Wednesday Depot Smoke BUILD_RECEIPT Row Review - Ten Minutes Before Thursday Store Publish - 2026

Monday: weekly depot jq says october_upload_weekly_ok: true. Tuesday: a contractor rebuilds "one crash fix" and forgets EXCEPTION-DEPOT. Wednesday noon: marketing asks whether Thursday's store publish checklist can go. Someone answers "SteamPipe was green Monday" and opens the store editor. Thursday 5 p.m.: players install a branch BUILD_RECEIPT still describes as last week's RC, captions are wrong, and SETLIVE exception is empty while default somehow got touched.

October 2026 upload week needs a mid-week depot smoke row review—not only Friday capstone and not only Monday identity jq. Content-update teams already learned this cadence: Thursday content-update row review after Wednesday warm (T1–T10, content_update_promote_allowed). Fest demos have Thursday row review after Wednesday demo smoke. This Process & Workflow URL owns the October upload cousin: on Wednesday, spend ten minutes diffing depot/BUILD_RECEIPT rows after installed smoke, then set store_publish_allowed (and october_depot_smoke_ok) only when gates D1–D10 clear—before Thursday store publish.

Non-repetition note: Thursday content-update cousin owns Addressables catalog promote. Fest Thursday cousin owns demo/surface/channel promote. Weekly depot jq #7 owns Monday identity. Depot upload evening #1 owns U1–U6 append. Wednesday demo smoke owns binary golden path for fest demos. Forward #12 owns Friday upload capstone. This URL owns Wednesday upload-week depot smoke + D1–D10 store-publish latch.

Pair weekly depot jq #7, store publish checklist #2, SETLIVE opinion #9, overtime worksheet #8, SteamCMD tools, depot label mismatch help, course setlive dry-run. Forward #11 Whisper caption lint and #12 Friday capstone.

Why this matters now (October 2026 upload week)

1. Monday GREEN is not Thursday GREEN — Weekly jq proves identity; Wednesday proves installed depot + receipt rows still match.
2. Store publish inherits lies — Publish checklist #2 without smoke latch ships store claims against wrong build_id.
3. Silent rebuilds land Tuesday — EXCEPTION-DEPOT gaps show up mid-week; Friday capstone is too late for Thursday publish.
4. SETLIVE temptation peaks Wednesday PM — SETLIVE opinion #9 needs smoke evidence before default theater.
5. Overtime without a smoke card — O-SMOKE burns hours repeating the same failure; D-gates force a decision.

Direct answer: Every upload-week Wednesday, run installed depot smoke, clear D1–D10, file october_depot_smoke_row_diff_receipt_v1.json, set BUILD_RECEIPT october_depot_smoke_ok: true and store_publish_allowed: true only when blockers pass—refuse Thursday store publish on Monday jq theater alone.

Who this ritual is for

Time: 10 minutes for row review after smoke; smoke itself 15–25 minutes first week, ~10 later.
Prerequisites: Current BUILD_RECEIPT.json, Monday weekly depot receipt, steampipe log tail, Steam client install of the RC (or intended) branch, optional SETLIVE list path.

Format ladder (October upload week)

Content-update weeks still use warm → Thursday T-gates—different columns; do not reuse content_update_promote_allowed for Steam store publish.

Depot smoke row catalog (what to diff)

Store release-evidence/steam/receipt-row-catalog-october-depot-smoke.md:

Never delete mid-upload-week without receipt_version bump in diff notes.

Gates D1–D10 (Wednesday store-publish blockers)

D4–D8 are Thursday store-publish blockers when RED. D5 YELLOW allows publish only with written waiver referencing EXCEPTION-DEPOT or freeze note.

Beginner path — printable ten-minute card

WEDNESDAY DEPOT SMOKE ROW REVIEW — OCTOBER UPLOAD
[ ] D1 files + baseline open
[ ] D2 build_id matches installed footer
[ ] D3 depot_manifest_sha256 matches disk
[ ] D4 steampipe log tail matches
[ ] D5 october_upload_weekly_ok this ISO week
[ ] D6 branch_intent / setlive_target (default ⇒ SETLIVE-00N)
[ ] D7 installed smoke receipt filed today
[ ] D8 store publish checklist path present
[ ] D9 producer signoff
[ ] D10 october_depot_smoke_row_diff_receipt_v1.json
DECISION: store_publish_allowed = YES / NO

Beginner rule: If you cannot point to today's installed smoke path, Thursday store publish is NO—even if Monday jq was GREEN.

Minute-by-minute ritual

Calendar invite: "Wednesday depot smoke row review — store publish gate."

Developer path — receipt template

File as release-evidence/steam/smoke/2026-W41-wednesday.json:

{
  "schema": "october_depot_smoke_row_diff_receipt_v1",
  "iso_week": "2026-W41",
  "reviewed_at_utc": "2026-10-08T15:10:00Z",
  "current_build_id": "october-fest-rc-20261008-110422",
  "baseline_build_id": "october-fest-rc-20261006-143022",
  "paired_weekly_receipt": "release-evidence/steam/weekly/2026-W41.json",
  "paired_steampipe_log": "release-evidence/steam/steampipe_upload_log.jsonl",
  "installed_smoke": {
    "path": "release-evidence/steam/smoke/2026-W41-installed.json",
    "client": "steam_desktop",
    "branch": "october_next_fest_2026_rc",
    "footer_build_id": "october-fest-rc-20261008-110422",
    "golden_path": "boot_to_title_menu_ok"
  },
  "gates": {
    "D1": "GREEN",
    "D2": "GREEN",
    "D3": "GREEN",
    "D4": "GREEN",
    "D5": "GREEN",
    "D6": "GREEN",
    "D7": "GREEN",
    "D8": "GREEN",
    "D9": "GREEN",
    "D10": "GREEN"
  },
  "row_diff": [
    {
      "key": "build_id",
      "baseline": "october-fest-rc-20261006-143022",
      "current": "october-fest-rc-20261008-110422",
      "expected": "october-fest-rc-20261008-110422",
      "status": "expected_change",
      "note": "EXCEPTION-DEPOT-004"
    },
    {
      "key": "setlive_target_label",
      "baseline": "october_next_fest_2026_rc",
      "current": "october_next_fest_2026_rc",
      "expected": "october_next_fest_2026_rc",
      "status": "unchanged"
    }
  ],
  "october_depot_smoke_ok": true,
  "store_publish_allowed": true,
  "notes": "Installed smoke on fest RC; no default setlive; store checklist ready for Thursday"
}

BUILD_RECEIPT rows

{
  "october_upload_weekly_ok": true,
  "steampipe_upload_ok": true,
  "setlive_exception_list_ok": true,
  "october_depot_smoke_ok": true,
  "october_depot_smoke_receipt": "release-evidence/steam/smoke/2026-W41-wednesday.json",
  "store_publish_allowed": true
}

Fail-closed: Thursday publish CI / producer checklist must require store_publish_allowed == true from this ISO week's Wednesday receipt—not last week's boolean.

Installed smoke minimum (D7)

Before the ten-minute row review:

1. Install from intended Steam branch (fest RC preferred).
2. Record footer / in-game build_id if present.
3. Boot to title; run one golden path (start game or menu → first interactive screen).
4. Confirm branch name in Steam properties / beta dropdown.
5. Save installed_smoke JSON with screenshots paths optional.

Pair help: depot promoted build label mismatch when footer ≠ receipt. Pair course dry-run lesson when setlive is also on the calendar.

verify_october_depot_smoke.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
SMOKE="${1:-release-evidence/steam/smoke/latest-wednesday.json}"
BR="${2:-BUILD_RECEIPT.json}"

jq -e '.schema == "october_depot_smoke_row_diff_receipt_v1"' "$SMOKE" >/dev/null
jq -e '.october_depot_smoke_ok == true' "$SMOKE" >/dev/null
jq -e '.store_publish_allowed == true' "$SMOKE" >/dev/null

for g in D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10; do
  test "$(jq -r --arg g "$g" '.gates[$g]' "$SMOKE")" = "GREEN"
done

test -f "$(jq -r .installed_smoke.path "$SMOKE")"
FOOTER=$(jq -r .installed_smoke.footer_build_id "$SMOKE")
CUR=$(jq -r .current_build_id "$SMOKE")
test "$FOOTER" = "$CUR"

jq -e '.store_publish_allowed == true' "$BR" >/dev/null
echo "october_depot_smoke_ok"

jq one-liners

Latch

jq -e '.schema == "october_depot_smoke_row_diff_receipt_v1"
  and .october_depot_smoke_ok == true
  and .store_publish_allowed == true' \
  release-evidence/steam/smoke/2026-W41-wednesday.json

Branch must not silently be default

jq -e '
  .installed_smoke.branch != "default"
  or (input | .setlive_exception_list_ok == true)
' release-evidence/steam/smoke/2026-W41-wednesday.json BUILD_RECEIPT.json

Weekly pointer present

jq -e '.paired_weekly_receipt | type == "string" and length > 0' \
  release-evidence/steam/smoke/2026-W41-wednesday.json

Proof table

Scenario matrix

Overtime coupling

When D7 fails, overtime worksheet #8 O-SMOKE applies: max retries, then waiver or rollback—do not burn unlimited hours. When D6 fails on default, O-SETLIVE + SETLIVE-00N required before more setlive overtime.

Same-week calendar (recommended)

Skipping Wednesday and "catching up Friday" still leaves Thursday publish unprotected.

Partner diligence zip

1. october_depot_smoke_row_diff_receipt_v1.json
2. Installed smoke JSON + optional screenshots
3. Paired weekly depot receipt
4. BUILD_RECEIPT excerpt with store_publish_allowed
5. Link to SteamCMD tools
6. SETLIVE list if default was involved

Zip name: {studio}_october_depot_smoke_{iso_week}_2026.zip.

Comparison pack — row-review cousins

FAQ

Same as Monday weekly depot jq?

No. Monday detects drift; Wednesday decides store publish permission.

Same as Wednesday demo smoke ritual?

Related habit, different window. Demo smoke is fest-demo golden path; this is upload-week depot + store latch.

Same as Thursday content-update row review?

Cousin cadence, different columns (catalog vs depot/branch/store).

Same as Friday upload capstone #12?

Friday is pre-fest-live. Wednesday protects Thursday store publish.

Does smoke replace SETLIVE exception list?

No. Smoke proves install; SETLIVE list authorizes non-RC targets.

Can we publish store if D5 weekly jq is YELLOW?

Only with written waiver—prefer fix weekly first.

Must smoke run on Deck?

Desktop Steam client is enough for D7; add Deck when Deck is a launch surface claim.

What if store publish is only metadata?

Still require Wednesday latch—metadata lies against wrong build_id confuse partners and support.

Facilitator stand-up script (75 seconds)

1. "ISO week and Wednesday smoke path?"
2. "build_id footer matches receipt and steampipe log?"
3. "october_upload_weekly_ok still GREEN this week?"
4. "Branch = fest RC, or SETLIVE-00N filed?"
5. "store_publish_allowed decision: YES or NO?"
6. "If NO — which D-gate is RED, and who owns the fix before Thursday 10 a.m.?"

Paste the decision into #october-upload before marketing opens the store editor.

CI sketch (GitHub Actions)

- name: Verify Wednesday depot smoke row review
  run: bash scripts/verify_october_depot_smoke.sh \
    "release-evidence/steam/smoke/${{ env.ISO_WEEK }}-wednesday.json"
- name: Block Thursday store publish without latch
  run: jq -e '.store_publish_allowed == true
    and .october_depot_smoke_ok == true' \
    release-evidence/05-operations/BUILD_RECEIPT.json

Place verify after installed smoke artifact upload, before any job that flips Steamworks "Publish" or exports store metadata packages. Document waivers in BUILD_RECEIPT notes with producer initials and UTC time.

Engine and store notes

Waiting on SteamPipe queue is not D7. D7 starts when the client has bytes installed.

RED / YELLOW / GREEN routing

Do not convert D7 RED into "marketing can still edit drafts." Drafts are fine; public publish and partner-facing store packages are not.

Worked example (W41)

Monday W41 weekly receipt GREEN on october-fest-rc-20261006-143022. Tuesday EXCEPTION-DEPOT-004 crash fix uploads october-fest-rc-20261008-110422. Wednesday QA installs fest RC, footer matches, golden path boots. Row diff marks build_id as expected_change with EXCEPTION note. D1–D10 GREEN. Producer sets store_publish_allowed: true at 15:12 UTC. Thursday store checklist runs against the same build_id. Friday #12 capstone will consume this smoke annex—do not invent a second Wednesday boolean later.

Common mistakes

1. Reusing last week's store_publish_allowed — ISO week must match.
2. Smoke on local non-Steam build — D7 requires Steam-installed branch.
3. Calling Steamworks UI "smoke" — UI green ≠ installed footer.
4. Skipping D6 because "we never use default" — still record branch_intent.
5. Letting marketing decide YES in Slack — decision is the receipt file.

Key takeaways

1. October upload week needs Wednesday depot smoke row review before Thursday store publish.
2. Gates D1–D10 on october_depot_smoke_row_diff_receipt_v1.json.
3. Latch october_depot_smoke_ok and store_publish_allowed only after installed smoke.
4. Monday jq GREEN is not Thursday publish permission.
5. D4–D8 RED block store publish.
6. Default branch install without SETLIVE-00N fails D6.
7. Pair #7 weekly jq and #2 publish checklist.
8. Pair #9 SETLIVE and #8 overtime O-SMOKE.
9. Distinct from content-update Thursday and fest Thursday cousins.
10. Use SteamCMD tools, help mismatch, course dry-run.
11. Forward #11 caption lint and #12 Friday capstone.
12. Ten minutes of receipt honesty beats a Thursday of wrong store claims.
13. Post-fest default return uses cousin Wednesday post-fest smoke (W1–W10, post_fest_smoke_ok)—do not reuse store_publish_allowed.

Related reads

• Wednesday Post-Fest Smoke After Fest Branch Unset — November post-fest cousin (post_fest_smoke_ok)
• Whisper Upload-Week Trailer Caption Lint Before Store Video Slot
• Friday October Upload Capstone Before Fest Live — final capstone that reads store_publish_allowed and latches fest_live_allowed
• jq Gate Sketch for october_upload Weekly Depot Row Diff
• 14 Free Steam Store Publish Checklist Tools October Upload Week
• Thursday Content Update BUILD_RECEIPT Row Review After Warm Catalog
• Stop Running setlive on Default Without SETLIVE Exceptions
• October Upload Week Engineering Overtime Cap Worksheet
• Your First SteamPipe Depot Upload Log Before October Next Fest
• SteamCMD SteamGuard Depot Owner Validation Tools
• Steam Depot Promoted Playtest Build Label Mismatch Help
• GameMaker setlive Dry-Run Course Lesson

Closing

Monday identity without Wednesday smoke is how Thursday store publish inherits last week's green flags. Run the installed depot smoke, clear D1–D10, and let store_publish_allowed be a same-week decision—not a leftover boolean.

When marketing asks "can we publish the store page tomorrow?", the answer is the Wednesday card: smoke path, branch honesty, and a receipt that still matches the bits players will install.