Replace all in-scope axios callsites with a new helpers/http.js wrapper over native fetch, including JSON/text GET, JSON POST, HEAD checks, and transient 5xx retry behavior; update all browser, build, script, and proxy API clients to use it; add focused unit tests; and remove axios from package dependencies.
Constraint: Preserve API/build and deployment behavior while lowering transport surface area.
Rejected: inline fetch replacements at each callsite | rejected to avoid inconsistent error/retry semantics.
Confidence: high
Scope-risk: moderate
Directive: Keep helper in place as the transport boundary and update tests when changing request semantics.
Tested: pnpm run -s typecheck, pnpm -s run test-prebuild, pnpm -s run test, pnpm -s run test:browser, pnpm -s run netlify-build, smoke GETs on /apple-silicon-app-test and /apple-silicon-app-test/?version=2
Not-tested: branch/netlify deployment health in CI pipeline after merge
Align local version markers and GitHub Actions with Node 24, switch the default test entrypoint to the maintained Vitest runner, and replace pnpm-incompatible npm helpers in repo scripts.
This also removes the obsolete AVA plus esm path and excludes disabled test fixtures from generic Vitest discovery so CI reflects the supported test surface.
