fix(release): hotcrm compat gate is advisory in RC pre-mode — unblock the v17 train

Every Release run on main has been red since the v17 breaking window opened
(first the localization-config narrowing, then the #3543 ApiMethod enum
shrink): the live-hotcrm smoke types hotcrm@v2.1.0 (an ObjectStack 14.7
consumer) against the unreleased spec and fails on exactly the removals the
major exists to ship. Because the step sits before changesets/action, the
job dies before the Version Packages PR is even created — while a hotcrm
release migrated off those removals cannot exist until the rc.N artifacts
it would migrate against are published. Deadlock: #3600 entered pre-mode
this morning specifically to cut rc.N pre-releases for downstream
validation, and the gate has blocked every attempt since.

While .changeset/pre.json declares mode:"pre", run the smoke as advisory:
still cloned, still typechecked, outcome reported via ::notice/::warning —
but never failing the job. With pre.json absent or mode:"exit" (the moment
`changeset pre exit` lands) the gate blocks exactly as before, which is
also the moment HOTCRM_REF must be bumped per the step's existing protocol.

All four guard paths simulated locally: pre+fail→0, pre+pass→0,
armed+fail→1, exit-mode+fail→1.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01ECTCrcCdZpCHw5zFSgcmGt

Author: claude

.changeset/release-hotcrm-gate-premode.md

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+---
+
+CI-only: the live-hotcrm backward-compat gate in release.yml is advisory while changesets pre-mode is active, so the RC train can form its Version Packages PR; it re-arms automatically at `changeset pre exit`. Releases nothing.

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -72,14 +72,36 @@ jobs:
         # typecheck + `objectstack validate`. A red here blocks the publish.
         # The deterministic in-repo floor is @objectstack/downstream-contract;
         # this is the live ceiling.
+        #
+        # RC pre-mode amendment (#3600): while .changeset/pre.json says
+        # mode:"pre", the smoke still runs and reports but does NOT block. A
+        # major train exists precisely to ship deliberate surface removals, and
+        # a hotcrm release migrated off them cannot exist until the rc.N
+        # artifacts it would migrate against are published — blocking here
+        # deadlocks the train (observed 2026-07-27: every Release run red on
+        # the v17 window's removals, so the changesets step never even created
+        # the Version Packages PR). The gate re-arms by itself the moment
+        # `changeset pre exit` lands (mode flips / pre.json is consumed) —
+        # exactly when a migrated hotcrm must exist and HOTCRM_REF gets bumped
+        # per the note below.
         env:
           # v2.1.0: hotcrm upgraded to ObjectStack 14.7 (hotcrm#448) and
           # dropped the agent `visibility` field that spec 15 removes as
           # unenforced surface (ADR-0056 D8, #3216).
           # Bump this ref whenever a deliberate spec surface removal ships a
           # matching hotcrm release.
           HOTCRM_REF: v2.1.0
-        run: bash scripts/downstream-smoke.sh
+        run: |
+          if [ "$(jq -r '.mode // empty' .changeset/pre.json 2>/dev/null)" = "pre" ]; then
+            echo "::notice::Changesets pre-mode active — the hotcrm smoke is advisory (reported, non-blocking) until 'changeset pre exit'."
+            if bash scripts/downstream-smoke.sh; then
+              echo "::notice::hotcrm@${HOTCRM_REF} is still compatible with the pre-release train."
+            else
+              echo "::warning::hotcrm@${HOTCRM_REF} is incompatible with the pre-release train — expected for the window's deliberate removals. Ship a migrated hotcrm release and bump HOTCRM_REF before 'changeset pre exit' re-arms this gate."
+            fi
+          else
+            bash scripts/downstream-smoke.sh
+          fi
 
       - name: Create Release Pull Request or Publish to npm
         id: changesets