Itch Steam Dual-Depot Dress Rehearsal Channel Label Mismatch - How to Fix

Problem: During October 2026 upload peak (and September dress rehearsals), itch HTML5 shows 2026-09-11-rc02 while Steam demo HUD / description still says 2026-09-04-rc01, so channel_label_match is false, verify_dual_sku_dress_rehearsal.sh fails, and dual_sku_rehearsal_ok stays false even though both uploads “succeeded.”

Who is affected now: Micro-studios shipping itch + Steam fest demos after dual-depot evening and Godot dual-depot Guide #50. This is recovery after label drift, not triple HTML5 channel_label_match (itch+GX+Steam), not wishlist-split recovery (discovery after GREEN bytes), and not VDF LF parse failures.

Fastest safe fix: Freeze promotions → pick one candidate build_id / build_label → rewrite shared VERSION / HUD source → re-export itch Web + Steam desktop → Butler + Steamworks upload → dual smoke screenshots → rewrite dual_sku_dress_rehearsal_receipt_v1.json with channel_label_match: true → latch dual_sku_rehearsal_ok.

Direct answer

Dual-SKU label mismatch means the two storefronts no longer advertise the same player-visible token. Fix the shared label writer, re-ship both channels from the same git SHA, then re-prove D3–D6—do not flip dual_sku_rehearsal_ok because Butler and steamcmd both exited 0.

Why this issue spikes before October upload peak

1. Separate CI stamps — itch job uses GITHUB_SHA short; Steam job uses calendar rcNN from another workflow.
2. Itch-only mid-week push — marketing repushes HTML5 without Steam re-export.
3. HUD painted on Steam only — Project Settings version updated; Web export preset still embeds old string.
4. Store copy drift — Steam description edited by hand; itch page notes ignored.
5. GREEN rehearsal went stale — Thursday row review still shows last week’s channel_label_match: true after a Tuesday itch-only upload.

Symptoms and search phrases

• “dual_sku_rehearsal_ok false channel_label_match”
• itch HTML5 build label different from Steam demo
• verify_dual_sku_dress_rehearsal.sh fails after Butler push
• Thursday BUILD_RECEIPT R6 RED dual SKU
• Godot Web export version ≠ Windows depot footer
• October Next Fest itch and Steam not the same build

Root causes (check in order)

1. Two label writers — no single build_label source for Web + desktop presets.
2. D1 violated — rehearsal spans two build_id values silently.
3. D3 skipped — receipt flipped without HUD / store token table.
4. D4/D5 stale — Butler version new; Steam buildid old (or reverse).
5. Wrong cousin — treating triple-HTML5 help as dual itch+Steam only.
6. Intentional scope gap — feature parity differs but version token should still match (visible build label opinion).

Beginner path (first 30 minutes)

Prerequisites: itch page + Steam demo depot access, Godot (or your engine) dual export presets, jq, write access to release-evidence/dual-sku/, Guide #50 open.

1. Prove the failure:

REC="release-evidence/dual-sku/*/DUAL_SKU_DRESS_REHEARSAL_RECEIPT.json"
jq -e '.channel_label_match == true and .dual_sku_rehearsal_ok == true' $REC
# expect fail

Screenshot itch page / in-game HUD and Steam demo HUD — write both tokens on a sticky note.

2. Choose one recovery build_label (usually today’s candidate, e.g. 2026-09-18-rc03). Update Project Settings / VERSION file / HUD Label from one source both presets read.

3. Re-export Web and Windows Desktop (or Linux) from the same git commit. Do not reuse yesterday’s Steam zip with today’s itch WASM.

4. Push itch (Butler) and Steam depot; record Butler status + Steamworks buildid under release-evidence/dual-sku/<label>/.

5. Dual smoke on installed paths (private window itch + Steam client) → smoke/itch_menu.png + smoke/steam_menu.png showing the same token.

6. Rewrite receipt + BUILD_RECEIPT (below). Do not promote October fest while tokens disagree.

Developer path (recovery gates)

R1 — Pick the correct cousin

R2 — Shared label writer (Godot sketch)

# autoload or boot HUD — both Web and desktop read the same constant/file
const BUILD_LABEL := "2026-09-18-rc03"

Also set Project Settings → Application → Config/Version to the same string. Export presets must not override with divergent custom features unless documented as EXC-00N.

R5 — Receipt rewrite

{
  "schema": "dual_sku_dress_rehearsal_receipt_v1",
  "rehearsal_label": "october-next-fest-2026-dual-sku",
  "locked_utc": "2026-09-18T19:30:00Z",
  "build_id": "2026-09-18-rc03",
  "build_label": "2026-09-18-rc03",
  "git_commit": "abc123def",
  "channel_label_match": true,
  "recovery": {
    "reason": "itch-only mid-week push drifted Steam label",
    "previous_itch_label": "2026-09-11-rc02",
    "previous_steam_label": "2026-09-04-rc01",
    "recovered_utc": "2026-09-18T19:30:00Z"
  },
  "proof": {
    "butler_status_path": "release-evidence/dual-sku/october-next-fest-2026-dual-sku/butler_html5.txt",
    "steam_buildid_path": "release-evidence/dual-sku/october-next-fest-2026-dual-sku/steam_buildid.txt",
    "smoke_dir": "release-evidence/dual-sku/october-next-fest-2026-dual-sku/smoke"
  },
  "gates": {
    "D1_build_id": "pass",
    "D2_channels": "pass",
    "D3_label_match": "pass",
    "D4_byte_proof": "pass",
    "D5_dual_smoke": "pass",
    "D6_receipt": "pass"
  },
  "dual_sku_rehearsal_ok": true
}

R6 — BUILD_RECEIPT + verify

{
  "dual_sku_rehearsal_ok": true,
  "channel_label_match": true,
  "dual_sku_dress_rehearsal_receipt": "release-evidence/dual-sku/october-next-fest-2026-dual-sku/DUAL_SKU_DRESS_REHEARSAL_RECEIPT.json"
}

./scripts/verify_dual_sku_dress_rehearsal.sh \
  release-evidence/dual-sku/october-next-fest-2026-dual-sku/DUAL_SKU_DRESS_REHEARSAL_RECEIPT.json

Verify

• itch private-window menu and Steam client menu show the same build_label.
• jq -e '.channel_label_match == true' on the recovery receipt.
• jq -e '.dual_sku_rehearsal_ok == true' on BUILD_RECEIPT.
• Thursday row review R6 no longer RED for this candidate.

Prevent

1. One shared label writer for itch + Steam export jobs (Guide #50 D3).
2. Re-run D1–D6 after any mid-week single-channel upload.
3. Pair prevention with dual-depot evening before October peak.
4. Keep visible build label discipline on both surfaces.

Related GamineAI reads

• Godot itch + Steam dual-depot dress rehearsal (Guide #50)
• itch + Steam dual-depot dress rehearsal evening
• BUILD_RECEIPT channel_label_match triple HTML5
• Wishlist-split after itch diluted Steam
• VDF LF steamcmd preflight
• itch WASM MIME / cache
• Thursday BUILD_RECEIPT row review
• Official: itch Butler · Steamworks Builds

October peak is the wrong week to learn itch and Steam advertised different builds—normalize one build_label, re-export both channels, dual-smoke, rewrite dual_sku_dress_rehearsal_receipt_v1, then latch dual_sku_rehearsal_ok only when channel_label_match is honestly true.