docs(agents): add release canary testing skill

.agents/skills/test-release-canary/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+---
+name: test-release-canary
+description: Manually dispatch and iterate on the Release Canary workflow that smoke-tests published OpenShell artifacts (install.sh on macOS/Ubuntu/Fedora, Helm chart on kind) after each Release Dev publish. Use when changing `.github/workflows/release-canary.yml`, validating a release before tagging, debugging a canary failure, or reproducing a canary job locally. Trigger keywords - release canary, release-canary, canary failed, canary dispatch, test release canary, post-release smoke, install.sh canary, helm chart canary, kind canary, dispatch canary.
+---
+
+# Test Release Canary
+
+The Release Canary (`.github/workflows/release-canary.yml`) smoke-tests the artifacts a `Release Dev` run just published. It is the last automated checkpoint before tagging a public release: if the canary is red, the published `dev` artifacts do not install on a stock environment.
+
+## What the canary verifies
+
+| Job | Runner | Verifies |
+|---|---|---|
+| `macos` | `macos-latest-xlarge` | `install.sh` resolves the Homebrew formula, brew installs the cask, and `openshell status` reaches the brew-services–backed local gateway with the VM driver. |
+| `ubuntu` | `ubuntu-latest` | `install.sh` installs the Debian package, the post-install systemd user service starts, and `openshell status` reaches the local gateway with the Docker driver. |
+| `fedora` | `fedora:latest` container | `install.sh` installs the RPM packages, the local gateway starts under Podman, and `openshell status` succeeds. |
+| `kubernetes` | `ubuntu-latest` + kind | `helm install oci://ghcr.io/nvidia/openshell/helm-chart --version 0.0.0-dev` succeeds in a kind cluster, the gateway pod becomes Ready, port-forward exposes 8080, and the released CLI registers the in-cluster gateway and runs `openshell status` against it. |
+
+`install.sh` defaults to the *latest tagged* release — the canary is therefore checking that the most recent public release still installs, not the just-published `dev` build. The `kubernetes` job is the exception: it pins to `0.0.0-dev` chart + `:dev` images.
+
+## Trigger paths
+
+The workflow has two triggers:
+
+```yaml
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+  workflow_run:
+    workflows: ["Release Dev"]
+    types: [completed]
+```
+
+- **Automatic.** Every successful `Release Dev` run (on `main` or a manual dispatch of Release Dev) fires the canary. Each job gates on `github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success'` so a failed Release Dev does not run the canary.
+- **Manual.** `workflow_dispatch` lets you run the canary on demand against any branch's workflow definition.
+
+When dispatched manually, `github.event.workflow_run.head_sha` is empty and the workflow falls back to `github.sha` (the branch tip) for the `install.sh` URL.
+
+## Manual dispatch
+
+Run the canary as-is on the current branch:
+
+```shell
+gh workflow run release-canary.yml --ref "$(git branch --show-current)"
+```
+
+Watch the run that starts:
+
+```shell
+sleep 5  # let GitHub register the dispatch
+gh run list --workflow release-canary.yml --limit 1
+gh run watch "$(gh run list --workflow release-canary.yml --limit 1 --json databaseId --jq '.[0].databaseId')"
+```
+
+View only failed jobs after completion:
+
+```shell
+gh run view <run-id> --log-failed
+```
+
+## Iterating on the canary itself
+
+When you change `release-canary.yml` on a branch, a manual dispatch on that branch tests *your branch's workflow logic* against *main's published artifacts* (`0.0.0-dev` chart, `:dev` images, latest tagged install.sh assets). This is what you want for iterating on the canary — you're validating that the canary still works against known-good artifacts.
+
+Note `install.sh` is pulled from `raw.githubusercontent.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell/${head_sha}/install.sh`, so changes to `install.sh` on your branch *are* exercised even though the binaries it downloads are from the latest public tag.
+
+## Testing artifacts from a specific SHA
+
+`Release Dev` publishes two chart versions for every dev build (see `.github/actions/release-helm-oci/action.yml:89-102`):
+
+- `oci://ghcr.io/nvidia/openshell/helm-chart:0.0.0-dev` — floating, overwritten on every main push.
+- `oci://ghcr.io/nvidia/openshell/helm-chart:0.0.0-dev.<sha>` — immutable, `appVersion` set to the same SHA so it pulls `ghcr.io/nvidia/openshell/gateway:<sha>` and `:supervisor:<sha>`.
+
+To smoke-test the chart for a specific dev build, dispatch `Release Dev` on the branch first, then run the kind canary steps locally pointed at the SHA-pinned chart (see "Local kind reproduction" below). The release-canary workflow itself does not currently expose `chart_version` / `image_tag` inputs.
+
+## Local kind reproduction
+
+The `kubernetes` job can be reproduced on any machine with Docker and `mise install`-provided `kubectl` + `helm`:
+
+```shell
+kind create cluster --name release-canary-local
+
+helm install openshell oci://ghcr.io/nvidia/openshell/helm-chart \
+  --version 0.0.0-dev \
+  --namespace openshell --create-namespace \
+  --set server.disableTls=true \
+  --set pkiInitJob.enabled=false \
+  --wait --timeout 5m
+
+kubectl wait --namespace openshell \
+  --for=condition=Ready pod \
+  --selector="app.kubernetes.io/name=openshell,app.kubernetes.io/instance=openshell" \
+  --timeout=300s
+
+kubectl port-forward --namespace openshell svc/openshell 8080:8080 &
+openshell gateway add http://127.0.0.1:8080 --local --name kind
+openshell status
+```
+
+Swap `0.0.0-dev` for `0.0.0-dev.<sha>` to pin to a specific dev build. Tear down with `kind delete cluster --name release-canary-local`.
+
+Loopback registration auto-derives the gateway name to `openshell` if `--name` is omitted, which collides with the `install.sh`-installed local gateway — always pass `--name kind` (or another distinct name) when registering in addition to a local install.
+
+## Diagnosing failures
+
+| Symptom | Likely cause | Where to look |
+|---|---|---|
+| `macos`/`ubuntu`/`fedora` job fails on `install.sh` | Latest tagged release missing an asset, checksum mismatch, or `install.sh` regression on this branch. | Job log around the `curl … install.sh \| sh` step. |
+| `macos`/`ubuntu`/`fedora` job fails on `openshell status` | Local gateway service did not start (systemd/brew/podman). Often a driver issue. | Service logs in the job log; `OPENSHELL_DRIVERS` env in the "Ensure …" step. |
+| `kubernetes` job fails on `helm install --wait` | Chart did not deploy in 5 min — usually image pull failure or readiness probe failing. | "Diagnostics on failure" step dumps `helm status`, manifest, pod describe, pod logs. |
+| `kubernetes` job fails on `kubectl wait` | Gateway pod stuck `CrashLoopBackOff` or `ImagePullBackOff`. | Diagnostics dump; check `:dev` image existence at `ghcr.io/nvidia/openshell/gateway`. |
+| `kubernetes` job fails on `openshell gateway add` or `status` | Port-forward not reachable, or CLI/gateway proto mismatch. | `port-forward.log` and `openshell gateway list` in the diagnostics dump. |
+
+The `kubernetes` job's diagnostics step (only runs `if: failure()`) emits, in order: helm status, rendered manifest, `kubectl get all`, pod descriptions, pod logs (200 lines per container), port-forward log, gateway list, CLI version. Read it top-to-bottom — most failures fall out by the manifest or pod logs.
+
+## Related
+
+- `helm-dev-environment` skill — local k3d-based dev environment (more featureful than the canary's kind cluster, but uses Skaffold-built local images, not published artifacts).
+- `watch-github-actions` skill — generic `gh run` workflow monitoring.
+- `debug-openshell-cluster` skill — runtime gateway/sandbox diagnostics that pair with the kind job's diagnostics dump.

CI.md

@@ -117,6 +117,16 @@ The bot's full administrator documentation is internal to NVIDIA. The only comma
 | `.github/workflows/e2e-gate-check.yml` | Reusable gate logic shared by E2E and GPU E2E. |
 | `.github/workflows/e2e-label-help.yml` | When a `test:e2e*` label is applied, posts a PR comment telling the maintainer the next manual step (re-run an existing workflow run, or `/ok to test <SHA>` to refresh the mirror). |
 
+## Release workflows
+
+These workflows run after merge to publish dev/tagged artifacts and verify them. They are not PR-gated.
+
+| File | Role |
+|---|---|
+| `.github/workflows/release-dev.yml` | Publishes the rolling `dev` build on every push to `main`. Builds gateway/supervisor images and binaries, packages, wheels, and pushes the Helm chart as `oci://ghcr.io/nvidia/openshell/helm-chart:0.0.0-dev` (plus an immutable `0.0.0-dev.<sha>` pin). Also dispatchable manually. |
+| `.github/workflows/release-tag.yml` | Publishes a tagged public release. |
+| `.github/workflows/release-canary.yml` | Smoke-tests published artifacts on `macos`, `ubuntu`, `fedora`, and `kubernetes` (kind + Helm) runners. Triggers automatically when `Release Dev` succeeds, and via `workflow_dispatch` on any branch (`gh workflow run release-canary.yml --ref <branch>`). The `kubernetes` job pins to `0.0.0-dev` artifacts; the other jobs install the latest tagged release via `install.sh`. See the `test-release-canary` skill for the manual-dispatch playbook and local kind reproduction. |
+
 ## Required status contexts
 
 Require these statuses in the branch ruleset for push-based CI:

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ Skills live in `.agents/skills/`. Your agent's harness can discover and load the
 | Reviewing       | `review-github-pr`        | Summarize PR diffs and key design decisions                                                         |
 | Reviewing       | `review-security-issue`   | Assess security issues for severity and remediation                                                 |
 | Reviewing       | `watch-github-actions`    | Monitor CI pipeline status and logs                                                                 |
+| Reviewing       | `test-release-canary`     | Dispatch and iterate on the Release Canary workflow that smoke-tests published artifacts            |
 | Triage          | `triage-issue`            | Assess, classify, and route community-filed issues                                                  |
 | Platform        | `generate-sandbox-policy` | Generate YAML sandbox policies from requirements or API docs                                        |
 | Platform        | `tui-development`         | Development guide for the ratatui-based terminal UI                                                 |