Validated in a combined 10-PR batch worktree off release/v3.8.51 tip. Fixes#11523.
- Focused test: tests/unit/build/docker-next-channel-8576.test.ts — 7/7 pass
- typecheck:core, file-size, changelog-integrity, complexity, cognitive-complexity gates — all OK
- Full-repo lint: 503 pre-existing problems confirmed identical on the pure release/v3.8.51 tip — unrelated to this diff
⚠️ base-red inherited: #11449
Thanks for treating Docker publishes from non-default frozen release branches as an expected no-op.
v3.8.40 cycle integration → main. All test gates green (Unit/Integration/Coverage/Node-compat/Quality-Ratchet). The only red check, 'PR Test Policy', is the test-masking heuristic firing on the cumulative ~57-commit release diff (legitimate assert consolidations already reviewed per-PR — Gemini CLI removal #5246, retired GPT models #5280, provider catalog refreshes); overridden with --admin per the documented release-PR convention. CodeQL/SonarQube advisory scans non-blocking; #5278's code already passed CodeQL on main. Homologated on VPS 192.168.0.15 (v3.8.40 healthy).
