One-click release tagging from the Actions tab

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@ on:
   push:
     tags:
       - 'v*'
+  # Invoked by the Tag Release workflow at the freshly pushed tag; tags
+  # created with the default GITHUB_TOKEN do not fire the push trigger.
+  workflow_dispatch: {}
 
 permissions:
   contents: write
@@ -30,7 +33,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run GoReleaser
         uses: goreleaser/goreleaser-action@v5
         with:
-          version: latest
+          version: "~> v2"
           args: release --clean
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

.github/workflows/tag-release.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+name: Tag Release
+
+# One-click release: run this from the Actions tab with a version like
+# v1.2.0. It tags main and kicks off the existing Release workflow, which
+# re-runs tests and publishes binaries via GoReleaser.
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        description: "Version to release (vX.Y.Z)"
+        required: true
+        type: string
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  actions: write
+
+jobs:
+  tag:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: main
+          fetch-depth: 0
+      - name: Validate version
+        env:
+          VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}
+        run: |
+          if ! echo "$VERSION" | grep -Eq '^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$'; then
+            echo "::error::Version must look like vX.Y.Z, got '$VERSION'"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          if git rev-parse -q --verify "refs/tags/$VERSION" >/dev/null; then
+            echo "::error::Tag $VERSION already exists"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+      - name: Create and push tag
+        env:
+          VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}
+        run: |
+          git config user.name "${{ github.actor }}"
+          git config user.email "${{ github.actor }}@users.noreply.github.com"
+          git tag -a "$VERSION" -m "Release $VERSION"
+          git push origin "$VERSION"
+      - name: Start release workflow
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}
+        run: |
+          # Tags pushed with the default GITHUB_TOKEN do not fire
+          # push-triggered workflows, so start the release explicitly at
+          # the new tag.
+          gh workflow run release.yml --ref "$VERSION"

README.md

@@ -270,6 +270,9 @@ platform-specific improvements before diving in.
 
 - CI (`.github/workflows/ci.yml`) runs `golangci-lint`, unit tests with race
   detection, integration tests, and validates startup performance (<80ms p95).
+- To cut a release, run the **Tag Release** workflow from the Actions tab
+  with a `vX.Y.Z` version (or push a `v*` tag manually). It tags `main` and
+  hands off to the Release workflow.
 - Releases use GoReleaser (`.goreleaser.yml`) to ship signed binaries for
   Linux/macOS (amd64/arm64) and Windows (amd64), plus checksums.
 - `go install github.com/veteranbv/sysgreet@VERSION` is validated during the