Fresh pairing when saved sessions fail, and browser downloads on demand

OpenWA 5.5.1 fixes startup when saved session data is unusable. The runtime ignores invalid files and proceeds to QR pairing rather than stopping with PORTABLE_SESSION_PAYLOAD_INVALID. It leaves the ignored file in place until fresh pairing produces a valid replacement. Session lookup uses the configured path or working directory rather than searching beside the executable. Old profile folders aren't used and stay untouched. Session recovery.

npx @open-wa/wa-automate@5.5.1 --use-chrome

CLI installation no longer downloads a browser. Startup prefers installed Chrome, offers Chrome/Chromium/Lightpanda when a browser is missing, and provisions an explicitly selected missing browser on demand. Later runs reuse the per-user cache. Lightpanda remains experimental and doesn't provide browser rendering or full media parity. Browser provisioning.

The Effect package family moves together to stable v4 for provisioning locks, temporary files, download retries and browser preferences. Companion packages receive coordinated version/dependency updates.

Documentation publication follow-up

Following this release, the docs publication workflow was restored with dedicated deployment credentials and broader source triggers. Master changes publish automatically, and Bumpy explicitly dispatches the docs job from the release source. Both deployment paths completed successfully. This is an operational follow-up, not another package feature attributed to the 5.5.1 tag. Current guides are at openwa.dev/docs. How publishing works.

The public 5.5.1 package versions and latest tags are available on npm. The earlier @open-wa/core hold cleared through npm's post-upload validation; the exact reason it took longer wasn't exposed. There's no need to publish a replacement version to work around that completed hold.