ci: Update release process

[rmi22186]

Instructions

1. PR target branch should be against main
2. PR title name should follow this format: https://github.com/mParticle/mparticle-workflows/blob/main/.github/workflows/pr-title-check.yml
3. PR branch prefix should follow this format: https://github.com/mParticle/mparticle-workflows/blob/main/.github/workflows/pr-branch-check-name.yml

Summary

Update release process to use Rokt release process.

1. Manually run Release Draft which asks you to bump the version number
2. The workflow bumps the VERSION file, updates README.md and CHANGELOG.md, and creates a PR (e.g. release/2.7.0)
3. Review and merge that PR
4. Merging changes the VERSION file on main automatically triggers release-publish.yml
5. That runs tests, publishes to Maven Central, and creates a GitHub Release

Testing Plan

Used https://github.com/mParticle/react-native-mparticle/pull/216/files and mParticle/mparticle-android-sdk#663 for inspiration

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Note

Medium Risk
Moderate risk because it rewires the release and publishing automation (version bumping, changelog generation, Maven Central publish, and GitHub release creation), where misconfiguration could break releases or publish incorrect artifacts.

Overview
Replaces the previous semantic-release-based GitHub Actions workflow with a two-step release process: a manually triggered Release Draft workflow that bumps VERSION, updates README.md and CHANGELOG.md, smoke-tests via publishToMavenLocal, and opens a release PR; and a Release Publish workflow that runs on VERSION changes merged to main to run tests, publish to Maven Central, and create/update a GitHub Release from CHANGELOG.md notes.

Updates Gradle publishing by switching from maven-publish/manual signing to com.vanniktech.maven.publish (including central portal publishing and signing), updates docs to use publishToMavenLocal, and reformats CHANGELOG.md to Keep a Changelog style with link references; removes the old release.yml workflow and release.config.js.

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[thomson-t]

Since we are not migrating to the com.vanniktech.maven.publish at this point, we will have to do the workaround as described here https://central.sonatype.org/publish/publish-portal-ossrh-staging-api/#ensuring-deployment-visibility-in-the-central-publisher-portal
I think we can use the same step like this mParticle/mparticle-android-sdk#611

[rmi22186]

Ah, let me redo this with com.vanniktech.maven.publish which was the original goal...to be aligned w Rokt.

[cursor]

Cursor Bugbot has reviewed your changes and found 1 potential issue.

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[cursor]

VERSION file is stale, will produce wrong version

High Severity

The VERSION file contains 2.6.0, but the reformatted CHANGELOG.md in this PR documents 2.7.0 as the latest release. The new release-draft.yml reads VERSION to determine the current version before bumping. On first use, a "patch" bump yields 2.6.1 (regression below 2.7.0), a "minor" bump yields 2.7.0 (collision with existing release), and only "major" avoids conflict but skips versions. The VERSION file needs to be updated to 2.7.0 in this PR.

Additional Locations (1)

• .github/workflows/release-draft.yml#L32-L35