Merge Test Speed

ForkPress merge changes should get local proof before waiting on full e2e and release jobs. The default fast path is:

make test-cow-changed

That command compares the current change set to origin/trunk, adds staged and unstaged edits, and runs the smallest mapped COW gate it can infer from the changed files and scripts/cow/merge.php diff. It always runs git diff --check and PHP syntax checks for changed PHP files.

Use a different base when reviewing a stacked branch:

FORKPRESS_TEST_BASE=trunk make test-cow-changed

To see the plan without running it:

scripts/dev/cow-changed-test-plan.sh --list

For local iteration, run the independent checks in parallel:

scripts/dev/cow-changed-test-plan.sh --jobs 4

The same setting is available as FORKPRESS_CHANGED_TEST_PLAN_JOBS=4, which is useful when calling make test-cow-changed. Keep --jobs 1 when debugging interleaved failures or when the machine is already CPU-bound.

CI uses the same planner as a COW/PHP preflight before the expensive Linux, macOS, and Windows COW jobs. That CI scope intentionally avoids Rust and release packaging checks so the preflight remains a fast fail gate, while local runs keep the broader mappings by default.

The full release-verification matrix is reserved for binary, packaging, runtime bundle, release-script, installer, dependency, and workflow changes. Pure scripts/cow/** merge-logic PRs rely on the changed-file COW preflight plus the platform COW jobs instead of also waiting for duplicated release bundle builds.

This is an iteration gate, not a release gate. Run broader checks before asking for review when a change crosses subsystem boundaries:

make test-cow-fast
php tests/cow/merge.php

Full e2e and release verification still belong at integration points: before merging user-facing runtime changes, before release tags, and after build or packaging changes. Pull-request workflows cancel superseded runs for the same PR so a follow-up push does not leave obsolete mac/Linux jobs consuming runners.