Release Management

Automate releases with gh release , semantic versioning, and changelog generation.

Quick Reference

Create Release

Auto-generate notes from PRs

gh release create v1.2.0 --generate-notes

With custom title

gh release create v1.2.0 --title "Version 1.2.0: Performance Update" --generate-notes

Draft release (review before publishing)

gh release create v1.2.0 --draft --generate-notes

Pre-release (beta, rc)

gh release create v1.2.0-beta.1 --prerelease --generate-notes

With custom notes

gh release create v1.2.0 --notes "## Highlights

• New auth system
• 50% faster search"

From notes file

gh release create v1.2.0 --notes-file RELEASE_NOTES.md

List & View Releases

List all releases

gh release list

View specific release

gh release view v1.2.0

View in browser

gh release view v1.2.0 --web

JSON output

gh release list --json tagName,publishedAt,isPrerelease

Verify Releases (gh CLI 2.86.0+)

Verify release attestation (sigstore)

gh release verify v1.2.0

Verify specific asset

gh release verify-asset v1.2.0 ./dist/app.zip

Verify with custom trust policy

gh release verify v1.2.0 --owner myorg

Manage Releases

Edit release

gh release edit v1.2.0 --title "New Title" --notes "Updated notes"

Delete release

gh release delete v1.2.0

Upload assets

gh release upload v1.2.0 ./dist/app.zip ./dist/app.tar.gz

Semantic Versioning

MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH │ │ │ │ │ └── Bug fixes (backwards compatible) │ └──────── New features (backwards compatible) └────────────── Breaking changes

Examples: 1.0.0 → 1.0.1 (patch: bug fix) 1.0.1 → 1.1.0 (minor: new feature) 1.1.0 → 2.0.0 (major: breaking change)

Pre-release: 2.0.0-alpha.1 (early testing) 2.0.0-beta.1 (feature complete) 2.0.0-rc.1 (release candidate)

Release Workflows

Standard and hotfix release procedures using git tags and gh release .

Load Read("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/release-workflows.md") for step-by-step standard and hotfix release workflows.

Changelog Generation

Auto-generated from PRs, custom .github/release.yml templates, and manual CHANGELOG.md format.

Load Read("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/changelog-generation.md") for changelog template examples and Keep-a-Changelog format.

Release Automation & Checklist

GitHub Actions workflow for tag-triggered releases, version bumping script, and pre/post-release checklist.

Load Read("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/release-automation.md") for CI workflow, bump script, and release checklist.

Best Practices

• Use semantic versioning - Communicate change impact

• Draft releases first - Review notes before publishing

• Generate notes from PRs - Accurate, automatic history

• Close milestone on release - Track completion

• Tag main only - Never tag feature branches

• Announce breaking changes - Prominent in release notes

Related Skills

• ork:github-operations : Milestones, issues, and CLI reference

• ork:github-operations : Branch management and git operations

References

Load on demand with Read("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/<file>") :

File Content

semver.md

Semantic versioning rules and decision tree

release-workflows.md

Standard and hotfix release procedures

changelog-generation.md

Auto-generated, template, and manual changelog formats

release-automation.md

GitHub Actions workflow, bump script, and checklist