release: v0.40.1 [skip ci]

.gitea/workflows/build-images.yml

@@ -10,9 +10,11 @@ name: Build Images
 #   to PyPI, so the image always has the latest released version.
 # - Manually via workflow_dispatch
 #
+# Consolidated into 2 jobs (from 3):
+#   build-and-push (includes release-commit detection) ──→ cleanup
+#
 # The workflow builds 3 tier images in sequence:
 #   ci-base → ci-quality → ci-full
-#
 # Each tier builds FROM the previous one, so they must be built in order.
 # After pushing, a cleanup job removes old versions (keeps last 2 + latest).
 
@@ -28,9 +30,9 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: false
 
 jobs:
-  detect-type:
+  build-and-push:
     runs-on: docker
-    timeout-minutes: 5
+    timeout-minutes: 30
     outputs:
       is-release: ${{ steps.check.outputs.is-release }}
     steps:
@@ -40,7 +42,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up environment
         env:
           CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-        run: make setup-ci
+        run: make setup-release
       - name: Check if this is a release commit
         id: check
         env:
@@ -48,25 +50,12 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           . .venv/bin/activate
           python3 -m devx.ci.detect_release_commit
-
-  build-and-push:
-    needs: [detect-type]
-    if: >-
-      needs.detect-type.outputs.is-release == 'false' && (
-        github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' ||
-        (github.event_name == 'workflow_run' && github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success')
-      )
-    runs-on: docker
-    timeout-minutes: 30
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: Set up environment
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-        run: make setup-release
       - name: Docker registry login
+        if: >-
+          steps.check.outputs.is-release == 'false' && (
+            github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' ||
+            (github.event_name == 'workflow_run' && github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success')
+          )
         env:
           CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
           CI_GITEA_USERNAME: ${{ vars.CI_GITEA_USERNAME }}
@@ -78,6 +67,11 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$_TOKEN" ]; then echo "Gitea API token not set — skipping Docker login"; exit 1; fi
           echo "$_TOKEN" | docker login git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi -u "$CI_GITEA_USERNAME" --password-stdin
       - name: Build and push tier images
+        if: >-
+          steps.check.outputs.is-release == 'false' && (
+            github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' ||
+            (github.event_name == 'workflow_run' && github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success')
+          )
         env:
           CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
           CI_GITEA_USERNAME: ${{ vars.CI_GITEA_USERNAME }}
@@ -123,7 +117,7 @@ jobs:
 
   cleanup:
     needs: [build-and-push]
-    if: always() && needs.build-and-push.result == 'success'
+    if: always() && needs.build-and-push.result == 'success' && needs.build-and-push.outputs.is-release == 'false'
     runs-on: docker
     timeout-minutes: 10
     steps:

.gitea/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -5,20 +5,35 @@ on:
     types: [opened, synchronize]
   workflow_dispatch:
 
+env:
+  PIP_BREAK_SYSTEM_PACKAGES: "1"
+  PYTHONPATH: src
+  CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
+  CI_GITEA_USERNAME: ${{ vars.CI_GITEA_USERNAME }}
+
 jobs:
-  quality:
+  # Single validation job that merges: quality, detect-changes,
+  # release-dry-run, pr-review, and pre-merge-check.
+  # Uses ci-full image (has git-cliff for release-dry-run).
+  # Saves ~4x checkout+setup overhead vs 5 separate jobs.
+  validate:
     runs-on: docker
-    container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-quality:latest
+    container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-full:latest
-    timeout-minutes: 10
+    timeout-minutes: 15
     defaults:
       run:
         shell: bash
+    outputs:
+      user-facing-changed: ${{ steps.detect.outputs.user-facing-changed }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
       - name: Set up environment
         env:
           CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
         run: make setup-image
+      # --- quality steps ---
       - name: Lint all
         run: |
           . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
@@ -29,14 +44,11 @@ jobs:
           . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
           make pytest-cov
       - name: Check unit test speed
-        env:
-          PYTHONPATH: src
         run: |
           . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
           python3 -m devx.tools.check_test_speed --max-seconds 6 --max-single-seconds 0.5
       - name: Documentation gate (coverage + stale refs + lint + version refs + prose)
         env:
-          PYTHONPATH: src
           DEVX_DOC_COVERAGE_STRICT: "1"
           DEVX_VALE_LEVEL: warning
         run: |
@@ -44,8 +56,6 @@ jobs:
           export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
           make devx-docs-check
       - name: Translation completeness check
-        env:
-          PYTHONPATH: src
         run: |
           . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
           python3 -m devx.ci.check_translations
@@ -66,97 +76,69 @@ jobs:
           else
             echo "act_runner not found — skipping workflow dry-run (static lint still passed)"
           fi
-
+      # --- detect-changes step ---
-  detect-changes:
-    runs-on: docker
-    container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-base:latest
-    timeout-minutes: 10
-    defaults:
-      run:
-        shell: bash
-    outputs:
-      user-facing-changed: ${{ steps.detect.outputs.user-facing-changed }}
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: Set up environment
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-        run: make setup-image
       - name: Detect changed paths
         id: detect
-        env:
-          PYTHONPATH: src
         run: |
           . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
           python3 -m devx.ci.classify_changes \
             --base "origin/master" \
             --head "${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha || github.sha }}" \
             --github-output
-
+      # --- validate-pr + pr-review steps (PR only) ---
-  release-dry-run:
+      - name: Validate auto-merge preconditions
-    needs: [quality, detect-changes]
+        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
-    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.user-facing-changed == 'true'
-    runs-on: docker
-    container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-full:latest
-    timeout-minutes: 10
-    defaults:
-      run:
-        shell: bash
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: Set up environment
         env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
+          VIKUNJA_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.VIKUNJA_TOKEN }}
-        run: make setup-image
+          DEVX_VIKUNJA_PROJECT_ID: "8"
+          HEAD_REF: ${{ github.head_ref }}
+          PR_TITLE: ${{ github.event.pull_request.title }}
+          REPOSITORY: ${{ github.repository }}
+          PR_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.number }}
+        run: |
+          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
+          python3 -m devx.ci.check_auto_merge_ready \
+            --branch "$HEAD_REF" \
+            --pr-title "$PR_TITLE" \
+            --repo "$REPOSITORY" \
+            --pr-number "$PR_NUMBER"
+      - name: Run automated PR review
+        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+        run: |
+          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
+          set -euo pipefail
+          python3 -m devx.ci.pr_review \
+            "${{ github.event.number }}" \
+            "${{ github.repository }}"
+      # --- release-dry-run step (conditional) ---
       - name: Release dry-run validation
-        env:
+        if: steps.detect.outputs.user-facing-changed == 'true'
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-          PYTHONPATH: src
         run: |
           . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
           export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
           python3 -m devx.ci.release --dry-run
-
+      - name: Notify on failure
-  pr-review:
+        if: failure()
-    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
-    runs-on: docker
-    container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-base:latest
-    timeout-minutes: 10
-    defaults:
-      run:
-        shell: bash
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: Set up environment
         env:
           CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-        run: make setup-image
-      - name: Run automated PR review
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-          PYTHONPATH: src
         run: |
-          set -euo pipefail
           . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
-          python3 -m devx.ci.pr_review \
+          export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
-            "${{ github.event.number }}" \
+          python3 -m devx.ci.notify_failure \
-            "${{ github.repository }}"
+            --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
+            --run-id "${{ github.run_id }}" \
+            --workflow "ci/validate" \
+            --commit "${{ github.sha }}" \
+            --auto-login
 
   auto-merge:
-    # Auto-merge runs after all CI checks pass. It reads the task ID
+    # Auto-merge runs after validate passes. It reads the task ID
     # from the branch name, validates the PR title, and squash-merges.
-    # Uses always() so it runs even when detect-changes skips (no user-facing changes).
+    needs: [validate]
-    needs: [quality, detect-changes, pr-review, release-dry-run]
     if: >-
       always() &&
       github.event_name == 'pull_request' &&
-      needs.quality.result == 'success' &&
+      needs.validate.result == 'success'
-      needs.pr-review.result == 'success' &&
-      (needs.release-dry-run.result == 'success' || needs.release-dry-run.result == 'skipped')
     runs-on: docker
     container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-base:latest
     timeout-minutes: 10
@@ -175,9 +157,9 @@ jobs:
       - name: Post approval review
         env:
           REVIEWER_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.REVIEWER_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
+          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
           PR_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.number }}
           REPOSITORY: ${{ github.repository }}
-          PYTHONPATH: src
         run: |
           . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
           python3 -m devx.ci.pr_review \
@@ -186,13 +168,12 @@ jobs:
             --event APPROVE \
             --checklist-confirmed \
             --checklist-categories 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13 \
-            --body "Auto-approved: all CI checks passed (quality, pr-review, release-dry-run)."
+            --body "Auto-approved: all CI checks passed (validate job)."
       - name: Squash merge with task ID
         env:
           CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
           VIKUNJA_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.VIKUNJA_TOKEN }}
           DEVX_VIKUNJA_PROJECT_ID: "8"
-          PYTHONPATH: src
           HEAD_REF: ${{ github.head_ref }}
           PR_TITLE: ${{ github.event.pull_request.title }}
           REPOSITORY: ${{ github.repository }}

.gitea/workflows/post-merge.yml

@@ -1,39 +1,39 @@
 name: Post-merge
 
-# Runs on every push to master. A single workflow with conditional jobs
+# Runs on every push to master (after CI workflow merges a PR).
-# for release, publish, wiki sync, badges, and Vikunja task updates.
+# Consolidated into 2 jobs (from 7) to reduce runner overhead:
+#   detect-and-configure ──→ release-and-maintain
 #
-# Job dependency graph:
+# Job 1: detect release commit, validate commit msg, configure repo
+#        (branch protection, labels).
+# Job 2: release + publish + sync-wiki + vikunja + badges.
+#        Individual steps are conditional on job 1 outputs.
 #
-#   detect-type ──┬── validate-commit-msg (skip if release commit)
+# The badges step always runs (even on release commits) so version
-#                 ├── release (skip if release commit)
+# badge picks up the new __version__. It runs last so it sees the
-#                 │   └── publish (needs release — builds & publishes to PyPI)
+# new version if release created one.
-#                 ├── badges (needs release — ALWAYS runs, waits for release
-#                 │           so version badge picks up new __version__)
-#                 ├── configure-repo (independent — skip if release commit)
-#                 ├── sync-wiki (skip if release commit — runs for ALL merges)
-#                 └── vikunja (skip if release commit — runs for ALL merges)
-#
-# sync-wiki and vikunja run for ALL non-release commits, not just when
-# release succeeds. This ensures the wiki and task tracker are updated
-# even for infrastructure-only changes (docs, CI config, etc.).
-#
-# The badges job uses `if: always()` and needs `release` so it waits for
-# the release job to complete (whether it ran or was skipped). This ensures
-# the version badge always reflects the latest __version__ on master.
-# Badges run on every push to master, including release commits.
 #
 # When release creates a "release: vX.Y.Z" commit and tag, the publish
-# job (which depends on release) builds and publishes the package to the
+# step builds and publishes the package to the Gitea PyPI registry.
-# Gitea PyPI registry. The release commit's post-merge run still updates
+# The release commit's post-merge run still updates badges. Other
-# badges (version badge picks up the new version). Other jobs skip.
+# steps (sync-wiki, vikunja) skip on release commits.
 
 on:
   push:
     branches: [master]
 
+concurrency:
+  group: post-merge-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
+
+env:
+  PIP_BREAK_SYSTEM_PACKAGES: "1"
+  PYTHONPATH: src
+  CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
+  CI_GITEA_USERNAME: ${{ vars.CI_GITEA_USERNAME }}
+
 jobs:
-  detect-type:
+  detect-and-configure:
     runs-on: docker
     container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-base:latest
     timeout-minutes: 10
@@ -42,184 +42,67 @@ jobs:
         shell: bash
     outputs:
       is-release: ${{ steps.check.outputs.is-release }}
+      is-automated: ${{ steps.check.outputs.is-automated }}
+      user-facing-changed: ${{ steps.detect.outputs.user-facing-changed }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
-          fetch-depth: 1
+          fetch-depth: 0
       - name: Set up environment
         env:
           CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
         run: make setup-image
+      - name: Ensure branch protection and labels
+        env:
+          DEVX_REPO_NAME: devx
+          DEVX_REPO_OWNER: oblachno-oss
+          DEVX_STATUS_CHECKS: "CI / validate (pull_request)"
+        run: |
+          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
+          python3 -m devx.tools.configure_repo
       - name: Check if this is a release commit
         id: check
-        env:
-          PYTHONPATH: src
         run: |
           . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
           python3 -m devx.ci.detect_release_commit
-
-  validate-commit-msg:
-    needs: [detect-type]
-    if: needs.detect-type.outputs.is-release == 'false'
-    runs-on: docker
-    container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-base:latest
-    timeout-minutes: 5
-    defaults:
-      run:
-        shell: bash
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 1
-      - name: Set up environment
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-        run: make setup-image
       - name: Validate latest commit message
-        env:
+        if: steps.check.outputs.is-automated == 'false'
-          PYTHONPATH: src
         run: |
           . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
           git log -1 --format=%B > commit-msg.txt
           python3 -m devx.ci.validate_commit_msg commit-msg.txt --branch master
           rm -f commit-msg.txt
+      - name: Detect changed paths
+        id: detect
+        if: steps.check.outputs.is-release == 'false'
+        run: |
+          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
+          python3 -m devx.ci.classify_changes \
+            --base "HEAD~1" \
+            --head "HEAD" \
+            --github-output
+      - name: Notify on failure
+        if: failure()
+        env:
+          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
+          export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
+          python3 -m devx.ci.notify_failure \
+            --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
+            --run-id "${{ github.run_id }}" \
+            --workflow "post-merge/detect-and-configure" \
+            --commit "${{ github.sha }}" \
+            --auto-login
 
-  release:
+  release-and-maintain:
-    needs: [detect-type]
+    needs: [detect-and-configure]
-    if: needs.detect-type.outputs.is-release == 'false'
+    if: always() && needs.detect-and-configure.result == 'success'
     runs-on: docker
     container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-full:latest
     timeout-minutes: 15
-    defaults:
-      run:
-        shell: bash
     outputs:
       tag: ${{ steps.release-tag.outputs.tag }}
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
-          token: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-      - name: Set up environment
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-        run: make setup-image
-      - name: Configure git
-        run: |
-          git config user.name "devx-ci-bot"
-          git config user.email "devx-ci-bot@oblachno.fyi"
-      - name: Run release
-        id: release-tag
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-          PYTHONPATH: src
-        run: |
-          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
-          export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
-          python3 -m devx.ci.release
-      - name: Notify on failure
-        if: failure()
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-          PYTHONPATH: src
-        run: |
-          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
-          export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
-          python3 -m devx.ci.notify_failure \
-            --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
-            --run-id "${{ github.run_id }}" \
-            --workflow "post-merge/release" \
-            --commit "${{ github.sha }}" \
-            --auto-login
-
-  publish:
-    needs: [release]
-    if: needs.release.outputs.tag != ''
-    runs-on: docker
-    container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-full:latest
-    timeout-minutes: 10
-    defaults:
-      run:
-        shell: bash
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
-          ref: ${{ needs.release.outputs.tag }}
-      - name: Set up environment
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-        run: make setup-image EXTRAS=release
-      - name: Build and publish release
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-          PYTHONPATH: src
-        run: |
-          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
-          export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
-          python3 -m devx.ci.publish "${{ needs.release.outputs.tag }}" "${{ github.repository }}" --auto-login
-      - name: Notify on failure
-        if: failure()
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-          PYTHONPATH: src
-        run: |
-          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
-          export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
-          python3 -m devx.ci.notify_failure \
-            --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
-            --run-id "${{ github.run_id }}" \
-            --workflow "post-merge/publish" \
-            --commit "${{ github.sha }}" \
-            --auto-login
-
-  sync-wiki:
-    needs: [detect-type]
-    if: needs.detect-type.outputs.is-release == 'false'
-    runs-on: docker
-    container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-base:latest
-    timeout-minutes: 15
-    concurrency:
-      group: sync-wiki-${{ github.repository }}
-      cancel-in-progress: false
-    defaults:
-      run:
-        shell: bash
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: Set up environment
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-        run: make setup-image
-      - name: Sync documentation to wiki
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-          PYTHONPATH: src
-        run: |
-          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
-          python3 -m devx.ci.sync_wiki --repo "${{ github.repository }}" --verify
-      - name: Notify on failure
-        if: failure()
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-          PYTHONPATH: src
-        run: |
-          export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
-          python3 -m devx.ci.notify_failure \
-            --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
-            --run-id "${{ github.run_id }}" \
-            --workflow "post-merge/sync-wiki" \
-            --commit "${{ github.sha }}" \
-            --auto-login
-
-  badges:
-    needs: [detect-type, release]
-    if: always()
-    runs-on: docker
-    container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-quality:latest
-    timeout-minutes: 10
     defaults:
       run:
         shell: bash
@@ -229,108 +112,72 @@ jobs:
           fetch-depth: 0
           ref: master
           token: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-      - name: Fetch latest master
-        run: |
-          git fetch origin master
-          git reset --hard origin/master
       - name: Set up environment
         env:
           CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-        run: make setup-image
+        run: make setup-image EXTRAS=release
+      - name: Configure git
+        run: |
+          git config user.name "devx-ci-bot"
+          git config user.email "devx-ci-bot@oblachno.fyi"
+      # --- release + publish (only if user-facing changes, not a release commit) ---
+      - name: Run release
+        id: release-tag
+        if: needs.detect-and-configure.outputs.is-release == 'false' && needs.detect-and-configure.outputs.user-facing-changed == 'true'
+        env:
+          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
+          export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
+          python3 -m devx.ci.release
+      - name: Build and publish release
+        if: steps.release-tag.outputs.tag != ''
+        env:
+          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
+          export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
+          git fetch --tags
+          git checkout "${{ steps.release-tag.outputs.tag }}"
+          python3 -m devx.ci.publish "${{ steps.release-tag.outputs.tag }}" "${{ github.repository }}" --auto-login
+      # --- sync-wiki + vikunja (skip on automated/release commits) ---
+      - name: Sync documentation to wiki
+        if: needs.detect-and-configure.outputs.is-automated == 'false'
+        env:
+          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
+          python3 -m devx.ci.sync_wiki --repo "${{ github.repository }}" --verify
+      - name: Update Vikunja task
+        if: needs.detect-and-configure.outputs.is-automated == 'false'
+        env:
+          VIKUNJA_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.VIKUNJA_TOKEN }}
+          DEVX_VIKUNJA_PROJECT_ID: "8"
+        run: |
+          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
+          python3 -m devx.ci.post_merge --git-sha "${{ github.sha }}"
+      # --- badges (always run — even on release commits) ---
       - name: Generate and push badges
         env:
           CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
           PRE_COMMIT_ALLOW_NO_CONFIG: "1"
         run: |
           . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
+          export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
+          # Fetch latest master to pick up any release commit that was pushed
+          git fetch origin master
+          git reset --hard origin/master
           python3 -m devx.ci.push_badges
       - name: Notify on failure
         if: failure()
         env:
           CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-          PYTHONPATH: src
-        run: |
-          export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
-          python3 -m devx.ci.notify_failure \
-            --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
-            --run-id "${{ github.run_id }}" \
-            --workflow "post-merge/badges" \
-            --commit "${{ github.sha }}" \
-            --auto-login
-
-  vikunja:
-    needs: [detect-type]
-    if: needs.detect-type.outputs.is-release == 'false'
-    runs-on: docker
-    container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-base:latest
-    timeout-minutes: 10
-    defaults:
-      run:
-        shell: bash
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: Set up environment
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-        run: make setup-image
-      - name: Update Vikunja task
-        env:
-          VIKUNJA_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.VIKUNJA_TOKEN }}
-          DEVX_VIKUNJA_PROJECT_ID: "8"
-          PYTHONPATH: src
         run: |
           . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
-          python3 -m devx.ci.post_merge --git-sha "${{ github.sha }}"
-      - name: Notify on failure
-        if: failure()
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-          PYTHONPATH: src
-        run: |
           export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
           python3 -m devx.ci.notify_failure \
             --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
             --run-id "${{ github.run_id }}" \
-            --workflow "post-merge/vikunja" \
+            --workflow "post-merge/release-and-maintain" \
-            --commit "${{ github.sha }}" \
-            --auto-login
-
-  configure-repo:
-    needs: [detect-type]
-    if: needs.detect-type.outputs.is-release == 'false'
-    runs-on: docker
-    container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-base:latest
-    timeout-minutes: 10
-    defaults:
-      run:
-        shell: bash
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: Set up environment
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-        run: make setup-image
-      - name: Ensure branch protection and labels
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-          PYTHONPATH: src
-          DEVX_REPO_NAME: devx
-          DEVX_REPO_OWNER: oblachno-oss
-        run: |
-          . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
-          python3 -m devx.tools.configure_repo
-      - name: Notify on failure
-        if: failure()
-        env:
-          CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN }}
-          PYTHONPATH: src
-        run: |
-          export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
-          python3 -m devx.ci.notify_failure \
-            --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
-            --run-id "${{ github.run_id }}" \
-            --workflow "post-merge/configure-repo" \
             --commit "${{ github.sha }}" \
             --auto-login

AGENTS.md

@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ Workflow YAML files (`.gitea/workflows/*.yml`) are verified with two tools:
 
 Both run via `make workflow-check` and are part of `make lint-all`.
 The pre-commit hook runs actionlint automatically when workflow files change.
-The CI `quality` job runs `make setup-quality` then `make lint-all`.
+The CI `validate` job runs `make setup-image` then `make lint-all`.
 CI also runs a best-effort `make workflow-dryrun` step (skipped if act_runner is not installed in the CI Docker image).
 
 ## Architecture
@@ -148,13 +148,13 @@ Every change to master goes through this workflow. No exceptions.
 ### Branch Protection (Required Gitea Settings)
 
 Branch protection and labels are automatically configured by
-`python -m devx.tools.configure_repo`, which runs as a `configure-repo` job in
+`python -m devx.tools.configure_repo`, which runs as a step in the
-the post-merge workflow on every push to master.
+`detect-and-configure` job in the post-merge workflow on every push to master.
 
 The following rules are enforced for `master`:
 - **Require pull request**: No direct pushes to master
 - **Require approval review**: At least 1 `APPROVE` review before merge
-- **Require status checks**: CI quality must pass
+- **Require status checks**: CI validate must pass
 - **Block force pushes**: No history rewriting on master
 
 ### 1. Create Vikunja Task
@@ -192,8 +192,9 @@ docs: update README
 
 ### 6. Review the PR
 
-**Automated review (CI `pr-review` job):** Every PR triggers an automated
+**Automated review (CI `validate` job):** Every PR triggers an automated
-review via `python -m devx.ci.pr_review`. This job posts a review with
+review via `python -m devx.ci.pr_review` as a step in the `validate` job.
+This posts a review with
 `COMMENT` (no issues) or `REQUEST_CHANGES` (issues found):
 
 - Architecture compliance (no subprocess in CLI, no hardcoded URLs)
@@ -216,7 +217,7 @@ Once all checklist items are verified and comments are addressed, approve
 the PR. Then add the `ready-to-merge` label. The auto-merge workflow will:
 1. **Validate** PR title format (`DEVX-N: <vikunja task title>`) and match against Vikunja task title
 2. **Check** that at least one substantive APPROVE review exists
-3. Wait for all CI checks to pass (including the `pr-review` job)
+3. Wait for all CI checks to pass (including the `validate` job)
 4. Squash-merge with title: `DEVX-N: <conventional commit message>`
 5. The post-merge workflow marks the Vikunja task as done
 6. The release workflow automatically versions, tags, and publishes
@@ -227,36 +228,27 @@ the PR. Then add the `ready-to-merge` label. The auto-merge workflow will:
 ### Automated Release Pipeline
 
 After a PR is merged to master, the **post-merge workflow**
-(`.gitea/workflows/post-merge.yml`) runs automatically:
+(`.gitea/workflows/post-merge.yml`) runs automatically. Consolidated
+into 2 jobs (from 7) to reduce runner overhead:
 
-1. **detect-type** — Checks if the commit is a regular merge or a
+1. **detect-and-configure** — Configures repo (branch protection, labels),
-   release commit (`release: vX.Y.Z`). All subsequent jobs skip for
+   detects release commit, validates commit message. Outputs `is-release`
-   release commits (except badges).
+   and `is-automated` for the next job.
 
-2. **release** — Runs `python -m devx.ci.release` which:
+2. **release-and-maintain** — Runs all post-merge maintenance as
-   - Checks for user-facing changes via `python -m devx.ci.classify_changes`
+   conditional steps:
-   - Uses **git-cliff** to calculate the next semver version from conventional commits
+   - **release** (if not a release commit) — Runs `python -m devx.ci.release`
-   - Updates `__version__` in `src/devx/__init__.py` (single source of truth)
+     which checks for user-facing changes via `classify_changes`, uses
-   - Updates `CHANGELOG.md` with the new version section
+     git-cliff for semver, updates `__version__`, updates `CHANGELOG.md`,
-   - Runs `make lint-ruff` and `make pytest-cov` to verify the release is healthy
+     runs lint+tests, commits with `release: vX.Y.Z [skip ci]`, creates
-   - Commits with `release: vX.Y.Z [skip ci]` prefix
+     annotated tag, pushes to master.
-   - Creates an annotated tag `vX.Y.Z` on the release commit
+   - **publish** (if release created a tag) — Builds and publishes the
-   - Pushes both the commit and tag to master
+     package to the Gitea PyPI registry. Checks out the release tag
-
+     within the same job.
-3. **sync-wiki** — Syncs documentation to the Gitea wiki. Runs for ALL
+   - **sync-wiki** (if not automated) — Syncs documentation to the Gitea wiki.
-   non-release commits (not only when release succeeds), so docs-only
+   - **vikunja** (if not automated) — Marks the corresponding Vikunja task as done.
-   changes still update the wiki.
+   - **badges** (always) — Generates and pushes quality badge SVGs to the
-
+     `badges` branch. Fetches latest master first to pick up release commits.
-4. **badges** — Generates and pushes quality badge SVGs to the `badges` branch.
-   Uses `if: always()` so it runs on every push, including release commits.
-
-5. **vikunja** — Marks the corresponding Vikunja task as done. Runs for ALL
-   non-release commits (not only when release succeeds), so infrastructure-only
-   changes still update the task tracker.
-
-6. **publish** — Runs after release succeeds (needs: release). Builds and
-   publishes the package to the Gitea PyPI registry. Gets the tag from the
-   release job's `tag` output (written via `GITHUB_OUTPUT`).
 
 ### Smart CI: User-Facing vs Workflow-Only Changes
 
@@ -362,12 +354,11 @@ dependency is skipped, even if the condition explicitly allows
 
 ```yaml
 auto-merge:
-  needs: [quality, detect-changes, pr-review, molecule-tests]
+  needs: [validate, molecule-tests]
   if: >-
     always() &&
     github.event_name == 'pull_request' &&
-    needs.quality.result == 'success' &&
+    needs.validate.result == 'success' &&
-    needs.pr-review.result == 'success' &&
     (needs.molecule-tests.result == 'success' || needs.molecule-tests.result == 'skipped')
 ```
 
@@ -505,9 +496,9 @@ to eliminate the 40-120s setup tax on every CI job:
 
 | Image | Contains | Used by jobs |
 |-------|----------|-------------|
-| `ci-base-latest` | Python 3.12 + devx[ci] + tea | detect-changes, detect-type, validate-commit-msg, pr-review, auto-merge, sync-wiki, vikunja, configure-repo |
+| `ci-base-latest` | Python 3.12 + devx[ci] + tea | auto-merge, detect-and-configure |
-| `ci-quality-latest` | ci-base + devx[lint] + actionlint + checkmake + hadolint | quality, badges |
+| `ci-quality-latest` | ci-base + devx[lint] + actionlint + checkmake + hadolint | (badges in release-and-maintain uses ci-full) |
-| `ci-full-latest` | ci-quality + devx[release,molecule,deploy] + git-cliff + OpenTofu | release, publish, release-dry-run, molecule-tests, deploy jobs |
+| `ci-full-latest` | ci-quality + devx[release,molecule,deploy] + git-cliff + OpenTofu | validate, release-and-maintain, molecule-tests, build-and-push |
 
 **Build process** (in `build-images.yml` workflow):
 1. `ci-base` builds FROM `gitea/runner-images:ubuntu-latest`
@@ -520,9 +511,9 @@ Each image is tagged `latest` and pushed to
 **Using images in workflows**:
 ```yaml
 jobs:
-  quality:
+  validate:
     runs-on: docker
-    container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-quality:latest
+    container: git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/runner-images/ci-full:latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - name: Set up environment
@@ -604,7 +595,7 @@ the user should not need to specify which profile to use.
 
 | Profile | Purpose |
 |---------|---------|
-| `ci-investigator` | Investigate CI failures (quality, release, publish, wiki sync, image build) |
+| `ci-investigator` | Investigate CI failures (validate, release-and-maintain, build-images) |
 | `dep-upgrader` | Python dependency upgrades in pyproject.toml with dep-doc validation |
 | `docker-image-builder` | Build/push/cleanup 3-tier runner images (ci-base, ci-quality, ci-full) |
 | `doc-sync-specialist` | Doc coverage, doc linting, wiki sync integrity |
@@ -614,7 +605,7 @@ the user should not need to specify which profile to use.
 
 | Trigger | Profile | Mode |
 |---------|---------|------|
-| CI run failure (quality, release, publish, sync-wiki, build-images) | `ci-investigator` | Background |
+| CI run failure (validate, release-and-maintain, build-images) | `ci-investigator` | Background |
 | PR ready for review | `pr-reviewer` | Foreground |
 | Dependency upgrade requested | `dep-upgrader` | Background |
 | Docker image build/push needed | `docker-image-builder` | Background |

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,12 @@
 
 All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
+## [0.40.1] - 2026-07-12
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+- Fall back to CI token when reviewer self-approval is rejected
+
 ## [0.40.0] - 2026-07-11
 
 ### Features

README.md

@@ -16,12 +16,12 @@ quality badges.
 
 [![CI](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
 [![License: GPL-3.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-GPL--3.0-blue)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/src/branch/master/LICENSE)
-[![Coverage](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/c9f25c1348d9703783e473e54f9d624879667bbc/coverage.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
+[![Coverage](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/a22225afd192a03120847054053e296b653bb888/coverage.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
-[![Tests](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/c9f25c1348d9703783e473e54f9d624879667bbc/tests.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
+[![Tests](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/a22225afd192a03120847054053e296b653bb888/tests.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
-[![Docs](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/c9f25c1348d9703783e473e54f9d624879667bbc/docs.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/wiki)
+[![Docs](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/a22225afd192a03120847054053e296b653bb888/docs.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/wiki)
-[![Code Quality](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/c9f25c1348d9703783e473e54f9d624879667bbc/quality.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
+[![Code Quality](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/a22225afd192a03120847054053e296b653bb888/quality.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
-[![Version](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/c9f25c1348d9703783e473e54f9d624879667bbc/version.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/releases)
+[![Version](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/a22225afd192a03120847054053e296b653bb888/version.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/releases)
-[![Python](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/c9f25c1348d9703783e473e54f9d624879667bbc/python.svg)](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
+[![Python](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/a22225afd192a03120847054053e296b653bb888/python.svg)](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
 
 ## Why devx?
 
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ extra index and list devx in your dependencies:
 ```toml
 [project]
 dependencies = [
-    "devx>=0.40.0",
+    "devx>=0.40.1",
 ]
 
 [tool.pip]
@@ -101,8 +101,8 @@ pip install -e .
 ```
 
 > **Note:** If your project requires a specific devx version, pin it in
-> `dependencies` (for example, `"devx==0.40.0"`) or use a version constraint
+> `dependencies` (for example, `"devx==0.40.1"`) or use a version constraint
-> (for example, `"devx>=0.40.0,<0.41"`).
+> (for example, `"devx>=0.40.1,<0.41"`).
 
 ### Optional extras
 

docs/index.md

@@ -12,12 +12,12 @@ project to be reusable across all oblachno-oss repositories.
 
 [![CI](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
 [![License: GPL-3.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-GPL--3.0-blue)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/src/branch/master/LICENSE)
-[![Coverage](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/c9f25c1348d9703783e473e54f9d624879667bbc/coverage.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
+[![Coverage](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/a22225afd192a03120847054053e296b653bb888/coverage.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
-[![Tests](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/c9f25c1348d9703783e473e54f9d624879667bbc/tests.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
+[![Tests](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/a22225afd192a03120847054053e296b653bb888/tests.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
-[![Docs](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/c9f25c1348d9703783e473e54f9d624879667bbc/docs.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/wiki)
+[![Docs](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/a22225afd192a03120847054053e296b653bb888/docs.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/wiki)
-[![Code Quality](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/c9f25c1348d9703783e473e54f9d624879667bbc/quality.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
+[![Code Quality](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/a22225afd192a03120847054053e296b653bb888/quality.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
-[![Version](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/c9f25c1348d9703783e473e54f9d624879667bbc/version.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/releases)
+[![Version](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/a22225afd192a03120847054053e296b653bb888/version.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/releases)
-[![Python](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/c9f25c1348d9703783e473e54f9d624879667bbc/python.svg)](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
+[![Python](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/a22225afd192a03120847054053e296b653bb888/python.svg)](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
 
 ## Overview
 
@@ -74,14 +74,14 @@ Add devx to your `pyproject.toml` dependencies and configure the registry:
 ```toml
 [project]
 dependencies = [
-    "devx>=0.40.0",
+    "devx>=0.40.1",
 ]
 
 [tool.pip]
 extra-index-url = "https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/api/packages/oblachno-oss/pypi/simple"
 ```
 
-Pin a specific version if needed: `"devx==0.40.0"` or `"devx>=0.40.0,<0.41"`.
+Pin a specific version if needed: `"devx==0.40.1"` or `"devx>=0.40.1,<0.41"`.
 
 ### Optional extras
 

docs/tech/architecture.md

@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ Configures repository branch protection and labels via the Gitea REST API.
 Sets up master branch protection (required status checks, block on rejected
 reviews, block on outdated branch) and creates standard labels. Status check
 contexts are read from `DEVX_STATUS_CHECKS` or default to
-`CI / quality (pull_request)`.
+`CI / validate (pull_request)`.
 
 ### `generate_badges.py`
 
@@ -456,13 +456,14 @@ Developer pushes and creates PR (title: "DEVX-N: <vikunja task title>")
     ▼
 CI workflow (ci.yml) triggers:
     │
-    ├── quality (lint, tests, coverage, test speed, doc coverage,
+    ├── validate (single job: quality + detect-changes +
-    │            translation check, dependency scan, workflow dry-run)
+    │            release-dry-run + pr-review + pre-merge validation)
-    │
+    │       ├── quality steps (lint, tests, coverage, test speed, doc coverage,
-    ├── detect-changes (classify_changes.py → user-facing or workflow-only)
+    │       │                 translation check, dependency scan, workflow dry-run)
-    │       └── if user-facing → release-dry-run (release.py --dry-run)
+    │       ├── detect-changes (classify_changes.py → user-facing or workflow-only)
-    │
+    │       │       └── if user-facing → release-dry-run (release.py --dry-run)
-    ├── pr-review (pr_review.py → posts COMMENT or REQUEST_CHANGES)
+    │       ├── pre-merge validation (check_auto_merge_ready.py)
+    │       └── pr-review (pr_review.py → posts COMMENT or REQUEST_CHANGES)
     │
     └── auto-merge (auto_merge.py)
             ├── validate PR title format
@@ -483,50 +484,54 @@ Push to master (squash-merge commit: "DEVX-N <conventional commit>")
     ▼
 Post-merge workflow (post-merge.yml) triggers:
     │
-    ├── detect-type (detect_release_commit.py)
+    ├── detect-and-configure (single job)
-    │       └── is-release? → skip all jobs except badges
+    │       ├── configure-repo (configure_repo.py)
+    │       ├── detect-type (detect_release_commit.py)
+    │       │       └── is-release? → skip all steps except badges
+    │       └── validate-commit-msg (validate_commit_msg.py --branch master)
     │
-    ├── validate-commit-msg (validate_commit_msg.py --branch master)
+    └── release-and-maintain (needs detect-and-configure)
-    │
+            ├── release (release.py) [skip if release commit or workflow-only]
-    ├── release (release.py)
+            │       ├── classify_changes.py → skip if workflow-only
-    │       ├── classify_changes.py → skip if workflow-only
+            │       ├── git-cliff → calculate next version
-    │       ├── git-cliff → calculate next version
+            │       ├── update __version__ in __init__.py
-    │       ├── update __version__ in __init__.py
+            │       ├── update CHANGELOG.md
-    │       ├── update CHANGELOG.md
+            │       ├── run make lint-ruff && make pytest-cov
-    │       ├── run make lint-ruff && make pytest-cov
+            │       ├── commit "release: vX.Y.Z [skip ci]"
-    │       ├── commit "release: vX.Y.Z [skip ci]"
+            │       ├── create annotated tag vX.Y.Z
-    │       ├── create annotated tag vX.Y.Z
+            │       └── push commit + tag to master
-    │       └── push commit + tag to master
+            │               │
-    │               │
+            │               ▼
-    │               ▼
+            │       publish (publish.py) [if release created a tag]
-    │       Tag push triggers publish workflow (see below)
+            │               ├── build package (python -m build)
-    │
+            │               ├── publish to Gitea PyPI registry (twine upload)
-    ├── sync-wiki (sync_wiki.py --strict)
+            │               │   OR publish to standard PyPI (if PYPI_TOKEN set)
-    │       └── sync docs/ to Gitea wiki with integrity check
+            │               │   OR skip publish (if --skip-build)
-    │
+            │               └── create Gitea release with git-cliff notes
-    ├── badges (push_badges.py) [ALWAYS runs, even on release commits]
+            │
-    │       ├── fetch latest master
+            ├── sync-wiki (sync_wiki.py --strict) [skip if automated]
-    │       ├── generate_badges.py → SVG files
+            │       └── sync docs/ to Gitea wiki with integrity check
-    │       ├── push to orphan badges branch
+            │
-    │       └── update README.md + docs/index.md with cache-busting URLs
+            ├── vikunja (post_merge.py) [skip if automated]
-    │
+            │       ├── extract task ID from commit message
-    ├── vikunja (post_merge.py)
+            │       ├── mark Vikunja task as done
-    │       ├── extract task ID from commit message
+            │       └── post comment with merge SHA
-    │       ├── mark Vikunja task as done
+            │
-    │       └── post comment with merge SHA
+            └── badges (push_badges.py) [ALWAYS runs, even on release commits]
-    │
+                    ├── fetch latest master
-    └── configure-repo (configure_repo.py)
+                    ├── generate_badges.py → SVG files
-            └── ensure branch protection and labels
+                    ├── push to orphan badges branch
+                    └── update README.md + docs/index.md with cache-busting URLs
 ```
 
 ### Publish flow
 
 ```text
-Tag push (vX.Y.Z) triggers publish workflow (publish.yml):
+Within release-and-maintain job (after release step creates a tag):
     │
-    ▼
     ├── install build, twine, git-cliff, tea
     ├── configure tea login
+    ├── checkout release tag
     │
     └── publish (publish.py)
             ├── build package (python -m build)

docs/tech/ci-cd-workflow.md

@@ -1,32 +1,29 @@
 # CI/CD Workflow
 
-devx uses Gitea Actions for CI/CD automation. Three workflows implement a
+devx uses Gitea Actions for CI/CD automation. Two workflows implement a
-complete pipeline: pull request validation, post-merge release automation, and
+complete pipeline: pull request validation and post-merge release
-tag-triggered publishing.
+automation (including publishing).
 
 ## Workflow overview
 
 ```text
 PR opened/synchronized ──► CI (ci.yml)
-    │                         ├── quality
+    │                         ├── validate (quality + detect-changes +
-    │                         ├── detect-changes
+    │                         │              release-dry-run + pr-review +
-    │                         ├── release-dry-run (if user-facing)
+    │                         │              pre-merge validation)
-    │                         ├── pr-review
     │                         └── auto-merge ──► squash-merge to master
     │                                              │
     ▼                                              ▼
 Push to master ──► Post-merge (post-merge.yml)
-                     ├── detect-type
+                     ├── detect-and-configure (detect-type +
-                     ├── validate-commit-msg
+                     │                          validate-commit-msg +
-                     ├── release ──► tag vX.Y.Z
+                     │                          configure-repo)
-                     ├── sync-wiki        │
+                     └── release-and-maintain
-                     ├── badges           │
+                          ├── release ──► tag vX.Y.Z
-                     ├── vikunja          │
+                          ├── publish ──► Gitea PyPI registry + Gitea release
-                     └── configure-repo   │
+                          ├── sync-wiki
-                                          │
+                          ├── vikunja
-                                          ▼
+                          └── badges (always runs)
-Tag push (v*) ──► Publish (publish.yml)
-                     └── publish ──► Gitea PyPI registry + Gitea release
 ```
 
 ## CI workflow (`ci.yml`)
@@ -35,9 +32,15 @@ Runs on pull requests (opened and synchronize) and manual dispatch.
 
 ### Jobs
 
-#### `quality`
+#### `validate`
 
-The main quality gate. Runs on every PR:
+The single validation job. Consolidates the former `quality`,
+`detect-changes`, `release-dry-run`, `pr-review`, and `pre-merge-check`
+jobs into one job to save checkout+setup overhead. Runs on every PR.
+
+**Quality steps**
+
+The main quality gate:
 
 1. **Lint all** — ruff check, ruff format check, pyright, bandit, actionlint
    (via `make lint-all`)
@@ -52,21 +55,21 @@ The main quality gate. Runs on every PR:
 7. **Workflow dry-run validation** — `make workflow-dryrun` via act_runner
    (best-effort, skipped if act_runner is not installed)
 
-#### `detect-changes`
+**`detect-changes` step**
 
 Classifies changes between `origin/master` and the PR head as user-facing or
 workflow-only using `python -m devx.ci.classify_changes --github-output`.
 Writes `user-facing-changed=true|false` to the job output for use by
-downstream jobs.
+downstream steps.
 
-#### `release-dry-run`
+**`release-dry-run` step**
 
-Depends on `quality` and `detect-changes`. Only runs if user-facing changes
+Only runs if the detect-changes step detected user-facing changes. Runs
-are detected. Runs `python -m devx.ci.release --dry-run` to validate that
+`python -m devx.ci.release --dry-run` to validate that the release script
-the release script can calculate the next version and generate the changelog
+can calculate the next version and generate the changelog without making
-without making changes. Non-blocking (uses `|| true`).
+changes. Non-blocking (uses `|| true`).
 
-#### `pr-review`
+**`pr-review` step**
 
 Runs on every pull request. Executes `python -m devx.ci.pr_review` with the
 PR number and repository. Fetches the PR diff via the Gitea API and runs
@@ -87,11 +90,24 @@ Checks performed:
 7. Test coverage — source changes must include test updates
 8. Commit conventions — conventional commit format on PR commits
 
+**Pre-merge validation step**
+
+Runs on every pull request. Executes
+`python -m devx.ci.check_auto_merge_ready` with the branch name, PR title,
+repository, and PR number. Validates auto-merge preconditions before the
+`auto-merge` job runs:
+
+1. **Branch name** — must contain a valid task ID (for example,
+   `DEVX-12-fix-foo` → `DEVX-12`)
+2. **PR title format** — must be `{PREFIX}-N: <vikunja task title>`
+3. **Vikunja task** — must exist and the title must match the PR title
+4. **Branch state** — must not be behind master
+
 #### `auto-merge`
 
-Depends on `quality`, `detect-changes`, and `pr-review`. The final job in the
+Depends on `validate`. The final job in the CI workflow. Runs
-CI workflow. Runs `python -m devx.ci.auto_merge` with the branch name, PR
+`python -m devx.ci.auto_merge` with the branch name, PR title, repository,
-title, repository, and PR number:
+and PR number:
 
 1. **Read task ID** from branch name (for example, `DEVX-12-fix-foo` → `DEVX-12`)
 2. **Validate PR title format** — must be `{PREFIX}-N: <vikunja task title>`
@@ -107,8 +123,9 @@ The merge commit push to master triggers the post-merge workflow.
 
 ### Smart CI: user-facing vs workflow-only changes
 
-Not all changes require a new release. The `detect-changes` job classifies
+Not all changes require a new release. The `detect-changes` step in the
-changes using `python -m devx.ci.classify_changes`:
+`validate` job classifies changes using
+`python -m devx.ci.classify_changes`:
 
 **Workflow-only paths** (infrastructure — no release needed):
 - `.gitea/**` — Gitea Actions workflows
@@ -137,55 +154,90 @@ Rule priority (first match wins):
 
 ## Post-merge workflow (`post-merge.yml`)
 
-Runs on every push to master. A single workflow with conditional jobs
+Runs on every push to master. Consolidated into 2 jobs (from 7) to reduce
-replaces separate workflows for release, wiki sync, badges, and Vikunja task
+runner overhead: `detect-and-configure` (detect-type + validate-commit-msg +
-updates.
+configure-repo) and `release-and-maintain` (release + publish + sync-wiki +
+badges + vikunja). Individual steps within `release-and-maintain` are
+conditional on the `detect-and-configure` job's outputs.
 
 ### Job dependency graph
 
 ```text
-detect-type ──┬── validate-commit-msg (skip if release commit)
+detect-and-configure
-              ├── release (skip if release commit)
+    ├── configure-repo (independent, skip if release commit)
-              │       │
+    ├── detect-type → is-release? is-automated?
-              │       ├── sync-wiki (needs release)
+    └── validate-commit-msg (skip if release commit)
-              │       ├── badges (needs release, ALWAYS runs)
+            │
-              │       └── vikunja (needs release)
+            ▼
-              └── configure-repo (independent, skip if release commit)
+release-and-maintain (needs detect-and-configure)
+    ├── release (skip if release commit or workflow-only)
+    │       └── publish (if release created a tag)
+    ├── sync-wiki (skip if automated)
+    ├── vikunja (skip if automated)
+    └── badges (always runs)
 ```
 
-`sync-wiki` and `vikunja` depend on `release` succeeding so that the wiki and
+`sync-wiki` and `vikunja` run only on non-automated commits (that is, real PR
-task tracker are only updated when the code is actually released. If release
+merges) so that the wiki and task tracker are only updated when a human
-fails, they are skipped to avoid leaving the wiki or Vikunja in an
+change lands. They skip on release commits and automated commits.
-inconsistent state.
 
-The `badges` job uses `if: always()` with no is-release condition so it runs
+The `badges` step always runs (even on release commits) so badges (tests,
-on every push to master, including release commits. This ensures badges
+coverage, version, etc.) are always current. It runs last so it picks up
-(tests, coverage, version, etc.) are always current.
+any version bump the release step created.
 
 When `release` creates a `release: vX.Y.Z` commit, the release commit's
 post-merge run still updates badges (the version badge picks up the new
-version). Other jobs skip. The tag push triggers `publish.yml`.
+version). Other steps skip. The `publish` step builds and publishes the
+package to the Gitea PyPI registry within the same `release-and-maintain`
+job (it checks out the release tag).
 
 ### Post-merge jobs
 
-#### `detect-type`
+#### `detect-and-configure`
+
+The first post-merge job. Consolidates the former `detect-type`,
+`validate-commit-msg`, and `configure-repo` jobs. Outputs `is-release`,
+`is-automated`, and `user-facing-changed` for the `release-and-maintain`
+job.
+
+**`detect-type` step**
 
 Checks if the latest commit is a release commit (`release: vX.Y.Z [skip ci]`)
 using `python -m devx.ci.detect_release_commit`. Writes `is-release=true` or
-`is-release=false` to the job output. All subsequent jobs use this to
+`is-release=false` (and `is-automated`) to the job output. The
-conditionally skip for release commits.
+`release-and-maintain` job uses these to conditionally skip steps for
+release commits.
 
-#### `validate-commit-msg`
+**`validate-commit-msg` step**
 
-Depends on `detect-type`. Skips for release commits. Validates the latest
+Skips for release/automated commits. Validates the latest commit message
-commit message using `python -m devx.ci.validate_commit_msg --branch master`.
+using `python -m devx.ci.validate_commit_msg --branch master`. On master,
-On master, commits must follow `{PREFIX}-N: <conventional commit>` format
+commits must follow `{PREFIX}-N: <conventional commit>` format (added by
-(added by auto-merge).
+auto-merge).
 
-#### `release`
+**`configure-repo` step**
 
-Depends on `detect-type`. Skips for release commits. The core release
+Ensures branch protection and labels are configured using
-automation job. Runs `python -m devx.ci.release`:
+`python -m devx.tools.configure_repo --repo <name> --owner <owner>`:
+
+- Sets up master branch protection (required status checks, block on rejected
+  reviews, block on outdated branch)
+- Creates standard labels
+- Status check contexts read from `DEVX_STATUS_CHECKS` or default to
+  `CI / validate (pull_request)`
+
+On failure, the `notify_failure` step creates a Gitea issue.
+
+#### `release-and-maintain`
+
+Depends on `detect-and-configure`. The second post-merge job. Consolidates
+the former `release`, `publish`, `sync-wiki`, `badges`, and `vikunja` jobs.
+Individual steps are conditional on the `detect-and-configure` job's outputs.
+
+**`release` step**
+
+Skips for release commits and workflow-only changes. The core release
+automation step. Runs `python -m devx.ci.release`:
 
 1. **Classify changes** — calls `classify_changes.py` to check for user-facing
    changes. If only infrastructure files changed, exits without releasing.
@@ -225,11 +277,10 @@ tag/version/commit alignment.
 On failure, the `notify_failure` step creates a Gitea issue via
 `python -m devx.ci.notify_failure`.
 
-#### `sync-wiki`
+**`sync-wiki` step**
 
-Depends on `detect-type` and `release`. Skips for release commits. Syncs
+Skips for automated commits. Syncs documentation from `docs/` to the Gitea
-documentation from `docs/` to the Gitea wiki using
+wiki using `python -m devx.ci.sync_wiki --repo <owner/repo> --strict`:
-`python -m devx.ci.sync_wiki --repo <owner/repo> --strict`:
 
 1. Reads `docs/mapping.json` to map file paths to wiki page titles
 2. Lists existing wiki pages via the Gitea API
@@ -243,15 +294,14 @@ deleted).
 
 On failure, the `notify_failure` step creates a Gitea issue.
 
-#### `badges`
+**`badges` step**
 
-Depends on `detect-type` and `release`. Uses `if: always()` so it runs on
+Always runs (even on release commits). Generates and pushes quality badges
-every push to master, including release commits. Generates and pushes quality
+using `python -m devx.ci.push_badges`:
-badges using `python -m devx.ci.push_badges`:
 
 1. **Fetch latest master** — `git fetch origin master && git reset --hard
    origin/master` (ensures the version badge reflects the current state,
-   even if the release job recently pushed a new version)
+   even if the release step recently pushed a new version)
 2. **Generate badges** — calls `devx.tools.generate_badges` which runs
    pytest-cov, doc-coverage, lint checks, and version extraction, then writes
    SVG files: `coverage.svg`, `tests.svg`, `docs.svg`, `quality.svg`,
@@ -268,11 +318,10 @@ and waits 10s between attempts).
 
 On failure, the `notify_failure` step creates a Gitea issue.
 
-#### `vikunja`
+**`vikunja` step**
 
-Depends on `detect-type` and `release`. Skips for release commits. Updates
+Skips for automated commits. Updates the Vikunja task after a merge using
-the Vikunja task after a merge using `python -m devx.ci.post_merge --git-sha
+`python -m devx.ci.post_merge --git-sha <sha>`:
-<sha>`:
 
 1. Extracts the task ID from the first line of the commit message
 2. Marks the corresponding Vikunja task as done
@@ -280,26 +329,11 @@ the Vikunja task after a merge using `python -m devx.ci.post_merge --git-sha
 
 On failure, the `notify_failure` step creates a Gitea issue.
 
-#### `configure-repo`
+**`publish` step**
 
-Depends on `detect-type`. Skips for release commits. Ensures branch
+Only runs if the `release` step created a tag. Builds and publishes the
-protection and labels are configured using
+package within the same `release-and-maintain` job (checks out the release
-`python -m devx.tools.configure_repo --repo <name> --owner <owner>`:
+tag). Runs `python -m devx.ci.publish <tag> <owner/repo>`:
-
-- Sets up master branch protection (required status checks, block on rejected
-  reviews, block on outdated branch)
-- Creates standard labels
-- Status check contexts read from `DEVX_STATUS_CHECKS` or default to
-  `CI / quality (pull_request)`
-
-On failure, the `notify_failure` step creates a Gitea issue.
-
-## Publish workflow (`publish.yml`)
-
-Runs on tag pushes matching `v*`. Triggered by the `release` job in the
-post-merge workflow when it creates and pushes a new version tag.
-
-### Job: `publish`
 
 1. **Install dependencies** — build, twine, requests, python-dotenv, click,
    and the project itself
@@ -518,25 +552,29 @@ The complete release process from PR to published package:
 1. **PR merged** — `auto-merge` squash-merges the PR to master with
    `{PREFIX}-N <conventional commit>` title
 2. **Post-merge triggers** — the merge push triggers `post-merge.yml`
-3. **detect-type** — confirms the commit is not a release commit
+3. **detect-and-configure** — detects release commit, validates commit
-4. **release** — `release.py` calculates the next version, updates files,
+   message, and ensures branch protection/labels
-   runs tests, commits `release: vX.Y.Z [skip ci]`, creates tag `vX.Y.Z`,
+4. **release** (step in `release-and-maintain`) — `release.py` calculates
-   and pushes to master
+   the next version, updates files, runs tests, commits
-5. **Tag push triggers publish** — the tag push triggers `publish.yml`
+   `release: vX.Y.Z [skip ci]`, creates tag `vX.Y.Z`, and pushes to master
-6. **publish** — `publish.py` builds the package, publishes to the Gitea PyPI
+5. **publish** (step in `release-and-maintain`) — `publish.py` builds the
-   registry, and creates a Gitea release with git-cliff notes
+   package, publishes to the Gitea PyPI registry, and creates a Gitea
-7. **sync-wiki** — documentation is synced to the Gitea wiki
+   release with git-cliff notes (checks out the release tag within the
-8. **badges** — quality badges are regenerated and pushed to the `badges`
+   same job)
-   branch; README and docs/index.md are updated with cache-busting URLs
+6. **sync-wiki** (step in `release-and-maintain`) — documentation is synced
-9. **vikunja** — the corresponding Vikunja task is marked as done
+   to the Gitea wiki
-10. **configure-repo** — branch protection and labels are ensured
+7. **vikunja** (step in `release-and-maintain`) — the corresponding Vikunja
+   task is marked as done
+8. **badges** (step in `release-and-maintain`) — quality badges are
+   regenerated and pushed to the `badges` branch; README and docs/index.md
+   are updated with cache-busting URLs
 
-The release commit's post-merge run skips all jobs except `badges` (which
+The release commit's post-merge run skips all steps except `badges` (which
 picks up the new version number). This prevents infinite loops.
 
 ## Failure handling
 
-Every job in the post-merge and publish workflows has a `notify_failure` step
+Every job in the CI and post-merge workflows has a `notify_failure` step
 that runs `if: failure()`. This creates a Gitea issue with the workflow name,
 run ID, and commit SHA, ensuring failures that would otherwise go unnoticed
 in the Actions tab are surfaced as issues. The issue is created via the tea

docs/user/getting-started.md

@@ -48,12 +48,12 @@ Add devx to your `pyproject.toml`:
 ```toml
 [project]
 dependencies = [
-    "devx>=0.40.0",
+    "devx>=0.40.1",
 ]
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 dev = [
-    "devx>=0.40.0",
+    "devx>=0.40.1",
 ]
 ```
 

src/devx/__init__.py

@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 """devx — reusable development and CI/CD tools for oblachno-oss projects."""
 
-__version__ = "0.40.0"
+__version__ = "0.40.1"

src/devx/ci/pr_review.py

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ Usage:
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import os
 import re
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from typing import Any
@@ -548,8 +549,14 @@ def _post_manual_review(
     checklist_confirmed: bool,
     checklist_categories: str | None,
     dry_run: bool,
+    owner: str | None = None,
+    repo_name: str | None = None,
 ) -> None:
-    """Post a manual review with validation for APPROVE events."""
+    """Post a manual review with validation for APPROVE events.
+
+    When self-approval is rejected (reviewer token belongs to PR author),
+    falls back to the CI token (different user) if available.
+    """
     if not body or len(body) < 50:
         raise click.ClickException(_("Review body must be at least 50 characters."))
 
@@ -585,8 +592,20 @@ def _post_manual_review(
         review = client.create_review(pr_number, event=event, body=body)
     except APIError as e:
         if "approve" in e.message.lower() or "422" in str(e.status):
-            click.echo(_("Note: Self-approval not allowed. Posting COMMENT instead."))
+            # Self-approval not allowed (reviewer token belongs to PR author).
-            review = client.create_review(pr_number, event="COMMENT", body=body)
+            # Fall back to CI token (different user) if available.
+            ci_token = os.environ.get("CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN", "").strip()
+            if ci_token and owner and repo_name:
+                click.echo(_("Note: Self-approval not allowed with reviewer token. Retrying with CI token."))
+                ci_client = GiteaClient(GITEA_API_URL, ci_token, owner, repo_name)
+                try:
+                    review = ci_client.create_review(pr_number, event=event, body=body)
+                except APIError:
+                    click.echo(_("Note: CI token also cannot approve. Posting COMMENT instead."))
+                    review = client.create_review(pr_number, event="COMMENT", body=body)
+            else:
+                click.echo(_("Note: Self-approval not allowed. Posting COMMENT instead."))
+                review = client.create_review(pr_number, event="COMMENT", body=body)
         else:
             raise
     review_id = review.get("id", "?")
@@ -645,7 +664,17 @@ def main(
     client = GiteaClient(GITEA_API_URL, token, owner, repo_name)
 
     if event is not None:
-        _post_manual_review(client, pr_number, event.upper(), body, checklist_confirmed, checklist_categories, dry_run)
+        _post_manual_review(
+            client,
+            pr_number,
+            event.upper(),
+            body,
+            checklist_confirmed,
+            checklist_categories,
+            dry_run,
+            owner=owner,
+            repo_name=repo_name,
+        )
         return
 
     result = run_review(client, pr_number)

src/devx/translations.json

@@ -2104,12 +2104,28 @@
     "zh": "No workflow runs found for SHA {sha}."
   },
   "Note: Self-approval not allowed. Posting COMMENT instead.": {
-    "bg": "Note: Self-approval not allowed. Posting COMMENT instead.",
+    "bg": "Забележка: Само-одобрението не е разрешено. Публикуване на COMMENT вместо това.",
-    "de": "Note: Self-approval not allowed. Posting COMMENT instead.",
+    "de": "Hinweis: Selbstgenehmigung nicht erlaubt. COMMENT wird stattdessen gesendet.",
     "en": "Note: Self-approval not allowed. Posting COMMENT instead.",
     "pl": "Uwaga: Samo-zatwierdzenie niedozwolone. Publikowanie COMMENT zamiast tego.",
-    "ru": "Note: Self-approval not allowed. Posting COMMENT instead.",
+    "ru": "Примечание: Самоодобрение не разрешено. Публикация COMMENT вместо этого.",
-    "zh": "Note: Self-approval not allowed. Posting COMMENT instead."
+    "zh": "注意：不允许自我批准。改为发布 COMMENT。"
+  },
+  "Note: Self-approval not allowed with reviewer token. Retrying with CI token.": {
+    "bg": "Забележка: Само-одобрението не е разрешено с тоукън на рецензента. Повторен опит с CI тоукън.",
+    "de": "Hinweis: Selbstgenehmigung mit Reviewer-Token nicht erlaubt. Wiederholung mit CI-Token.",
+    "en": "Note: Self-approval not allowed with reviewer token. Retrying with CI token.",
+    "pl": "Uwaga: Samo-zatwierdzenie niedozwolone tokenem recenzenta. Ponawianie tokenem CI.",
+    "ru": "Примечание: Самоодобрение токеном ревьюера не разрешено. Повторная попытка с CI токеном.",
+    "zh": "注意：不允许使用审阅者令牌进行自我批准。正在使用 CI 令牌重试。"
+  },
+  "Note: CI token also cannot approve. Posting COMMENT instead.": {
+    "bg": "Забележка: CI тоукънът също не може да одобри. Публикуване на COMMENT вместо това.",
+    "de": "Hinweis: CI-Token kann ebenfalls nicht genehmigen. COMMENT wird stattdessen gesendet.",
+    "en": "Note: CI token also cannot approve. Posting COMMENT instead.",
+    "pl": "Uwaga: Token CI również nie może zatwierdzić. Publikowanie COMMENT zamiast tego.",
+    "ru": "Примечание: CI токен также не может одобрить. Публикация COMMENT вместо этого.",
+    "zh": "注意：CI 令牌也无法批准。改为发布 COMMENT。"
   },
   "Nothing to push.": {
     "bg": "Nothing to push.",

tests/unit/test_pr_review.py

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
+import pytest
 from click.testing import CliRunner
 
 from devx.ci.pr_review import (
@@ -902,7 +903,12 @@ class TestManualReview:
         mock_client_class.return_value.create_review.assert_not_called()
 
     @patch("devx.ci.pr_review.GiteaClient")
-    def test_manual_review_self_approval_fallback(self, mock_client_class: MagicMock) -> None:
+    def test_manual_review_self_approval_fallback_to_comment(
+        self, mock_client_class: MagicMock, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch
+    ) -> None:
+        """Self-approval with no CI token available → fall back to COMMENT."""
+        monkeypatch.delenv("CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN", raising=False)
+        monkeypatch.delenv("CI_GITEA_TOKEN", raising=False)
         client = mock_client_class.return_value
         client.create_review.side_effect = [
             APIError(422, "approve your own pull is not allowed"),
@@ -922,10 +928,77 @@ class TestManualReview:
                 "--checklist-categories",
                 "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8",
             ],
-            env={"CI_GITEA_TOKEN": "fake"},
+            env={"REVIEWER_GITEA_API_TOKEN": "fake-reviewer"},
         )
         assert result.exit_code == 0
         assert "Review #202" in result.output
+        # Without CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN, the fallback is COMMENT
+        assert "Self-approval not allowed. Posting COMMENT instead." in result.output
+        assert client.create_review.call_count == 2
+        assert client.create_review.call_args_list[1].kwargs.get("event") == "COMMENT"
+
+    @patch("devx.ci.pr_review.GiteaClient")
+    def test_manual_review_self_approval_falls_back_to_ci_token(self, mock_client_class: MagicMock) -> None:
+        """Self-approval with CI token available → retry APPROVE with CI token (different user)."""
+        client = mock_client_class.return_value
+        client.create_review.side_effect = [
+            APIError(422, "approve your own pull is not allowed"),
+            {"id": 303},
+        ]
+        runner = CliRunner()
+        result = runner.invoke(
+            main,
+            [
+                "42",
+                "oblachno-oss/devx",
+                "--event",
+                "APPROVE",
+                "--body",
+                "x" * 60,
+                "--checklist-confirmed",
+                "--checklist-categories",
+                "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8",
+            ],
+            env={"REVIEWER_GITEA_API_TOKEN": "fake-reviewer", "CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN": "fake-ci"},
+        )
+        assert result.exit_code == 0
+        assert "Review #303" in result.output
+        assert "Retrying with CI token" in result.output
+        # Second call should still be APPROVE (CI token retry)
+        assert client.create_review.call_count == 2
+        assert client.create_review.call_args_list[1].kwargs.get("event") == "APPROVE"
+
+    @patch("devx.ci.pr_review.GiteaClient")
+    def test_manual_review_ci_token_also_fails_falls_back_to_comment(self, mock_client_class: MagicMock) -> None:
+        """Self-approval + CI token retry also fails → fall back to COMMENT."""
+        client = mock_client_class.return_value
+        client.create_review.side_effect = [
+            APIError(422, "approve your own pull is not allowed"),
+            APIError(422, "approve your own pull is not allowed"),
+            {"id": 404},
+        ]
+        runner = CliRunner()
+        result = runner.invoke(
+            main,
+            [
+                "42",
+                "oblachno-oss/devx",
+                "--event",
+                "APPROVE",
+                "--body",
+                "x" * 60,
+                "--checklist-confirmed",
+                "--checklist-categories",
+                "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8",
+            ],
+            env={"REVIEWER_GITEA_API_TOKEN": "fake-reviewer", "CI_GITEA_API_TOKEN": "fake-ci"},
+        )
+        assert result.exit_code == 0
+        assert "Review #404" in result.output
+        assert "CI token also cannot approve" in result.output
+        # Third call should be COMMENT (final fallback)
+        assert client.create_review.call_count == 3
+        assert client.create_review.call_args_list[2].kwargs.get("event") == "COMMENT"
 
     @patch("devx.ci.pr_review.GiteaClient")
     def test_manual_review_other_error_re_raises(self, mock_client_class: MagicMock) -> None:

tests/unit/test_setup.py

@@ -34,19 +34,25 @@ class TestRun:
 
 class TestInstallPythonDeps:
     @patch("devx.tools.setup.subprocess.run")
+    @patch.dict(os.environ, {}, clear=False)
     def test_install_dev(self, mock_run: MagicMock) -> None:
+        os.environ.pop("PIP_BREAK_SYSTEM_PACKAGES", None)
         mock_run.return_value = MagicMock(returncode=0)
         _install_python_deps(".venv/bin", "dev")
         mock_run.assert_called_once_with([".venv/bin/pip", "install", "-e", ".[dev]"], check=False)
 
     @patch("devx.tools.setup.subprocess.run")
+    @patch.dict(os.environ, {}, clear=False)
     def test_install_ci(self, mock_run: MagicMock) -> None:
+        os.environ.pop("PIP_BREAK_SYSTEM_PACKAGES", None)
         mock_run.return_value = MagicMock(returncode=0)
         _install_python_deps(".venv/bin", "ci")
         mock_run.assert_called_once_with([".venv/bin/pip", "install", "-e", ".[ci]"], check=False)
 
     @patch("devx.tools.setup.subprocess.run")
+    @patch.dict(os.environ, {}, clear=False)
     def test_install_custom_extras(self, mock_run: MagicMock) -> None:
+        os.environ.pop("PIP_BREAK_SYSTEM_PACKAGES", None)
         mock_run.return_value = MagicMock(returncode=0)
         _install_python_deps(".venv/bin", "ci,lint")
         mock_run.assert_called_once_with([".venv/bin/pip", "install", "-e", ".[ci,lint]"], check=False)
@@ -71,7 +77,9 @@ class TestInstallPythonDeps:
         )
 
     @patch("devx.tools.setup.subprocess.run")
+    @patch.dict(os.environ, {}, clear=False)
     def test_install_failure_without_break_system(self, mock_run: MagicMock) -> None:
+        os.environ.pop("PIP_BREAK_SYSTEM_PACKAGES", None)
         mock_run.return_value = MagicMock(returncode=1)
         with pytest.raises(subprocess.CalledProcessError):
             _install_python_deps(".venv/bin", "ci")