Run RC releases directly from the scheduler

.github/workflows/release-rc.yml

@@ -9,7 +9,10 @@ on:
         default: false
         type: boolean
   schedule:
-    - cron: '7,17,27 3,15 * * *'
+    # Why: GitHub scheduled workflows are not guaranteed to start exactly on
+    # time and can be delayed or dropped around high-load periods. We retry
+    # across the full target hour and dedupe per PT slot.
+    - cron: '*/5 3,15 * * *'
       timezone: 'America/Los_Angeles'
 
 permissions:
@@ -23,6 +26,9 @@ jobs:
   create-rc-tag:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     timeout-minutes: 15
+    outputs:
+      tag: ${{ steps.version.outputs.tag }}
+      should_release: ${{ steps.existing.outputs.already_ran != 'true' && !(github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.dry_run) }}
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
@@ -92,9 +98,23 @@ jobs:
           echo "Reason: ${{ steps.existing.outputs.reason }}"
 
       - name: Create and push RC tag
+        id: version
         if: steps.existing.outputs.already_ran != 'true' && !(github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.dry_run)
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         run: |
-          npm version prerelease --preid=rc -m "release: %s [rc-slot:${{ steps.slot.outputs.value }}]"
+          # Why: pushes made with GITHUB_TOKEN do not reliably trigger other
+          # workflows via push events. The RC workflow invokes release.yml
+          # directly after creating the tag, so the actual Electron release
+          # runs inside this scheduled flow instead of depending on push.
+          new_tag="$(npm version prerelease --preid=rc -m "release: %s [rc-slot:${{ steps.slot.outputs.value }}]")"
           git push origin main --follow-tags
+          echo "tag=$new_tag" >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+  release-rc:
+    needs: create-rc-tag
+    if: needs.create-rc-tag.outputs.should_release == 'true'
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/release.yml
+    with:
+      tag: ${{ needs.create-rc-tag.outputs.tag }}
+    secrets: inherit

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -4,23 +4,69 @@ on:
   push:
     tags:
       - 'v*'
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      tag:
+        description: Tag to release, for example v1.2.3-rc.0
+        required: true
+        type: string
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      tag:
+        description: Existing tag to release, for example v1.2.3-rc.0
+        required: true
+        type: string
 
 jobs:
+  resolve-release:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      tag: ${{ steps.resolve.outputs.tag }}
+      ref: ${{ steps.resolve.outputs.ref }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Resolve release tag and ref
+        id: resolve
+        run: |
+          if [[ "${{ github.event_name }}" == "push" ]]; then
+            release_tag="${{ github.ref_name }}"
+            release_ref="${{ github.ref }}"
+          else
+            release_tag="${{ inputs.tag }}"
+            release_ref="refs/tags/${{ inputs.tag }}"
+          fi
+
+          echo "tag=$release_tag" >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "ref=$release_ref" >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
   create-release:
+    needs: resolve-release
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       contents: write
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ needs.resolve-release.outputs.ref }}
 
       - name: Create draft release with auto-generated notes
-        run: gh release create ${{ github.ref_name }} --draft --generate-notes --prerelease=${{ contains(github.ref_name, 'rc') }}
+        run: |
+          if gh release view "${{ needs.resolve-release.outputs.tag }}" --repo "${{ github.repository }}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "Release ${{ needs.resolve-release.outputs.tag }} already exists."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          gh release create "${{ needs.resolve-release.outputs.tag }}" \
+            --draft \
+            --generate-notes \
+            --prerelease=${{ contains(needs.resolve-release.outputs.tag, 'rc') }}
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
   release:
-    needs: create-release
+    needs:
+      - resolve-release
+      - create-release
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
@@ -43,6 +89,8 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ needs.resolve-release.outputs.ref }}
 
       - name: Setup Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@v4
@@ -95,12 +143,14 @@ jobs:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
   publish-release:
-    needs: release
+    needs:
+      - resolve-release
+      - release
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       contents: write
     steps:
       - name: Publish release
-        run: gh release edit ${{ github.ref_name }} --draft=false --repo ${{ github.repository }}
+        run: gh release edit "${{ needs.resolve-release.outputs.tag }}" --draft=false --repo "${{ github.repository }}"
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}