Automated Releases with autoship

Core Workflow

Every release follows this pattern:

1. Configure: autoship add <name> (one-time setup)
2. Release: autoship <name> (interactive) or autoship <name> -t patch -y (automated)

The tool handles the complete release cycle:

• Clone repository
• Analyze changes and suggest release type (patch/minor/major)
• Generate AI-powered changeset description
• Create and merge changeset PR
• Wait for and merge Version Packages PR
• Trigger npm publish

Requirements

Before using autoship, ensure:

# GitHub CLI must be authenticated
gh auth login

# API key for AI features
export AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY="your-key"

Essential Commands

# One-time setup: add a repository
autoship add myproject
# Prompts for: owner, repo name, base branch

# List configured repositories
autoship list

# Interactive release (prompts for type and message)
autoship myproject

# Automated release (no prompts)
autoship myproject -t patch -y
autoship myproject -t minor -y
autoship myproject -t major -y

# Release with custom message (skips AI generation)
autoship myproject -t patch -m "Fixed login bug" -y

Command Options

autoship [repo]                    # Interactive repo selection if omitted
  -t, --type <type>                # Release type: patch, minor, major
  -m, --message <message>          # Custom changeset description
  -y, --yes                        # Skip all confirmations
  -h, --help                       # Show help

Common Patterns

Fully Automated Patch Release

autoship myproject -t patch -y

AI-Assisted Interactive Release

autoship myproject
# 1. AI analyzes commits since last release
# 2. AI suggests release type (patch/minor/major)
# 3. You confirm or change the type
# 4. AI generates changeset description
# 5. You review and approve
# 6. Tool handles PR creation and merging

Custom Message Release

autoship myproject -t minor -m "Added new authentication providers" -y

CI/CD Integration

# In GitHub Actions or CI pipeline
export AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY="${{ secrets.AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY }}"
npx autoship myproject -t patch -y

What autoship Does (10 Steps)

1. Clone - Clones the repository from the base branch
2. Analyze - Finds latest version tag, analyzes commits and diff
3. Suggest - AI suggests release type based on changes
4. Generate - AI generates changeset description
5. Branch - Creates release branch with changeset file
6. PR - Creates pull request for the changeset
7. Wait - Waits for CI checks to pass
8. Merge - Merges the changeset PR
9. Version PR - Waits for changesets action to create Version Packages PR
10. Publish - Merges Version Packages PR to trigger npm publish

Output Format

autoship provides clear step-by-step output:

[1/10] Cloning repository from main...
  > Repository cloned
  > Package: my-package @ 1.2.3

[2/10] Creating release branch...
  > Branch created: release/patch-1706123456789

[3/10] Generating changeset...
  > Changeset created: fluffy-pants-dance.md

...

Release Complete!
The patch release has been published.

Configuration

Config is stored at ~/.autoship/config.json:

{
  "repos": {
    "myproject": {
      "owner": "vercel-labs",
      "repo": "myproject",
      "baseBranch": "main",
      "cloneUrl": "https://github.com/vercel-labs/myproject.git"
    }
  }
}

Deep-Dive Documentation

Reference	When to Use
references/commands.md	Full command reference with all options
references/configuration.md	Config file format and repository setup
references/ci-integration.md	GitHub Actions and CI/CD setup

Ready-to-Use Templates

Template	Description
templates/automated-release.sh	Fully automated release script
templates/setup-repo.sh	Non-interactive repository setup

./templates/automated-release.sh myproject patch
./templates/setup-repo.sh myproject vercel-labs myproject main

Troubleshooting

"No repositories configured"

Run autoship add <name> to configure a repository first.

"Repository not found"

Check autoship list for available repos. The name is case-sensitive.

CI checks failing

The tool will show which checks failed. Fix the issues in the target repository, then retry.

AI generation failed

If AI fails, autoship falls back to manual input. Ensure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY is set.