Pulse/docs/releases/HOTFIX_5_1_3_CHECKLIST.md

Hotfix 5.1.3 Execution Checklist

Last updated: 2026-02-07 Owner: Codex + maintainer Branch: pulse/hotfix-5.1.3 Base tag: v5.1.2 (c949e9c9)

1) Branch Start Verification

• git status checked
• git log --oneline -n 3 checked
• git describe --tags --exact-match equals v5.1.2

2) P0 Scope (Must Ship)

2.1 Proxmox stale/offline reliability (#1094, #1204, #1192, #1199)

• Reproducer documented
• Acceptance criteria defined
• Fix implemented
• Automated tests added/updated
• Manual validation evidence captured
• Release note entry prepared (factual only)

Acceptance criteria:

• Fresh data does not become stale/false-offline during normal polling window
• No stale-state carryover after temporary offline transition

Evidence links/notes:

• internal/monitoring/monitor.go: empty-node fallback now preserves recent nodes within grace window.
• internal/monitoring/monitor_memory_test.go:
  • TestPollPVEInstancePreservesRecentNodesWhenGetNodesReturnsEmpty
  • TestPollPVEInstanceMarksStaleNodesOfflineWhenGetNodesReturnsEmpty

2.2 Alerting stale evaluator / loop reliability (#1096, #1179, #1159, #1043)

• Reproducer documented
• Acceptance criteria defined
• Fix implemented
• Automated tests added/updated
• Manual validation evidence captured
• Release note entry prepared (factual only)

Acceptance criteria:

• Evaluator resumes after offline -> online transitions
• No deadlock/freeze under sustained alert checks

Evidence links/notes:

• internal/alerts/alerts.go: checkMetric re-notify path now dispatches asynchronously to reduce evaluator loop blocking risk.
• Covered by existing dispatch/checkMetric tests in internal/alerts/alerts_test.go.

2.3 Swarm alert correctness (#1202 + support thread symptoms)

• Reproducer documented
• Acceptance criteria defined
• Fix implemented
• Automated tests added/updated
• Manual validation evidence captured
• Release note entry prepared (factual only)

Acceptance criteria:

• Healthy services do not trigger false warning spam
• Alert messaging matches observed service state

Evidence links/notes:

• internal/alerts/alerts.go: Docker service alerts now notify on new alert and warning->critical escalation only; unchanged degraded state updates in-place without poll-cycle re-notify spam; rate-limit check added.
• internal/alerts/alerts_test.go:
  • TestDockerServiceAlertDoesNotRenotifyWhenUnchanged
  • TestDockerServiceAlertRenotifiesOnEscalationToCritical

2.4 License gate hardening (key/config mismatch regressions)

• Reproducer documented
• Acceptance criteria defined
• Startup/assertion logging for active license verification key fingerprint
• CI/release guard against wrong-key build silently passing
• Automated tests added/updated
• Manual validation evidence captured
• Release note entry prepared (factual only)

Acceptance criteria:

• Valid Pro key consistently unlocks Pro features after restart/update
• Wrong-key/config mismatch is visible and blocks release path

Evidence links/notes:

• internal/license/pubkey.go: startup logs now include key source and SHA256 fingerprint of active verification key.
• scripts/build-release.sh: release build now fails if PULSE_LICENSE_PUBLIC_KEY missing (unless explicit local bypass) and can assert expected fingerprint via PULSE_LICENSE_PUBLIC_KEY_FINGERPRINT.
• internal/license/pubkey_test.go: added TestPublicKeyFingerprint.

3) P1 Scope (Ship Only If Low Risk)

3.1 Host URL edit regression (#1197)

• Triaged
• Fixed (if low risk)
• Validated

3.2 Release notes link (#1195)

• Triaged
• Fixed (if low risk)
• Validated

3.3 Rootless Docker detection (#1200)

• Triaged
• Fixed (if low risk)
• Validated

3.4 Backup attribution duplicate VMID edge case (#1177)

• Triaged
• Fixed (if low risk)
• Validated

3.5 VM disk totalBytes inflation edge case (#1158)

• Triaged
• Fixed (if low risk)
• Validated

4) Verification Gate (Required Before Tag)

• make test
• make lint-frontend
• make frontend
• make build
• Manual smoke: Proxmox freshness over extended run
• Manual smoke: alerts survive offline -> online transitions
• Manual smoke: Swarm false warnings absent for healthy services
• Manual smoke: Pro license survives restart/update
• Manual smoke: support bundle captures diagnostic evidence

5) Release Steps

• Release notes updated with verified fixes only
• Version bumped to 5.1.3
• Tag and publish release from pulse/hotfix-5.1.3
• Fixed issues updated with exact version + validation notes
• Hotfix commits back-merged/cherry-picked to forward branch

6) Execution Log

• 2026-02-07: Initialized checklist and validated branch starts from v5.1.2.
• 2026-02-07: Implemented P0 stabilization patches for Proxmox empty-node grace handling, alert loop async re-notify, Swarm service re-notify dedupe/escalation behavior, and license key fingerprint + release guard hardening.
• 2026-02-07: Addressed pre-ship findings: preserved LastNotified for rebuilt service alerts and added explicit escalation logging for Docker service alert escalations.
• 2026-02-07: Validation rerun complete: targeted monitoring/alerts/license tests passed, plus make test, make lint-frontend, make frontend, and make build.