fix(release): build aarch64-musl natively on arm64 runners, replace retired macos-13

[kevincodex1]

Summary

Fixes the two release-pipeline failures that have blocked binary publishing since v0.4.0: the aarch64-unknown-linux-musl build always fails, and the x86_64-apple-darwin job queues forever because GitHub retired macos-13 runners.

Motivation & context

Release runs for v0.4.0 (#28446773996) and v0.5.0 (#28740238410) both failed the same way:

• aarch64-linux-musl Build step fails. The job cross-compiled a musl target with the glibc cross toolchain (CC=aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc), which aws-lc-sys (pulled in via rustls by the AWS SDK, libp2p-tls, and reqwest) can't build with. No aarch64-linux asset has ever shipped.
• x86_64-apple-darwin never starts. macos-13 was GitHub's last plain Intel image and has been retired — the job sits queued indefinitely, holding the run (and the release-main concurrency group) open.

Because release-binaries fails, the downstream npm-publish, homebrew-bump, and web-sync jobs were skipped for both releases — nothing has been published to npm or the Homebrew tap.

Kind of change

• Tests / CI

What changed

.github/workflows/release.yml only (no crate changes):

• aarch64-unknown-linux-musl now builds on ubuntu-24.04-arm (GitHub's native arm64 runners, free for public repos). The build is native, so the glibc cross-toolchain hack is deleted and the stock musl-tools recipe matches the x86_64 leg exactly.
• The aarch64 smoke-test skip is removed — the binaries can now execute on their build runner, so arm64 Linux artifacts get the same --version gate as every other target.
• x86_64-apple-darwin moves from retired macos-13 to macos-15-intel, GitHub's supported Intel label.

How a reviewer can verify

Reproduced the previously-failing target natively on arm64 with the exact workflow recipe (rustup target + musl-tools, no cross env):

docker run --rm --platform linux/arm64 -v "$PWD:/src" rust:1-bookworm bash -c '
  apt-get update -qq && apt-get install -y -qq musl-tools cmake
  rustup target add aarch64-unknown-linux-musl
  cd /src && cargo build --release --target aarch64-unknown-linux-musl \
    -p gl -p git-remote-gitlawb -p gitlawb-node
  target/aarch64-unknown-linux-musl/release/gl --version'

Local repro ran until the machine's disk filled: cc-rs picked up aarch64-linux-musl-gcc from stock musl-tools and compiled deep into aws-lc-sys's C sources (the exact crate that broke the cross build) with no errors — the recipe is also identical to the x86_64-musl leg that already passes in CI. Runner labels ubuntu-24.04-arm and macos-15-intel are documented GitHub-hosted labels for public repos; actionlint is clean on the edited workflow. Final proof is the v0.5.1 release run this PR unlocks.

Merging this lands a fix(release) commit, so release-please will cut v0.5.1 with the repaired pipeline — that release should attach all five targets and un-skip npm/Homebrew/web-sync for the first time.

Before you request review

• Scope is one logical change; no unrelated churn
• cargo test --workspace passes locally (N/A — workflow-only change, no Rust code touched)
• New behavior is covered by tests (N/A — CI config)
• cargo fmt --all and cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets -- -D warnings are clean (N/A — no Rust changes)
• Commit titles use Conventional Commits (feat(...), fix(...), docs(...))
• Docs / .env.example updated if behavior or config changed (or N/A)
• Checked existing PRs so this isn't a duplicate

Notes for reviewers

• The stuck v0.5.0 run needs a manual Cancel in the Actions UI — its queued macos-13 job holds the release-main concurrency group.
• v0.5.0 itself stays asset-incomplete (no aarch64-linux or Intel-mac archives, not on npm/Homebrew); v0.5.1 supersedes it immediately, so no backfill is attempted here.
• Windows stays continue-on-error best-effort, unchanged.

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Chores
  • Improved release binary build coverage by running certain builds on matching-architecture runners.
  • Updated smoke tests so all release targets are checked consistently.
  • Simplified Linux musl build setup by removing extra cross-compilation handling.

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: defaults

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: 7d516417-1e0b-4bcc-a49b-1b2dbe930142

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 5f63f28 and de49cb7.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• .github/workflows/release.yml

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The release workflow's build matrix is updated so aarch64-unknown-linux-musl and x86_64-apple-darwin builds run on native arm64 and macOS Intel runners respectively. Cross-compilation toolchain setup for musl is simplified, and the smoke test step now runs unconditionally for all targets.

Changes

Release Workflow Update

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Matrix runner assignments .github/workflows/release.yml	Switches aarch64-unknown-linux-musl to an arm64 Ubuntu runner and x86_64-apple-darwin to macos-15-intel, with updated explanatory comments replacing prior cross-build runner assignments.
Musl toolchain simplification and smoke test coverage .github/workflows/release.yml	Simplifies musl builds to only install musl-tools, removing cross GCC toolchain installation and linker/CC env vars; removes the conditional skip so smoke tests run on all targets including aarch64-unknown-linux-musl.

Estimated code review effort: 2 (Simple) | ~10 minutes

Possibly related PRs

• Gitlawb/node#59: Modifies the same "Smoke test binaries" logic in release.yml, removing the aarch64-unknown-linux-musl skip and switching to a native arm64 runner.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly summarizes the release workflow fix for native arm64 builds and the macOS runner replacement.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description follows the template with summary, context, change details, verification, and reviewer notes.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch fix/release-runners

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