
releases are promoted to a long-lived `release` branch and published to
`latest`, and users pick their track with the new `updateChannel` global
setting — via **Settings → General → Release channel** or `fn update
--channel <stable|beta>`. Previously everything was single-track: every
publish landed on `latest` and every update surface could only see it.
| | beta | stable |
|---|---|---|
| Cut from | `main` | `release` branch |
| Version | `X.Y.Z-beta.N` (changesets pre-mode) | `X.Y.Z` |
| npm dist-tag | `beta` | `latest` |
| GitHub Release | prerelease | latest |
| Homebrew tap / X draft | skipped | bumped / printed |
## How releasing works now
`pnpm release` prompts for the channel and **defaults to beta**, so
day-to-day releases are betas; stable is always an explicit choice.
Choosing stable from `main` triggers assisted promotion: the script
proposes the newest beta tag reachable from HEAD, verifies `release`
fast-forwards to it, then runs the whole stable release inside a
temporary git worktree on `release` — the primary checkout never leaves
`main`. Changesets pre-mode preserves changeset files across betas, so
the promoted stable release aggregates every changeset since the last
stable into one clean changelog entry.
## Design decisions
- **Every publish path names an explicit `--tag`.** A beta accidentally
landing on `latest` is the one unrecoverable failure of a dual-track
scheme, so nothing relies on npm's implicit default (`release.mjs`,
`version.yml`).
- **Beta channel resolves to semver-max of `latest` and `beta`**, so
beta users are offered each promoted stable once it overtakes their
prerelease. Switching beta → stable never downgrades; `fn update
--channel stable --force` is the explicit escape hatch.
- **One comparator instead of three.** CLI, dashboard, and desktop each
had their own `isRemoteNewer` that ignored prerelease identifiers —
`0.73.0-beta.2`, `-beta.3`, and `0.73.0` all compared equal, which
breaks the moment any beta exists. They now share full SemVer-precedence
helpers (`compareVersions`, `resolveUpdateTargetVersion`) from
`@fusion/core`.
- **Installs pin exact versions** (`@runfusion/fusion@0.73.0-beta.2`),
never a dist-tag, so an install can't silently land on the wrong track.
- **Desktop channels via electron-updater manifests.** Beta tags build
desktop artifacts with `publish.channel=beta` (emitting `beta*.yml`);
the app sets `channel`/`allowPrerelease` from the shared setting,
re-read on every manual check.
- **Update caches are channel-stamped** — a cache written for one
channel is never served to the other, so switching tracks takes effect
on the next check instead of after TTL.
## Test plan
- New unit coverage: SemVer precedence + channel resolution in
`@fusion/core` (30), channel behavior of the dashboard update check (28,
incl. 9 new) and `fn update` (16, incl. 8 new: persist `--channel`,
no-downgrade, `--force`, cache channel mismatch).
- `pnpm verify:fast` green (scoped typecheck, builds, CLI build, boot
smoke); desktop + settings-section suites green.
- `release.mjs` dry-run matrix exercised by hand: channel prompt
(default/override/invalid), branch preflights per channel,
assisted-promotion target selection, fast-forward guard against a
diverged `release` branch, and bootstrap when no `release` branch
exists.
- Not exercised live: an end-to-end publish (needs TTY authorization +
real npm publish). First real run is the first `pnpm release --channel
beta`.
---
[](https://github.com/EveryInc/compound-engineering-plugin)
<!-- This is an auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai
-->
## Summary by CodeRabbit
* **New Features**
* Added beta and stable release channels across CLI, dashboard, and
desktop updates.
* Users can select a channel via Settings or `fn update --channel
<stable|beta>` (stored as a global default).
* Desktop beta releases now generate beta update manifests and publish
as prereleases.
* **Documentation**
* Expanded release-track, settings, and CLI references to explain
channel semantics and workflows.
* **Bug Fixes**
* Updates now pin the resolved version per channel, improve version
comparison, and prevent unintended cross-channel downgrades unless
`--force` is used.
<!-- end of auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai -->
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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