Unifying canary and Canary branches

Status: Planned maintainer migration (not automated by branch policy).

Why: Two branch names exist today:

Branch Used by
canary (lowercase) build.yml, release.yml, codeql.yml, repo-mirror.yml, branch policy sync
Canary (capital C) canary.yml (standalone Canary Release workflow)

Policy treats both as downstream lines. Contributors and CI can target the wrong ref. Unification removes duplicate configuration and sync PRs.

Preconditions

  • [ ] Agree on the canonical name (recommended: canary lowercase, matching mirror and release.yml).
  • [ ] Confirm which branch on GitHub actually receives day-to-day pushes today.
  • [ ] Schedule a quiet window (no active release in flight).

Migration checklist (canonical = canary)

1. GitHub

  1. If Canary has commits not on canary, merge or fast-forward: 
    git fetch origin canary Canary
git checkout canary
git merge origin/Canary   # resolve conflicts if any
git push origin canary
  2. Update default branch protection / rulesets if they reference Canary.
  3. Delete remote branch Canary after verification: 
    git push origin --delete Canary

2. Workflows

  1. Change canary.yml:
    • on.push.branches: Canary → canary
    • Security verify branch: refs/heads/Canary → refs/heads/canary
    • checkout ref: Canary → canary
  2. Search repo for Canary branch references (README badges, changelog links).
  3. Remove Canary from .github/branch-policy.json downstreamBranches and longLivedHeadBranches once the branch is deleted.

3. Branch policy and sync

  • After deletion, only canary remains in syncGithubFromMasterTargets (already listed).
  • Re-run Sync .github from master if needed.

4. External systems

  • repo-mirror.yml already mirrors canary.
  • Update any fork docs, Discord runbooks, or NuGet release notes that link to /tree/Canary.

5. Verify

  • [ ] Push to canary triggers build.yml and release.yml jobs.
  • [ ] Retire or repoint standalone canary.yml if release.yml release-canary job fully replaces it.
  • [ ] No open PRs use Canary as head or base.

Rollback

Recreate Canary from canary tip and revert workflow edits if a release window requires the old setup.