Release-Please Standards

Version: 2025.1

Standard release-please configuration for automated semantic versioning and changelog generation.

Standard Configuration

GitHub Actions Workflow

File: .github/workflows/release-please.yml

name: Release Please

on: push: branches: - main

permissions: contents: write pull-requests: write

jobs: release-please: runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - uses: googleapis/release-please-action@v4 with: token: ${{ secrets.MY_RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN }}

Configuration Files

File: release-please-config.json

{ "packages": { ".": { "release-type": "node", "changelog-sections": [ {"type": "feat", "section": "Features"}, {"type": "fix", "section": "Bug Fixes"}, {"type": "perf", "section": "Performance"}, {"type": "deps", "section": "Dependencies"}, {"type": "docs", "section": "Documentation", "hidden": true}, {"type": "chore", "section": "Miscellaneous", "hidden": true} ] } }, "plugins": ["node-workspace"] }

File: .release-please-manifest.json

{ ".": "0.0.0" }

Note: Version 0.0.0 is a placeholder - release-please updates this automatically.

Project Type Variations

Node.js Frontend/Backend

• release-type: node

• plugins: node-workspace

• Updates: package.json version field

Python Service

• release-type: python

• Updates: pyproject.toml version field, version in code

Infrastructure (Helm)

• release-type: helm

• Updates: Chart.yaml version field

Multi-package Repository

{ "packages": { "packages/frontend": { "release-type": "node", "component": "frontend" }, "packages/backend": { "release-type": "node", "component": "backend" } }, "plugins": [ "node-workspace", { "type": "linked-versions", "groupName": "workspace", "components": ["frontend", "backend"] } ] }

Required Components

Minimum Requirements

Workflow file: .github/workflows/release-please.yml

• Uses googleapis/release-please-action@v4

• Token: MY_RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN secret

• Triggers on push to main

Config file: release-please-config.json

• Valid release-type for project

• changelog-sections defined

Manifest file: .release-please-manifest.json

• Lists all packages with current versions

Token Configuration

The workflow uses MY_RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN secret (not GITHUB_TOKEN ) because:

• Allows release PRs to trigger other workflows

• Enables CI checks on release PRs

• Maintains proper audit trail

Compliance Checking

Status Levels

Status Condition

PASS All three files present with valid configuration

WARN Files present but using deprecated action version

FAIL Missing required files or invalid configuration

Validation Rules

Workflow validation:

• Action version: v4 (warn if older)

• Token: Must use secret, not hardcoded

• Trigger: Must include push to main

Config validation:

• release-type: Must be valid (node, python, helm, simple)

• changelog-sections: Must include feat and fix

Manifest validation:

• Must be valid JSON

• Packages must match config

Protected Files

IMPORTANT: Release-please manages these files automatically:

• CHANGELOG.md

• Never edit manually

• Version fields in package.json , pyproject.toml , Chart.yaml

• .release-please-manifest.json

• Only edit for initial setup

See release-please-protection skill for enforcement.

Conventional Commits

Release-please requires conventional commit messages:

Prefix Release Type Example

feat:

Minor feat: add user authentication

fix:

Patch fix: correct login timeout

feat!:

Major feat!: redesign API

BREAKING CHANGE:

Major In commit body

Installation

• Create workflow file

• Create config file

• Create manifest file

• Add MY_RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN to repository secrets

• Ensure pre-commit has conventional-pre-commit hook

Troubleshooting

Release PR Not Created

• Check conventional commit format

• Verify workflow has correct permissions

• Ensure token has write access

Version Not Updated

• Check manifest file is valid JSON

• Verify release-type matches project

• Review release-please logs in Actions

CI Not Running on Release PR

• Token must be PAT, not GITHUB_TOKEN

• Verify workflow trigger includes pull_request