Release Workflow

Execute semantic versioning releases or scaffold release infrastructure for projects.

Usage

This skill is invoked when:

• User runs /release command with a version argument
• User runs /release --setup to scaffold release infrastructure

Two Operation Modes

Mode 1: Release (/release <version>)

Validates, prepares, and triggers a GitHub release.

Mode 2: Setup (/release --setup)

Scaffolds release scripts and GitHub Actions workflow into the target project.

Supported Arguments

Parse arguments from user input:

• <version>: Version to release (e.g., 1.6.0 or v1.6.0)
• --setup: Scaffold release infrastructure into current project
• --skip-monitor: Trigger workflow but don't wait for completion

Prerequisites

• gh CLI installed and authenticated (gh auth status)
• Git configured with push access to remote
• CHANGELOG.md with a version entry (use /changelog to generate)
• .github/workflows/release.yml exists (use --setup to create)

Release Flow Steps

Step 1: Parse and Validate Version

VERSION="${1:-}"

# Strip 'v' prefix if present
VERSION="${VERSION#v}"

# Validate semver format
if ! [[ "$VERSION" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
    echo "Error: Invalid version format '$VERSION'"
    echo "Expected semantic version (e.g., 1.6.0)"
    exit 1
fi

echo "Releasing version: $VERSION"

Step 2: Pre-flight Checks

# Check CHANGELOG.md entry exists
if ! grep -qE "^## \[$VERSION\]" CHANGELOG.md; then
    echo "Error: No CHANGELOG entry found for version $VERSION"
    echo "Add entry with header: ## [$VERSION] - $(date +%Y-%m-%d)"
    echo "Tip: Use '/changelog' to generate the entry."
    exit 1
fi
echo "CHANGELOG entry found"

# Check release doesn't already exist
if gh release view "v$VERSION" &>/dev/null; then
    echo "Error: Release v$VERSION already exists"
    echo "Delete first: gh release delete v$VERSION --yes"
    exit 1
fi
echo "Release does not exist, proceeding"

Step 3: Add Comparison Link to CHANGELOG.md

REPO_URL=$(gh repo view --json url -q '.url')

# Skip if link already exists
if grep -qE "^\[$VERSION\]:" CHANGELOG.md; then
    echo "Comparison link already exists"
else
    # Find previous version (second version header)
    PREV_VERSION=$(grep -E "^## \[[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\]" CHANGELOG.md \
        | head -2 | tail -1 | sed 's/.*\[\([0-9.]*\)\].*/\1/')

    if [[ "$PREV_VERSION" != "$VERSION" ]] && [[ -n "$PREV_VERSION" ]]; then
        COMPARE_LINK="[$VERSION]: $REPO_URL/compare/v$PREV_VERSION...v$VERSION"
    else
        COMPARE_LINK="[$VERSION]: $REPO_URL/releases/tag/v$VERSION"
    fi

    # Update [Unreleased] link and add version link
    sed -i.bak "s|\[Unreleased\]:.*|[Unreleased]: $REPO_URL/compare/v$VERSION...HEAD|" CHANGELOG.md
    sed -i.bak "/^\[Unreleased\]:/a\\
$COMPARE_LINK" CHANGELOG.md
    rm -f CHANGELOG.md.bak

    echo "Added comparison link for $VERSION"
fi

Step 4: Commit and Push CHANGELOG Changes

Check if CHANGELOG.md has uncommitted changes. If so, confirm with the user before committing:

if ! git diff --quiet CHANGELOG.md 2>/dev/null; then
    echo "CHANGELOG.md has uncommitted changes."
    # Ask user: "CHANGELOG.md updated with comparison links. Commit and push to main?"
    # If confirmed:
    git add CHANGELOG.md
    git commit -m "docs: prepare release $VERSION"
    git push origin main
    echo "Changes committed and pushed"
fi

Important: Use conversation to confirm with the user before committing and pushing. Do NOT auto-commit without confirmation.

Step 5: Trigger Release Workflow

echo "Triggering release workflow for v$VERSION..."
gh workflow run release.yml -f version="$VERSION"
echo "Workflow triggered"

Step 6: Monitor Workflow

sleep 5

RUN_ID=$(gh run list --workflow=release.yml --limit=1 --json databaseId -q '.[0].databaseId')
REPO_URL=$(gh repo view --json url -q '.url')

echo "Monitoring workflow run $RUN_ID..."
echo "View at: $REPO_URL/actions/runs/$RUN_ID"

# Poll for completion
while true; do
    STATUS=$(gh run view "$RUN_ID" --json status -q '.status')
    if [[ "$STATUS" == "completed" ]]; then
        CONCLUSION=$(gh run view "$RUN_ID" --json conclusion -q '.conclusion')
        break
    fi
    echo "  Status: $STATUS..."
    sleep 5
done

if [[ "$CONCLUSION" == "success" ]]; then
    echo "Release v$VERSION created successfully!"
    echo "View: $REPO_URL/releases/tag/v$VERSION"
else
    echo "Workflow failed: $CONCLUSION"
    echo "Logs: $REPO_URL/actions/runs/$RUN_ID"
    exit 1
fi

If --skip-monitor is specified, skip this step and report the workflow URL instead.

Setup Mode (--setup)

When --setup is specified, scaffold release infrastructure into the current project.

What Gets Scaffolded

Template File	Target Location	Purpose
scripts/release.sh	scripts/release.sh	Local release orchestrator
templates/release.yml	.github/workflows/release.yml	GitHub Actions workflow
scripts/validate-changelog.sh	.github/workflows/scripts/validate-changelog.sh	CHANGELOG validator
scripts/extract-release-notes.sh	.github/workflows/scripts/extract-release-notes.sh	Release notes extractor
scripts/create-github-release.sh	.github/workflows/scripts/create-github-release.sh	GitHub release creator

Scaffolding Process

1. Read each template file from this skill's scripts/ and templates/ directories
2. Create target directories (scripts/, .github/workflows/scripts/)
3. Write files to target project locations
4. Set executable permissions (chmod +x) on all shell scripts
5. Verify all files exist
6. Report created files and next steps

# Create directories
mkdir -p scripts
mkdir -p .github/workflows/scripts

# Set permissions after writing files
chmod +x scripts/release.sh
chmod +x .github/workflows/scripts/validate-changelog.sh
chmod +x .github/workflows/scripts/extract-release-notes.sh
chmod +x .github/workflows/scripts/create-github-release.sh

Post-Setup Next Steps

After scaffolding, inform the user:

1. Ensure CHANGELOG.md exists (use /changelog to create)
2. Commit the scaffolded files
3. Run /release <version> to create the first release

Important Notes

• CHANGELOG format: Assumes Keep a Changelog format with ## [VERSION] headers
• Branch: Commits and pushes to the current branch (auto-detected via git rev-parse)
• Integration with /changelog: Use /changelog to generate CHANGELOG entries before releasing
• GitHub CLI required: Must have gh installed and authenticated
• Workflow file: Expects .github/workflows/release.yml (use --setup to create)

Supporting Documentation

• WORKFLOW.md - Detailed 7-phase release process and script template reference
• EXAMPLES.md - Real-world release scenarios including first release, patch release, and setup
• TROUBLESHOOTING.md - Common issues with workflow triggers, CHANGELOG format, and gh CLI
• templates/release.yml - GitHub Actions workflow template for scaffold setup