fix(release): always publish stable to VS Code Marketplace

[arnaudlh]

Why

Run https://github.com/Azure/git-ape/actions/runs/26485522294 failed at the Publish to VS Code Marketplace step with:

Cannot use '--pre-release' flag with a package that was not packaged as pre-release. Please package it using the '--pre-release' flag and publish again.

For v0.1.0, the workflow computed MINOR=1 → odd → vsce publish --pre-release, but the VSIX is always packaged without --pre-release, so vsce rejected it.

The odd-minor / even-minor channel scheme is an opt-in convention used by some Microsoft extensions (Python, etc.), not a Marketplace requirement.

What

• Removed the odd/even minor branching in the marketplace publish step.
• Always publish as a stable Marketplace release.
• Kept the existing guard: semver pre-release suffixes (e.g. 0.1.0-rc.1) continue to skip marketplace publish entirely.

Follow-up

v0.1.0 cannot be re-published with the same version. Cut a new tag (e.g. v0.1.1) after merge to verify the publish path.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR fixes the VS Code Marketplace publish failure in the release workflow by removing the odd/even-minor prerelease branching and always publishing Marketplace releases as stable (while still skipping Marketplace publish for semver prerelease-suffix versions like 0.1.0-rc.1).

Changes:

• Remove minor-parity logic that conditionally added vsce publish --pre-release.
• Always run vsce publish as a stable (Release channel) publish for non-prerelease semver versions.
• Keep the existing guard to skip Marketplace publish when the version includes a semver prerelease suffix.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
.github/workflows/git-ape-release.yml	Simplifies Marketplace publishing to always publish stable and avoids --pre-release mismatch with a stable-packaged VSIX.

Copilot's findings

• Files reviewed: 1/1 changed files
• Comments generated: 0

[sendtoshailesh]

Review summary

This PR correctly fixes the v0.1.0 marketplace publish failure by removing the odd/even minor version branching logic. The workflow now always publishes to the stable Marketplace channel, matching how the VSIX is actually packaged (without --pre-release).

Correctness

• ✅ Root cause diagnosis is accurate: v0.1.0 triggered MINOR=1 → odd → vsce publish --pre-release, but the VSIX was packaged without --pre-release at line 259, causing the flag mismatch error
• ✅ Fix correctly removes the MINOR calculation and dynamic $FLAG logic (lines 320-332 deleted)
• ✅ Semver pre-release suffix check (lines 314-318) correctly preserved — versions like 0.1.0-rc.1 will still skip marketplace publish entirely
• ✅ Updated comment accurately explains the odd/even scheme is opt-in, not a Marketplace requirement
• ✅ CI checks all passing (Analyze, Markdown Lint, Structural Validation, actionlint, CLA)
• ✅ Verified the vsce package step at line 259 has never used --pre-release, confirming the mismatch was in the publish step only

Minor nits (non-blocking)

1. website/docs/workflows/git-ape-release.md lines 353-354 still reference the old odd/even scheme — though this file is auto-generated (header says "DO NOT EDIT"), so it will regenerate on next docs build. No action needed if docs rebuild on merge.
2. Follow-up note: As the PR body mentions, v0.1.0 cannot be republished with the same version. A new tag (e.g., v0.1.1) will be needed after merge to verify the fix. Consider updating CHANGELOG.md to document this fix.

LGTM — This fix directly addresses the failure and simplifies the workflow by removing the opt-in odd/even convention that wasn't being followed in the packaging step.