build.yml's sign-extension keys its AMO-signing cache purely on the version string in extension/package.json. If an ext-<version> release already has an XPI, signing is skipped and build-web bakes that OLD signed XPI into :latest. Nothing in that path inspects whether extension/ actually changed, so a forgotten bump ships a stale extension on a fully green build -- silently, and as the default outcome of forgetting. AMO can't backstop it either: it 409s on re-signing a version, which is precisely why the cache exists. New extension-version job, pure git + text, no deps or services: 1. Unconditional consistency check. manifest.json and package.json versions must match. web-ext sign reads manifest.json (package.json is in --ignore-files and isn't even inside the XPI), so AMO signs the manifest version; build.yml keys its cache, release tag, XPI filename -- and so the version /api/extension/manifest reports to the update prompt -- on package.json. Divergence either 409s at AMO or ships an XPI whose update prompt lies about what's installed. 2. Changed-without-bump check. If any PACKAGED file under extension/ differs, the version must have moved. Exclusions mirror --ignore-files so a Renovate web-ext devDep bump in package.json doesn't falsely demand one. Compared against main rather than the previous push: the publish decision is made at merge-to-main against whatever ext-<version> exists, so "differs from main" is the question that matters. Diffing against the previous dev push would demand a fresh bump on every iteration, inflating the version to buy nothing. Bumping stays manual -- making it automatic requires rewriting the version in CI and committing back to a protected branch, which this workflow deliberately avoided. This only ensures a missed bump can no longer be silent. Refs #2393 Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>