fix: clarify client release channels

[tmad4000]

Intent

Clarify OpenChat's client hierarchy for an early project. Do not encourage public installation or TestFlight enrollment for the actual native iOS or Android apps; keep native builds as private experiments. Treat the shared apps/mobile React Native/Expo implementation as the forward path for mobile web and responsive desktop web, but label both /m and /d clearly as experimental previews while under active development. Mark the older apps/web Vite client at /legacy as out of date and potentially missing features, retaining it only as a compatibility fallback. Remove native acquisition links from the public landing page, per-user invite landing page, and both client settings/invite surfaces. Document the architecture: /m and /d share one codebase; /d uses a master-detail layout at desktop widths and is PWA-installable. Preserve web/mobile parity and include regression coverage for these release-channel labels and link constraints.

What Changed

• Reframe public landing, invite, and settings surfaces around the experimental /m and /d web previews while removing public TestFlight and Android acquisition links.
• Mark /legacy as an out-of-date compatibility fallback and document the shared React Native web architecture, desktop master-detail/PWA behavior, and private native builds.
• Add regression coverage for release-channel labels and the absence of native download links from public and in-app acquisition surfaces.

Risk Assessment

🚨 High: The implementation removes acquisition links from the named app surfaces, but a public TestFlight enrollment path remains documented and authenticated /m users lack the clear release-channel label required by the stated intent.

Testing

After installing the locked dependencies, the focused release-channel regression test passed; desktop and mobile-responsive browser checks confirmed the intended hierarchy, route selection, private-native messaging, legacy warning, and absence of acquisition links, with screenshots captured. A direct Expo login render was attempted but its dev server did not respond, and all transient files were cleaned up.

• Evidence: Desktop landing-page release channels (local file: /var/folders/7w/cfzyk2q1135bh_qr4jsm7ft40000gp/T/no-mistakes-evidence/01M1GVNYJ2YE0M8JJQ5DP3M25A/release-channels-desktop.png)
• Evidence: Narrow/mobile landing-page release channels (local file: /var/folders/7w/cfzyk2q1135bh_qr4jsm7ft40000gp/T/no-mistakes-evidence/01M1GVNYJ2YE0M8JJQ5DP3M25A/release-channels-narrow-web.png)

Pipeline

Updates from git push no-mistakes

✅ **intent** - passed

✅ No issues found.

✅ **Rebase** - passed

✅ No issues found.

⚠️ **Review** - 2 issues (1 error, 1 warning)

• 🚨 docs/gcp-production.md:25 - The requirement says native builds must remain private and must not encourage public TestFlight enrollment, but the public tester guide still publishes the external join URL and step-by-step enrollment instructions (docs/testers.md:14-28), contradicting this new “Internal development only” claim. Remove the public join link and describe invitation-only/private testing instead, or explicitly approve the tester guide as an exception.
• ⚠️ apps/mobile/src/components/MasterDetailLayout.tsx:287 - The requirement says to “label both /m and /d clearly as experimental previews,” but this persistent badge was added only to the desktop master-detail path. An already-authenticated user opening /m goes directly to ConversationsScreen, whose visible header only says “Chats”; the experimental label appears only on login or inside Settings. Put the release label at shared authenticated chrome so both paths expose it, or confirm that landing/login/settings-only labeling is intended.

✅ **Test** - passed

✅ No issues found.

• npx vitest run test/releaseChannels.test.ts (initially blocked by missing dependencies, then passed after npm ci --ignore-scripts)
• Rendered apps/server/src/landing.html at 1440×1100 and inspected visible release labels and link destinations
• Emulated a 390×844 mobile viewport and verified a 390px document width, /m/ hero routing, mobile-first preview ordering, and zero TestFlight/APK links
• Captured desktop and 500×900 narrow-browser screenshots using headless Chrome
• Attempted to render the shared Expo client with CI=1 IS_WEB_BUILD=1 OPENCHAT_BASE_URL=/m npx expo start --web --port 8089; Metro started but did not serve a response, so no client screenshot was retained
• Removed installed dependencies and unsuccessful transient evidence after testing; verified the worktree remained unchanged

✅ **Document** - passed

✅ No issues found.

✅ **Lint** - passed

✅ No issues found.

✅ **Push** - passed

✅ No issues found.