Release Skills
Universal release workflow supporting any project type with multi-language changelog generation.
Supported Projects
| 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 Configuration
- Check for
.releaserc.yml(optional config) - Auto-detect version file (priority: package.json → pyproject.toml → Cargo.toml → marketplace.json → VERSION)
- Scan for changelog files:
CHANGELOG*.md,HISTORY*.md,CHANGES*.md - Identify language of each changelog by suffix
Language Detection:
| Pattern | Language |
|---|---|
CHANGELOG.md (no suffix) | en |
CHANGELOG.zh.md / CHANGELOG_CN.md | zh |
CHANGELOG.ja.md / CHANGELOG_JP.md | ja |
CHANGELOG.{lang}.md | Corresponding language |
Output:
Project detected:
Version file: package.json (1.2.3)
Changelogs: CHANGELOG.md (en), CHANGELOG.zh.md (zh)
Step 2: Analyze Changes
LAST_TAG=$(git tag --sort=-v:refname | head -1)
git log ${LAST_TAG}..HEAD --oneline
Categorize by conventional commit:
feat:→ Featuresfix:→ Fixesdocs:→ Documentationrefactor:→ Refactorperf:→ Performancechore:→ Skip in changelog
Breaking Change Detection:
BREAKING CHANGEin message or body- Removed public APIs, renamed exports
Warn if breaking changes: "Consider major version bump (--major)."
Step 3: Determine Version
Priority:
- User flag (
--major/--minor/--patch) - BREAKING CHANGE → Major (1.x.x → 2.0.0)
feat:present → Minor (1.2.x → 1.3.0)- Otherwise → Patch (1.2.3 → 1.2.4)
Display: 1.2.3 → 1.3.0
Step 4: Generate Changelogs
For each changelog file:
- Identify language from filename
- Detect third-party contributors via merged PRs
- Generate content in that language:
- Section titles in target language
- Date format: YYYY-MM-DD
- Attribution:
(by @username)for non-owner contributors
- Insert at file head, preserve existing content
Section Titles:
| Type | en | zh | ja |
|---|---|---|---|
| feat | Features | 新功能 | 新機能 |
| fix | Fixes | 修复 | 修正 |
| docs | Documentation | 文档 | ドキュメント |
| breaking | Breaking Changes | 破坏性变更 | 破壊的変更 |
Format:
## 1.3.0 - 2026-01-22
### Features
- Add user authentication (by @contributor1)
- Support OAuth2 login
### Fixes
- Fix memory leak in connection pool
Step 5: Group by Module (Optional)
For monorepos, group commits by affected skill/module:
baoyu-cover-image:
- feat: add new style options
→ README updates: options table
baoyu-comic:
- refactor: improve panel layout
→ No README updates
Step 6: User Confirmation
Present:
- Changelog preview
- Proposed version bump
- Changes summary
Ask:
- Confirm version bump (show recommended)
- Push to remote? (Yes/No)
Step 7: Create Release
# Stage files
git add <version-file> CHANGELOG*.md
# Commit
git commit -m "chore: release v{VERSION}"
# Tag
git tag v{VERSION}
# Push (if confirmed)
git push origin main
git push origin v{VERSION}
Output:
Release v1.3.0 created.
Tag: v1.3.0
Status: Pushed to origin
Scripts
| Script | Purpose |
|---|---|
scripts/prepare_release.py | Prepare release with version bump |
scripts/release_notes.py | Generate release notes from commits |
scripts/roadmap_changelog.py | Generate changelog from roadmap |
Configuration (.releaserc.yml)
Optional overrides:
version:
file: package.json
path: $.version
changelog:
files:
- path: CHANGELOG.md
lang: en
- path: CHANGELOG.zh.md
lang: zh
commit:
message: "chore: release v{version}"
tag:
prefix: v
Dry-Run Mode
With --dry-run:
- Show all proposed changes
- Preview changelog entries
- List commits to create
- No actual changes made
Version Paths
| File | Path |
|---|---|
| package.json | $.version |
| pyproject.toml | project.version |
| Cargo.toml | package.version |
| marketplace.json | $.metadata.version |
| VERSION | Direct content |
Quality Criteria
Good releases:
- Clear changelog entries describing user-facing changes
- Proper contributor attribution
- Consistent multi-language content
- No orphaned tags (always with commit)
- Version bump matches change significance
NEVER
- Force push to main/master
- Skip user confirmation before push
- Create tags without commits
- Include internal/chore changes in user-facing changelog
- Push without explicit user consent
- Add Co-Authored-By to release commits (they're automated)