User description

Summary

Add automated CI check that detects when parameter group structs are modified without incrementing the version number. This prevents settings corruption issues like the one highlighted in PR #11236.

Changes

• Add .github/scripts/check-pg-versions.sh - Detection script that analyzes git diffs
• Add .github/workflows/pg-version-check.yml - GitHub Actions workflow
• Add .github/workflows/README.md - Documentation for all workflows

How It Works

1. Triggers on PRs to maintenance branches that modify C/H files
2. Scans changed files for PG_REGISTER entries
3. Detects struct typedef modifications in the git diff
4. Checks if the PG version parameter was incremented
5. Posts a helpful comment if version not incremented

Detection Logic

The script:

• Extracts struct names from PG_REGISTER lines
• Looks for changes to the corresponding typedef struct definitions
• Compares old and new version numbers from the diff
• Reports potential issues with file:line references

Comment Behavior

• Non-blocking: Posts comments but doesn't fail the build
• Update-friendly: Updates existing comment instead of creating duplicates
• Helpful: Explains why version increments matter and when they're needed
• Conservative: May have false positives (comments when not needed) but won't miss real issues

Example Scenarios

Scenario 1: Field removed without version increment ✅ Detects

// Old: version 4
typedef struct blackboxConfig_s {
    uint8_t device;
    uint8_t invertedCardDetection;  // Removing
    uint32_t includeFlags;
} blackboxConfig_t;
PG_REGISTER(..., 4);

// New: still version 4 - WRONG!
typedef struct blackboxConfig_s {
    uint8_t device;
    uint32_t includeFlags;
} blackboxConfig_t;
PG_REGISTER(..., 4);  // Should be 5!

Result: ⚠️ Comment posted explaining the issue

Scenario 2: Field removed with proper version increment ✅ No comment

// Same struct change but version incremented 4→5
PG_REGISTER(..., 5);

Result: ✅ No comment (correct behavior detected)

Scenario 3: Only PG_RESET_TEMPLATE defaults changed ✅ No comment

// Struct unchanged, only default values modified
PG_RESET_TEMPLATE(myConfig_t, myConfig,
    .field = 20  // Changed from 10
);

Result: ✅ No comment (struct layout unchanged)

Why This Matters

When PG struct layout changes without version increment:

1. pgLoad() sees matching versions (4==4) and copies old EEPROM data
2. Field offsets have shifted, so wrong bytes are read into wrong fields
3. Result: Silent settings corruption, unexpected behavior, potential crashes

With version increment (4→5):

1. pgLoad() detects version mismatch
2. Skips the memcpy, keeps defaults instead
3. Result: Settings reset to defaults (safe, obvious to user)

References

• Parameter Group Documentation
• PR #11236 - Example of field removal requiring version increment
• Betaflight PG Documentation

Related Work

This automation follows the PG system documentation created in PR #11271.