Release workflow publishes stale MCP Registry version

[sbroenne]

Bug Description

The release workflow edits server.json with a text pattern that assumes packages appears immediately after the top-level version. The current file has websiteUrl between them, so the top-level version stays at 1.0.0 while the package version changes. The registry then rejects the release as a duplicate. The publish step uses continue-on-error, so the overall release still appears successful.

Component

Which component is this bug related to?

• MCP Server (Model Context Protocol server for AI assistants - mcp-excel)
• CLI (Command-line interface - ExcelMcp.exe)
• Core Library (Shared functionality)
• Not sure

Release automation / MCP Registry publishing.

Command/Usage

For CLI:

N/A

For MCP Server:

• Tool name: N/A
• Action: N/A
• Parameters used: N/A

Expected Behavior

The release workflow should set both server.version and packages[0].version to the release version, publish that version, and fail visibly if publishing fails for any reason other than an already-confirmed identical version.

Actual Behavior

For the 2.0.0 release, the generated registry metadata kept top-level version 1.0.0 and changed only the NuGet package version to 2.0.0. The registry rejected it as a duplicate 1.0.0, but the workflow remained green. Version 2.0.0 had to be published manually with corrected metadata.

Error Message

If applicable, paste the full error message:

invalid version: cannot publish duplicate version

Environment

• Windows Version: GitHub-hosted windows-latest
• Excel Version: N/A
• ExcelMcp Version: 2.0.0 release workflow
• .NET Version: Workflow-managed .NET 10
• Installation Method: Source release workflow
• File Format: N/A
• VBA Trust Enabled: N/A
• AI Assistant (if using MCP Server): N/A

Sample File

N/A

VBA-Related Issues (if applicable)

• Excel Trust Center setting "Trust access to the VBA project object model" is enabled
• Using .xlsm file format for VBA commands
• VBA module exists in the workbook
• Macro security settings allow programmatic access

N/A

Steps to Reproduce

1. Run .github/workflows/release.yml for a new version.
2. Inspect the Update server.json Version output or the file used by mcp-publisher.
3. Observe that the top-level version remains 1.0.0 because websiteUrl sits between version and packages.
4. Observe the registry duplicate-version error while the job still reports success.

Additional Context

Use JSON parsing and property assignment instead of a layout-sensitive regular expression. Add a check that both version fields equal the requested release before publishing. The 2.0.0 registry entry was repaired manually and is live.

Excel Process Cleanup

• Excel processes clean up properly after the command
• Excel processes remain running (this is part of the bug)
• Not applicable/unsure

[sbroenne]

Fixed by #809. The release workflow now stamps and validates both MCP Registry version fields, and registry publishing failures are no longer ignored. Releases 2.0.1 and 2.0.2 completed successfully after the fix; 2.0.2 is currently live as the latest registry version.