Releasing

Automate version bumps, changelog, git tags, and GitHub releases. Stop gates enforce confirmation before every irreversible action.

Workflow

1. Detect ecosystem and current version
2. Confirm bump type with user
3. Execute release pipeline

Step 1: Pre-flight Checks

Run all checks. Stop and report on any failure.

# Must be in a git repo
git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree

# Must have clean working tree (no uncommitted changes)
git status --porcelain

# Must be on a releasable branch (main, master, or release/*)
git branch --show-current

# Must have a remote configured
git remote -v

# Check if gh CLI is available (needed for GitHub release)
command -v gh

Dirty tree: Stop. User must commit or stash first. Wrong branch: Stop. Report branch, ask to continue. No gh CLI: Warn, skip GitHub release step.

Step 2: Detect Version

Scan version files in priority order:

Priority	File	Ecosystem	Pattern
1	package.json	Node.js	"version": "X.Y.Z"
2	pyproject.toml	Python	version = "X.Y.Z"
3	Cargo.toml	Rust	version = "X.Y.Z"
4	setup.cfg	Python (legacy)	version = X.Y.Z
5	VERSION	Generic	Plain text X.Y.Z
6	Latest git tag	Any	vX.Y.Z or X.Y.Z

For full detection patterns and edge cases, load references/version-detection.md.

Report to user: "Current version: X.Y.Z (detected from <file>)"

Step 3: Determine Bump Type

Use user-specified type if provided. Otherwise:

Stop Condition (Mandatory): Ask user to choose bump type.

• patch (X.Y.Z -> X.Y.Z+1) - Bug fixes, small changes
• minor (X.Y.Z -> X.Y+1.0) - New features, backward compatible
• major (X.Y.Z -> X+1.0.0) - Breaking changes

Calculate and show the new version before proceeding.

Step 4: Update Version File

Apply the version bump to the detected file:

# Node.js - use npm version without git tag (we handle tagging ourselves)
npm version <patch|minor|major> --no-git-tag-version

# Python (pyproject.toml) - sed replacement
# Rust (Cargo.toml) - sed replacement
# Generic - direct file write

Important: Only update the version file. Do NOT run npm version with default behavior (it creates its own tag).

Also update package-lock.json if it exists (Node.js):

[ -f package-lock.json ] && npm install --package-lock-only

Step 5: Update Changelog

Check if CHANGELOG.md exists. If not, create it.

Generate changelog entries from git log since last tag:

# Get last tag
LAST_TAG=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || echo "")

# Get commits since last tag (or all commits if no tag)
if [ -n "$LAST_TAG" ]; then
  git log "$LAST_TAG"..HEAD --pretty=format:"- %s (%h)" --no-merges
else
  git log --pretty=format:"- %s (%h)" --no-merges
fi

Prepend new section to CHANGELOG.md in this format:

## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD

### Changes
- commit message 1 (abc1234)
- commit message 2 (def5678)

Categorize commits if conventional commits are used:

• feat: -> "Added"
• fix: -> "Fixed"
• docs: -> "Documentation"
• refactor: -> "Changed"
• BREAKING CHANGE: -> "Breaking Changes" (at top)
• Other -> "Changes"

Step 6: Commit Version Bump

git add -A
git commit -m "chore(release): v<NEW_VERSION>"

Show the commit to user for awareness.

Step 7: Create Git Tag

git tag -a "v<NEW_VERSION>" -m "Release v<NEW_VERSION>"

Step 8: Push (with confirmation)

Stop Condition (Mandatory): This is irreversible. Ask user before pushing.

Show exactly what will be pushed:

• Branch: <branch_name>
• Remote: <remote_name> (<remote_url>)
• Commits: list new commits
• Tag: v<NEW_VERSION>

Only after user confirms:

git push origin <branch_name>
git push origin "v<NEW_VERSION>"

Step 9: Create GitHub Release (with confirmation)

Skip if gh CLI is not available.

Stop Condition (Mandatory): Ask user before creating public release.

# Extract changelog for this version to use as release notes
gh release create "v<NEW_VERSION>" \
  --title "v<NEW_VERSION>" \
  --notes "<changelog_for_this_version>" \
  --latest

For pre-release versions (contains -alpha, -beta, -rc):

gh release create "v<NEW_VERSION>" \
  --title "v<NEW_VERSION>" \
  --notes "<changelog>" \
  --prerelease

Step 10: Post-release Verification

Verify everything succeeded:

# Verify tag exists on remote
git ls-remote --tags origin "v<NEW_VERSION>"

# Verify GitHub release (if created)
gh release view "v<NEW_VERSION>" --json tagName,isDraft,isPrerelease

Report final summary:

Release v<NEW_VERSION> complete:
  Version file: <file> updated
  Changelog: CHANGELOG.md updated
  Tag: v<NEW_VERSION> created and pushed
  GitHub Release: published (or: skipped)

Quick Reference: Common Invocations

User says	Bump type	Notes
"release patch"	patch	Fastest path
"bump minor"	minor	New feature release
"major release"	major	Breaking change
"release" / "cut a release"	ask user	Must confirm type
"release 2.0.0"	explicit	Use exact version given
"prerelease" / "release beta"	prepatch with -beta.1	Mark as prerelease

Error Recovery

Error	Recovery
Push rejected (behind remote)	git pull --rebase then retry push
Tag already exists	Ask user: force-update tag or use different version?
gh auth failed	Run gh auth login and retry
Version file not found	Ask user which file contains the version
Merge conflict in changelog	Open file for manual resolution, then continue