Release branches reference :latest image tag instead of version-specific tag

[BerndFarkaDyna]

Bug Report: Release branches reference :latest image tag instead of version-specific tag

Issue Description

The installation manifests (dist/install.yaml) in version-specific branches incorrectly reference the :latest image tag instead of the corresponding release version tag. This causes version incompatibility issues and unexpected behavior when users try to install specific versions.

Expected Behavior

When installing from a specific release branch (e.g., v0.10.2), the installation manifest should reference the corresponding version-specific image tag (quay.io/argoprojlabs/gitops-promoter:v0.10.2).

Actual Behavior

The installation manifest in release branches references :latest tag, which may point to a different (potentially incompatible) version than the intended release.

Evidence

• Branch: v0.10.2
• File: dist/install.yaml
• Line: Container image specification
• Current: image: quay.io/argoprojlabs/gitops-promoter:latest
• Expected: image: quay.io/argoprojlabs/gitops-promoter:v0.10.2
• Reference: https://github.com/argoproj-labs/gitops-promoter/blob/v0.10.2/dist/install.yaml

Impact

• Version Mismatch: Users expecting v0.10.2 may get v0.12.0 functionality
• Instability: Latest version (v0.12.0) crashes when used with v0.10.2 manifests
• Deployment Failures: Incompatible versions cause runtime errors and pod crashes
• GitOps Issues: Makes it impossible to pin to specific stable versions

Steps to Reproduce

1. Navigate to release branch: https://github.com/argoproj-labs/gitops-promoter/tree/v0.10.2
2. Check dist/install.yaml file
3. Observe image tag references :latest instead of :v0.10.2
4. Apply the manifest and observe crashes due to version incompatibility

Proposed Solution

1. Update release automation to replace :latest with the appropriate version tag in dist/install.yaml
2. Ensure release branches contain version-specific image references
3. Consider using immutable tags for releases to prevent this issue

Workaround

Users must manually patch the image tag using Kustomize or other tools:

kustomize:
  images:
    - quay.io/argoprojlabs/gitops-promoter=quay.io/argoprojlabs/gitops-promoter:v0.10.2

[BerndFarkaDyna]

This makes the current version 0.10.2 instant fail when trying it out ...