Release test gate never fails: steps.test.conclusion is always success after continue-on-error

[rahlk]

Problem

.github/workflows/release.yml gates the release on the test step with continue-on-error: true (line 78) and then tests steps.test.conclusion == 'failure' (line 93 and 102) to delete the tag and fail the job. In GitHub Actions conclusion is the result after continue-on-error is applied and is always success; only outcome carries the real result. Both conditions are therefore never true: a red test suite still builds, publishes the GitHub Release and PyPI wheels, and the tag is never deleted.

Found during the codeanalyzer-iac release-pipeline review (codellm-devkit/codeanalyzer-iac#3), whose workflow was mirrored from this one; the iac copy was fixed in codellm-devkit/codeanalyzer-iac#6 and the fail-closed path was then exercised for real by two aborted v0.1.0 tags (codeanalyzer-iac runs 34003621288 and 34004180477).

Scope boundary

In: make the release gate fail closed. Either drop continue-on-error so the test step fails the job and add one if: failure() && startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/') delete-tag step placed after the last pre-publish step (the iac shape), or keep the current shape and switch both conditions to steps.test.outcome == 'failure'. actionlint clean.
Out: any other change to the release workflow; the tap or PyPI configuration.

Goals

• A failing test step prevents wheel build, Release creation, and PyPI publish.
• The tag is deleted on any pre-publish failure and never after a Release exists.
• workflow_dispatch runs still publish nothing and delete nothing.

Caveats and known risks

• The delete-tag step must stay before the publish steps; placed last it would delete a tag whose Release already exists.

Definition of done

• Merged; the next tag's run shows the gate step without continue-on-error (or with outcome) and actionlint passes in CI.