release

Release Manager Skill

Automatically update the CHANGELOG.md and project version for a new release, following Keep a Changelog and Semantic Versioning.

Efficiency Guidelines

• Read CHANGELOG.md and the version manifest in parallel. Read at least 100 lines of the changelog (older entries help you match the existing style) and at least 50 lines of the manifest.
• Use a single git log command to get all commit details since the last release — multiple commands waste time and can miss context: git log <baseline>..HEAD --format="%h %s%n%b" where <baseline> is the commit hash of the last released version from the changelog.
• Update both the version manifest and CHANGELOG.md before committing so they stay in sync.
• Validate changes by checking exit codes, not full output — reading large outputs burns context for no benefit.

Workflow

1. Gather Context (in parallel)

Read these in parallel to minimize round-trips:

• CHANGELOG.md (first 100 lines). If it doesn't exist, you'll create one in step 3.

• Version manifest — detect the project type and read the appropriate file:

  Project Type	Manifest File	Version Field
  Node.js	package.json	"version": "X.Y.Z"
  PowerShell	*.psd1	ModuleVersion = 'X.Y.Z'
  Python	pyproject.toml	version = "X.Y.Z"
  Rust	Cargo.toml	version = "X.Y.Z"
  .NET	*.csproj	<Version>X.Y.Z</Version>

  If multiple manifests exist, ask which one to update. If none exist, skip the version manifest update and note this to the user.

• Git log — get all commits since the last release: git log <baseline>..HEAD --format="%h %s%n%b" <baseline> = the commit hash from the last version entry in the changelog. For a first release, use the repo's initial commit.

2. Determine Version Bump

Always use strict Semantic Versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH). If the project uses a non-standard scheme (e.g., 1.2.3.0 or 1.2.3-beta), normalize to three-part semver — 1.2.3.0 becomes 1.2.3, and the next bump follows from there.

Bump	When
MAJOR	Breaking changes
MINOR	New features, backward-compatible
PATCH	Bug fixes, backward-compatible

First stable release (0.x → 1.0.0): If the current version is below 1.0.0 (e.g., 0.0.1, 0.1.0) and the user says "first release", "first real release", "ready for production", or similar language signaling stability, bump to 1.0.0. Pre-1.0 versions are development placeholders — a "first real release" means the project is ready for consumers, which is what 1.0.0 represents in semver.

Determine the bump level using this approach, in order:

1. Commit messages first. Scan for conventional commit prefixes (feat:, fix:, BREAKING CHANGE:) — these are the fastest signal.
2. Read the diffs. When commit messages are vague or don't follow conventions, read the actual code changes with git diff <baseline>..HEAD to understand what changed. New public APIs or exported functions → MINOR. Bug fixes and internal refactors → PATCH. Removed or renamed public APIs, changed function signatures, breaking config changes → MAJOR.
3. Ask only as a last resort. If the changes are genuinely ambiguous after reading the code (e.g., a large refactor that might or might not break consumers), ask the user — but present your best guess with reasoning so they can confirm quickly.

• If re-running for an unreleased version, keep the existing version unless a higher bump is now needed.

3. Update Files

CHANGELOG.md:

• Add a new ## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD section (note the dash between version and date) below ## [Unreleased]. If no Unreleased section exists, add one above the new version entry.
• If this is the first release and no CHANGELOG.md exists, create one with the Keep a Changelog header format, including an ## [Unreleased] section.
• Categorize changes using Keep a Changelog categories:
  • Added — new features
  • Changed — changes in existing functionality
  • Deprecated — soon-to-be removed features
  • Removed — removed features
  • Fixed — bug fixes
  • Security — vulnerability fixes
• Only include categories that have entries.
• Keep lines to 80 characters or fewer.
• Preserve any manual edits if re-running.
• Add a comparison link at the bottom if the repo already uses them. For a first release, comparison links are optional.

Version manifest:

• Update the version field in the detected manifest file to match the new version. Use the format appropriate for the project type (see table in step 1).

4. Commit and Create PR

• Stage changed files and commit: git add <files> && git commit -m "chore(release): X.Y.Z"
• If not already on a release branch, create one: release/X.Y.Z
• Create or update a PR: gh pr create --title "chore(release): X.Y.Z" --body "<changelog section for this version>" If a PR already exists for this branch, update it instead: gh pr edit <number> --body "<updated changelog section>"

Standards

• Keep a Changelog
• Semantic Versioning