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Meerkat publishes one source project across several consumer surfaces:
ArtifactAudiencePublished as
Rust cratesRust library users and surface binariescrates.io
rkatCLI usersHomebrew tap for macOS/Linux, GitHub Release binary, Rust crate binary
rkat-rpcSDK backends and JSON-RPC hostsGitHub Release binary
rkat-restHTTP/SSE service hostsGitHub Release binary
rkat-mcpMCP host integrationsGitHub Release binary
Python SDKPython applicationsmeerkat-sdk on PyPI
TypeScript SDKNode applications@rkat/sdk on npm
Web SDKBrowser applications@rkat/web on npm
The public release path is GitHub Actions. BuildBuddy release lanes are an owner-only acceleration path and use the same Make-level contract.

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Release Checks

Run the release gate before cutting a tag: 
make release-preflight
make verify-version-parity
make verify-schema-freshness
make release-dry-run
These checks keep the Rust workspace version, Python package version, TypeScript package version, and generated contract artifacts aligned before any registry publish happens.

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Binary Artifacts

Release assets are built for these binaries:
  • rkat
  • rkat-rpc
  • rkat-rest
  • rkat-mcp
Standard targets:
  • x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
  • aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
  • aarch64-apple-darwin
  • x86_64-apple-darwin
  • x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
Release assets include platform archives plus a checksum manifest:
  • checksums.sha256
  • index.json

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Homebrew Tap

The featured CLI install path is the Homebrew tap: 
brew install lukacf/meerkat/rkat
The generated formula supports both macOS and Linux release assets. Linux users should install Homebrew from the official Homebrew on Linux instructions before using the same tap command. The formula installs rkat plus the companion binaries:
  • rkat-rpc
  • rkat-rest
  • rkat-mcp
Reduced distributions are source builds of the same crates with a narrower feature set, not separate public binaries.

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SDK Bootstrap

Python and TypeScript SDK users should not need a local Rust toolchain.
SDKInstallRuntime resolution
Pythonpip install meerkat-sdkUses MEERKAT_BIN_PATH when set; otherwise resolves a matching rkat-rpc release binary
TypeScriptnpm install @rkat/sdkUses an explicit binary path when configured; otherwise resolves a matching rkat-rpc release binary
The SDKs are clients. They start or connect to the JSON-RPC surface rather than embedding a separate runtime implementation.

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Release Workflow

  1. Validate the release candidate.
  2. Build platform binaries.
  3. Create the GitHub release and upload binary assets.
  4. Update the Homebrew tap formula.
  5. Publish Rust crates.
  6. Publish Python, TypeScript, and Web SDK packages.
  7. Run install smoke checks for at least one platform.
Manual release dispatch supports dry-run registry validation. Locally, use: 
make release-workflow VERSION=vX.Y.Z REGISTRY_DRY_RUN=true
MEERKAT_BUILDBUDDY=1 make release-workflow VERSION=vX.Y.Z REGISTRY_DRY_RUN=true

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BuildBuddy

Cargo is the default backend. BuildBuddy is selected explicitly: 
MEERKAT_BUILDBUDDY=1 make release-preflight
MEERKAT_BUILDBUDDY=1 make release-assets VERSION=vX.Y.Z
Use make buildbuddy-doctor when the local BuildBuddy setup looks suspicious. It checks the API key, pinned bb CLI, generated Bazel files, selector behavior, and lane isolation without printing secrets.

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Credentials

Registry credentials are independent:
RegistryCredential
Homebrew tapHOMEBREW_TAP_TOKEN
crates.ioCargo publish token
PyPIPYPI_API_TOKEN
npmNPM_TOKEN
Keep tokens in CI secrets or a local secret store. Do not commit registry tokens, private BuildBuddy endpoints, or enterprise infrastructure names.

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Hard Rules

  • Release only from tagged versions.
  • Never publish mismatched Rust, Python, TypeScript, or contract versions.
  • Never publish SDKs from a commit with stale generated schema artifacts.
  • Keep public binary names stable: rkat, rkat-rpc, rkat-rest, rkat-mcp.
  • Publish checksums and an index for release binary consumers.

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See Also