release: v0.47.1 [skip ci]

.gitea/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Check unit test speed
         run: |
           . .venv/bin/activate 2>/dev/null || true
-          python3 -m devx.tools.check_test_speed --max-seconds 6 --max-single-seconds 0.5
+          python3 -m devx.tools.check_test_speed --max-seconds 8 --max-single-seconds 0.5
       - name: Documentation gate (coverage + stale refs + lint + version refs + prose)
         env:
           DEVX_DOC_COVERAGE_STRICT: "1"

AGENTS.md

@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ src/devx/
 ├── translations.json    # Translation strings (en, bg, de, pl, ru, zh)
 ├── ci/                  # CI/CD automation modules (run by workflows)
 │   ├── release.py       # Automated versioning, tagging, changelog
-│   ├── publish.py       # Build and publish to Gitea PyPI registry (--skip-build for non-Python repos)
+│   ├── publish.py       # Build, publish to Gitea PyPI registry, create Gitea release (with retry)
 │   ├── auto_merge.py    # Squash-merge PRs with task ID validation
 │   ├── check_auto_merge_ready.py  # Pre-merge validation gate (branch, PR title, Vikunja, behind-master)
 │   ├── _shared.py      # Shared utilities (get_latest_tag)
@@ -310,6 +310,20 @@ by `python -m devx.tools.install_tools` and configured by
 - `create_pr()` / `merge_pr()` / `review_pr()` — Pull request operations
 - `create_release()` / `list_releases()` — Release management
 
+**`devx.gitea_cli.configure_tea_login()`** — Configures tea login in
+containerized CI environments where `make setup` was not called. Used by
+`publish.py` (`--auto-login`) and `notify_failure.py` (`--auto-login`).
+Raises `TeaCLIError` if login configuration fails — this prevents cryptic
+"no available login" errors from subsequent tea commands.
+
+**Error handling**: `TeaCLI._run()` includes both stdout and stderr in
+`TeaCLIError` messages, because `tea` writes some errors (for example,
+"no available login") to stdout, not stderr.
+
+**Release creation retry**: `publish.py` retries Gitea release creation
+up to 3 times with exponential backoff (2s, 4s) on transient failures.
+"Already exists" errors are treated as success (idempotent).
+
 ### git-cliff Commit Preprocessing
 
 Merge commits on master have the format `DEVX-N: <conventional commit>`. The

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,48 @@
 
 All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
+## [0.47.1] - 2026-07-16
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+- Tea CLI login failure handling, error messages, release retry
+
+## [0.47.0] - 2026-07-14
+
+### Features
+
+- Add promtool to install_tools for alert rule validation
+
+## [0.46.0] - 2026-07-14
+
+### Features
+
+- Make check_test_isolation configurable via pyproject.toml
+
+## [0.45.1] - 2026-07-14
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+- URL-encode package names and versions in clean_images API calls
+
+## [0.45.0] - 2026-07-14
+
+### Features
+
+- Add IO_INTERNAL_CALLS to check_test_isolation
+
+## [0.44.2] - 2026-07-14
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+- Use legacy Docker builder to avoid Gitea registry 403
+
+## [0.44.1] - 2026-07-14
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+- Disable Docker buildx provenance attestation
+
 ## [0.44.0] - 2026-07-13
 
 ### 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/08f1c46f6446a146ea400eb5dd5537da7a8834a1/coverage.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
+[![Coverage](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/e6827cecc8ac90f86902062d90f962e2ea9970e0/coverage.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
-[![Tests](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/08f1c46f6446a146ea400eb5dd5537da7a8834a1/tests.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
+[![Tests](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/e6827cecc8ac90f86902062d90f962e2ea9970e0/tests.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
-[![Docs](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/08f1c46f6446a146ea400eb5dd5537da7a8834a1/docs.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/wiki)
+[![Docs](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/e6827cecc8ac90f86902062d90f962e2ea9970e0/docs.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/wiki)
-[![Code Quality](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/08f1c46f6446a146ea400eb5dd5537da7a8834a1/quality.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
+[![Code Quality](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/e6827cecc8ac90f86902062d90f962e2ea9970e0/quality.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
-[![Version](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/08f1c46f6446a146ea400eb5dd5537da7a8834a1/version.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/releases)
+[![Version](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/e6827cecc8ac90f86902062d90f962e2ea9970e0/version.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/releases)
-[![Python](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/08f1c46f6446a146ea400eb5dd5537da7a8834a1/python.svg)](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
+[![Python](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/e6827cecc8ac90f86902062d90f962e2ea9970e0/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>=0.44.0",
+    "devx>=0.47.1",
 ]
 
 [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==0.44.0"`) or use a version constraint
+> `dependencies` (for example, `"devx==0.47.1"`) or use a version constraint
-> (for example, `"devx>=0.44.0,<0.45"`).
+> (for example, `"devx>=0.47.1,<0.48"`).
 
 ### 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/08f1c46f6446a146ea400eb5dd5537da7a8834a1/coverage.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
+[![Coverage](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/e6827cecc8ac90f86902062d90f962e2ea9970e0/coverage.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
-[![Tests](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/08f1c46f6446a146ea400eb5dd5537da7a8834a1/tests.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
+[![Tests](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/e6827cecc8ac90f86902062d90f962e2ea9970e0/tests.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
-[![Docs](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/08f1c46f6446a146ea400eb5dd5537da7a8834a1/docs.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/wiki)
+[![Docs](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/e6827cecc8ac90f86902062d90f962e2ea9970e0/docs.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/wiki)
-[![Code Quality](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/08f1c46f6446a146ea400eb5dd5537da7a8834a1/quality.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
+[![Code Quality](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/e6827cecc8ac90f86902062d90f962e2ea9970e0/quality.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/actions)
-[![Version](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/08f1c46f6446a146ea400eb5dd5537da7a8834a1/version.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/releases)
+[![Version](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/e6827cecc8ac90f86902062d90f962e2ea9970e0/version.svg)](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/releases)
-[![Python](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/08f1c46f6446a146ea400eb5dd5537da7a8834a1/python.svg)](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
+[![Python](https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/oblachno-oss/devx/raw/commit/e6827cecc8ac90f86902062d90f962e2ea9970e0/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>=0.44.0",
+    "devx>=0.47.1",
 ]
 
 [tool.pip]
 extra-index-url = "https://git.oblachno.oblachno.fyi/api/packages/oblachno-oss/pypi/simple"
 ```
 
-Pin a specific version if needed: `"devx==0.44.0"` or `"devx>=0.44.0,<0.45"`.
+Pin a specific version if needed: `"devx==0.47.1"` or `"devx>=0.47.1,<0.48"`.
 
 ### Optional extras
 

docs/user/getting-started.md

@@ -48,12 +48,12 @@ Add devx to your `pyproject.toml`:
 ```toml
 [project]
 dependencies = [
-    "devx>=0.44.0",
+    "devx>=0.47.1",
 ]
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 dev = [
-    "devx>=0.44.0",
+    "devx>=0.47.1",
 ]
 ```
 

src/devx/__init__.py

@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 """devx — reusable development and CI/CD tools for oblachno-oss projects."""
 
-__version__ = "0.44.0"
+__version__ = "0.47.1"

src/devx/ci/publish.py

@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@
 Uses git-cliff to generate the release notes from conventional commits.
 Uses the ``tea`` Gitea CLI for release creation.
 
+Gitea release creation is retried up to 3 times with exponential backoff
+(2s, 4s) to handle transient failures (network timeouts, 5xx errors).
+If the release already exists, it is treated as success (idempotent).
+
 Publishing destinations (checked in order):
   1. **Gitea PyPI registry** — if ``--registry-url`` is given (or
      ``DEVX_PYPI_REGISTRY_URL`` env var is set, or ``GITEA_API_URL``
@@ -27,6 +31,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 
 import click
 from dotenv import load_dotenv  # pyright: ignore[reportMissingImports,reportUnknownVariableType]
+from tenacity import retry, retry_if_exception_type, stop_after_attempt, wait_exponential
 
 from devx.config import GITEA_API_URL, REPO_OWNER
 from devx.gitea_cli import TeaCLI, TeaCLIError, configure_tea_login
@@ -312,13 +317,7 @@ def main(
 
     release_body = generate_release_notes(tag)
 
-    try:
+    _create_release_with_retry(tea, repo, tag, release_body)
-        tea.create_release(repo, tag=tag, title=tag, body=release_body)
-    except TeaCLIError as e:
-        if "already" in str(e).lower() and "release" in str(e).lower():
-            click.echo(_("Gitea release {tag} already exists — skipping creation.", tag=tag))
-            return
-        raise click.ClickException(_("Release creation failed: {error}", error=str(e))) from None
 
     click.echo(
         _(
@@ -328,5 +327,36 @@ def main(
     )
 
 
+def _create_release_with_retry(tea: TeaCLI, repo: str, tag: str, release_body: str) -> None:
+    """Create a Gitea release with retry for transient failures.
+
+    Retries up to 3 times with exponential backoff (2s, 4s) on TeaCLIError
+    unless the error indicates the release already exists (which is treated
+    as success). This handles transient issues like network timeouts, Gitea
+    rate limiting, or temporary 5xx errors that caused CI run #2822 to fail.
+    """
+
+    @retry(
+        stop=stop_after_attempt(3),
+        wait=wait_exponential(multiplier=2, min=2, max=10),
+        retry=retry_if_exception_type(TeaCLIError),
+        reraise=True,
+    )
+    def _attempt() -> None:
+        try:
+            tea.create_release(repo, tag=tag, title=tag, body=release_body)
+        except TeaCLIError as e:
+            error_str = str(e).lower()
+            if "already" in error_str and "release" in error_str:
+                click.echo(_("Gitea release {tag} already exists — skipping creation.", tag=tag))
+                return
+            raise
+
+    try:
+        _attempt()
+    except TeaCLIError as e:
+        raise click.ClickException(_("Release creation failed: {error}", error=str(e))) from None
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":  # pragma: no cover
     main()

src/devx/gitea_cli.py

@@ -61,6 +61,11 @@ def configure_tea_login(login_name: str = "devx") -> None:
     Idempotent: if a login with the same name already exists, it is not re-added.
     Skips silently if tea is not installed or no token is set.
 
+    Raises ``TeaCLIError`` if the login add or default command fails. This is
+    critical because subsequent tea commands (e.g. ``releases create``) will
+    fail with a cryptic "no available login" error if the login was not
+    configured successfully.
+
     Used by CI scripts (publish, notify_failure) that need tea login but
     run in containerized environments where ``make setup`` was not called.
     """
@@ -88,18 +93,31 @@ def configure_tea_login(login_name: str = "devx") -> None:
         return
 
     click.echo(_("Configuring tea login '{name}' for {url}...", name=login_name, url=gitea_url))
-    subprocess.run(  # nosec B603
+    add_result = subprocess.run(  # nosec B603
         [tea_bin, "login", "add", "--name", login_name, "--url", gitea_url, "--token", token],
         capture_output=True,
         text=True,
         check=False,
     )
-    subprocess.run(  # nosec B603
+    if add_result.returncode != 0:
+        raise TeaCLIError(
+            f"tea login add failed (rc={add_result.returncode})\n"
+            f"stdout: {add_result.stdout.strip()}\n"
+            f"stderr: {add_result.stderr.strip()}"
+        )
+
+    default_result = subprocess.run(  # nosec B603
         [tea_bin, "login", "default", login_name],
         capture_output=True,
         text=True,
         check=False,
     )
+    if default_result.returncode != 0:
+        raise TeaCLIError(
+            f"tea login default failed (rc={default_result.returncode})\n"
+            f"stdout: {default_result.stdout.strip()}\n"
+            f"stderr: {default_result.stderr.strip()}"
+        )
 
 
 class TeaCLI:
@@ -145,9 +163,14 @@ class TeaCLI:
         except FileNotFoundError as e:
             raise TeaCLIError(f"tea binary not found ('{self._tea}'). Install tea or add it to PATH.") from e
         if result.returncode != 0:
-            raise TeaCLIError(
+            # tea writes some errors to stdout (for example, "no available
-                f"tea command failed (rc={result.returncode}): {' '.join(args)}\nstderr: {result.stderr.strip()}"
+            # login"), so include both stdout and stderr for debugging.
-            )
+            parts = [
+                f"tea command failed (rc={result.returncode}): {' '.join(args)}",
+                f"stdout: {result.stdout.strip()}" if result.stdout.strip() else "",
+                f"stderr: {result.stderr.strip()}" if result.stderr.strip() else "",
+            ]
+            raise TeaCLIError("\n".join(p for p in parts if p))
         return result.stdout.strip()
 
     def _run_raw(self, args: list[str]) -> str:

src/devx/tools/build_image.py

@@ -174,9 +174,12 @@ def build_image(
         return True
 
     click.echo(f"Building {spec.name} ({len(full_tags)} tag(s))...")
+    # Use legacy builder (DOCKER_BUILDKIT=0) to avoid OCI-format manifest
+    # blobs (attestation, config) that the Gitea registry rejects with 403.
     result = subprocess.run(  # nosec B603
         cmd,
         check=False,
+        env={**os.environ, "DOCKER_BUILDKIT": "0"},
     )
     if result.returncode != 0:
         click.echo(_("Build failed for {name}", name=spec.name), err=True)

src/devx/tools/check_test_isolation.py

@@ -25,6 +25,25 @@ This module is used in two ways:
    findings are reported as advisories (exit 0) since static analysis
    can't predict early exits — the runtime audit is authoritative.
 
+Project-Specific Configuration
+-------------------------------
+
+Projects can extend the built-in rule sets via ``[tool.devx.check_test_isolation]``
+in ``pyproject.toml``.  Entries are merged on top of the defaults — they
+add to (not replace) the built-in rules::
+
+    [tool.devx.check_test_isolation]
+    # Functions known to do filesystem or network I/O
+    io_functions = { "my_func" = "reads config from disk", ... }
+    # Functions known to spawn subprocesses
+    subprocess_helpers = { "my_helper" = "calls subprocess.run", ... }
+    # Transitive deps: if a helper calls these, patching any of them is safe
+    helper_internal_calls = { "my_helper" = ["subprocess", "run_cmd"], ... }
+    # I/O function internal deps: patching any of these makes the call safe
+    io_internal_calls = { "my_func" = ["open", "yaml"], ... }
+    # Heavy modules slow to import at module level in test files
+    heavy_module_imports = { "mymodule" = 150.0, ... }
+
 Patterns detected:
 
 1. **Unpatched subprocess calls** — test functions that call
@@ -60,6 +79,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 
 import click
 
+from devx.config import _load_pyproject_devx
 from devx.i18n import _
 
 # ── Configuration ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -71,7 +91,7 @@ DEFAULT_MAX_LOOP_ITERATIONS = 100
 # Maps module name → approximate import time in milliseconds.
 # NOTE: ``requests`` is excluded because it's a core devx dependency —
 # it's loaded during collection regardless of whether test files import it.
-HEAVY_MODULE_IMPORTS: dict[str, float] = {
+_DEFAULT_HEAVY_MODULE_IMPORTS: dict[str, float] = {
     "httpx": 80.0,
     "aiohttp": 120.0,
     "docker": 90.0,
@@ -96,7 +116,7 @@ HEAVY_MODULE_IMPORTS: dict[str, float] = {
 # Functions known to spawn subprocesses.  When a test calls any of these
 # without patching them, the real subprocess runs.
 # Maps function name → human-readable description.
-KNOWN_SUBPROCESS_HELPERS: dict[str, str] = {
+_DEFAULT_SUBPROCESS_HELPERS: dict[str, str] = {
     "update_doc_versions": "calls subprocess.run to run check_doc_versions --fix",
     "run_tests": "calls run_cmd to run make lint-ruff and make pytest-cov",
     "run_cmd": "calls subprocess.run for shell commands",
@@ -105,7 +125,7 @@ KNOWN_SUBPROCESS_HELPERS: dict[str, str] = {
 # Functions known to do filesystem or network I/O that should be mocked in tests.
 # Maps function name → description of what I/O it does.
 # If a test calls one of these without a corresponding @patch, it's a violation.
-KNOWN_IO_FUNCTIONS: dict[str, str] = {  # nosec B105 — descriptions, not passwords
+_DEFAULT_IO_FUNCTIONS: dict[str, str] = {  # nosec B105 — descriptions, not passwords
     "get_pat": "reads ZITADEL PAT from filesystem/env (ZitadelAuth._iter_sources)",
     "load_secrets": "reads YAML config file from disk",
     "get_customer_secret": "reads customer-specific config from disk",
@@ -124,12 +144,102 @@ KNOWN_IO_FUNCTIONS: dict[str, str] = {  # nosec B105 — descriptions, not passw
 # Transitive dependencies: if a helper calls another helper that is patched,
 # the call is safe.  Maps helper → set of function names it internally calls.
 # If ANY of these are in the test's patches, the helper call is safe.
-HELPER_INTERNAL_CALLS: dict[str, set[str]] = {
+_DEFAULT_HELPER_INTERNAL_CALLS: dict[str, set[str]] = {
     "run_tests": {"run_cmd", "subprocess"},
     "update_doc_versions": {"subprocess"},
     "run_cmd": {"subprocess"},
 }
 
+# I/O function internal dependencies: if a test patches one of these
+# internal dependencies, the I/O function call is considered safe.
+# Maps I/O function name → set of internal function/method names it calls.
+_DEFAULT_IO_INTERNAL_CALLS: dict[str, set[str]] = {
+    "get_customer_vm_ip": {"get_tofu_output", "get_tofu_vm_ip", "subprocess"},
+    "get_observability_vm_ip": {"get_tofu_output", "get_tofu_vm_ip", "subprocess"},
+    "get_pat": {
+        "_iter_sources",
+        "_local_pat_path",
+        "_secrets_path",
+        "_read_secrets_pat",
+        "validate_pat",
+        "ZitadelAuth",
+        "load_secrets",
+        "os.environ",
+    },
+    "load_secrets": {"load_vault_yaml", "REPO_ROOT", "open", "yaml", "safe_load"},
+    "get_customer_secret": {"load_customer_secrets", "load_vault_yaml", "load_secrets", "REPO_ROOT", "open"},
+}
+
+
+def _load_test_isolation_config() -> None:
+    """Merge project-specific rules from ``[tool.devx.check_test_isolation]``.
+
+    Reads from pyproject.toml and merges with defaults. Project-specific
+    entries are added on top of (not replacing) the built-in defaults.
+
+    Supported keys::
+
+        [tool.devx.check_test_isolation]
+        io_functions = { "my_func" = "does network I/O", ... }
+        subprocess_helpers = { "my_helper" = "calls subprocess.run", ... }
+        helper_internal_calls = { "my_helper" = ["subprocess", "run_cmd"], ... }
+        io_internal_calls = { "my_func" = ["open", "yaml"], ... }
+        heavy_module_imports = { "mymodule" = 150.0, ... }
+    """
+    devx_cfg = _load_pyproject_devx()
+    cfg_raw = devx_cfg.get("check_test_isolation", {})
+    if not isinstance(cfg_raw, dict):
+        return
+    cfg: dict[str, object] = cfg_raw  # type: ignore[assignment]
+
+    # io_functions: {name: description}
+    io_extra = cfg.get("io_functions", {})
+    if isinstance(io_extra, dict):
+        for name, desc in io_extra.items():
+            if isinstance(name, str) and isinstance(desc, str):
+                KNOWN_IO_FUNCTIONS[name] = desc
+
+    # subprocess_helpers: {name: description}
+    sp_extra = cfg.get("subprocess_helpers", {})
+    if isinstance(sp_extra, dict):
+        for name, desc in sp_extra.items():
+            if isinstance(name, str) and isinstance(desc, str):
+                KNOWN_SUBPROCESS_HELPERS[name] = desc
+
+    # helper_internal_calls: {name: [deps]}
+    hic_extra = cfg.get("helper_internal_calls", {})
+    if isinstance(hic_extra, dict):
+        for name, deps in hic_extra.items():
+            if isinstance(name, str) and isinstance(deps, list):
+                deps_set = {str(d) for d in deps if isinstance(d, str)}
+                HELPER_INTERNAL_CALLS.setdefault(name, set()).update(deps_set)
+
+    # io_internal_calls: {name: [deps]}
+    iic_extra = cfg.get("io_internal_calls", {})
+    if isinstance(iic_extra, dict):
+        for name, deps in iic_extra.items():
+            if isinstance(name, str) and isinstance(deps, list):
+                deps_set = {str(d) for d in deps if isinstance(d, str)}
+                IO_INTERNAL_CALLS.setdefault(name, set()).update(deps_set)
+
+    # heavy_module_imports: {name: ms}
+    hmi_extra = cfg.get("heavy_module_imports", {})
+    if isinstance(hmi_extra, dict):
+        for name, ms in hmi_extra.items():
+            if isinstance(name, str) and isinstance(ms, (int, float)):
+                HEAVY_MODULE_IMPORTS[name] = float(ms)
+
+
+# Active rule sets — start with defaults, merged with project config at import.
+HEAVY_MODULE_IMPORTS: dict[str, float] = dict(_DEFAULT_HEAVY_MODULE_IMPORTS)
+KNOWN_SUBPROCESS_HELPERS: dict[str, str] = dict(_DEFAULT_SUBPROCESS_HELPERS)
+KNOWN_IO_FUNCTIONS: dict[str, str] = dict(_DEFAULT_IO_FUNCTIONS)
+HELPER_INTERNAL_CALLS: dict[str, set[str]] = {k: set(v) for k, v in _DEFAULT_HELPER_INTERNAL_CALLS.items()}
+IO_INTERNAL_CALLS: dict[str, set[str]] = {k: set(v) for k, v in _DEFAULT_IO_INTERNAL_CALLS.items()}
+
+# Merge project-specific configuration from pyproject.toml
+_load_test_isolation_config()
+
 # subprocess functions that the runtime audit wraps.
 _SUBPROCESS_FUNCS = ("run", "call", "check_call", "check_output", "Popen")
 
@@ -817,6 +927,9 @@ class TestIsolationVisitor(ast.NodeVisitor):
             or sn in all_patches
             or any(io_key in p or sn in p for p in all_patches)
             or any(p.endswith(f".{sn}") for p in all_patches)
+            or any(
+                dep in all_patches or any(dep in p for p in all_patches) for dep in IO_INTERNAL_CALLS.get(io_key, set())
+            )
         ):
             self.violations.append(
                 Violation(

src/devx/tools/clean_images.py

@@ -5,6 +5,13 @@ Queries the Gitea API for all versions of a package (container type) and
 deletes all but the most recent N versions.  The ``latest`` tag is always
 preserved if present.
 
+.. note::
+    This tool only deletes package versions via the Gitea API. The underlying
+    blob files on the Gitea server's filesystem are NOT removed by this tool
+    (Gitea 1.26.x has no built-in garbage collection). The production VM's
+    daily cleanup script (``cleanup_gitea.py``) handles filesystem blob GC
+    by querying the database for referenced blobs and removing orphaned files.
+
 Usage::
 
     # Clean up ci-base images, keep last 2 versions
@@ -57,7 +64,10 @@ def list_package_versions(
     Returns a list of version dicts, each containing at least ``version``
     and ``created_at`` fields.
     """
-    url = f"{api_url}/packages/{owner}?type=container&name={name}"
+    from urllib.parse import quote
+
+    encoded_name = quote(name, safe="")
+    url = f"{api_url}/packages/{owner}?type=container&name={encoded_name}"
     headers = {"Authorization": f"token {token}"}
     all_versions: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
     page = 1
@@ -96,7 +106,11 @@ def delete_package_version(
 
     Returns True on success, False on failure.
     """
-    url = f"{api_url}/packages/{owner}/{package_type}/{name}/{version}"
+    from urllib.parse import quote
+
+    encoded_name = quote(name, safe="")
+    encoded_version = quote(version, safe="")
+    url = f"{api_url}/packages/{owner}/{package_type}/{encoded_name}/{encoded_version}"
     headers = {"Authorization": f"token {token}"}
     for attempt in range(max_retries):
         try:

src/devx/tools/install_tools.py

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ Handles installation of:
 - tea (Gitea CLI — official command-line tool for Gitea API operations)
 - hadolint (Dockerfile linter)
 - vale (prose linter for documentation quality)
+- promtool (Prometheus rule validator)
 
 Each tool is installed to ``~/.local/bin`` if not already on PATH.
 Idempotent: skips tools that are already available.
@@ -47,6 +48,8 @@ TOFU_VERSION = "1.12.3"
 
 VALE_VERSION = "3.15.1"
 
+PROMTOOL_VERSION = "3.5.5"
+
 
 def _arch() -> str:
     """Return the architecture string used by release assets (delegates to shared utility)."""
@@ -212,7 +215,26 @@ def install_vale() -> bool:
     return True
 
 
-TOOL_NAMES = ["actionlint", "git-cliff", "act_runner", "tea", "hadolint", "tofu", "vale"]
+def install_promtool() -> bool:
+    """Install promtool (Prometheus rule validator) if not already present.
+
+    Downloads the official Prometheus release tarball from GitHub and
+    extracts the ``promtool`` binary to ``~/.local/bin``.
+    """
+    if _is_installed("promtool"):
+        click.echo("promtool: already installed")
+        return True
+    arch = _arch()
+    url = (
+        f"https://github.com/prometheus/prometheus/releases/download/"
+        f"v{PROMTOOL_VERSION}/prometheus-{PROMTOOL_VERSION}.linux-{arch}.tar.gz"
+    )
+    dest = _download_and_extract_tarball(url, "promtool")
+    click.echo(f"promtool: installed to {dest}")
+    return True
+
+
+TOOL_NAMES = ["actionlint", "git-cliff", "act_runner", "tea", "hadolint", "tofu", "vale", "promtool"]
 
 
 def _install_tool(name: str) -> bool:
@@ -231,6 +253,8 @@ def _install_tool(name: str) -> bool:
         return install_tofu()
     if name == "vale":
         return install_vale()
+    if name == "promtool":
+        return install_promtool()
     raise click.ClickException(f"Unknown tool: {name}")
 
 

tests/unit/test_check_test_isolation.py

@@ -8,14 +8,19 @@ import textwrap
 from pathlib import Path
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock
 
+import pytest
 from click.testing import CliRunner
 
 from devx.tools.check_test_isolation import (
+    HEAVY_MODULE_IMPORTS,
     HELPER_INTERNAL_CALLS,
+    IO_INTERNAL_CALLS,
+    KNOWN_IO_FUNCTIONS,
     KNOWN_SUBPROCESS_HELPERS,
     CallGraph,
     _extract_patch_targets,
     _is_integration_test,
+    _load_test_isolation_config,
     _SubprocessAudit,
     analyze_file,
     analyze_test_files,
@@ -1667,3 +1672,110 @@ class TestIsIntegrationTest:
         item.keywords = {}
         item.fspath = "tests/unit/test_foo.py"
         assert _is_integration_test(item) is False
+
+
+class TestLoadTestIsolationConfig:
+    """Tests for _load_test_isolation_config — project-specific rule merging."""
+
+    def test_merges_io_functions(self, tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+        """Project-specific io_functions are added to KNOWN_IO_FUNCTIONS."""
+        pyproject = tmp_path / "pyproject.toml"
+        pyproject.write_text(
+            '[tool.devx.check_test_isolation]\nio_functions = { "my_custom_io" = "reads from disk" }\n'
+        )
+        monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+        _load_test_isolation_config()
+        assert "my_custom_io" in KNOWN_IO_FUNCTIONS
+        assert KNOWN_IO_FUNCTIONS["my_custom_io"] == "reads from disk"
+
+    def test_merges_subprocess_helpers(self, tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+        """Project-specific subprocess_helpers are added."""
+        pyproject = tmp_path / "pyproject.toml"
+        pyproject.write_text(
+            '[tool.devx.check_test_isolation]\nsubprocess_helpers = { "my_sp_helper" = "calls subprocess.run" }\n'
+        )
+        monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+        _load_test_isolation_config()
+        assert "my_sp_helper" in KNOWN_SUBPROCESS_HELPERS
+
+    def test_merges_helper_internal_calls(self, tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+        """Project-specific helper_internal_calls are merged."""
+        pyproject = tmp_path / "pyproject.toml"
+        pyproject.write_text(
+            '[tool.devx.check_test_isolation]\nhelper_internal_calls = { "my_helper" = ["subprocess", "run_cmd"] }\n'
+        )
+        monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+        _load_test_isolation_config()
+        assert "my_helper" in HELPER_INTERNAL_CALLS
+        assert HELPER_INTERNAL_CALLS["my_helper"] == {"subprocess", "run_cmd"}
+
+    def test_merges_io_internal_calls(self, tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+        """Project-specific io_internal_calls are merged."""
+        pyproject = tmp_path / "pyproject.toml"
+        pyproject.write_text(
+            '[tool.devx.check_test_isolation]\nio_internal_calls = { "my_io_func" = ["open", "yaml"] }\n'
+        )
+        monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+        _load_test_isolation_config()
+        assert "my_io_func" in IO_INTERNAL_CALLS
+        assert IO_INTERNAL_CALLS["my_io_func"] == {"open", "yaml"}
+
+    def test_merges_heavy_module_imports(self, tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+        """Project-specific heavy_module_imports are merged."""
+        pyproject = tmp_path / "pyproject.toml"
+        pyproject.write_text('[tool.devx.check_test_isolation]\nheavy_module_imports = { "mymodule" = 150.0 }\n')
+        monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+        _load_test_isolation_config()
+        assert "mymodule" in HEAVY_MODULE_IMPORTS
+        assert HEAVY_MODULE_IMPORTS["mymodule"] == 150.0
+
+    def test_no_config_section_is_noop(self, tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+        """Missing [tool.devx.check_test_isolation] section is a no-op."""
+        pyproject = tmp_path / "pyproject.toml"
+        pyproject.write_text('[tool.devx]\nother_key = "value"\n')
+        monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+        before_io = dict(KNOWN_IO_FUNCTIONS)
+        _load_test_isolation_config()
+        assert before_io == KNOWN_IO_FUNCTIONS
+
+    def test_no_pyproject_is_noop(self, tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+        """No pyproject.toml at all is a no-op."""
+        monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+        before = dict(KNOWN_SUBPROCESS_HELPERS)
+        _load_test_isolation_config()
+        assert before == KNOWN_SUBPROCESS_HELPERS
+
+    def test_non_dict_config_is_noop(self, tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+        """A non-dict check_test_isolation section is a no-op."""
+        pyproject = tmp_path / "pyproject.toml"
+        pyproject.write_text('[tool.devx]\ncheck_test_isolation = "not_a_dict"\n')
+        monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+        before = dict(HEAVY_MODULE_IMPORTS)
+        _load_test_isolation_config()
+        assert before == HEAVY_MODULE_IMPORTS
+
+    def test_invalid_entry_types_are_skipped(self, tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+        """Entries with wrong types (non-str values) are silently skipped."""
+        pyproject = tmp_path / "pyproject.toml"
+        pyproject.write_text(
+            "[tool.devx.check_test_isolation]\n"
+            'io_functions = { "good_func" = "desc", "bad_func" = 123 }\n'
+            'heavy_module_imports = { "good_mod" = 100.0, "bad_mod" = "fast" }\n'
+        )
+        monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+        _load_test_isolation_config()
+        assert "good_func" in KNOWN_IO_FUNCTIONS
+        assert "bad_func" not in KNOWN_IO_FUNCTIONS
+        assert "good_mod" in HEAVY_MODULE_IMPORTS
+        assert "bad_mod" not in HEAVY_MODULE_IMPORTS
+
+    def test_extends_without_replacing_defaults(self, tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+        """Project config adds to defaults without removing them."""
+        pyproject = tmp_path / "pyproject.toml"
+        pyproject.write_text('[tool.devx.check_test_isolation]\nio_functions = { "project_func" = "project I/O" }\n')
+        monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+        _load_test_isolation_config()
+        # Default entries still present
+        assert "get_pat" in KNOWN_IO_FUNCTIONS
+        # Project entry added
+        assert "project_func" in KNOWN_IO_FUNCTIONS

tests/unit/test_gitea_cli.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""Unit tests for scripts/gitea_cli.py."""
+"""Unit tests for devx/gitea_cli.py."""
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
@@ -77,6 +77,25 @@ class TestTeaCLIRun:
             with pytest.raises(TeaCLIError, match="auth error"):
                 cli._run(["labels", "list"])
 
+    def test_run_failure_includes_stdout(self) -> None:
+        """tea writes some errors to stdout (e.g. 'no available login')."""
+        cli = TeaCLI(tea_bin="/fake/tea")
+        mock_result = MagicMock(returncode=1, stdout="no available login", stderr="")
+        with patch("subprocess.run", return_value=mock_result):
+            with pytest.raises(TeaCLIError, match="no available login"):
+                cli._run(["releases", "create"])
+
+    def test_run_failure_includes_both_stdout_and_stderr(self) -> None:
+        """When both stdout and stderr have content, both are included."""
+        cli = TeaCLI(tea_bin="/fake/tea")
+        mock_result = MagicMock(returncode=1, stdout="partial error", stderr="auth error")
+        with patch("subprocess.run", return_value=mock_result):
+            with pytest.raises(TeaCLIError, match="partial error"):
+                cli._run(["labels", "list"])
+            with patch("subprocess.run", return_value=mock_result):
+                with pytest.raises(TeaCLIError, match="auth error"):
+                    cli._run(["labels", "list"])
+
     def test_run_tea_not_found_raises_tea_error(self) -> None:
         cli = TeaCLI(tea_bin="tea")
         with patch("subprocess.run", side_effect=FileNotFoundError("tea not found")):
@@ -380,9 +399,11 @@ class TestConfigureTeaLogin:
     def test_configures_login_when_not_present(self, mock_subprocess: MagicMock, mock_which: MagicMock) -> None:
         """configure_tea_login adds login when not already configured."""
         mock_list = MagicMock(returncode=0, stdout="")
-        mock_subprocess.return_value = mock_list
+        mock_add = MagicMock(returncode=0, stdout="Login successful", stderr="")
+        mock_default = MagicMock(returncode=0, stdout="", stderr="")
+        mock_subprocess.side_effect = [mock_list, mock_add, mock_default]
         configure_tea_login()
-        assert mock_subprocess.call_count >= 2  # login list + login add + login default
+        assert mock_subprocess.call_count == 3  # login list + login add + login default
 
     @patch.dict("os.environ", {"CI_GITEA_TOKEN": "tok"})
     @patch("devx.gitea_cli.shutil.which", return_value="/usr/bin/tea")
@@ -393,3 +414,37 @@ class TestConfigureTeaLogin:
         mock_subprocess.return_value = mock_list
         configure_tea_login()
         assert mock_subprocess.call_count == 1  # only login list, no add
+
+    @patch.dict("os.environ", {"CI_GITEA_TOKEN": "tok"})
+    @patch("devx.gitea_cli.shutil.which", return_value="/usr/bin/tea")
+    @patch("devx.gitea_cli.subprocess.run")
+    def test_raises_on_login_add_failure(self, mock_subprocess: MagicMock, mock_which: MagicMock) -> None:
+        """configure_tea_login raises TeaCLIError if tea login add fails."""
+        mock_list = MagicMock(returncode=0, stdout="")
+        mock_add = MagicMock(returncode=1, stdout="", stderr="invalid token")
+        mock_subprocess.side_effect = [mock_list, mock_add]
+        with pytest.raises(TeaCLIError, match="login add failed"):
+            configure_tea_login()
+
+    @patch.dict("os.environ", {"CI_GITEA_TOKEN": "tok"})
+    @patch("devx.gitea_cli.shutil.which", return_value="/usr/bin/tea")
+    @patch("devx.gitea_cli.subprocess.run")
+    def test_raises_on_login_default_failure(self, mock_subprocess: MagicMock, mock_which: MagicMock) -> None:
+        """configure_tea_login raises TeaCLIError if tea login default fails."""
+        mock_list = MagicMock(returncode=0, stdout="")
+        mock_add = MagicMock(returncode=0, stdout="Login successful", stderr="")
+        mock_default = MagicMock(returncode=1, stdout="", stderr="login not found")
+        mock_subprocess.side_effect = [mock_list, mock_add, mock_default]
+        with pytest.raises(TeaCLIError, match="login default failed"):
+            configure_tea_login()
+
+    @patch.dict("os.environ", {"CI_GITEA_TOKEN": "tok"})
+    @patch("devx.gitea_cli.shutil.which", return_value="/usr/bin/tea")
+    @patch("devx.gitea_cli.subprocess.run")
+    def test_login_add_failure_includes_stdout(self, mock_subprocess: MagicMock, mock_which: MagicMock) -> None:
+        """Error message includes stdout when tea writes errors there."""
+        mock_list = MagicMock(returncode=0, stdout="")
+        mock_add = MagicMock(returncode=1, stdout="Error: invalid username", stderr="")
+        mock_subprocess.side_effect = [mock_list, mock_add]
+        with pytest.raises(TeaCLIError, match="invalid username"):
+            configure_tea_login()

tests/unit/test_install_tools.py

@@ -297,6 +297,47 @@ class TestInstallVale:
         assert (tmp_path / "vale").exists()
 
 
+class TestInstallPromtool:
+    def test_already_installed(self) -> None:
+        with patch.object(install_tools, "_is_installed", return_value=True):
+            assert install_tools.install_promtool() is True
+
+    def test_install(self, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+        import io
+        import tarfile
+
+        tarball_path = tmp_path / "archive.tar.gz"
+        binary_content = b"fake promtool"
+        with tarfile.open(tarball_path, "w:gz") as tar:
+            info = tarfile.TarInfo(name="promtool")
+            info.size = len(binary_content)
+            tar.addfile(info, io.BytesIO(binary_content))
+
+        with patch.object(install_tools, "_is_installed", return_value=False):
+            with patch.object(install_tools, "TARGET_DIR", tmp_path):
+                with patch.object(install_tools, "_arch", return_value="amd64"):
+                    with patch.object(
+                        install_tools,
+                        "_download",
+                        side_effect=lambda url, dest: Path(dest).write_bytes(tarball_path.read_bytes()),
+                    ):
+                        assert install_tools.install_promtool() is True
+        assert (tmp_path / "promtool").exists()
+
+    def test_url_contains_version(self, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+        """Verify the download URL includes the correct promtool version."""
+        captured_url = []
+
+        def fake_extract(url: str, binary_name: str) -> Path:
+            captured_url.append(url)
+            return tmp_path / binary_name
+
+        with patch.object(install_tools, "_is_installed", return_value=False):
+            with patch.object(install_tools, "_download_and_extract_tarball", side_effect=fake_extract):
+                install_tools.install_promtool()
+        assert any(f"v{install_tools.PROMTOOL_VERSION}" in url for url in captured_url)
+
+
 class TestListTools:
     def test_list(self, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
         with patch.object(install_tools, "TARGET_DIR", tmp_path):
@@ -341,6 +382,11 @@ class TestInstallTool:
             assert install_tools._install_tool("vale") is True
         mock.assert_called_once()
 
+    def test_promtool(self) -> None:
+        with patch.object(install_tools, "install_promtool", return_value=True) as mock:
+            assert install_tools._install_tool("promtool") is True
+        mock.assert_called_once()
+
     def test_unknown_tool(self) -> None:
         with pytest.raises(ClickException, match="Unknown tool"):
             install_tools._install_tool("unknown")
@@ -359,7 +405,7 @@ class TestMain:
         with patch.object(install_tools, "_install_tool", return_value=True) as mock_install:
             result = runner.invoke(install_tools.main, [])
         assert result.exit_code == 0
-        assert mock_install.call_count == 7
+        assert mock_install.call_count == 8
 
     def test_install_specific_tool(self) -> None:
         runner = CliRunner()

tests/unit/test_publish.py

@@ -387,8 +387,10 @@ class TestMain:
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.TeaCLI")
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.publish_to_pypi")
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.build_package")
+    @patch("time.sleep")
     def test_release_failure_raises_click(
         self,
+        mock_sleep: MagicMock,
         mock_build: MagicMock,
         mock_publish: MagicMock,
         mock_tea_cls: MagicMock,
@@ -397,6 +399,7 @@ class TestMain:
         mock_tag: MagicMock,
         mock_login: MagicMock,
     ) -> None:
+        """Release creation failure after retries raises ClickException."""
         mock_tea = MagicMock()
         mock_tea.list_releases.return_value = []
         mock_tea.create_release.side_effect = TeaCLIError("server error")
@@ -405,6 +408,8 @@ class TestMain:
         result = runner.invoke(main, ["v1.0.0", "owner/repo"])
         assert result.exit_code == 1
         assert "Release creation failed" in result.output
+        # Retried 3 times (stop_after_attempt(3))
+        assert mock_tea.create_release.call_count == 3
 
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.subprocess.run")
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.get_latest_tag", return_value="v0.1.0")
@@ -496,8 +501,10 @@ class TestMain:
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.publish_to_gitea_registry")
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.publish_to_pypi")
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.build_package")
+    @patch("time.sleep")
     def test_create_release_already_exists_is_idempotent(
         self,
+        mock_sleep: MagicMock,
         mock_build: MagicMock,
         mock_publish: MagicMock,
         mock_gitea_pub: MagicMock,
@@ -507,7 +514,7 @@ class TestMain:
         mock_tag: MagicMock,
         mock_login: MagicMock,
     ) -> None:
-        """If create_release fails with 'already exists', treat as success."""
+        """If create_release fails with 'already exists', treat as success (no retry)."""
         mock_tea = MagicMock()
         mock_tea.list_releases.side_effect = TeaCLIError("api error")
         mock_tea.create_release.side_effect = TeaCLIError("there is already a release for this tag")
@@ -516,6 +523,8 @@ class TestMain:
         result = runner.invoke(main, ["v1.0.0", "owner/repo"])
         assert result.exit_code == 0
         assert "already exists" in result.output
+        # "already exists" is caught immediately — no retry
+        assert mock_tea.create_release.call_count == 1
 
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.subprocess.run")
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.get_latest_tag", return_value="v0.1.0")
@@ -526,8 +535,10 @@ class TestMain:
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.publish_to_gitea_registry")
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.publish_to_pypi")
     @patch("devx.ci.publish.build_package")
+    @patch("time.sleep")
     def test_create_release_other_error_raises(
         self,
+        mock_sleep: MagicMock,
         mock_build: MagicMock,
         mock_publish: MagicMock,
         mock_gitea_pub: MagicMock,
@@ -537,7 +548,7 @@ class TestMain:
         mock_tag: MagicMock,
         mock_login: MagicMock,
     ) -> None:
-        """If create_release fails with a non-'already exists' error, raise."""
+        """If create_release fails with a non-'already exists' error, raise after retries."""
         mock_tea = MagicMock()
         mock_tea.list_releases.side_effect = TeaCLIError("api error")
         mock_tea.create_release.side_effect = TeaCLIError("network error")
@@ -546,6 +557,75 @@ class TestMain:
         result = runner.invoke(main, ["v1.0.0", "owner/repo"])
         assert result.exit_code != 0
         assert "Release creation failed" in result.output
+        # Retried 3 times before giving up
+        assert mock_tea.create_release.call_count == 3
+
+
+class TestReleaseRetry:
+    """Tests for retry logic on transient release creation failures."""
+
+    @patch("devx.ci.publish.subprocess.run")
+    @patch("devx.ci.publish.get_latest_tag", return_value="v0.1.0")
+    @patch("devx.gitea_cli.configure_tea_login")
+    @patch.dict("os.environ", {"CI_GITEA_TOKEN": "gitea-tok"})
+    @patch("devx.ci.publish.generate_release_notes", return_value="Release notes")
+    @patch("devx.ci.publish.TeaCLI")
+    @patch("devx.ci.publish.build_package")
+    @patch("time.sleep")
+    def test_transient_failure_retried_and_succeeds(
+        self,
+        mock_sleep: MagicMock,
+        mock_build: MagicMock,
+        mock_tea_cls: MagicMock,
+        mock_notes: MagicMock,
+        mock_run: MagicMock,
+        mock_tag: MagicMock,
+        mock_login: MagicMock,
+    ) -> None:
+        """Transient failure on first attempt succeeds on retry."""
+        mock_tea = MagicMock()
+        mock_tea.list_releases.return_value = []
+        mock_tea.create_release.side_effect = [
+            TeaCLIError("connection timeout"),
+            None,  # second attempt succeeds
+        ]
+        mock_tea_cls.return_value = mock_tea
+        runner = CliRunner()
+        result = runner.invoke(main, ["v1.0.0", "owner/repo", "--skip-build"])
+        assert result.exit_code == 0
+        assert "Gitea release v1.0.0 created" in result.output
+        assert mock_tea.create_release.call_count == 2
+        mock_sleep.assert_called()  # slept between attempts
+
+    @patch("devx.ci.publish.subprocess.run")
+    @patch("devx.ci.publish.get_latest_tag", return_value="v0.1.0")
+    @patch("devx.gitea_cli.configure_tea_login")
+    @patch.dict("os.environ", {"CI_GITEA_TOKEN": "gitea-tok"})
+    @patch("devx.ci.publish.generate_release_notes", return_value="Release notes")
+    @patch("devx.ci.publish.TeaCLI")
+    @patch("devx.ci.publish.build_package")
+    @patch("time.sleep")
+    def test_all_retries_exhausted_raises(
+        self,
+        mock_sleep: MagicMock,
+        mock_build: MagicMock,
+        mock_tea_cls: MagicMock,
+        mock_notes: MagicMock,
+        mock_run: MagicMock,
+        mock_tag: MagicMock,
+        mock_login: MagicMock,
+    ) -> None:
+        """All 3 retry attempts fail — raises ClickException."""
+        mock_tea = MagicMock()
+        mock_tea.list_releases.return_value = []
+        mock_tea.create_release.side_effect = TeaCLIError("503 service unavailable")
+        mock_tea_cls.return_value = mock_tea
+        runner = CliRunner()
+        result = runner.invoke(main, ["v1.0.0", "owner/repo", "--skip-build"])
+        assert result.exit_code == 1
+        assert "Release creation failed" in result.output
+        assert mock_tea.create_release.call_count == 3
+        assert mock_sleep.call_count == 2  # slept between 3 attempts (2 sleeps)
 
 
 class TestFromTag: