post-release: open v1.6.8 cycle; flip status + japicmp baseline to v1.6.7

- README release-status: v1.6.7 stable, v1.6.8 in develop, v1.7.0 planned
- CHANGELOG: add v1.6.8 - Planned stub above v1.6.7
- ROADMAP: Transitive dependency cleanup now past tense; v1.6.7 noted as shipped
- pom.xml: japicmp baseline v1.6.6 -> v1.6.7 so next PRs diff against the freshly-cut release
- ci.yml: binary-compat job name + comment align with the new baseline

Follows the same post-release pattern as 6eb4694 (open v1.6.7 cycle
after v1.6.6 cut). The v1.6.8 cycle is tracked in detail in the
private taskboard under docs/private/.

Author: DemchaAV

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ jobs:
         run: ./mvnw -B -ntp test -pl . -P no-poi
 
   binary-compat:
-    name: Binary Compatibility (japicmp vs v1.6.6)
+    name: Binary Compatibility (japicmp vs v1.6.7)
     if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
     needs: architecture-and-documentation-guards
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Compare public API against baseline
         # The `japicmp` profile resolves the prior published jar
-        # (v1.6.6 from Maven Central) and diffs it against the
+        # (v1.6.7 from Maven Central) and diffs it against the
         # freshly-built artifact. Fails the job on any binary-
         # incompatible modification to the public surface. Source-
         # incompatible changes are reported only (phased policy).

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -3,6 +3,18 @@
 All notable changes to GraphCompose are documented here. Versions
 follow semantic versioning; release dates are ISO 8601.
 
+## v1.6.8 — Planned
+
+**CV v2 migration completion + senior-review polish.** Scope being
+assembled — entries are filled in as work lands on `develop`. The
+headline addition is parser-level support for inline markdown links
+(`[label](url)`) so CV/cover-letter authors can render project /
+education entry titles as hyperlinks without changing the existing
+`CvRow` data shape; the rest is small build and code-hygiene
+follow-ups carried over from the v1.6.7 senior review (see
+[ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md) and the private taskboard). No breaking
+changes are planned.
+
 ## v1.6.7 — 2026-06-01
 
 **Transitive dependency cleanup.** v1.6.7 narrows the runtime

README.md

@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@
 </p>
 
 > **Release status** &mdash;
-> 🟢 **Latest stable**: [v1.6.6](https://github.com/DemchaAV/GraphCompose/releases/tag/v1.6.6) (Maven Central debut; zero breaking from v1.6.5)
-> &nbsp;·&nbsp; 🟡 **In develop**: v1.6.7 (dependency cleanup)
+> 🟢 **Latest stable**: [v1.6.7](https://github.com/DemchaAV/GraphCompose/releases/tag/v1.6.7) (transitive dependency cleanup; zero breaking from v1.6.6)
+> &nbsp;·&nbsp; 🟡 **In develop**: v1.6.8 (CV v2 migration completion + senior-review polish)
 > &nbsp;·&nbsp; ⚪ **Planned next**: v1.7.0 (new canonical DSL primitives)
 > &nbsp;·&nbsp; See [API stability policy](./docs/api-stability.md) for tier definitions.
 

ROADMAP.md

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ In flight on `main` / `develop`.
 - v1.6 polish — documentation, examples, visual baselines, fixes.
 - Open-source hygiene — security policy, support guidance, dependency automation, security scanning.
 - **Maven Central distribution** — debuted in v1.6.6 under `io.github.demchaav:graph-compose`. Replaces JitPack as the primary install channel; the JitPack URL stays alive for existing pinned consumers but is no longer documented as a primary option. Shipped per [#7](https://github.com/DemchaAV/GraphCompose/issues/7).
+- **Transitive dependency cleanup** — shipped in v1.6.7. Kotlin stdlib gone (the library is Java-first), `flexmark-all` aggregator narrowed to the three modules actually consumed by `MarkDownParser`, `jackson-dataformat-yaml` marked optional, unused `jackson-module-jsonSchema` + direct `snakeyaml` dropped, `jcl-over-slf4j` made explicit so PDFBox's commons-logging routes through SLF4J without `flexmark-all`'s transitive bridge. Also fixes a layout-cache staleness bug on `DocumentSession.registry().register(...)`. Zero breaking public API changes (japicmp `semver PATCH`).
 
 ## Next (v1.7)
 

pom.xml

@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@
 
         <!-- Binary compatibility baseline (japicmp profile) -->
         <japicmp.version>0.23.1</japicmp.version>
-        <japicmp.baseline>v1.6.6</japicmp.baseline>
+        <japicmp.baseline>v1.6.7</japicmp.baseline>
 
         <!--
             GPG signing — opted in via -Dgpg.skip=false (the publish