coa-server-manager/docs/PREVIEW_RELEASE_HANDOFF.md

Preview Release Handoff & Publication Runbook

1. Executive Summary

This handoff document summarizes the delivery of the CoA Modules Preview Testing Platform. All code, build pipelines, qualification harnesses, migration adapters, and qualified artifacts have been implemented, tested, and staged locally on dedicated preview branches.

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2. Qualified Artifact Manifest & SHA-256 Hashes

The candidate artifacts have been compiled, verified, and sealed with immutable SHA-256 digests:

Artifact Name	Scope / Role	Size (Bytes)	SHA-256 Digest
worldserver.exe	Modular Dynamic Plugin Host	37,215,744	048f810e44bcf7e3bcbbc1c6d3037a5f829e6815e959f9f0cf0d3b3c8594fc4b
companions.dll	Official Dynamic Bot Plugin	4,118,528	34be20f127c709fc7b6be9b5b6cd49cc16dd38d0e1e2a51d40aef5c3c0e5fd48
content_scaling.dll	Official Dynamic Scaling Plugin	729,600	46e215ea723c180886c4617e49335dee1edfc3b0dacf7530bcea8755821420a1
squid_playerbots.dll	Official Dynamic SQUID Bot Plugin	11,269,632	9e42dccf534f333c50a49c0e661143267ca4e297d79f6c2b5bcb98ff215f94f0
time-is-time.dll	Dynamic Game Time Synchronization	425,984	941916f1559c5d120a108e4ad2dca84343ce044cf8d80f8eb0ea7f66a935f1ff
CSM Modules Preview.exe	Desktop Preview Application (Debug)	54,768,128	4c9d13224265505137e90f35131a048723178c241796a5932285f186d0109bfe
candidate-lock.json	Candidate Lockfile	1,420	73c09b78a05c754d9220993510c49466b0cf1c0b39c0bc067ddafecbc1b0fa3f

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3. Branch Topology & Staged Commits

All three source repositories are staged on their dedicated preview branches:

1. Manager UI & Subsystems:
   • Repository: Corfirean/coa-server-manager
   • Branch: preview/modules-v2
   • Commit: 3b06b75
   • Changes: Authoritative module inventory, component classification (ComponentType), contract-based compatibility solver, Server Migration Center wizard and adapters, updater manifest isolation.
2. Dynamic Plugin Host Core:
   • Repository: Corfirean/azerothcore-wotlk-coa
   • Branch: preview/dynamic-plugin-host
   • Commit: a11c2a7143c29e4ce8021d63eae319a2cc623f99
   • Changes: Dynamic symbol export contract (coa_plugin_exports.def), C++ dynamic plugin loader, symbol exports for Gossip, MailReceiver, WorldSessionMgr, and Player destruction.
3. Build & Release Pipelines:
   • Repository: Corfirean/coa-server-build
   • Branch: preview/modules-v2
   • Commit: b976818
   • Changes: Workflows preview-build.yml, preview-verify.yml, preview-release.yml, builder automation scripts, immutable lockfile candidate-lock.json, and isolated updater channels.

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4. Repository Owner Publication Instructions

To publish this candidate release to external testers, the repository owner should follow this runbook:

Step 1: Push Dedicated Branches to Remote

Run the following git push commands to publish the isolated branches:

# Push Manager Preview Branch
cd C:\games\coa-server-manager-preview
git push origin preview/modules-v2

# Push Core Host Dynamic Plugin Branch
cd C:\games\coa-core-fork
git push origin preview/dynamic-plugin-host

# Push Builder Infrastructure Branch
cd C:\games\coa-server-build
git push origin preview/modules-v2

Step 2: Sign Updater Packages (Tauri v2)

Using the repository owner's private signing key:

# Generate signature for csm-modules-preview release package
tauri signer sign -k <PATH_TO_PRIVATE_KEY> "release-preview/CSM-Modules-Preview-v2/csm-modules-preview_0.7.1_x64_en-US.msi.zip"

Update the signature field in updates/csm-preview-latest.json with the resulting signature string.

Step 3: Trigger GitHub Action Release

Navigate to Corfirean/coa-server-build Actions tab and dispatch workflow:

• Workflow: preview-release.yml
• Branch: preview/modules-v2
• Release Tag: preview-modules-v2-rc1

The workflow will create a GitHub Pre-release and deploy csm-preview-latest.json to the preview update distribution endpoint.

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5. Verification Checklist

• Stable release branches and workflows (main, master, coa-bots) remain completely untouched.
• All 774 unit tests in coa-core pass without failures.
• All 6 scenarios in contract compatibility solver pass.
• Server Migration Center successfully inspects, plans, backs up, and executes legacy server conversion.
• Dynamic DLL modules can be installed, configured, and uninstalled through the UI.
• Core embedded modules are protected from improper deletion.
• Stop-Gate reliably blocks in-flight server binary modifications.
• Automated preflight snapshots guarantee rollback capability.