Python bindings: cross-platform wheel matrix + PyPI publishing (+ cp314t)

[dean0x]

Follow-up to #59 / #131. The native Python bindings (crates/mds-python, to be published as mdscript) landed in #131 as a dev/test-only crate — the extension builds and the pytest suite runs in CI, but no wheels are published. This issue tracks turning that into a real PyPI distribution as part of the single coordinated release.

Note: PyPI name registration is tracked separately in #292 (pre-tag prerequisite). That step should happen before the v0.4.0 tag; the work below is deferred to a post-v0.4.0 follow-up.

Scope

• Cross-platform wheel matrix. Build cp311-abi3 wheels for the release
  target platforms (mirror the napi 7-target set where a Python ABI exists):
  manylinux/musllinux x86_64 + aarch64, macOS x86_64 + arm64, Windows x86_64.
  Use maturin build --release (via maturin-action or the pinned maturin) with an
  sdist.
• PyPI publishing via OIDC trusted publisher for release.yml (preferred; no
  long-lived token), mirroring the npm provenance setup. Publish wheels + sdist.
• Wire into the coordinated release. Extend:
  • release.yml — a build-python matrix + publish-python job, gated on the
    version check, ordered with the crates.io/npm publishes.
  • scripts/verify-versions.mjs — assert the mdscript wheel version equals the
    workspace version (it currently checks crates + npm only; mdscript gets its
    version from the Cargo workspace via maturin dynamic, so this is an added
    assertion, not a new source of truth).
  • scripts/bump-version.mjs — no manifest edit needed (version is dynamic), but
    confirm the CHANGELOG/coordination covers the Python package.
• cp314t free-threaded wheels. The extension is already free-threading ready
  (frozen result classes, #[pymodule(gil_used = false)], GIL released per compile);
  the cp314t ABI is a separate build. Add it once the toolchain/runner support is
  stable and soaked.
• Post-publish smoke: pip install mdscript on a clean machine + provenance
  attestation check.

Notes

• Platform wheels can only be validated in CI (like the napi platform packages) — a
  local maturin build covers only the host platform.
• Pin bumps to soak: pyo3 0.29 / maturin 1.14 once past the ~30-day soak window;
  revisit at the same time as this work.
• PyPI name registration: see Rename Python distribution to markdown-script (import markdown_script) + register on PyPI #292.

[dean0x]

Milestoned v0.4.0 for one sub-item only (2026-08-09 sweep)

To be explicit about scope, because the bulk of this issue is not pre-tag:

Pre-tag (v0.4.0): PyPI \mdscript` name registration— the one-time maintainer action. Rationale:crates/mds-python/README.mdand the repo docs already advertisepip install mdscript`, but the name is unregistered on PyPI. That is a squatting window that opens wider the moment v0.4.0 is announced. Registration costs minutes and does not require the wheel matrix, the release-workflow changes, or OIDC to exist yet.

Not pre-tag (post-v0.4.0): everything else here — the cross-platform wheel matrix, release.yml build-python/publish-python jobs, verify-versions.mjs assertion, OIDC trusted publishing, and cp314t. Nothing Python ships in the v0.4.0 release and the docs are honest about that (crates/mds-python is dev/test-only; CI builds and tests it but publishes nothing).

If it is preferable to track these separately, split the name-registration bullet into its own issue and bump this one back off the milestone.

[dean0x]

Name decision blocking this issue: see #292

#292 has been re-scoped and now carries the Python package name decision that this
issue's PyPI publishing work depends on. Summary of what changed:

• mdscript on PyPI is not available — it is a genuine project (5 releases, April
  2021, real code, dormant ~5 years) in the same problem space, and PEP 541 offers no
  route to it because the owner is reachable.
• Their top_level.txt is exactly mdscript, so keeping import mdscript under a
  different distribution name would silently clobber site-packages for whichever
  package installs second. Both names must change.
• Decision (ADR-012): the Python distribution ships as markdown-script with
  import name markdown_script.

Impact on the scope in this issue

The scope items above that say mdscript need to read markdown-script /
markdown_script:

• The opening line ("to be published as mdscript")
• scripts/verify-versions.mjs — assert the markdown-script wheel version equals
  the workspace version
• Post-publish smoke — pip install markdown-script, then import markdown_script
• The note calling Rename Python distribution to markdown-script (import markdown_script) + register on PyPI #292 a "pre-tag prerequisite" is obsolete: Rename Python distribution to markdown-script (import markdown_script) + register on PyPI #292 is not a v0.4.0
  blocker and has been moved to the v0.5.0 milestone

The rename itself is tracked in #292 and should land before the publishing job here goes
live.

Verified PyPI Trusted Publisher values for the publish-python job

Field	Value
Owner	dean0x
Repository	mdscript
Workflow filename	release.yml
Environment name	(blank)

If this issue's implementation adds environment: pypi to the publish job, the
trusted-publisher record on PyPI must be updated to match the environment name, or the
OIDC exchange will be rejected.

[dean0x]

Deferred from v0.4.0 code review

Finding: python-04 from wave-v0.4.0-wave1 review (2026-08-19_1216)

File:Line: crates/mds-python/tests/test_parity.py:349

Issue: Byte-level differentials across 3 helpers × 4 surfaces; nothing Python ships in v0.4.0.

Reason for deferral: This belongs with the cross-platform wheel matrix and PyPI publishing decision in this issue.

Related: PR #308 (wave/v0.4.0-wave1), issue #292