enable PM on ESP repeaters that support it

.github/workflows/build.yml

@@ -9,6 +9,24 @@ env:
   python_version: 3.12
   toolchains: arm-zephyr-eabi:xtensa-espressif_esp32s3_zephyr-elf:xtensa-espressif_esp32_zephyr-elf:riscv64-zephyr-elf
 
+  # Mark the GitHub release as a pre-release AND skip the Mesh America catalog
+  # publish. Set to "true" for a release that should not reach ordinary users
+  # through apps.meshamerica.com's browser flasher; set back to "false" for a
+  # normal release.
+  #
+  # Two separate effects, both driven from here so they cannot drift apart:
+  #   - the release is created with prerelease: true, so GitHub does not mark it
+  #     "Latest" and it is excluded from the /releases/latest API.
+  #   - publish-catalog is skipped entirely, so the firmware-dist branch and its
+  #     catalog.json are left ALONE — the configurator keeps offering whatever
+  #     the last non-prerelease build published. Nothing is unpublished or
+  #     rolled back; that branch is simply not force-pushed this time.
+  # Release artifacts are still built and attached, so a manual download and
+  # flash works exactly as usual.
+  #
+  # 1.16.8: pre-release while ESP32 light sleep is unvalidated on hardware.
+  prerelease: "true"
+
 jobs:
   setup-zephyr:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -228,6 +246,10 @@ jobs:
       contents: write
     outputs:
       release_tag: ${{ steps.tag.outputs.release_tag }}
+      # Re-exported as a job output because the `env` context is NOT available
+      # in a job-level `if:` — publish-catalog cannot read env.prerelease
+      # directly and has to gate on this instead.
+      prerelease: ${{ env.prerelease }}
 
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v6
@@ -326,6 +348,7 @@ jobs:
         body_path: ${{ steps.notes.outputs.notes_path }}
         target_commitish: ${{ github.sha }}
         draft: false
+        prerelease: ${{ env.prerelease }}
         files: firmware/*
 
   # Publish firmware + provider catalog for the Mesh America configurator
@@ -335,8 +358,14 @@ jobs:
   # CORS-clean hosts (firmware via jsDelivr, catalog via raw.githubusercontent).
   # The stable catalog URL registered with Mesh America is:
   #   https://raw.githubusercontent.com/<owner>/<repo>/firmware-dist/catalog.json
+  #
+  # Skipped entirely on a pre-release (see the `prerelease` env at the top).
+  # This branch is force-pushed, so skipping is the whole mechanism: the
+  # previous release's firmware and catalog.json stay exactly as they are and
+  # the configurator keeps offering that version.
   publish-catalog:
     needs: create-release
+    if: needs.create-release.outputs.prerelease != 'true'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       contents: write