payload-plugin-newsletter/RELEASE_SYNC.md

Complete newsletter management plugin for Payload CMS with subscriber management, magic link authentication, and email service integration

# Release Sync Status

## Current Situation
- npm has v0.8.0 published (by the GitHub bot)
- Local package.json has been updated to v0.8.0
- Git tag v0.8.0 does NOT exist yet
- CHANGELOG.md has been updated with v0.8.0 changes

## Actions Needed

1. **Commit the version sync**:
   ```bash
   git add package.json CHANGELOG.md
   git commit -m "chore: sync version to v0.8.0

   - Updated package.json to match npm version
   - Added CHANGELOG entries for v0.8.0
   - This version was auto-published by GitHub bot"
   git push
   ```

2. **Create the missing git tag**:
   ```bash
   git tag v0.8.0
   git push origin v0.8.0
   ```

3. **Clean up workflows** (after confirming new workflow works):
   ```bash
   # Archive old workflows
   mkdir -p .github/workflows/_archived
   mv .github/workflows/auto-release.yml .github/workflows/_archived/
   mv .github/workflows/auto-release-improved.yml .github/workflows/_archived/
   mv .github/workflows/publish.yml .github/workflows/_archived/
   mv .github/workflows/release.yml .github/workflows/_archived/
   mv .github/workflows/*.deprecated .github/workflows/_archived/
   mv .github/workflows/*.backup .github/workflows/_archived/
   mv .github/workflows/*.old .github/workflows/_archived/
   
   # Keep only:
   # - ci.yml (for tests)
   # - publish-release.yml (for publishing)
   ```

4. **Update default workflow**:
   - Make sure `publish-release.yml` is the primary release workflow
   - Update any GitHub settings that might reference old workflows

## New Release Process Going Forward

1. Bump version locally: `npm version patch`
2. Update CHANGELOG.md
3. Commit and push
4. CI automatically publishes to npm

## Benefits of New Approach
- No bot commits to pull after releasing
- Local repo always in sync
- Full control over version numbers
- Automatic retry if tests fail initially