Fix publish layout sync false positives

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning (https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+
+- Reduced `layout.sync` false positives in publish/check flows by normalizing `.kicad_pro` newline writes and ignoring trailing whitespace-only drift when comparing synced layout files.
+
 ## [0.3.43] - 2026-02-18
 
 ### Added

crates/pcb-layout/src/lib.rs

@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ fn files_differ(original_path: &Path, generated_path: &Path, what: &str) -> anyh
         .with_context(|| format!("Failed to read {what} file: {}", original_path.display()))?;
     let generated_bytes = fs::read(generated_path)
         .with_context(|| format!("Failed to read {what} file: {}", generated_path.display()))?;
-    Ok(original_bytes != generated_bytes)
+    Ok(original_bytes.trim_ascii_end() != generated_bytes.trim_ascii_end())
 }
 
 /// Apply moved() path renames to a PCB file
@@ -815,6 +815,50 @@ pub mod utils {
     }
 }
 
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod diff_tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn files_differ_ignores_trailing_whitespace() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        let temp = tempfile::tempdir()?;
+        let original = temp.path().join("original.kicad_pcb");
+        let generated = temp.path().join("generated.kicad_pcb");
+
+        fs::write(&original, "(kicad_pcb (version 20240101))\n")?;
+        fs::write(&generated, "(kicad_pcb (version 20240101))\r\n\t")?;
+
+        assert!(!files_differ(&original, &generated, "PCB")?);
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn files_differ_detects_leading_whitespace_changes() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        let temp = tempfile::tempdir()?;
+        let original = temp.path().join("original.kicad_pcb");
+        let generated = temp.path().join("generated.kicad_pcb");
+
+        fs::write(&original, "(kicad_pcb (version 20240101))\n")?;
+        fs::write(&generated, " (kicad_pcb (version 20240101))\n")?;
+
+        assert!(files_differ(&original, &generated, "PCB")?);
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn files_differ_detects_internal_whitespace_changes() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        let temp = tempfile::tempdir()?;
+        let original = temp.path().join("original.kicad_pro");
+        let generated = temp.path().join("generated.kicad_pro");
+
+        fs::write(&original, r#"{"a":1,"b":2}"#)?;
+        fs::write(&generated, r#"{"a":1, "b":2}"#)?;
+
+        assert!(files_differ(&original, &generated, "project")?);
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}
+
 /// Build netclass assignments from net impedance properties
 fn build_netclass_assignments(
     schematic: &Schematic,

crates/pcb/src/release.rs

@@ -749,7 +749,8 @@ fn update_kicad_pro_text_variables(
         );
 
         // Write back to file with pretty formatting
-        let updated_content = serde_json::to_string_pretty(&project)?;
+        let mut updated_content = serde_json::to_string_pretty(&project)?;
+        updated_content.push('\n');
         fs::write(kicad_pro_path, updated_content).with_context(|| {
             format!(
                 "Failed to write updated .kicad_pro file: {}",
@@ -1530,3 +1531,50 @@ fn run_kicad_drc(info: &ReleaseInfo, spinner: &Spinner) -> Result<()> {
 
     Ok(())
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn update_kicad_pro_text_variables_writes_trailing_newline() -> Result<()> {
+        let temp_dir = tempfile::tempdir()?;
+        let kicad_pro_path = temp_dir.path().join("layout.kicad_pro");
+
+        fs::write(
+            &kicad_pro_path,
+            r#"{
+  "text_variables": {}
+}"#,
+        )?;
+
+        update_kicad_pro_text_variables(&kicad_pro_path, "1.2.3", "abcdef0", "Demo Board")?;
+
+        let content = fs::read_to_string(&kicad_pro_path)?;
+        assert!(
+            content.ends_with('\n'),
+            "expected .kicad_pro to end with newline"
+        );
+
+        let project: serde_json::Value = serde_json::from_str(&content)?;
+        let vars = project
+            .get("text_variables")
+            .and_then(|v| v.as_object())
+            .expect("text_variables should exist");
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            vars.get("PCB_VERSION").and_then(|v| v.as_str()),
+            Some("1.2.3")
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            vars.get("PCB_GIT_HASH").and_then(|v| v.as_str()),
+            Some("abcdef0")
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            vars.get("PCB_NAME").and_then(|v| v.as_str()),
+            Some("Demo Board")
+        );
+
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}