chore(deps): npm audit fix before release bump; monthly npm-outdated issue

Adds npm audit fix (root + every client) as the first sub-step of the
release skill's bump step, before npm version, so a release is never
gated on remembering to check separately. Never --force; anything
audit fix can't resolve is left to the dependabot-alert pipeline
(#2229) or a follow-up issue.

Disables Dependabot npm version updates in dependabot.yml (a
version-update PR carries no issue and no board card) and replaces
them with a monthly scheduled sweep that runs npm outdated across the
root install and every client, filing or updating one idempotent
tracking issue instead of an auto-generated PR.

Closes #2231
Part of #2229

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_017N9ha27Qg6LHpBQP7G7zPY
Signed-off-by: cliffhall <cliff@futurescale.com>

.github/dependabot.yml

@@ -1,23 +1,26 @@
 version: 2
 
-# Version updates target `v2/main`, the develop branch where all v2 work lands,
-# not the default branch — `main` is release-only, holding the latest released
-# v2 and receiving milestone merges from `v2/main`. (The deprecated v1 line
-# lives on `v1/main` and takes security fixes only.)
+# npm version updates are OFF (#2229): a Dependabot version-update PR carries no
+# issue and no board card, which is the same "every PR references an issue"
+# carve-out the security-update flow had. Routine npm bumps are handled instead
+# by a monthly `npm outdated` sweep (`.github/workflows/dependency-refresh.yml`)
+# that files ONE tracking issue per run, boarded and milestoned like any other
+# work — so a maintainer picks the bump and opens a normal PR against `v2/main`.
+#
+# Security updates are unaffected by this file either way: they are enabled in
+# repo settings, not here. #2229 additionally proposes consuming them as
+# Dependabot ALERTS rather than PRs (tracked, not yet built) — until that lands,
+# security-update PRs still open against `main` and still need retargeting by
+# hand, same as before.
+#
+# github-actions version updates stay on Dependabot's own PR flow below — out of
+# scope for #2229, which was about npm packages specifically.
 #
 # Two things to know about this file:
 #   1. Dependabot reads it from the DEFAULT branch (`main`). Changes here are
 #      inert until the next milestone merge carries them there.
-#   2. `target-branch` scopes VERSION updates. Dependabot SECURITY updates are
-#      enabled in repo settings, not here, and are raised against the default
-#      branch — they kept working while this file was missing entirely
-#      (see #1833, #1840). Per GitHub's Dependabot options reference, an entry
-#      whose `target-branch` names a non-default branch is NOT applied to
-#      security updates, so the schedule/labels/groups below shape version
-#      updates only. Re-confirm security PRs still appear after this lands.
-#
-# v2 is not an npm workspace: the root and each client under `clients/*` carry
-# their own package.json + lockfile, so each needs its own entry.
+#   2. `target-branch` scopes VERSION updates only (npm updates are removed
+#      here, so this now only applies to the github-actions entry below).
 
 updates:
   - package-ecosystem: "github-actions"
@@ -31,63 +34,3 @@ updates:
       github-actions:
         patterns:
           - "*"
-
-  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
-    directory: "/"
-    target-branch: "v2/main"
-    schedule:
-      interval: "monthly"
-    labels:
-      - "v2"
-    groups:
-      root-dependencies:
-        patterns:
-          - "*"
-
-  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
-    directory: "/clients/web"
-    target-branch: "v2/main"
-    schedule:
-      interval: "monthly"
-    labels:
-      - "v2"
-    groups:
-      web-dependencies:
-        patterns:
-          - "*"
-
-  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
-    directory: "/clients/cli"
-    target-branch: "v2/main"
-    schedule:
-      interval: "monthly"
-    labels:
-      - "v2"
-    groups:
-      cli-dependencies:
-        patterns:
-          - "*"
-
-  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
-    directory: "/clients/tui"
-    target-branch: "v2/main"
-    schedule:
-      interval: "monthly"
-    labels:
-      - "v2"
-    groups:
-      tui-dependencies:
-        patterns:
-          - "*"
-
-  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
-    directory: "/clients/launcher"
-    target-branch: "v2/main"
-    schedule:
-      interval: "monthly"
-    labels:
-      - "v2"
-    groups:
-      launcher-dependencies:
-        patterns:
-          - "*"

.github/workflows/dependency-refresh.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+# Monthly npm-outdated sweep (#2229), replacing Dependabot version-update PRs.
+#
+# Dependabot version updates are disabled in `.github/dependabot.yml` because a
+# version-update PR carries no issue and no board card. This workflow runs
+# `scripts/dependency-refresh.mjs` against `v2/main` once a month and files or
+# updates ONE tracking issue listing every outdated package across the root
+# install and each client — no PR is opened automatically. A maintainer reviews
+# the issue, picks what to bump, and opens a normal PR against `v2/main`.
+#
+# `GITHUB_TOKEN` is sufficient: it only needs to read milestones (public) and
+# create/edit an issue (`issues: write`). Board placement is intentionally NOT
+# attempted here — that needs an org-project PAT this token cannot have — so a
+# filed-but-unboarded issue is picked up by the next `/issue-triage` sweep,
+# same as any other maintainer-filed issue.
+name: Dependency Refresh
+
+on:
+  schedule:
+    - cron: "23 6 1 * *" # 06:23 UTC on the 1st of every month
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+  issues: write
+
+jobs:
+  npm-outdated:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout v2/main
+        uses: actions/checkout@v7
+        with:
+          ref: v2/main
+
+      - name: Setup Node.js
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v7
+        with:
+          node-version: '22.x'
+          cache: 'npm'
+
+      - name: Install dependencies (root + all clients)
+        run: npm install
+
+      - name: Run the npm-outdated sweep
+        run: node scripts/dependency-refresh.mjs
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          GITHUB_REPOSITORY: ${{ github.repository }}