Merge version outputs into Settings object; update README to be declarative

Author: MariusStorhaug

.github/workflows/Build-Module.yml

@@ -12,16 +12,6 @@ on:
         description: Name of the artifact to upload.
         required: false
         default: module
-      ModuleVersion:
-        type: string
-        description: The Major.Minor.Patch version to stamp into the built manifest. Empty falls back to '999.0.0'.
-        required: false
-        default: ''
-      ModulePrerelease:
-        type: string
-        description: Optional prerelease tag to stamp into the built manifest.
-        required: false
-        default: ''
 
 permissions:
   contents: read # to checkout the repository
@@ -43,7 +33,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: PSModule/Build-PSModule@v4.1
         with:
           Name: ${{ fromJson(inputs.Settings).Name }}
-          Version: ${{ inputs.ModuleVersion != '' && inputs.ModuleVersion || '0.0.0' }}
-          Prerelease: ${{ inputs.ModulePrerelease }}
+          Version: ${{ fromJson(inputs.Settings).Module.Version != '' && fromJson(inputs.Settings).Module.Version || '0.0.0' }}
+          Prerelease: ${{ fromJson(inputs.Settings).Module.Prerelease }}
           ArtifactName: ${{ inputs.ArtifactName }}
           WorkingDirectory: ${{ fromJson(inputs.Settings).WorkingDirectory }}

.github/workflows/Plan.yml

@@ -2,9 +2,10 @@ name: Plan
 
 # The Plan job is the single decision point for the workflow.
 # It runs two steps:
-#   1. Get-PSModuleSettings  - loads and resolves configuration
-#   2. Resolve-PSModuleVersion - calculates the next version from settings + PR labels
-# All downstream jobs consume the Settings JSON and the resolved version outputs from this job.
+#   1. Get-PSModuleSettings      - loads and resolves configuration
+#   2. Resolve-PSModuleVersion   - calculates the next version from settings + PR labels
+# The resolved version is merged into the Settings object (Settings.Module.*) by the Enrich-Settings step.
+# All downstream jobs receive one self-contained Settings JSON with no separate version outputs.
 
 on:
   workflow_call:
@@ -51,23 +52,8 @@ on:
 
     outputs:
       Settings:
-        description: The complete settings object including test suites.
+        description: The complete settings object including test suites and resolved module version.
         value: ${{ jobs.Plan.outputs.Settings }}
-      ModuleVersion:
-        description: The Major.Minor.Patch part of the next version.
-        value: ${{ jobs.Plan.outputs.ModuleVersion }}
-      ModulePrerelease:
-        description: The prerelease tag, empty string when not a prerelease.
-        value: ${{ jobs.Plan.outputs.ModulePrerelease }}
-      ModuleFullVersion:
-        description: The full version string including prefix and prerelease tag (for example v1.4.0).
-        value: ${{ jobs.Plan.outputs.ModuleFullVersion }}
-      ReleaseType:
-        description: The release type - Release, Prerelease, or None.
-        value: ${{ jobs.Plan.outputs.ReleaseType }}
-      CreateRelease:
-        description: 'true when a release/prerelease should actually be created.'
-        value: ${{ jobs.Plan.outputs.CreateRelease }}
 
 permissions:
   contents: read # to checkout the repo
@@ -78,12 +64,7 @@ jobs:
     name: Plan
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     outputs:
-      Settings: ${{ steps.Get-Settings.outputs.Settings }}
-      ModuleVersion: ${{ steps.Resolve-Version.outputs.Version }}
-      ModulePrerelease: ${{ steps.Resolve-Version.outputs.Prerelease }}
-      ModuleFullVersion: ${{ steps.Resolve-Version.outputs.FullVersion }}
-      ReleaseType: ${{ steps.Resolve-Version.outputs.ReleaseType }}
-      CreateRelease: ${{ steps.Resolve-Version.outputs.CreateRelease }}
+      Settings: ${{ steps.Enrich-Settings.outputs.Settings }}
     steps:
       - name: Checkout Code
         uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
@@ -117,3 +98,27 @@ jobs:
           Verbose: ${{ inputs.Verbose }}
           Version: ${{ inputs.Version }}
           WorkingDirectory: ${{ inputs.WorkingDirectory }}
+
+      - name: Enrich-Settings
+        # Merge the resolved version into the Settings object so all downstream jobs
+        # receive a single, self-contained Settings JSON with no separate version outputs.
+        id: Enrich-Settings
+        shell: pwsh
+        env:
+          SETTINGS: ${{ steps.Get-Settings.outputs.Settings }}
+          VERSION: ${{ steps.Resolve-Version.outputs.Version }}
+          PRERELEASE: ${{ steps.Resolve-Version.outputs.Prerelease }}
+          FULL_VERSION: ${{ steps.Resolve-Version.outputs.FullVersion }}
+          RELEASE_TYPE: ${{ steps.Resolve-Version.outputs.ReleaseType }}
+          CREATE_RELEASE: ${{ steps.Resolve-Version.outputs.CreateRelease }}
+        run: |
+          $settings = $env:SETTINGS | ConvertFrom-Json
+          $settings | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name Module -Value ([pscustomobject]@{
+              Version       = $env:VERSION
+              Prerelease    = $env:PRERELEASE
+              FullVersion   = $env:FULL_VERSION
+              ReleaseType   = if ([string]::IsNullOrEmpty($env:RELEASE_TYPE)) { 'None' } else { $env:RELEASE_TYPE }
+              CreateRelease = $env:CREATE_RELEASE -eq 'true'
+          })
+          $enriched = $settings | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10 -Compress
+          "Settings=$enriched" >> $env:GITHUB_OUTPUT

.github/workflows/workflow.yml

@@ -118,8 +118,6 @@ jobs:
       - Plan
     with:
       Settings: ${{ needs.Plan.outputs.Settings }}
-      ModuleVersion: ${{ needs.Plan.outputs.ModuleVersion }}
-      ModulePrerelease: ${{ needs.Plan.outputs.ModulePrerelease }}
 
   # Runs on:
   # - ✅ Open/Updated PR - Tests source code changes

README.md

@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ Depending on the labels in the pull requests, the [workflow will result in diffe
     - [Workflow overview](#workflow-overview)
     - [Plan](#plan)
     - [Lint-Repository](#lint-repository)
-    - [Plan job](#plan-job)
     - [Build module](#build-module)
     - [Test source code](#test-source-code)
     - [Lint source code](#lint-source-code)
@@ -113,65 +112,33 @@ Depending on the labels in the pull requests, the [workflow will result in diffe
 The Plan job is the single decision point of the workflow. It runs two steps in sequence:
 
 1. **Get-PSModuleSettings** — loads the settings file (`.github/PSModule.yml`) and emits a fully resolved `Settings` JSON object that every downstream job consumes.
-2. **Resolve-PSModuleVersion** — calculates the next module version from the resolved settings and the labels on the current pull request. Emits `ModuleVersion`, `ModulePrerelease`, `ModuleFullVersion`, `ReleaseType`, and `CreateRelease` as job outputs.
+2. **Resolve-PSModuleVersion** — calculates the next module version from the resolved settings and the labels on the current pull request.
 
-The resolved version is passed into `Build-Module` so the manifest is stamped with the final version **before** the test stages run. The same artifact is then published unchanged by `Publish-Module`, which also uploads the zipped module as a GitHub Release asset. The bytes that are tested are the bytes that ship to the PowerShell Gallery and to GitHub Releases.
+After both steps complete, the resolved version is merged into `Settings` under a `Module` key:
 
-#### How version resolution works
-
-The [Resolve-PSModuleVersion](https://github.com/PSModule/Resolve-PSModuleVersion) step reads configuration from `Settings.Publish.Module`:
-
-| Key | Description |
+| `Settings.Module` field | Description |
 | --- | ----------- |
-| `ReleaseType` | `Release`, `Prerelease`, or `None`. |
-| `AutoPatching` | When `true`, a patch bump is applied even without a label. |
-| `IncrementalPrerelease` | When `true`, an incrementing counter is appended to prerelease tags. |
-| `DatePrereleaseFormat` | Optional .NET DateTime format string for date-based prerelease suffixes. |
-| `VersionPrefix` | Tag prefix (typically `v`). |
-| `MajorLabels`, `MinorLabels`, `PatchLabels` | Comma-separated PR labels that trigger the corresponding bump. |
-| `IgnoreLabels` | Comma-separated PR labels that suppress version creation. |
-
-Resolution algorithm:
-
-1. Loads the `pull_request` event payload and collects PR labels.
-2. Validates `ReleaseType`; applies `IgnoreLabels` override (suppresses release if matched).
-3. Picks the bump type: `MajorLabels` > `MinorLabels` > (`PatchLabels` or `AutoPatching`).
-4. Reads the latest version from GitHub Releases (`gh release list`) and the PowerShell Gallery (`Find-PSResource`),
-   takes the higher of the two as the baseline.
-5. Bumps the baseline (major, minor, or patch).
-6. For prereleases, appends the sanitized branch name, optionally a `DatePrereleaseFormat` timestamp, and an
-   incremental counter calculated from existing prereleases on the same baseline + branch.
-7. Emits outputs:
-
-| Output | Description |
-| --- | --- |
 | `Version` | `Major.Minor.Patch` portion (for example `1.4.0`). |
 | `Prerelease` | Prerelease tag, empty when not a prerelease. |
 | `FullVersion` | Full string including prefix and prerelease (for example `v1.4.0-mybranch001`). |
-| `ReleaseType` | `Release`, `Prerelease`, or `None` when no bump label is found. |
-| `CreateRelease` | `true` when a release or prerelease should be created. |
+| `ReleaseType` | `Release`, `Prerelease`, or `None`. |
+| `CreateRelease` | `true` when a release or prerelease will be created. |
 
-When `ReleaseType` is `None`, when an `IgnoreLabels` label is present, or when no version bump label is found
-(and `AutoPatching` is disabled), `CreateRelease` is `false` and the version outputs are empty strings.
+All downstream jobs receive this single enriched `Settings` object — there are no separate version outputs.
+The version decided here is the version that ships. `Build-Module` stamps it into the manifest before any test runs,
+and `Publish-Module` publishes the artifact unchanged.
 
 ### Lint-Repository
 
 [workflow](./.github/workflows/Lint-Repository.yml)
 
-### Plan job
-
-[workflow](#plan)
-
-- Reads the settings file `.github/PSModule.yml` in the module repository to configure the workflow.
-- Gathers context for the process from GitHub and the repo files, configuring what tests to run, if and what kind of release to create, and whether
-  to setup testing infrastructure and what operating systems to run the tests on.
-- Calculates the next module version from PR labels and existing releases, then publishes it as job outputs so Build-Module can stamp the manifest before the artifact is tested.
-
 ### Build module
 
 [workflow](./.github/workflows/Build-Module.yml)
 
+- Receives the resolved version from `Settings.Module` and stamps it into the module manifest before the artifact is uploaded.
 - Compiles the module source code into a PowerShell module.
+- Produces the artifact that flows unchanged through test and publish stages.
 
 ### Test source code
 
@@ -367,8 +334,8 @@ The [PSModule - Module tests](./scripts/tests/Module/PSModule/PSModule.Tests.ps1
 
 [workflow](./.github/workflows/Publish-Module.yml)
 
-- Publishes the module to the PowerShell Gallery.
-- Creates a release on the GitHub repository.
+- Publishes the artifact to the PowerShell Gallery exactly as built — no version mutation.
+- Creates a GitHub Release using the version already stamped in the manifest.
 - Attaches the built module as a `.zip` asset on the GitHub Release so consumers can download the exact bytes that were tested and pushed to the PowerShell Gallery.
 - **Abandoned PR cleanup**: When a PR is closed without merging (abandoned), the workflow automatically cleans up any
   prerelease versions and tags that were created for that PR. This ensures that abandoned work doesn't leave orphaned