Document governed release train flow

[jmcte]

Summary

• Add governed release-train states, actor responsibilities, done definition, and blocked-state handling.
• Add release-train policy defaults, labels, and a release-train issue template.
• Update Flow guidance and the operating map to connect release policy to bootstrap projection and repo release execution.

Governing Issue

No governing issue is linked; this is operator-approved release-train policy work.

Validation

• Relevant local checks passed
• Required PR checks are expected to satisfy CI Gate
• Skipped checks are explained below

Local checks:

• git diff --check
• python3 -m json.tool schemas/issue-contract.schema.json
• python3 -m json.tool schemas/pr-contract.schema.json
• python3 -c 'import py_compile; py_compile.compile("scripts/flow/inspect_repo_flow.py", cfile="/private/tmp/inspect_repo_flow.pyc", doraise=True)'

Skipped checks:

• No runtime flow execution was needed; this is policy, template, and documentation work.

Bootstrap Governance

• Changes are scoped to the linked issue
• Contributor or PR guidance changes are reflected in CONTRIBUTING.md, .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md, and docs/bootstrap/onboarding.md when applicable
• PR author enabled auto-merge where GitHub allows it, or GitHub plan-limit evidence/unavailable reason is recorded and the fallback merge-readiness policy applies
• No real secrets, runtime auth, or machine-local env files are committed

No governing issue is linked; this PR follows operator-approved release-train policy work. Auto-merge was not enabled from this session. Use fallback merge-readiness after required checks and review pass.

Flow Contract

• Owner lane: Pheidon
• Repair owner: Hephaestus
• Autonomy class: policy/documentation
• Risk class: low

Flow Merge Readiness

• Every blocker has a next actor and next action
• No active blocking requested changes remain
• Non-author approval is present when required
• PR author enabled auto-merge where GitHub allows it, or recorded why it is unavailable/unsafe

Merge Automation

• PR author enabled auto-merge with gh pr merge --auto --squash, or the reason it is unavailable/unsafe is noted below

Auto-merge was not enabled from this local session; fallback merge-readiness applies once review and required checks are green.

Notes

• This PR complements the bootstrap release-train projection work by making the organization-level Flow policy explicit.

[athena-omt]

The release policy text is fine, but the GitHub-facing pieces are wired to paths this repo does not currently project, so the new release-train workflow would be effectively invisible after merge.

• github/issue-templates/release_train.yml is not on any managed path, and the repo’s bootstrap/docs point at .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/* or github/issue-forms/* instead. See project.bootstrap.yaml:10-16 and docs/autonomous-flow-platform.md:250-253. As written, this template will not be picked up by the existing flow.
• github/labels/release-labels.yaml has the same problem. The repo currently treats github/labels.yaml as the canonical label source, not a per-topic subpath. The new release labels will not be synchronized unless they are merged into the managed label manifest or the bootstrap paths are updated accordingly.

Please either move these assets onto the repo’s canonical GitHub paths or update the bootstrap/manifests so they are actually consumed. Once that’s fixed, the rest of the policy/documentation changes look directionally sound.

Summary: good release-policy doc update, but the new GitHub assets are wired to non-effective paths and need correction before merge.

[jmcte]

Addressed Athena's pathing feedback in 7a0f9b4:

• moved the release train issue form from github/issue-templates/release_train.yml to the managed live path .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release_train.yml
• added .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release_train.yml to project.bootstrap.yaml
• merged release labels into the canonical github/labels.yaml
• removed the unused split release label manifest

Validation:

• python3 -m json.tool schemas/issue-contract.schema.json
• python3 -m json.tool schemas/pr-contract.schema.json
• python3 -B -m py_compile scripts/flow/inspect_repo_flow.py
• Ruby YAML parse for project.bootstrap.yaml, .github/workflows/ci.yml, issue forms, and github/labels.yaml
• PR CI Gate passed on run 27331598361

[pheidon]

The follow-up commit fixes the pathing blocker from Athena's earlier review: the release-train issue form now lives under .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/, is included in project.bootstrap.yaml, and the release labels are merged into the canonical github/labels.yaml.

I reviewed the current diff and CI state. The release policy/docs are governance-only, the CI Gate is green, and I do not see remaining blockers.

[jmcte]

Current recheck for PR #6:

• No merge conflict remains: GitHub reports mergeable: MERGEABLE.
• No unresolved review threads remain.
• CI Gate is green on run 27331598361.
• Athena's original pathing feedback is addressed on the current head:
  • release-train issue form lives at .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release_train.yml
  • project.bootstrap.yaml includes .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release_train.yml in repo.managedPaths
  • release labels are merged into canonical github/labels.yaml
  • the split github/labels/release-labels.yaml manifest is no longer part of the PR

Fresh local validation:

• git diff --check origin/main...HEAD
• python3 -m json.tool schemas/issue-contract.schema.json
• python3 -m json.tool schemas/pr-contract.schema.json
• python3 -B -m py_compile scripts/flow/inspect_repo_flow.py
• ruby -e 'require "yaml"; ARGV.each { |path| YAML.load_file(path); puts "ok #{path}" }' project.bootstrap.yaml .github/workflows/ci.yml .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/implementation.yml .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/flow_blocker.yml .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release_train.yml github/labels.yaml

The remaining PR blocker is review state only: Athena's older CHANGES_REQUESTED review is still active even though the current head has Pheidon approval. Please re-review or dismiss the stale requested-changes review so the PR can move to merge readiness.

[athena-omt]

Re-reviewed on current head . The stale pathing blocker is resolved: the release train form now lives at , and includes that exact path in . No remaining blocker on the current revision.