[w8b] Fix release-proposal flow: reject frees dedup, surface execute outcome (#525)

Reject cancelled the proposal's status but never moved it out of the
held-proposal set, so the one-open-proposal dedup blocked the release
manager from ever re-assessing — a rejected proposal deadlocked the cycle.
reject() now sets CANCELLED (mirroring video_post_service), which
list_open_release_proposals already excludes, so a fresh proposal can
originate next cycle.

A failed ~40min background execute (gate red, CI red, or an unexpected
crash) left the proposal silently PENDING with no signal to the CEO.
_run_approve_background now writes a release_execute_outcome marker
(status + detail) on every terminal outcome, and an 'error' marker on an
unhandled exception. GET /proposal surfaces execute_status / execute_detail
/ execute_in_flight (derived from the in-memory _INFLIGHT_APPROVES registry)
so the panel can show a running badge, a failure block with the reason, and
a Retry-approve label instead of a silent wait.

Co-authored-by: Renn F <rennf93@users.noreply.github.com>

panel/src/components/dashboard/__tests__/release-proposal-card.test.tsx

@@ -124,3 +124,53 @@ describe("ReleaseProposalCard — query-failure surfacing (F082)", () => {
     ).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 });
+
+describe("ReleaseProposalCard — execute outcome surfacing (W8b)", () => {
+  it("renders the in-flight badge and disables actions while execute runs", () => {
+    // execute_in_flight is the UX for the Redis-mutex-protected background
+    // execute; the approve/reject buttons disable so the CEO can't double-click.
+    mockUseQuery.mockReturnValue({
+      data: { ...buildProposal(), execute_in_flight: true },
+      isLoading: false,
+      isError: false,
+      error: null,
+      refetch: vi.fn(),
+    });
+
+    render(withPageRefresh(<ReleaseProposalCard />));
+
+    expect(
+      screen.getByText(/release execute running in the background/i),
+    ).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(
+      screen.getByRole("button", { name: /Reject with changes/i }),
+    ).toBeDisabled();
+    // Approve stays present but disabled while the execute runs.
+    const approve = screen.getByRole("button", { name: /Approve & publish/i });
+    expect(approve).toBeDisabled();
+  });
+
+  it("renders the failure block and a Retry label from a persisted execute_status", () => {
+    // A failed ~40min execute left the proposal open with a persisted
+    // execute_status; the card surfaces the reason and flips Approve to Retry.
+    mockUseQuery.mockReturnValue({
+      data: {
+        ...buildProposal(),
+        execute_status: "gate_failed",
+        execute_detail: "make quality failed",
+      },
+      isLoading: false,
+      isError: false,
+      error: null,
+      refetch: vi.fn(),
+    });
+
+    render(withPageRefresh(<ReleaseProposalCard />));
+
+    expect(screen.getByText(/last execute failed/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByText(/make quality failed/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(
+      screen.getByRole("button", { name: /Retry approve & publish/i }),
+    ).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+});

panel/src/components/dashboard/release-proposal-card.tsx

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import {
 } from "@/components/ui/dialog";
 import { Textarea } from "@/components/ui/textarea";
 import { Label } from "@/components/ui/label";
-import { CheckCircle2, XCircle, Rocket, AlertTriangle } from "lucide-react";
+import { CheckCircle2, XCircle, Rocket, AlertTriangle, Loader2 } from "lucide-react";
 import { toast } from "sonner";
 import { usePageRefresh } from "@/hooks";
 import { HelpTip } from "@/components/ui/help-tip";
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ export function ReleaseProposalCard({ className }: { className?: string }) {
     mutationFn: (changes: string) => releaseApi.reject(changes),
     onSuccess: () => {
       queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ["release", "proposal"] });
-      toast.success("Proposal sent back with required changes");
+      toast.success("Proposal rejected — a fresh assessment runs next cycle");
       closeDialog();
     },
     onError: (error) => {
@@ -158,6 +158,12 @@ export function ReleaseProposalCard({ className }: { className?: string }) {
 
   const { report } = proposal;
   const pending = approveMutation.isPending || rejectMutation.isPending;
+  // The ~40min execute runs in the background; the Redis mutex already refuses
+  // a double-click server-side — execute_in_flight is the UX (disable approve,
+  // show a running badge). A persisted execute_status on a still-open proposal
+  // is a failure (a publish would have completed + hidden the card).
+  const executeInFlight = !!proposal.execute_in_flight;
+  const executeFailed = !!proposal.execute_status && !executeInFlight;
 
   return (
     <>
@@ -238,12 +244,40 @@ export function ReleaseProposalCard({ className }: { className?: string }) {
             </p>
           )}
 
+          {executeInFlight && (
+            <div className="flex items-center gap-2 rounded-md border border-blue-500/40 bg-blue-500/10 p-3">
+              <Loader2 className="h-4 w-4 animate-spin text-blue-500" />
+              <span className="text-sm text-blue-600 dark:text-blue-400">
+                Release execute running in the background (~40 min) — this card
+                updates when it finishes.
+              </span>
+            </div>
+          )}
+
+          {executeFailed && (
+            <div className="rounded-md border border-red-500/40 bg-red-500/10 p-3">
+              <p className="flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm font-medium text-red-600">
+                <XCircle className="h-4 w-4" />
+                Last execute failed ({proposal.execute_status})
+              </p>
+              {proposal.execute_detail && (
+                <p className="mt-1 text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+                  {proposal.execute_detail}
+                </p>
+              )}
+              <p className="mt-1 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+                Fix the cause and approve again to retry.
+              </p>
+            </div>
+          )}
+
           <div className="flex flex-col-reverse gap-2 pt-1 sm:flex-row sm:items-center sm:justify-end">
             <Button
               variant="outline"
               size="sm"
               className="text-destructive hover:text-destructive"
               onClick={() => setAction("reject")}
+              disabled={executeInFlight}
             >
               <XCircle className="mr-1 h-4 w-4" />
               Reject with changes
@@ -252,9 +286,10 @@ export function ReleaseProposalCard({ className }: { className?: string }) {
               size="sm"
               className="bg-green-600 hover:bg-green-700"
               onClick={() => setAction("approve")}
+              disabled={executeInFlight}
             >
               <CheckCircle2 className="mr-1 h-4 w-4" />
-              Approve &amp; publish
+              {executeFailed ? "Retry approve & publish" : "Approve & publish"}
             </Button>
           </div>
         </CardContent>
@@ -271,7 +306,7 @@ export function ReleaseProposalCard({ className }: { className?: string }) {
             <DialogDescription>
               {action === "approve"
                 ? "This runs the fail-closed executor: write the bumps + CHANGELOG, run make quality, commit, wait for green CI, then publish. It aborts on a red gate or red CI."
-                : "Record what must change. The proposal stays open for revision; nothing is published."}
+                : "Record what must change. The proposal is cancelled and the release manager re-assesses next cycle; nothing is published."}
             </DialogDescription>
           </DialogHeader>
 

panel/src/lib/api/release.ts

@@ -28,6 +28,9 @@ export interface ReleaseProposal {
   title: string;
   status: string;
   required_changes?: string | null;
+  execute_status?: string | null;
+  execute_detail?: string | null;
+  execute_in_flight?: boolean;
   report: ReleaseReport;
 }