Release Skills

Universal release workflow supporting any project type with multi-language changelog.

Quick Start

Just run /release-skills - auto-detects your project configuration.

Supported Projects

Project Type	Version File	Auto-Detected
Node.js	package.json	✓
Python	pyproject.toml	✓
Rust	Cargo.toml	✓
Claude Plugin	marketplace.json	✓
Generic	VERSION / version.txt	✓

Options

Flag	Description
--dry-run	Preview changes without executing
--major	Force major version bump
--minor	Force minor version bump
--patch	Force patch version bump

Workflow

Step 1: Detect Project Configuration

1. Check for .releaserc.yml (optional config override)
   • If present, inspect whether it defines release hooks
2. Auto-detect version file by scanning (priority order):
   • package.json (Node.js)
   • pyproject.toml (Python)
   • Cargo.toml (Rust)
   • marketplace.json or .claude-plugin/marketplace.json (Claude Plugin)
   • VERSION or version.txt (Generic)
3. Scan for changelog files using glob patterns:
   • CHANGELOG*.md
   • HISTORY*.md
   • CHANGES*.md
4. Identify language of each changelog by filename suffix
5. Display detected configuration

Project Hook Contract:

If .releaserc.yml defines release.hooks, keep the release workflow generic and delegate project-specific packaging/publishing to those hooks.

Supported hooks:

Hook	Purpose	Expected Responsibility
prepare_artifact	Make one target releasable	Validate the target is self-contained, sync/embed local dependencies, optionally stage extra files
publish_artifact	Publish one releasable target	Upload the prepared target (or a staged directory if the project uses one), attach version/changelog/tags

Supported placeholders:

Placeholder	Meaning
{project_root}	Absolute path to repository root
{target}	Absolute path to the module/skill being released
{artifact_dir}	Absolute path to a temporary staging directory for this target, when the project uses one
{version}	Version selected by the release workflow
{dry_run}	true or false
{release_notes_file}	Absolute path to a UTF-8 file containing release notes/changelog text

Execution rules:

• Keep the skill generic: do not hardcode registry/package-manager/project layout details into this SKILL.
• If prepare_artifact exists, run it once per target before publish-related checks that need the final releasable target state.
• Write release notes to a temp file and pass that file path to publish_artifact; do not inline multiline changelog text into shell commands.
• If hooks are absent, fall back to the default project-agnostic release workflow.

Language Detection Rules:

Changelog files follow the pattern CHANGELOG_{LANG}.md or CHANGELOG.{lang}.md, where {lang} / {LANG} is a language or region code.

Pattern	Example	Language
No suffix	CHANGELOG.md	en (default)
_{LANG} (uppercase)	CHANGELOG_CN.md, CHANGELOG_JP.md	Corresponding language
.{lang} (lowercase)	CHANGELOG.zh.md, CHANGELOG.ja.md	Corresponding language
.{lang-region}	CHANGELOG.zh-CN.md	Corresponding region variant

Common language codes: zh (Chinese), ja (Japanese), ko (Korean), de (German), fr (French), es (Spanish).

Output Example:

Project detected:
  Version file: package.json (1.2.3)
  Changelogs:
    - CHANGELOG.md (en)
    - CHANGELOG.zh.md (zh)
    - CHANGELOG.ja.md (ja)

Step 2: Analyze Changes Since Last Tag

LAST_TAG=$(git tag --sort=-v:refname | head -1)
git log ${LAST_TAG}..HEAD --oneline
git diff ${LAST_TAG}..HEAD --stat

Categorize by conventional commit types:

Type	Description
feat	New features
fix	Bug fixes
docs	Documentation
refactor	Code refactoring
perf	Performance improvements
test	Test changes
style	Formatting, styling
chore	Maintenance (skip in changelog)

Breaking Change Detection:

• Commit message starts with BREAKING CHANGE
• Commit body/footer contains BREAKING CHANGE:
• Removed public APIs, renamed exports, changed interfaces

If breaking changes detected, warn user: "Breaking changes detected. Consider major version bump (--major flag)."

Step 3: Determine Version Bump

Rules (in priority order):

1. User flag --major/--minor/--patch → Use specified
2. BREAKING CHANGE detected → Major bump (1.x.x → 2.0.0)
3. feat: commits present → Minor bump (1.2.x → 1.3.0)
4. Otherwise → Patch bump (1.2.3 → 1.2.4)

Display version change: 1.2.3 → 1.3.0

Step 4: Generate Multi-language Changelogs

For each detected changelog file:

1. Identify language from filename suffix
2. Detect third-party contributors:
   • Check merge commits: git log ${LAST_TAG}..HEAD --merges --pretty=format:"%H %s"
   • For each merged PR, identify the PR author via gh pr view <number> --json author --jq '.author.login'
   • Compare against repo owner (gh repo view --json owner --jq '.owner.login')
   • If PR author ≠ repo owner → third-party contributor
3. Generate content in that language:
   • Section titles in target language
   • Change descriptions written naturally in target language (not translated)
   • Date format: YYYY-MM-DD (universal)
   • Third-party contributions: Append contributor attribution (by @username) to the changelog entry
4. Insert at file head (preserve existing content)

Section Title Translations (built-in):

Type	en	zh	ja	ko	de	fr	es
feat	Features	新功能	新機能	새로운 기능	Funktionen	Fonctionnalités	Características
fix	Fixes	修复	修正	수정	Fehlerbehebungen	Corrections	Correcciones
docs	Documentation	文档	ドキュメント	문서	Dokumentation	Documentation	Documentación
refactor	Refactor	重构	リファクタリング	리팩토링	Refactoring	Refactorisation	Refactorización
perf	Performance	性能优化	パフォーマンス	성능	Leistung	Performance	Rendimiento
breaking	Breaking Changes	破坏性变更	破壊的変更	주요 변경사항	Breaking Changes	Changements majeurs	Cambios importantes

Changelog Format:

## {VERSION} - {YYYY-MM-DD}

### Features
- Description of new feature
- Description of third-party contribution (by @username)

### Fixes
- Description of fix

### Documentation
- Description of docs changes

Only include sections that have changes. Omit empty sections.

Third-Party Attribution Rules:

• Only add (by @username) for contributors who are NOT the repo owner
• Use GitHub username with @ prefix
• Place at the end of the changelog entry line
• Apply to all languages consistently (always use (by @username) format, not translated)

Multi-language Example:

English (CHANGELOG.md):

## 1.3.0 - 2026-01-22

### Features
- Add user authentication module (by @contributor1)
- Support OAuth2 login

### Fixes
- Fix memory leak in connection pool

Chinese (CHANGELOG.zh.md):

## 1.3.0 - 2026-01-22

### 新功能
- 新增用户认证模块 (by @contributor1)
- 支持 OAuth2 登录

### 修复
- 修复连接池内存泄漏问题

Japanese (CHANGELOG.ja.md):

## 1.3.0 - 2026-01-22

### 新機能
- ユーザー認証モジュールを追加 (by @contributor1)
- OAuth2 ログインをサポート

### 修正
- コネクションプールのメモリリークを修正

Step 5: Group Changes by Skill/Module

Analyze commits since last tag and group by affected skill/module:

1. Identify changed files per commit
2. Group by skill/module:
   • skills/<skill-name>/* → Group under that skill
   • Root files (CLAUDE.md, etc.) → Group as "project"
   • Multiple skills in one commit → Split into multiple groups
3. For each group, identify related README updates needed

Example Grouping:

baoyu-cover-image:
  - feat: add new style options
  - fix: handle transparent backgrounds
  → README updates: options table

baoyu-comic:
  - refactor: improve panel layout algorithm
  → No README updates needed

project:
  - docs: update CLAUDE.md architecture section

Step 6: Commit Each Skill/Module Separately

For each skill/module group (in order of changes):

1. Check README updates needed:

   • Scan README*.md for mentions of this skill/module
   • Verify options/flags documented correctly
   • Update usage examples if syntax changed
   • Update feature descriptions if behavior changed

2. Stage and commit:

   git add skills/<skill-name>/*
   git add README.md README.zh.md  # If updated for this skill
   git commit -m "<type>(<skill-name>): <meaningful description>"
   

3. Commit message format:

   • Use conventional commit format: <type>(<scope>): <description>
   • <type>: feat, fix, refactor, docs, perf, etc.
   • <scope>: skill name or "project"
   • <description>: Clear, meaningful description of changes

Example Commits:

git commit -m "feat(baoyu-cover-image): add watercolor and minimalist styles"
git commit -m "fix(baoyu-comic): improve panel layout for long dialogues"
git commit -m "docs(project): update architecture documentation"

Common README Updates Needed:

Change Type	README Section to Check
New options/flags	Options table, usage examples
Renamed options	Options table, usage examples
New features	Feature description, examples
Breaking changes	Migration notes, deprecation warnings
Restructured internals	Architecture section (if exposed to users)

Step 7: Generate Changelog and Update Version

1. Generate multi-language changelogs (as described in Step 4)
2. Update version file:
   • Read version file (JSON/TOML/text)
   • Update version number
   • Write back (preserve formatting)

Version Paths by File Type:

File	Path
package.json	$.version
pyproject.toml	project.version
Cargo.toml	package.version
marketplace.json	$.metadata.version
VERSION / version.txt	Direct content

Step 8: User Confirmation

Before creating the release commit, ask user to confirm:

Use AskUserQuestion with two questions:

1. Version bump (single select):

   • Show recommended version based on Step 3 analysis
   • Options: recommended (with label), other semver options
   • Example: 1.2.3 → 1.3.0 (Recommended), 1.2.3 → 1.2.4, 1.2.3 → 2.0.0

2. Push to remote (single select):

   • Options: "Yes, push after commit", "No, keep local only"

Example Output Before Confirmation:

Commits created:
  1. feat(baoyu-cover-image): add watercolor and minimalist styles
  2. fix(baoyu-comic): improve panel layout for long dialogues
  3. docs(project): update architecture documentation

Changelog preview (en):
  ## 1.3.0 - 2026-01-22
  ### Features
  - Add watercolor and minimalist styles to cover-image
  ### Fixes
  - Improve panel layout for long dialogues in comic

Ready to create release commit and tag.

Step 9: Create Release Commit and Tag

After user confirmation:

1. Stage version and changelog files:

   git add <version-file>
   git add CHANGELOG*.md
   

2. Create release commit:

   git commit -m "chore: release v{VERSION}"
   

3. Create tag:

   git tag v{VERSION}
   

4. Push if user confirmed (Step 8):

   git push origin main
   git push origin v{VERSION}
   

Note: Do NOT add Co-Authored-By line. This is a release commit, not a code contribution.

Post-Release Output:

Release v1.3.0 created.

Commits:
  1. feat(baoyu-cover-image): add watercolor and minimalist styles
  2. fix(baoyu-comic): improve panel layout for long dialogues
  3. docs(project): update architecture documentation
  4. chore: release v1.3.0

Tag: v1.3.0
Status: Pushed to origin  # or "Local only - run git push when ready"

Configuration (.releaserc.yml)

Optional config file in project root to override defaults:

# .releaserc.yml - Optional configuration

# Version file (auto-detected if not specified)
version:
  file: package.json
  path: $.version  # JSONPath for JSON, dotted path for TOML

# Changelog files (auto-detected if not specified)
changelog:
  files:
    - path: CHANGELOG.md
      lang: en
    - path: CHANGELOG.zh.md
      lang: zh
    - path: CHANGELOG.ja.md
      lang: ja

  # Section mapping (conventional commit type → changelog section)
  # Use null to skip a type in changelog
  sections:
    feat: Features
    fix: Fixes
    docs: Documentation
    refactor: Refactor
    perf: Performance
    test: Tests
    chore: null

# Commit message format
commit:
  message: "chore: release v{version}"

# Tag format
tag:
  prefix: v  # Results in v1.0.0
  sign: false

# Additional files to include in release commit
include:
  - README.md
  - package.json

Dry-Run Mode

When --dry-run is specified:

=== DRY RUN MODE ===

Project detected:
  Version file: package.json (1.2.3)
  Changelogs: CHANGELOG.md (en), CHANGELOG.zh.md (zh)

Last tag: v1.2.3
Proposed version: v1.3.0

Changes grouped by skill/module:
  baoyu-cover-image:
    - feat: add watercolor style
    - feat: add minimalist style
    → Commit: feat(baoyu-cover-image): add watercolor and minimalist styles
    → README updates: options table

  baoyu-comic:
    - fix: panel layout for long dialogues
    → Commit: fix(baoyu-comic): improve panel layout for long dialogues
    → No README updates

Changelog preview (en):
  ## 1.3.0 - 2026-01-22
  ### Features
  - Add watercolor and minimalist styles to cover-image
  ### Fixes
  - Improve panel layout for long dialogues in comic

Changelog preview (zh):
  ## 1.3.0 - 2026-01-22
  ### 新功能
  - 为 cover-image 添加水彩和极简风格
  ### 修复
  - 改进 comic 长对话的面板布局

Commits to create:
  1. feat(baoyu-cover-image): add watercolor and minimalist styles
  2. fix(baoyu-comic): improve panel layout for long dialogues
  3. chore: release v1.3.0

No changes made. Run without --dry-run to execute.

Example Usage

/release-skills              # Auto-detect version bump
/release-skills --dry-run    # Preview only
/release-skills --minor      # Force minor bump
/release-skills --patch      # Force patch bump
/release-skills --major      # Force major bump (with confirmation)

When to Use

Trigger this skill when user requests:

• "release", "发布", "create release", "new version", "新版本"
• "bump version", "update version", "更新版本"
• "prepare release"
• "push to remote" (with uncommitted changes)

Important: If user says "just push" or "直接 push" with uncommitted changes, STILL follow all steps above first.