A verified release

1 of 7 merged

Build foundations, migration, updates, signed candidates, final evidence and the public release.

One of the five chapters on the way to 1.0: 1 of its 7 work areas are merged into the development code, which is not the same as verified for release. Checked against the development repository on 15 October 2026.

In short

1.0 isn’t a date; it’s a set of checks. This chapter is how a build becomes a release you can trust: a stabilisation gate, a private signed candidate tested on a real Mac, final localisation and an interface freeze, a final signed candidate with its source and licence evidence, the same checks repeated on those exact files, and only then the public release.

Each step guards the next. If anything that goes into the app changes after the final candidate, verification starts again. The matching source archives are published before the final build, so its licence notices can point at them.

The project foundations are done. The source-only v0.1.0-alpha.1 testing prerelease exists, but it doesn’t count towards these steps, and no date is promised for 1.0.

Where it stands

1 merged

6 still required

How it will be checked

From the acceptance criteria in the plan. Merged work still has to pass these on a release build.

  • A fresh review finds no serious open problem (nothing rated P0 to P2) that affects the release.
  • Clean installation, migration from MacDown 2 and a signed update are rehearsed on a private candidate first.
  • The final candidate is signed with a Developer ID, notarised and stapled, and its disk image passes its checks.
  • Every licence item is closed, including notices, Graphviz and D2, parser provenance, locked dependencies, themes, a software bill of materials and the source offer.
  • The files published are exactly the files that were verified, and the update feed goes live last.

The 7 work areas

Project foundations

Merged

  • Swift/SwiftUI modular project, strict concurrency, CI, linting

Implemented in the development code. Final release verification is tracked in #115.

Issue 1Plan reference E00

Software and UI stabilisation gate

Still required

  • Close required implemented behaviour and product corrections; retain exact baseline
  • Fresh post-E23 orthogonal review and no release-relevant P0/P1/P2

Depends on Mac integration and personalisation; HTML preview and export safety; Contributions, anchors and math correctness; File, settings and native hardening; Release-side software before UI freeze.

Issue 115Issue 183Plan reference S

Private candidate 1 and native verification

Still required

  • Sign/notarise private verification binary
  • Native UI, VoiceOver, file/recovery, export, technical content, themes, Finder/Quick Look
  • Clean install, state migration and signed update rehearsal

A private verification build is a step toward release, not a public download.

Depends on Software and UI stabilisation gate.

Issue 115Issue 18Issue 88Plan reference V1

Corresponding-source publication

Still required

  • Immutable source/patch/license archives and digests
  • Anonymous retrieval and exact URLs embedded in notices before final binary

This step publishes corresponding source archives only; it does not publish the application.

Depends on MacDown 2 → MostlyText: brand and identity crossover.

Issue 148Plan reference sources

Final signed candidate and compliance

Still required

  • Build final frozen artifact with locked dependencies
  • Developer ID/hardened runtime/notarisation/stapling and DMG checks
  • LC-01 notices; LC-02 Graphviz; LC-03 D2; LC-04 parser provenance; LC-05 lock; LC-06 themes; LC-07 SBOM; LC-08 licence UI; LC-09 source offer; LC-10 MIT lineage
  • Repeat every artifact-/locale-sensitive native observation on the exact candidate

Depends on Final localisation and string freeze; Corresponding-source publication.

Issue 18Issue 148Issue 115Plan reference RC2

Close all release-required debt

Still required

  • All required evidence complete, exact artifact hashes linked; no blocked/unverified residual rows

Follows the 9 October two-candidate sequence, which supersedes the earlier ordering.

Depends on Final signed candidate and compliance.

Issue 115Plan reference gate115

Public macOS 1.0

Still required

  • Publish the same verified release files
  • Versioned GitHub Release/DMG and downloads verified; appcast last
  • Accurate public claims, installation/migration/update instructions

No date is promised for stable 1.0. The source-only v0.1.0-alpha.1 testing prerelease is available; it does not complete the 1.0 release requirements.

Depends on Final repository cutover.

Issue 18Plan reference release

Open in the development repository

Titles as the developers wrote them, on 15 October 2026.

Builds on

Leads to

What the labels mean

Merged
in the development code, still subject to the release checks.
Still required
work or verification still needed before 1.0.