feat(selfhost): automate daily ORB beta releases from a version manifest

[JSONbored]

Summary

• Adds orb-manifest.json as the git-tracked source of truth for the self-host container image's target release version (mirrors packages/gittensory-mcp/package.json's role for MCP; ORB has no npm manifest of its own).
• Adds scripts/orb-release-core.mjs (pure logic, deliberately independent of scripts/mcp-release-core.mjs) + scripts/check-orb-release-due.mjs (read-only CLI): decides whether a new beta snapshot is due by scanning commits since the last orb-v tag for image-relevant paths, and computes the next orb-vX.Y.Z-beta.N tag.
• Adds .github/workflows/orb-beta-release.yml: runs the check daily (or on demand), and when due, tags + pushes the beta and dispatches release-selfhost.yml to build and publish it.
• Two small, backward-compatible changes to release-selfhost.yml to support that dispatch: a create_github_release opt-in input (a GITHUB_TOKEN-authored tag push doesn't fire this workflow's own push trigger, so the new workflow dispatches it explicitly instead -- the same pattern publish-engine.yml/npm-publish.yml already use for the identical reason), and routing an actual beta version to a new no-required-reviewers release-beta GitHub Environment so the daily cut runs fully unattended. A stable or -rc.N version still routes to the existing human-gated release environment -- promoting a beta to a stable release stays a manual, deliberate git tag.

Scope

• The PR title follows type(scope): short summary Conventional Commit format, for example fix(api): restore profile access checks.
• This PR is focused and does not mix unrelated backend, UI, MCP, docs, dependency, and deploy changes.
• This follows CONTRIBUTING.md and does not reintroduce GitHub Pages, VitePress, site/, or CNAME.
• I linked a currently open issue this PR resolves -- no open issue matches this specifically (checked #1953/#1819, both are broader review-quality/hardening roadmaps, not release engineering); maintainer PR, so no issue was opened solely to satisfy this box.

Validation

• git diff --check
• npm run actionlint
• npm run typecheck
• npm run test:coverage locally -- new logic lives under scripts/ (not src/**), so it isn't Codecov-measured, but test/unit/orb-release.test.ts covers every branch (commit-relevance filtering, semver/tag helpers including malformed-input edge cases, and the full buildOrbReleaseReport decision table) anyway.
• npm run test:workers
• npm run build:mcp
• npm run test:mcp-pack
• npm run ui:openapi:check
• npm run ui:lint
• npm run ui:typecheck
• npm run ui:build
• npm audit --audit-level=moderate
• New or changed behavior has unit/integration tests for new branches, fallback paths, and sanitizer boundaries

All of the above ran via a single full npm run test:ci (green) plus npm audit --audit-level=moderate (0 vulnerabilities) locally before pushing. Also verified with actionlint directly and a manual YAML parse on both touched workflow files, and manually exercised the new CLI (node scripts/check-orb-release-due.mjs --json) and both embedded Node heredoc steps against this repo's real current tag/commit state.

Safety

• No secrets, wallet details, hotkeys, coldkeys, user PATs, private keys, raw trust scores, private rankings, or private maintainer evidence are exposed.
• Public GitHub text stays sanitized, low-noise, and does not imply compensation guarantees or optimization tactics.
• Auth, cookie, CORS, GitHub App, Cloudflare, or session changes include negative-path tests. (N/A -- no such changes.)
• API/OpenAPI/MCP behavior is updated and tested where needed. (N/A -- no API/OpenAPI/MCP surface touched.)
• UI changes use live API data or real empty/error/loading states, not production mock/demo fallbacks. (N/A -- no UI changes.)
• Visible UI changes include a UI Evidence section below. (N/A -- no visible UI changes; table left blank intentionally.)
• Public docs/changelogs are updated where needed; changelogs are only edited for release-prep PRs. (N/A -- no changelog edit.)

UI Evidence

N/A -- no UI/frontend/docs changes in this PR.

Notes

• New GitHub Environment release-beta (no required reviewers) was created under repo Settings so the daily beta dispatch can run unattended, distinct from the existing release environment which still gates every stable/rc release behind a human reviewer.
• Deliberately does not touch anything under packages/gittensory-mcp/** or packages/gittensory-engine/**, or their release scripts/workflows -- that automation is out of scope here.

[superagent-security]

Superagent didn't find any vulnerabilities or security issues in this PR.

[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 93.73%. Comparing base (8fe552b) to head (bffd402).
⚠️ Report is 2 commits behind head on main.
✅ All tests successful. No failed tests found.

Additional details and impacted files

@@           Coverage Diff           @@
##             main    #4160   +/-   ##
=======================================
  Coverage   93.73%   93.73%           
=======================================
  Files         387      387           
  Lines       36304    36304           
  Branches    13298    13298           
=======================================
  Hits        34031    34031           
  Misses       1617     1617           
  Partials      656      656           

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[loopover-orb]

Warning

🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨

⏸️ Gittensory review result - manual review recommended

_{Review updated: 2026-07-08 09:17:46 UTC}

7 files · 2 blockers · readiness 93/100 · CI green · clean

⏸️ Suggested Action - Manual Review

• No linked issue detected — If this PR is intended to solve an issue, link it explicitly in the PR body.
• Maintainer requires a linked issue — Link the relevant issue (for example Closes #123) before opening the PR.

Concerns raised — review before merging

• No linked issue detected — If this PR is intended to solve an issue, link it explicitly in the PR body.
• Maintainer requires a linked issue — Link the relevant issue (for example Closes #123) before opening the PR.

Signal	Result	Evidence
Code review	❌ 2 blockers	No AI review summary
Linked issue	⚠️ Missing	No linked issue or no-issue rationale found.
Related work	✅ No active overlap found	No same-issue or scoped active PR overlap found.
Change scope	✅ 20/20	Low review scope from cached public metadata (no linked issue context).
Validation posture	✅ 25/25	PR body includes validation/test evidence.
Contributor workload	✅ 10/10	Author activity: 52 registered-repo PR(s), 43 merged, 486 issue(s).
Contributor context	✅ Confirmed Gittensor contributor	JSONbored; Gittensor profile; 52 PR(s), 486 issue(s).
Gate result	❌ Blocking	Repo-configured hard blocker found.

Review context

• Author: JSONbored
• Role context: owner (maintainer lane)
• Public audience mode: oss maintainer
• Lane context: Repository is configured for direct PR review.
• Public profile languages: Python, TypeScript, JavaScript, Ruby, Go, Kotlin, MDX, Shell
• Official Gittensor activity: 52 PR(s), 486 issue(s).
• PR-specific overlap: none found.

Contributor next steps

• Treat this as maintainer-lane context rather than normal contributor-lane activity.
• Explain no-issue PR.
• Link the issue being solved, or explicitly explain why this is a no-issue PR.

Signal definitions

• Related work = same linked issue, overlapping active PRs, or title/path similarity.
• Change scope = cached public metadata such as size labels, draft state, and review-burden hints.
• Validation posture = whether the PR provides enough public validation/test evidence for maintainer review.
• Contributor workload = public contributor activity and cleanup pressure, not a repo-wide quality failure.
• Contributor context = public GitHub/Gittensor identity context; non-Gittensor status is not a blocker.

_{🟩 Safe / merged · 🟦 Advisory · 🟨 Held for review · 🟥 Blocked / closed}

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