Release (sideload APK)

Trove ships no app store distribution — no App Store, no Play Store listing. A release is one signed Android APK, sideloaded by the person who wants it, plus one core container image. This was an explicit decision (owner, plan step 19/22), not an oversight; see the README's "What is not here".

What the Release workflow does

.github/workflows/release.yml runs on a v*.*.* tag push:

1. Runs the same backend gate as ci.yml (./mvnw --batch-mode -pl core -am clean verify checkstyle:check -Pintegration,coverage).
2. Builds and pushes a multi-arch (linux/amd64 + linux/arm64) core image to ghcr.io/<lower-case owner>/trove-core, tagged <tag>, plus latest when the tag is a stable release (a pre-release tag containing -, for example v1.0.0-rc1, does not move latest).
3. Builds a signed Android APK via eas build --profile production --platform android (apps/mobile/eas.json's production profile is distribution: "internal", buildType: "apk" — never an AAB, never submitted to Play).
4. Creates a GitHub Release with generated notes and the signed APK attached. The core image is on GHCR, not on the release. Tags containing - (for example v1.0.0-rc1) are marked prerelease; the semver check only warns.

Only EXPO_TOKEN is required as a secret. There is no Apple/Google credential, no eas submit call, and no iOS build in CI — iOS EAS builds remain available locally (see EAS Build Setup) for anyone who wants to run one on their own Apple account, but nothing in this repository automates or ships one.

Installing a release

1. Download the .apk asset from the tag's GitHub Release.
2. Sideload it (enable "install from unknown sources" for the browser/file manager used, then open the file).
3. On first launch, set the server URL to the household's own Trove deployment — see EXPO_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL / apps/mobile/src/api/serverConfig.ts; there is no bundled default in a release build.

About the submit:ios / submit:android npm scripts

apps/mobile/package.json still has eas submit scripts left over from before this decision. They work if someone supplies their own Apple/Google credentials, but nothing in this project's CI or documentation depends on them, and no store listing exists to submit to.