ci(release): stop publishing Helm charts from the GitHub tag workflow

[rohithb-hub]

TL;DR

Stop the GitHub tag workflow from publishing Helm charts, and bump the
helm-nvca-operator appVersion to 3.16.1.

Additional Details

• Retire GitHub chart publishing: chart publishing is kept in the internal
  release pipeline, which already publishes every chart release. Chart tags
  and GitHub Releases are unchanged. For a chart tag, the tag job now only
  checks the chart name and creates the Release.
• Bump appVersion: it has stayed at 3.12.7 for some time, so installs that do
  not set image.tag run operator 3.12.7. This moves it to 3.16.1; the
  images exist.

What changed:

• tools/ci/github-release and release-tags.yml: removed chart packaging,
  registry login, push, the appVersion stamp, and the release_tag replay
  input.
• Tests and release docs updated to match.
• deploy/helm/nvca-operator/nvca-operator/Chart.yaml: appVersion 3.12.7 to
  3.16.1.

Follow-up: the chart version bumper that keeps appVersion current is stuck
and will be fixed separately.

Dependencies: none.

For the Reviewer

• tools/ci/github-release: the chart block in tag_release.
• .github/workflows/release-tags.yml: the tag job conditions.

For QA

• python3 tools/ci/test-github-release.py: 116 tests pass.
• Helm chart checks pass with Helm 3.21.4 (tools/ci/check-helm-charts and
  the nvca-operator chart tests).
• QA not needed.

Issues

Closes #2218

Checklist

• I am familiar with the Contributing Guidelines.
• I have signed off my commits for Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO) compliance.
• New or existing tests cover these changes.
• The documentation is up to date with these changes.

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Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between be9cff1 and acc101d.

📒 Files selected for processing (6)

• .github/workflows/release-tags.yml
• ai-tooling/dev/skills/nvca-values-customization/SKILL.md
• deploy/helm/nvca-operator/nvca-operator/Chart.yaml
• docs/dev/github-release-process.md
• tools/ci/github-release
• tools/ci/test-github-release.py

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📝 Walkthrough

The release workflow removes manual replay of existing tags and chart publishing. Tag validation now uses the current ref and checks chart metadata. The chart’s appVersion and release-process documentation were updated.

Changes: Release Flow

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Tag workflow and validation .github/workflows/release-tags.yml, tools/ci/github-release, tools/ci/test-github-release.py	The workflow removes the replay input and runs tag release handling for tag refs. Release validation uses github.ref_name. The release script validates chart registration and the Chart.yaml release name. Tests cover tag handling and exclude the retired replay path.
Chart publishing boundary and metadata tools/ci/github-release, tools/ci/test-github-release.py, deploy/helm/nvca-operator/nvca-operator/Chart.yaml, ai-tooling/dev/skills/nvca-values-customization/SKILL.md, docs/dev/github-release-process.md	The release script removes chart packaging and registry publication helpers. The chart appVersion changes to 3.16.1. The skill and release-process documentation describe committed appVersion values and chart publishing after release publication and mirroring. Follower-release wording and related test coverage were also updated or removed.

Priority: ➖ Normal

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~25 minutes

Change: Bug fix

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to acc10

The release-flow change is mergeable on the available evidence. The downstream chart publisher and availability of the new default image tag should be confirmed during release validation.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Linked Issues check		#2218 requires the publisher to treat the readable-repository not found result as absence and to stop on registry refusals. This PR removes the tag workflow's package, pull, comparison, and push pat…	Implement and test the equivalent behavior in the chart release pipeline. A typed Helm not-found result must allow publication. Other registry read failures must stop publication. Keep coverage for both cases.

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Out of Scope Changes check		The workflow, release-tool, test, and documentation changes support the stated chart-publisher change. The committed appVersion bump supports the new pipeline because it packages the committed `Char…
Docstring Coverage		Docstring coverage is 82.35% which is sufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 17 functions across 1 files. (5 skipped: 5 …
Description Check		Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check		The title uses valid Conventional Commits syntax with the allowed ci type and release scope. It accurately describes the primary change: stopping Helm chart publication from the GitHub tag workflow.

Full details: Linked Issues check

Explanation

#2218 requires the publisher to treat the readable-repository not found result as absence and to stop on registry refusals. This PR removes the tag workflow's package, pull, comparison, and push path, including its only repository refuse-to-replace check. The reviewed changes do not modify or establish equivalent behavior in the post-mirror chart pipeline. The new tests verify that the removed workflow does not publish, not the #2218 absence/refusal distinction.

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