Shared workflows treat release branching as consumer-repo policy. The target
repo's AGENTS.md must define how to identify release trackers, target
branches, and merge gates.
The portable default vocabulary is:
- beta: ordinary development work, usually targeting the base branch.
- rc: stabilization work targeting a release branch.
- final: promotion or final-release work requiring explicit human sign-off.
Agents must select the gate from the target branch's phase, then apply the
consumer repo's release policy from AGENTS.md.
If the repo uses release branches, AGENTS.md should specify:
- branch naming, such as
release/X.Y.Z; - whether fixes on release branches must be forward-ported to the base branch;
- whether final promotion can be automated;
- which checks, audits, or human approvals are required in each phase.
If release phase cannot be verified, report UNKNOWN and avoid auto-merge.