Brand Navigation v1.0.0-rc.5

Brand Navigation v1.0.0-rc.5

These notes accompany the v1.0.0-rc.5 prerelease.

The source and documentation changes below were implemented and pushed to
main in dcb01b2.
Implementation and verification are separate: the recorded results establish
only the candidates and scenarios named below.

Implemented changes

• Appearance saves submit only explicitly edited colors; Inherit all still
  explicitly resets every defined color. Successful save responses reconcile
  saved color values into the page model.
• Saved-value reads, native-setting observers and a native-save synchronization
  extension were added. They did not resolve E01's immediate stale display.
• A no-change Inherit all action clears its empty drafts instead of leaving
  them to mask a later native save.
• The compact menu's group-only submenu control is keyboard-focusable.
• Each Custom color checkbox has a purpose-specific accessible name; stable
  setting keys preserve checkbox elements during toggles.
• Mobile-bar item widths are constrained and long linked-parent text can shrink
  with ellipsis, reserving room for the separate submenu caret.
• The compact-menu trigger requires a renderable brand or visible navigation
  content.
• Label-only navigation items omit unnecessary icon-loading subscriptions.
• Documentation clarifies separate-copy staging, shared component settings,
  global disabling versus single-theme detachment, and Escape/focus behavior.
  Outdated handoff information and historical path references were corrected.
• Existing regression-source additions are included on main. Their presence is
  not proof that they ran against the final main revision.

Updating

Update through Discourse's normal theme-component update controls. This
candidate does not introduce a settings-schema or configuration-bundle format
change, or change dependencies.

Try updates on a staging site or separate component copy first. Themes sharing
one component also share its code and settings; previewing another parent theme
does not isolate changes to that component. See the
administrator guide.

Verified results and their limits

October 22 existing GitHub CI

The tested component commit was
676cc4a.
Configuration bundles CI
passed all 45 cases, including the lint-coverage guard.
Discourse Theme CI
passed lint, all four backend jobs and all four system lanes (53 examples each,
zero failures). Each frontend lane ran 49 tests with 42 passes and 7 failures;
the same seven administrator-bundle assertions failed on all targets. Four
conditional skips are not counted as passes. The theme workflow failed overall.

The failed assertions remain unresolved. Their root cause has not been
established; they do not by themselves prove seven new product bugs. See
Known Issues
for exact failures and TESTING.md
for candidate/Core identities and the initial lint-failing run. The release
documentation is a documentation-only descendant of the tested candidate;
no later product suite or full acceptance is claimed. RC5 is published with
these limits; its CI result is not all green.

Historical CI at 238d5ad

The working candidate 238d5ad829eb6053e5c2aefc94f495cf5f83791f completed
Discourse Theme CI
and Configuration bundles CI:

• Four existing system-test lanes each passed 49 examples, including Discourse
  core interactions with Brand Navigation active.
• The complete Inherit all → native color save → different Appearance color
  save → reload regression passed on every lane. All eleven saved color
  values and displayed states were checked before and after reload.
• Lint, frontend/backend jobs and 44 configuration cases plus the lint-coverage
  guard passed. Four conditional job skips have explained dispositions; they
  are not counted as executed passes.
• Independent read-only reviewers confirmed the exact overwrite-regression
  result and retained its limits. Their conclusions are focused correction
  reviews, not complete release acceptance.

See Testing and acceptance for exact
Core commits. In particular, the R744-derived 2026.7.2+14 revision is not the
exact official v2026.7.2 release tag. Its passing result applies to the
recorded revision only. These CI results are not results for the later
dcb01b2 product update or the latest main. The main update used [skip ci];
no new suite was run for that push.

Later local execution and focused Chrome results

Area	Recorded result	Limit
E01 corrected save sequence	The independently native-saved value survived a different Appearance save and reload.	Immediate native-field/picker display remained stale; E01 is unresolved.
E03 Custom controls	Names, keyboard operation and saved states were observed; the later focus correction retained focus through Space on/off toggles for all eleven checkboxes.	Focused Chrome observations on the local target, not whole-product accessibility acceptance.
Long-label mobile bar	The original overflow fixture passed after correction; the label and caret stayed within bounds and the submenu was usable.	Foundation, English, 390x844 desktop-Chrome mobile view.
Empty compact menu	No empty trigger or popup remained; Core controls stayed present.	Exact empty fixture in Foundation/Horizon, English, 390x844 desktop-Chrome mobile view.
E02 compact keyboard	Tested English/Arabic, light/dark, Foundation/Horizon sequences showed no issue.	Actual desktop-Chrome mobile-view contexts; no full eight-context or native-phone gate closure claimed.
E04 label-only subscriptions	The missing label-only group/child subscription and cleanup case passed in representative frontend runs.	That representative target and case, not blanket compatibility.

The known-issues record preserves the installed source hashes,
evidence references, original failures and coverage limits. Original configuration
and normal viewport were restored after the focused Chrome work.

Supported-release policy and transition

The policy for subsequent releases and prereleases follows
Discourse's supported-release schedule: supported
ESR and monthly lines at their latest patches, including the oldest supported
ESR and both ESRs during an overlap, plus separate development coverage.

The workflow pins committed on main select 2026.7.3 ESR, 2026.8.1, 2026.9.0
and development latest. The October 22 existing CI exercised these targets;
failed frontend checks prevent a clean compatibility claim. Current schedule
catch-up remains incomplete. The policy is in place for subsequent releases
and prereleases; adoption and target selection do not prove completed
compliance. Subsequent cycles follow the then-current support schedule.
See the
phased adoption plan.

Unresolved behavior and incomplete coverage

E01 immediate native-field/picker display staleness remains unresolved.
Saved values persisted in the corrected save/reload sequence, but the display
cause remains unknown. Other incomplete checks are missing coverage, not
demonstrated product bugs. Twelve human screen-reader procedures remain deferred.
Incomplete lifecycle, role/permission, platform/native-input and external-embed
coverage remains unestablished. It is not a list of demonstrated product bugs.

Testing execution failure and closure

The lengthy process failed to produce a clear overall answer. That is a
testing-process failure, not evidence of more product bugs. the testing execution is a failure that will have a resolution.
That process failure remains unresolved; its resolution has not been specified
by these notes. Closing the testing effort does not mark the execution failure
resolved or authorize a new investigation.

The prior testing effort is closed. RC5 used only the existing GitHub CI
workflows; further testing and investigation remain on hold. E01 remains unresolved and missing coverage remains
missing coverage. The prior closure is not all-nine verification, release
acceptance, or an E01 fix.

Publication status

The immutable RC5 tag and GitHub prerelease
identify the release source, with the actual CI failures and limitations above.
The final follow-up changes only documentation after the tested candidate. RC4's
published tag/release remains unchanged. No stable-release acceptance is claimed.

Support

For installation and configuration help, use
Brand Navigation Support.
Report security issues privately using the security policy.