docs: update version management for auto-bump and multi-channel updates.xml

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

.github/CLAUDE.md

@@ -115,38 +115,34 @@ BRIEF: One-line description
 
 **`README.md` is the single source of truth for the repository version.**
 
-- **Bump the patch version on every PR** — increment `XX.YY.ZZ` (e.g. `01.02.03` → `01.02.04`) in `README.md` before opening the PR; the `sync-version-on-merge` workflow propagates it automatically to all badges and `FILE INFORMATION` headers on merge to `main`.
+- **Patch version is auto-bumped by the release workflow** — `release.yml` reads the current version from `README.md`, increments the patch (`XX.YY.ZZ` → `XX.YY.(ZZ+1)`), updates `README.md`, `templateDetails.xml`, and the matching channel in `updates.xml`, commits, pushes, then builds the ZIP. Manual bumping is no longer required.
 - The `VERSION: XX.YY.ZZ` field in `README.md` governs all other version references.
 - Version format is zero-padded semver: `XX.YY.ZZ` (e.g. `01.02.03`).
 - Never hardcode a specific version in document body text — use the badge or FILE INFORMATION header only.
 
 ### Joomla Version Alignment
 
-The version in `README.md` **must always match** the `<version>` tag in `manifest.xml` and the latest entry in `updates.xml`. The `make release` command / release workflow updates all three automatically.
+The version in `README.md` **must always match** the `<version>` tag in `templateDetails.xml` and the matching channel entry in `updates.xml`. The release workflow updates all three automatically.
+
+### Multi-Channel updates.xml
+
+`updates.xml` contains separate `<update>` blocks per stability channel (development, alpha, beta, rc, stable). Each release workflow only modifies its own channel using targeted Python regex replacement — other channels are preserved untouched. Joomla filters by the user's "Minimum Stability" setting.
 
 ```xml
-<!-- In manifest.xml — must match README.md version -->
-<version>01.02.04</version>
-
-<!-- In updates.xml — prepend a new <update> block for every release.
-     Note: the backslash in version="4\.[0-9]+" is a literal backslash character
-     in the XML attribute value. Joomla's update server treats the value as a
-     regular expression, so \. matches a literal dot. -->
 <updates>
-	<update>
-		<name>{{EXTENSION_NAME}}</name>
-		<version>01.02.04</version>
-		<downloads>
-			<downloadurl type="full" format="zip">
-				https://git.mokoconsulting.tech/MokoConsulting/MokoCassiopeia/releases/download/01.02.04/{{EXTENSION_ELEMENT}}-01.02.04.zip
-			</downloadurl>
-		</downloads>
-		<targetplatform name="joomla" version="4\.[0-9]+" />
-	</update>
-	<!-- … older entries preserved below … -->
+  <!-- 1. DEVELOPMENT --> <update>...<tag>development</tag>...</update>
+  <!-- 2. ALPHA -->       <update>...<tag>alpha</tag>...</update>
+  <!-- 3. BETA -->        <update>...<tag>beta</tag>...</update>
+  <!-- 4. RC -->          <update>...<tag>rc</tag>...</update>
+  <!-- 5. STABLE -->      <update>...<tag>stable</tag>...</update>
 </updates>
 ```
 
+**Key rules:**
+- SHA-256 must be raw hex (no `sha256:` prefix)
+- Version format must be `XX.YY.ZZ`, not tag names like `v01`
+- Download URLs must point to Gitea (not GitHub) for all pre-release channels
+
 ---
 
 ## Joomla Extension Structure
@@ -286,11 +282,11 @@ Approved prefixes: `dev/` · `rc/` · `version/` · `patch/` · `copilot/` · `d
 | Change type | Documentation to update |
 |-------------|------------------------|
 | New or renamed PHP class/method | PHPDoc block; `docs/api/` entry |
-| New or changed manifest.xml | Update `updates.xml` version; bump README.md version |
-| New release | Prepend `<update>` block to `updates.xml`; update CHANGELOG.md; bump README.md version |
+| New or changed manifest.xml | Release workflow auto-bumps version across README.md, templateDetails.xml, and updates.xml |
+| New release | Trigger `release.yml` — auto-bumps patch, builds ZIP, updates matching channel in `updates.xml` |
 | New or changed workflow | `docs/workflows/<workflow-name>.md` |
 | Any modified file | Update the `VERSION` field in that file's `FILE INFORMATION` block |
-| **Every PR** | **Bump the patch version** — increment `XX.YY.ZZ` in `README.md`; `sync-version-on-merge` propagates it |
+| **Every release** | **Patch auto-bumped** by `release.yml` — no manual version bump needed |
 
 ---