# Pre-release verification: `bird`
Operational pre-flight checklist. Runs **before** step 1 of
[`RELEASES.md` § Releasing dev to main](./RELEASES.md#releasing-dev-to-main). Gates the cut of the `release/v<version>`
branch, not the daily dev integration. Each box is an explicit go/no-go. If any item is unchecked or red, hold the
release.
CI (fmt, clippy, test, cargo-deny, Windows-compat, package-check) catches mechanical regressions inside this repo. This
checklist covers what CI structurally can't:
- Behavioral drift against the live X (Twitter) API. CI runs unit and integration tests against mocked HTTP and stubbed
transports, not the real endpoints, so API-contract regressions land silently until a user hits them.
- Subprocess-transport contract correctness against a real `xr` (xurl-rs) or `xurl` (Go fallback) on a fresh machine
(the discovery / override / missing-binary paths are not exercised by the in-repo tests in the same way they are on
first run).
- Distribution paths that only exercise on real artifacts (cross-compile binaries, `cargo install` from a clean machine,
`cargo-binstall` against a published GitHub Release, `brew install` once the Homebrew dispatch finishes).
- Local state correctness on a fresh machine: bird does NOT store auth tokens itself (xurl owns the token store), but it
does write `~/.config/bird/config.toml` (0644) for watchlist and preferences, and `~/.config/bird/bird.db` (0600) for
the SQLite entity cache. Permissions and round-trip behavior need confirmation on a fresh `XDG_CONFIG_HOME`.
## Establish the surface
Everything below assumes you know what's changing. Run this first.
```bash
LAST_TAG=$(git tag --sort=-version:refname | head -n 1)
git log "$LAST_TAG..dev" --oneline # commits going out
git diff "$LAST_TAG..dev" --stat # file-level scope
git diff "$LAST_TAG..dev" -- src/ openapi/ # surface area: code + API spec
git log "$LAST_TAG..dev" --grep '^[a-z]\+!:' --oneline # Conventional-Commits breaking markers
```
Every `!:` commit drives the major-version decision and gets a row in the release's `### Breaking changes` section.
## Checklist
### Command-surface contract
bird's contract is the union of the typed shortcut commands (`me`, `bookmarks`, `search`, `thread`, `profile`,
`watchlist`, `usage`, `cache`, write commands, `doctor`), the generic raw-HTTP commands (`get` / `post` / `put` /
`delete`), the `completions` generator, and the subprocess transport surface that delegates to xurl.
- [ ] `bird help` lists the same shortcut commands as the previous release plus any net additions or removals. Diff
`$LAST_TAG`'s `bird help` against `dev`'s and confirm every removed or renamed command has a `!:` commit and a `###
Changed` (or `### Breaking changes`) bullet in the release changelog.
- [ ] Per-command `--help` shape unchanged for stable commands. Spot-check `bird me --help`, `bird bookmarks --help`,
`bird search --help`, `bird raw --help` — flag changes (renames, defaults, types) are user-facing and must show up in
the changelog.
### Real-world smoke (live X API, via xurl)
The in-repo tests mock the HTTP layer. The following exercises only fire end-to-end against a logged-in xurl install and
the live X API. Pick fresh targets each release.
- [ ] `bird --version` returns the new `vX.Y.Z` value (post-bump).
- [ ] `bird doctor` exits 0 on a healthy machine, 78 on missing xurl, 78 on bad config. Spot-check `bird doctor <cmd>`
for at least one shortcut command (e.g. `bird doctor me`) and confirm it reports the correct auth requirement.
- [ ] `bird me --pretty`, `bird me --output json`, `bird me -q` round-trip via the entity store on a logged-in account.
The `--pretty` form shows ANSI color and hyperlinks on a TTY.
- [ ] `bird bookmarks` paginates and streams (does not collect into memory before printing).
- [ ] `bird search "rust" --sort likes --min-likes 100 --pages 2 --output json` returns sorted JSON.
- [ ] `bird thread <tweet_id>` reconstructs a multi-page thread.
- [ ] `bird profile <handle>` resolves via `schema::validate_username` (strips `@`, enforces charset).
- [ ] `bird watchlist add @x`, `bird watchlist list`, `bird watchlist check`, `bird watchlist remove @x` round-trip via
the local config (`~/.config/bird/config.toml`).
- [ ] `bird usage --local`, `bird usage --sync` exercise the usage subsystem; both respect `--pretty`.
- [ ] `bird cache stats --pretty` shows store path, size, tweet/user/raw counts; `bird cache clear` drops counts to
zero.
- [ ] Write commands round-trip via xurl passthrough: `bird tweet "..."`, `bird reply <id> "..."`, `bird like <id>`,
`bird unlike <id>`, `bird repost <id>`, `bird unrepost <id>`, `bird follow <user>`, `bird unfollow <user>`, `bird dm
<user> "..."`, `bird block`, `bird unblock`, `bird mute`, `bird unmute`. Each must reject `--cache-only` with a
Command error (exit code 1).
- [ ] Raw passthrough: `bird get /2/users/me -p id=123 -q expansions=author_id --pretty`, plus `bird post`, `bird put`,
`bird delete` against a safe endpoint (e.g. a test workspace).
- [ ] Completions: `bird completions bash`, `zsh`, `fish`, `powershell`, `elvish` each produce a parseable script (`bash
-n`, `zsh -n`, `fish --no-execute`).
- [ ] Error paths: drive at least one auth failure (XurlError::Auth) and confirm bird exits 77 with the stderr error
envelope; one config failure (missing xurl, bad TOML) and confirm exit 78; one command failure (e.g. `--cache-only` on
a write command) and confirm exit 1.
### Subprocess transport contract
bird delegates all HTTP and auth to `xurl`. The transport contract has four observable behaviors that only verify on a
real shell.
- [ ] Override resolution: `BIRD_XURL_PATH=/path/to/xr bird raw /2/users/me` uses the overridden binary.
- [ ] Default discovery: with `BIRD_XURL_PATH` unset, bird finds `xr` (xurl-rs) first, then falls back to `xurl` (Go).
- [ ] Missing-xurl exit: with `BIRD_XURL_PATH` pointing at a non-existent path, `bird me` exits 78 (config) with the
install hint surfaced on stderr.
- [ ] SIGPIPE: `bird bookmarks --output jsonl | head -1` exits cleanly (no broken-pipe panic). The Unix-only
`libc::signal(SIGPIPE, SIG_DFL)` is `#[cfg(unix)]`-gated; the pre-push hook's libc-grep is the always-on backstop.
### Output and color contract
bird picks output format and color from a precedence chain (CLI flag > env var > TTY detection). Each rule has a
specific behavioral fixture.
- [ ] `bird me --pretty` shows ANSI color and hyperlinks on a TTY.
- [ ] `bird me --plain` strips color and hyperlinks.
- [ ] `bird me --no-color` or `NO_COLOR=1 bird me` strips color only (hyperlinks remain).
- [ ] `bird me 2>/tmp/err 1>/tmp/out` (stderr non-TTY) auto-selects JSON for the stderr error envelope.
- [ ] `bird me --output json` and `BIRD_OUTPUT=json bird me` both force JSON on stderr errors.
- [ ] `bird me -q` suppresses informational stderr diagnostics.
### Cache modes
bird's SQLite cache is gated by three mutually-exclusive flags (`--refresh`, `--no-cache`, `--cache-only`). Write
commands reject `--cache-only`.
- [ ] `bird search "rust" --refresh` bypasses store, refreshes store.
- [ ] `bird search "rust" --no-cache` neither reads nor writes the store.
- [ ] `bird search "rust" --cache-only` serves from store only and never invokes xurl. Write commands reject
`--cache-only` with exit code 1.
### Token & file permissions
bird does not store tokens itself (xurl does), but it owns the local config and cache files.
- [ ] `~/.config/bird/config.toml` is created at `0644` on first watchlist or preference write.
- [ ] `~/.config/bird/bird.db` (SQLite entity cache) is created at `0600`.
- [ ] No bird-managed files end up world-readable that shouldn't be (audit with `find ~/.config/bird -ls`).
### Exit-code contract
Three exit codes, stable across releases.
- [ ] `0` on success.
- [ ] `77` on auth failures detected via XurlError::Auth.
- [ ] `78` on config failures (missing xurl binary, invalid `config.toml`, broken `XDG_CONFIG_HOME`).
- [ ] `1` on everything else (Command errors, write-command-with-`--cache-only`, etc.).
- [ ] Stderr JSON envelope on `--output json`: `{"error":..., "kind":"config"|"auth"|"command", "code":78|77|1,
"command":..., "status":...}`. Verify shape on at least one error from each kind.
### Distribution and install paths
The release builds cross-compiled binaries and the homebrew tap dispatches downstream. None of this runs in `cargo
test`.
- [ ] Last green run of `release.yml` (on this branch or a sibling) cross-compiled all five targets listed in
`RELEASES.md` § Tagging and publishing. If the workflow has changed since, dry-run with `cargo build --release
--target <target>` for each.
- [ ] In a clean container or fresh machine: download a prior release archive (`bird-<target>.tar.gz` or `.zip` for
Windows), run `bird --version` and one read-only shortcut. Confirms the archive layout (binary + completions +
licenses) still works without the project's toolchain.
- [ ] `cargo install bird --version <new>` from a clean environment resolves and runs once the crates.io publish
completes (post-tag check, see below).
### Release mechanics sanity
These items duplicate steps in `RELEASES.md` deliberately: easy to skip, expensive to recover from. Confirm explicitly.
- [ ] `Cargo.toml` `version` bumped to the new tag value (`check-version` in `release.yml` enforces this; catch early).
- [ ] `Cargo.lock` regenerated via `cargo update -p bird`, committed.
- [ ] Rebuild locally, confirm `bird --version` prints the new tag value.
- [ ] Every PR merged since `$LAST_TAG` has a non-empty `## Changelog` section. Spot-check via `gh pr list --base dev
--state merged --search "merged:>$(git log -1 --format=%aI $LAST_TAG)"` then `gh pr view <num> --json body`.
- [ ] `rust-toolchain.toml` last bumped ≥7 days ago (supply-chain quarantine). If a bump landed inside the window, hold
or revert it before tagging.
- [ ] No unmerged dependency advisories from `cargo deny check advisories`. The full local pre-push check
(`scripts/hooks/pre-push`) mirrors CI; run it explicitly before pushing the release branch.
- [ ] Triple-diff verification before tag: `git diff origin/main..HEAD`, `git diff HEAD..origin/dev` (no non-doc paths),
`git diff origin/dev..origin/main` (sanity) — all three agree on intended scope.
- [ ] Leak check: `git diff origin/main..HEAD --name-only | grep -E
'^(docs/plans|docs/brainstorms|docs/ideation|docs/reviews|docs/solutions|\.context)'` returns nothing. If cherry-picks
pulled in guarded paths via rename detection, resolve per `RELEASES.md` § Cherry-pick conflicts on guarded paths.
- [ ] `CHANGELOG.md` versioned section has no `[Unreleased]` placeholder and matches the bumped `Cargo.toml` version.
### Post-tag verification
Run immediately after the tag push triggers `release.yml`.
- [ ] `release.yml` green end-to-end. `gh run watch <id> --exit-status` then verify with `gh run view <id> --json
conclusion --jq .conclusion` — the watcher exit code alone is not authoritative.
- [ ] Homebrew-tap `update-formula` dispatch completed (check `gh run list -R brettdavies/homebrew-tap`), then
`finalize-release.yml` ran back here and flipped the GitHub Release `make_latest: true`.
- [ ] `crates.io` shows the new version published. `cargo install bird --version <new>` from a clean environment
resolves and runs.
- [ ] `brew update && brew install brettdavies/tap/bird` on a fresh prefix resolves the new bottle and `bird --version`
reports the new tag. Confirms the homebrew-tap end of the cross-repo dispatch chain landed cleanly.
- [ ] `cargo binstall bird` (without `--version`) resolves to the new tag and installs the matching prebuilt binary.
Confirms the GitHub Release asset layout matches binstall's expectations.
- [ ] Backport `main` → `dev` per `RELEASES.md` § After publish, then `git push origin dev`.
## Related docs
- [`RELEASES.md`](./RELEASES.md): operational runbook this checklist gates.
- [`RELEASES-RATIONALE.md`](./RELEASES-RATIONALE.md): release-flow rationale.
- [`AGENTS.md`](./AGENTS.md): project structure, transport contract, output formats.