- GHA release workflow is updated to use an action for uploading all assets. The
action docs say it updates a release if one already exists, and since this
triggers on release and we pass a release tag we know the release already
exists.
- GHA release candidate workflow is updated to auto-publish a pre-release
release on push to a `release/**` branch. A script is added and used to
generate a release message made up of the commits since the last release of
any kind.
- ACT profiles are added to allow locally testing these workflows without
needing to push and wait for GHA to run.
- Docs are updated to note how to test the workflows locally.
### Summary
This PR introduces a lightweight contributor onboarding docs section
under `docs/contributing/` and improves local formatting ergonomics for
first-time contributors.
The goal is to make CrossPoint easier to contribute to for software
developers who are new to embedded systems (like me), while keeping
onboarding modular and aligned with existing project docs.
### What changed
- Added contributor docs hub: `docs/contributing/README.md`
- Added focused onboarding pages:
- `docs/contributing/getting-started.md`
- `docs/contributing/architecture.md`
- `docs/contributing/development-workflow.md`
- `docs/contributing/testing-debugging.md`
- Linked contributor docs from `README.md` for discoverability
- Expanded architecture documentation with Mermaid diagrams
- Improved `bin/clang-format-fix`:
- prefers `clang-format-21` when available
- validates formatter version and fails fast with a clear message if too
old
- handles missing positional arg safely
- Updated docs to explain common `clang-format` setup/version issues and
install paths (including fallback steps when `clang-format-21` is
unavailable in default apt sources)
### Why
- There was no dedicated contributor onboarding path; first-time
contributors had to infer workflow from multiple files.
- New contributors (especially from non-embedded backgrounds) need a
clear mental model of architecture, runtime flow, and debugging process.
- Local formatting setup caused avoidable friction due to clang-format
version mismatch (`.clang-format` expects newer keys used in CI).
- The updates make contribution setup more predictable, reduce
onboarding confusion, and align local checks with CI expectations.
### Additional context
- No firmware behavior/runtime logic was changed; this PR focuses on
contributor experience and tooling clarity.
---
### AI Usage
> Did you use AI tools to help write this code?
Yes, I used AI tools to assist with generating the documentation. I then
manually reviewed, tested, and refined the code to ensure it works
correctly. please feel free to point out any discrepancies or areas for
improvement.
Joel Goguen