diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index c0a81d86aea..395e9528ef2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -78,6 +78,10 @@ jobs:
         run: scripts/test-release-ref-contract.sh
       - name: Desktop release candidate contract
         run: scripts/test-desktop-release-candidate.sh
+      - name: OSS desktop promotion contract
+        run: |
+          scripts/test-oss-desktop-promotion.sh
+          scripts/test-oss-desktop-promotion-behavior.sh
       - name: Mobile release contract
         run: |
           scripts/test-mobile-release-contract.sh
diff --git a/.github/workflows/promote-oss-desktop-release.yml b/.github/workflows/promote-oss-desktop-release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f73bbd032b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/promote-oss-desktop-release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+name: Promote OSS Desktop Auto-Update
+run-name: Promote desktop-v${{ inputs.version }} to auto-update
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        description: Stable desktop version to promote (X.Y.Z)
+        required: true
+        type: string
+
+concurrency:
+  group: oss-desktop-auto-update-promotion
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
+jobs:
+  promote:
+    if: github.repository == 'block/buzz'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 10
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+    steps:
+      - name: Require the reviewed workflow from main
+        env:
+          DISPATCH_REF: ${{ github.ref }}
+        run: |
+          if [ "$DISPATCH_REF" != "refs/heads/main" ]; then
+            echo "::error::OSS desktop promotion must be dispatched from main, not $DISPATCH_REF"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+      - uses: actions/checkout@df4cb1c069e1874edd31b4311f1884172cec0e10 # v6.0.3
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ github.sha }}
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - name: Validate and promote exact release manifest
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}
+        run: scripts/promote-oss-desktop-release.sh "$VERSION"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 9da067b74ee..2b0eb25c688 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -907,6 +907,7 @@ jobs:
           [ "${#TRIPLES[@]}" -ge 3 ] || { echo "::error::too few platforms (${#TRIPLES[@]})"; exit 1; }
           bash desktop/scripts/generate-oss-latest-json.sh "$VERSION" "${TRIPLES[@]}" > latest.json
           cat latest.json
+          cp latest.json staged/updater-manifest.json
 
       - name: Create or verify versioned draft
         run: |
@@ -946,7 +947,3 @@ jobs:
       - name: Publish complete versioned release
         if: env.already_published != 'true'
         run: gh release edit "desktop-v${VERSION}" --draft=false
-
-      - name: Upload latest.json to rolling release last
-        if: ${{ !contains(needs.setup.outputs.version, '-') }}
-        run: gh release upload buzz-desktop-latest latest.json --clobber
diff --git a/RELEASING.md b/RELEASING.md
index 53d58055619..8d1fad74807 100644
--- a/RELEASING.md
+++ b/RELEASING.md
@@ -173,10 +173,10 @@ for distributable builds or builds from an immutable release tag.
 `release.yml` has no manual dispatch and cannot build from `main` or another
 caller-selected ref. If a run for an existing immutable
 `desktop-v<version>` tag fails, rerun that failed workflow from GitHub Actions
-(or use `gh run rerun <run-id> --failed --repo block/buzz`). A stable rerun also
-repairs `buzz-desktop-latest/latest.json` if the original run published the
-versioned release but failed during that final rolling-manifest upload. Do not
-recreate, move, or push the immutable tag again.
+(or use `gh run rerun <run-id> --failed --repo block/buzz`). A rerun
+repairs the versioned draft if publication did not complete. It does not
+promote that version to the auto-updater; promotion is a separate manual
+action. Do not recreate, move, or push the immutable tag again.
 
 Mobile intentionally has no branch or arbitrary-ref fallback. The private
 Buildkite pipeline accepts only an exact candidate tag.
@@ -200,8 +200,25 @@ for the rest of the private pipeline contract.
 
 Desktop publishes two GitHub releases:
 
-1. **`desktop-v<version>`**: the user-facing release with installers.
-2. **`buzz-desktop-latest`**: the rolling auto-updater release.
+1. **`desktop-v<version>`**: the user-facing release with installers and the
+   exact `updater-manifest.json` promotion candidate. Publishing this release
+   does not expose it through in-app auto-update.
+2. **`buzz-desktop-latest`**: the rolling auto-updater release. Its
+   `latest.json` changes only through the manual promotion workflow.
+
+### Promote an OSS desktop release to auto-update
+
+After installing and testing the published `desktop-v<version>` artifacts, run
+**Promote OSS Desktop Auto-Update** from the `main` branch and enter the exact
+stable `X.Y.Z` version. The workflow validates the immutable tag and release,
+the retained manifest and every referenced updater asset, and requires the
+version to be newer than the currently promoted version before replacing
+`buzz-desktop-latest/latest.json`. Same-version retries succeed only when the
+manifest is identical; downgrades are rejected.
+
+Withholding promotion leaves existing clients on the previous version. If a
+promoted release is bad, ship and promote a higher patch version; changing the
+manifest to an older version does not downgrade clients that already updated.
 
 Mobile publishes only annotated `mobile-vX.Y.Z-rc.N` git tags. Store artifacts
 and rollout records retain the exact tag they used. Mobile does not publish a
diff --git a/scripts/promote-oss-desktop-release.sh b/scripts/promote-oss-desktop-release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..7566a9a4e57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/promote-oss-desktop-release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+VERSION="${1:-}"
+REPOSITORY="${GITHUB_REPOSITORY:-block/buzz}"
+TAG="desktop-v${VERSION}"
+CANDIDATE="updater-manifest.json"
+ROLLING_TAG="buzz-desktop-latest"
+EXPECTED_PLATFORMS='["darwin-aarch64","darwin-x86_64","linux-x86_64","windows-x86_64"]'
+
+fail() { echo "::error::$*" >&2; exit 1; }
+[[ "$REPOSITORY" == "block/buzz" ]] || fail "promotion is restricted to block/buzz"
+[[ "$VERSION" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]] || fail "version must be stable semver X.Y.Z"
+command -v gh >/dev/null || fail "gh is required"
+command -v jq >/dev/null || fail "jq is required"
+
+workdir="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$workdir"' EXIT
+candidate="$workdir/$CANDIDATE"
+current="$workdir/latest.json"
+
+release_json="$(gh release view "$TAG" --repo "$REPOSITORY" --json isDraft,isPrerelease,targetCommitish,assets)"
+[[ "$(jq -r .isDraft <<<"$release_json")" == false ]] || fail "$TAG is still a draft"
+[[ "$(jq -r .isPrerelease <<<"$release_json")" == false ]] || fail "$TAG is a prerelease"
+
+tag_sha="$(gh api "repos/$REPOSITORY/commits/$TAG" --jq .sha)"
+target="$(jq -r .targetCommitish <<<"$release_json")"
+target_sha="$(gh api "repos/$REPOSITORY/commits/$target" --jq .sha)"
+[[ -n "$tag_sha" && "$target_sha" == "$tag_sha" ]] || fail "$TAG and its release target do not resolve to the same commit"
+
+release_assets="$(jq -r '.assets[].name' <<<"$release_json")"
+grep -Fxq "$CANDIDATE" <<<"$release_assets" || fail "$TAG has no $CANDIDATE asset"
+gh release download "$TAG" --repo "$REPOSITORY" --pattern "$CANDIDATE" --dir "$workdir"
+
+jq -e --arg version "$VERSION" --argjson expected "$EXPECTED_PLATFORMS" '
+  .version == $version and
+  (.platforms | keys == $expected) and
+  ([.platforms[] | (.signature | type == "string" and length > 0)] | all) and
+  ([.platforms[] | (.url | type == "string" and startswith("https://github.com/block/buzz/releases/download/desktop-v" + $version + "/"))] | all)
+' "$candidate" >/dev/null || fail "$CANDIDATE failed version, platform, signature, or URL validation"
+
+while IFS= read -r url; do
+  asset="${url##*/}"
+  [[ "$url" == "https://github.com/block/buzz/releases/download/$TAG/$asset" ]] || fail "$CANDIDATE contains non-canonical updater URL: $url"
+  grep -Fxq "$asset" <<<"$release_assets" || fail "$CANDIDATE references missing release asset: $asset"
+done < <(jq -r '.platforms[].url' "$candidate")
+
+gh release download "$ROLLING_TAG" --repo "$REPOSITORY" --pattern latest.json --dir "$workdir"
+current_digest="$(sha256sum "$current" | awk '{print $1}')"
+current_version="$(jq -er '.version | select(type == "string")' "$current")" || fail "current latest.json has no version"
+[[ "$current_version" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]] || fail "current promoted version is not stable semver: $current_version"
+
+highest="$(printf '%s\n%s\n' "$current_version" "$VERSION" | sort -V | tail -1)"
+if [[ "$VERSION" == "$current_version" ]]; then
+  cmp -s "$candidate" "$current" || fail "$VERSION is already promoted with different manifest content"
+  echo "Version $VERSION is already promoted with identical manifest content."
+  exit 0
+fi
+[[ "$highest" == "$VERSION" ]] || fail "refusing downgrade from $current_version to $VERSION"
+
+# Re-read immediately before the only write so a stale validation cannot silently
+# overwrite a promotion performed outside this workflow.
+rm -f "$current"
+gh release download "$ROLLING_TAG" --repo "$REPOSITORY" --pattern latest.json --dir "$workdir"
+[[ "$(sha256sum "$current" | awk '{print $1}')" == "$current_digest" ]] || fail "current promotion changed during validation; retry"
+
+promotion="$workdir/latest.json"
+cp "$candidate" "$promotion"
+candidate_digest="$(sha256sum "$candidate" | awk '{print $1}')"
+if ! gh release upload "$ROLLING_TAG" "$promotion" --repo "$REPOSITORY" --clobber; then
+  fail "promotion upload failed; latest.json may be temporarily unavailable, retry the promotion"
+fi
+rm -f "$promotion"
+if ! gh release download "$ROLLING_TAG" --repo "$REPOSITORY" --pattern latest.json --dir "$workdir"; then
+  fail "promotion upload returned success but latest.json could not be verified; retry the promotion"
+fi
+[[ "$(sha256sum "$promotion" | awk '{print $1}')" == "$candidate_digest" ]] || fail "served latest.json does not match the promoted candidate; retry the promotion"
+{
+  echo "### OSS desktop auto-update promoted"
+  echo "- Version: \`$VERSION\`"
+  echo "- Tag commit: \`$tag_sha\`"
+  echo "- Previous version: \`$current_version\`"
+  echo "- Manifest SHA-256: \`$(sha256sum "$candidate" | awk '{print $1}')\`"
+  echo "- Actor: \`${GITHUB_ACTOR:-unknown}\`"
+  if [[ -n "${GITHUB_SERVER_URL:-}" && -n "${GITHUB_RUN_ID:-}" ]]; then
+    echo "- Workflow: ${GITHUB_SERVER_URL}/${REPOSITORY}/actions/runs/${GITHUB_RUN_ID}"
+  fi
+} >> "${GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY:-/dev/null}"
diff --git a/scripts/test-oss-desktop-promotion-behavior.sh b/scripts/test-oss-desktop-promotion-behavior.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..44cfde11d11
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/test-oss-desktop-promotion-behavior.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+root="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+promoter="$root/scripts/promote-oss-desktop-release.sh"
+tmp="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$tmp"' EXIT
+mkdir "$tmp/bin"
+
+cat > "$tmp/bin/gh" <<'MOCK'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+if [[ "$1 $2" == "release view" ]]; then
+  printf '%s\n' "$MOCK_RELEASE_JSON"
+elif [[ "$1" == api ]]; then
+  [[ "$2" == *commits/desktop-v* ]] && printf '%s\n' "${MOCK_TAG_SHA:-abc123}" || printf '%s\n' "${MOCK_TARGET_SHA:-abc123}"
+elif [[ "$1 $2" == "release download" ]]; then
+  tag="$3"; shift 3; pattern= dir=
+  while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+    case "$1" in --pattern) pattern="$2"; shift 2;; --dir) dir="$2"; shift 2;; *) shift;; esac
+  done
+  if [[ "$tag" == desktop-v* ]]; then
+    cp "$MOCK_CANDIDATE" "$dir/$pattern"
+  else
+    count=0; [[ -f "$MOCK_DOWNLOAD_COUNT" ]] && count="$(cat "$MOCK_DOWNLOAD_COUNT")"
+    count=$((count + 1)); printf '%s' "$count" > "$MOCK_DOWNLOAD_COUNT"
+    source="$MOCK_CURRENT"
+    if [[ "$count" -eq 2 && -n "${MOCK_CURRENT_SECOND:-}" ]]; then
+      source="$MOCK_CURRENT_SECOND"
+    elif [[ "$count" -gt 2 && -n "${MOCK_POST_WRITE:-}" ]]; then
+      source="$MOCK_POST_WRITE"
+    elif [[ "$count" -gt 2 ]]; then
+      source="$MOCK_CANDIDATE"
+    fi
+    cp "$source" "$dir/$pattern"
+  fi
+elif [[ "$1 $2" == "release upload" ]]; then
+  [[ "${MOCK_UPLOAD_FAIL:-false}" != true ]] || exit 1
+  : > "$MOCK_UPLOAD_MARKER"
+else
+  echo "unexpected gh invocation: $*" >&2; exit 70
+fi
+MOCK
+chmod +x "$tmp/bin/gh"
+
+write_manifest() {
+  local file="$1" version="$2" signature="${3-signed}" base_version="${4-$2}"
+  jq -n --arg version "$version" --arg signature "$signature" --arg base "https://github.com/block/buzz/releases/download/desktop-v${base_version}" '{
+    version: $version, notes: ("Buzz v" + $version), pub_date: "2026-08-09T00:00:00Z",
+    platforms: {
+      "darwin-aarch64": {signature: $signature, url: ($base + "/mac-arm.tar.gz")},
+      "darwin-x86_64": {signature: $signature, url: ($base + "/mac-x64.tar.gz")},
+      "linux-x86_64": {signature: $signature, url: ($base + "/linux.AppImage")},
+      "windows-x86_64": {signature: $signature, url: ($base + "/windows.exe")}
+    }
+  }' > "$file"
+}
+
+all_assets='["updater-manifest.json","mac-arm.tar.gz","mac-x64.tar.gz","linux.AppImage","windows.exe"]'
+release_json() {
+  local draft="${1:-false}" prerelease="${2:-false}" asset_json="${3:-$all_assets}"
+  jq -cn --argjson draft "$draft" --argjson prerelease "$prerelease" --argjson assets "$asset_json" \
+    '{isDraft:$draft,isPrerelease:$prerelease,targetCommitish:"abc123",assets:[$assets[]|{name:.}]}'
+}
+
+# run_case name expected-error-or-pass expected-upload candidate current release
+#          [second-current] [post-write] [upload-fail] [tag-sha] [target-sha] [version]
+run_case() {
+  local name="$1" expected="$2" upload="$3" candidate="$4" current="$5" release="$6"
+  local second="${7:-}" post="${8:-}" upload_fail="${9:-false}" tag_sha="${10:-abc123}" target_sha="${11:-abc123}" version="${12:-1.2.3}"
+  local case_dir="$tmp/$name" output status
+  mkdir -p "$case_dir"; : > "$case_dir/count"; rm -f "$case_dir/uploaded"
+  set +e
+  output="$(PATH="$tmp/bin:$PATH" GITHUB_REPOSITORY=block/buzz \
+    MOCK_RELEASE_JSON="$release" MOCK_CANDIDATE="$candidate" MOCK_CURRENT="$current" \
+    MOCK_CURRENT_SECOND="$second" MOCK_POST_WRITE="$post" MOCK_UPLOAD_FAIL="$upload_fail" \
+    MOCK_TAG_SHA="$tag_sha" MOCK_TARGET_SHA="$target_sha" MOCK_DOWNLOAD_COUNT="$case_dir/count" \
+    MOCK_UPLOAD_MARKER="$case_dir/uploaded" GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY="$case_dir/summary" \
+    "$promoter" "$version" 2>&1)"
+  status=$?
+  set -e
+  if [[ "$expected" == pass ]]; then
+    [[ "$status" -eq 0 ]] || { echo "$name expected success: $output" >&2; exit 1; }
+  else
+    [[ "$status" -ne 0 ]] || { echo "$name expected failure" >&2; exit 1; }
+    grep -Fq "$expected" <<<"$output" || { echo "$name missing error '$expected': $output" >&2; exit 1; }
+  fi
+  if [[ "$upload" == yes ]]; then
+    [[ -f "$case_dir/uploaded" ]] || { echo "$name expected upload" >&2; exit 1; }
+  else
+    [[ ! -f "$case_dir/uploaded" ]] || { echo "$name unexpectedly uploaded" >&2; exit 1; }
+  fi
+}
+
+write_manifest "$tmp/candidate.json" 1.2.3
+write_manifest "$tmp/current.json" 1.2.2
+write_manifest "$tmp/newer.json" 1.2.4
+write_manifest "$tmp/raced.json" 1.2.2 changed
+write_manifest "$tmp/same-different.json" 1.2.3 changed
+
+run_case upgrade pass yes "$tmp/candidate.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json)"
+run_case identical-retry pass no "$tmp/candidate.json" "$tmp/candidate.json" "$(release_json)"
+run_case same-version-mismatch 'already promoted with different manifest content' no "$tmp/candidate.json" "$tmp/same-different.json" "$(release_json)"
+run_case downgrade 'refusing downgrade' no "$tmp/candidate.json" "$tmp/newer.json" "$(release_json)"
+run_case stale-manifest 'current promotion changed during validation' no "$tmp/candidate.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json)" "$tmp/raced.json"
+run_case draft 'is still a draft' no "$tmp/candidate.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json true false)"
+run_case prerelease 'is a prerelease' no "$tmp/candidate.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json false true)"
+run_case target-mismatch 'do not resolve to the same commit' no "$tmp/candidate.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json)" '' '' false abc123 different
+run_case malformed-input 'version must be stable semver' no "$tmp/candidate.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json)" '' '' false abc123 abc123 '1.2.3";echo owned'
+
+printf '{not-json' > "$tmp/malformed.json"
+run_case malformed-json 'failed version, platform, signature, or URL validation' no "$tmp/malformed.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json)"
+write_manifest "$tmp/wrong-version.json" 1.2.4
+run_case wrong-version 'failed version, platform, signature, or URL validation' no "$tmp/wrong-version.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json)"
+write_manifest "$tmp/empty-signature.json" 1.2.3 ''
+run_case empty-signature 'failed version, platform, signature, or URL validation' no "$tmp/empty-signature.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json)"
+write_manifest "$tmp/foreign-url.json" 1.2.3 signed 9.9.9
+run_case foreign-url 'failed version, platform, signature, or URL validation' no "$tmp/foreign-url.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json)"
+jq 'del(.platforms."windows-x86_64")' "$tmp/candidate.json" > "$tmp/missing-platform.json"
+run_case missing-platform 'failed version, platform, signature, or URL validation' no "$tmp/missing-platform.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json)"
+jq '.platforms["freebsd-x86_64"] = .platforms["linux-x86_64"]' "$tmp/candidate.json" > "$tmp/extra-platform.json"
+run_case extra-platform 'failed version, platform, signature, or URL validation' no "$tmp/extra-platform.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json)"
+missing_assets='["updater-manifest.json","mac-arm.tar.gz","mac-x64.tar.gz","linux.AppImage"]'
+run_case missing-asset 'references missing release asset' no "$tmp/candidate.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json false false "$missing_assets")"
+run_case upload-failure 'promotion upload failed' no "$tmp/candidate.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json)" '' '' true
+run_case post-write-mismatch 'served latest.json does not match the promoted candidate' yes "$tmp/candidate.json" "$tmp/current.json" "$(release_json)" '' "$tmp/raced.json"
+
+echo "OSS desktop promotion behavior passed"
diff --git a/scripts/test-oss-desktop-promotion.sh b/scripts/test-oss-desktop-promotion.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..391c5341baa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/test-oss-desktop-promotion.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+root="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+workflow="$root/.github/workflows/promote-oss-desktop-release.yml"
+promoter="$root/scripts/promote-oss-desktop-release.sh"
+release="$root/.github/workflows/release.yml"
+
+# Pin the separation contract: tag builds retain the exact candidate but cannot
+# mutate the rolling updater release.
+grep -Fq 'cp latest.json staged/updater-manifest.json' "$release"
+[[ "$(grep -c 'gh release upload' "$release")" -eq 1 ]]
+! grep -Fq 'gh release upload buzz-desktop-latest' "$release"
+
+grep -Fq 'workflow_dispatch:' "$workflow"
+grep -Fq 'group: oss-desktop-auto-update-promotion' "$workflow"
+grep -Fq 'cancel-in-progress: false' "$workflow"
+grep -Fq 'if: github.repository ==' "$workflow"
+grep -Fq 'DISPATCH_REF' "$workflow"
+grep -Fq 'contents: write' "$workflow"
+grep -Fq 'VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}' "$workflow"
+grep -Fq 'scripts/promote-oss-desktop-release.sh "$VERSION"' "$workflow"
+if grep -F 'run:' "$workflow" | grep -Fq '${{ inputs.version }}'; then
+  echo "untrusted workflow input must not be interpolated into run" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+grep -Fq 'refusing downgrade' "$promoter"
+grep -Fq 'current_digest="$(sha256sum "$current"' "$promoter"
+grep -Fq '== "$current_digest"' "$promoter"
+grep -Fq 'updater-manifest.json' "$promoter"
+grep -Fq 'desktop-v" + $version + "/"' "$promoter"
+grep -Fq 'gh release upload "$ROLLING_TAG" "$promotion"' "$promoter"
+grep -Fq 'served latest.json does not match the promoted candidate' "$promoter"
+grep -Fq 'promotion upload failed' "$promoter"
+
+echo "OSS desktop promotion contract passed"
diff --git a/scripts/test-release-ref-contract.sh b/scripts/test-release-ref-contract.sh
index a42f437efd1..962134ab57c 100755
--- a/scripts/test-release-ref-contract.sh
+++ b/scripts/test-release-ref-contract.sh
@@ -152,15 +152,11 @@ grep -Fq "needs.release-macos-x64.result == 'success'" "$release_workflow"
 grep -Fq "needs.release-linux.result == 'success'" "$release_workflow"
 grep -Fq "needs.release-windows.result == 'success'" "$release_workflow"
 grep -Fq "refs/tags/desktop-v{0}" "$release_workflow"
-grep -Fq "if: \${{ !contains(needs.setup.outputs.version, '-') }}" "$release_workflow"
-if grep -Fq "env.already_published != 'true' && !contains(needs.setup.outputs.version, '-')" "$release_workflow"; then
-  echo "rolling updater retry is incorrectly gated by versioned publication state" >&2; exit 1
-fi
 grep -Fq 'group: desktop-release-${{ github.ref }}' "$release_workflow"
 grep -Fq 'cancel-in-progress: false' "$release_workflow"
 grep -Fq 'release artifact basename collision' "$release_workflow"
-[[ "$(grep -c 'gh release upload' "$release_workflow")" -eq 2 ]] || {
-  echo "only the final writer may upload versioned and rolling release assets" >&2; exit 1;
+[[ "$(grep -c 'gh release upload' "$release_workflow")" -eq 1 ]] || {
+  echo "desktop release must only upload versioned release assets" >&2; exit 1;
 }
 grep -Fq 'if: env.already_published' "$release_workflow"
 grep -Fq 'if gh api "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/git/ref/tags/$TAG" --silent 2>/dev/null; then' "$auto_tag"