Git Release Skill

Use this skill when preparing releases, managing versions, and generating changelogs.

When to Use

• Preparing a new release
• Updating version numbers
• Generating changelogs
• Creating release tags
• Publishing to npm/package registries

Semantic Versioning

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

Version Bump Rules

Change Type	Example	Version Bump
Breaking API change	Remove function	MAJOR (1.0.0 → 2.0.0)
New feature	Add endpoint	MINOR (1.0.0 → 1.1.0)
Bug fix	Fix crash	PATCH (1.0.0 → 1.0.1)
Documentation	Update README	PATCH (optional)
Refactor (no API change)	Internal cleanup	PATCH (optional)

Pre-release Versions

1.0.0-alpha.1   # Alpha release
1.0.0-beta.1    # Beta release
1.0.0-rc.1      # Release candidate

Commit Convention

Use Conventional Commits:

<type>[optional scope]: <description>

[optional body]

[optional footer(s)]

Types

Type	Description	Version Bump
feat	New feature	MINOR
fix	Bug fix	PATCH
docs	Documentation	None
style	Formatting	None
refactor	Code restructure	None
perf	Performance	PATCH
test	Tests	None
chore	Maintenance	None
BREAKING CHANGE	Breaking change	MAJOR

Examples

# Feature
git commit -m "feat(auth): add OAuth2 login support"

# Bug fix
git commit -m "fix(api): handle null response from payment provider"

# Breaking change
git commit -m "feat(api)!: change user endpoint response format

BREAKING CHANGE: User endpoint now returns nested profile object"

# With scope
git commit -m "fix(ui): correct button alignment on mobile"

# With body
git commit -m "refactor(database): migrate to connection pooling

- Replace individual connections with pool
- Add connection timeout handling
- Update all database queries to use pool"

Release Workflow

1. Pre-Release Checks

# Ensure clean working directory
git status

# Ensure on correct branch
git branch --show-current

# Pull latest changes
git pull origin main

# Run tests
npm test

# Run build
npm run build

# Check for vulnerabilities
npm audit

2. Version Bump

# Using npm (updates package.json and creates commit)
npm version patch  # 1.0.0 → 1.0.1
npm version minor  # 1.0.0 → 1.1.0
npm version major  # 1.0.0 → 2.0.0

# Pre-release versions
npm version prerelease --preid=alpha  # 1.0.0 → 1.0.1-alpha.0
npm version prerelease --preid=beta   # 1.0.0 → 1.0.1-beta.0
npm version prerelease --preid=rc     # 1.0.0 → 1.0.1-rc.0

3. Generate Changelog

# Using conventional-changelog
npx conventional-changelog -p angular -i CHANGELOG.md -s

# Or with standard-version (automates version + changelog)
npx standard-version
npx standard-version --release-as minor
npx standard-version --prerelease alpha

4. Create Tag and Push

# Tag is usually created by npm version or standard-version
# If manual:
git tag -a v1.2.0 -m "Release v1.2.0"

# Push with tags
git push origin main --follow-tags

5. Create GitHub Release

# Using GitHub CLI
gh release create v1.2.0 \
  --title "v1.2.0" \
  --notes-file RELEASE_NOTES.md

# With auto-generated notes
gh release create v1.2.0 --generate-notes

# Draft release for review
gh release create v1.2.0 --draft

6. Publish (if applicable)

# npm
npm publish

# npm with tag (for pre-releases)
npm publish --tag next
npm publish --tag beta

Changelog Format

# Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

## [1.2.0] - 2024-01-15

### Added
- OAuth2 login support for Google and GitHub (#123)
- Dark mode toggle in settings (#145)

### Changed
- Improved loading performance for dashboard (#156)
- Updated dependencies to latest versions

### Fixed
- Fixed button alignment on mobile devices (#167)
- Corrected timezone handling in date picker (#172)

### Security
- Updated jsonwebtoken to fix CVE-2023-XXXXX

## [1.1.0] - 2024-01-01

### Added
- Initial release with core features

GitHub Actions for Releases

# .github/workflows/release.yml
name: Release

on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*'

jobs:
  release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
          registry-url: 'https://registry.npmjs.org'

      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test
      - run: npm run build

      - name: Create GitHub Release
        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
        with:
          generate_release_notes: true
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Publish to npm
        run: npm publish
        env:
          NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}

Release Checklist

Before Release

• All tests pass
• Build succeeds
• No security vulnerabilities
• Documentation updated
• CHANGELOG updated
• Version bumped

Release

• Tag created
• Pushed to remote
• GitHub release created
• Package published (if applicable)

After Release

• Verify installation works
• Announce release (if applicable)
• Monitor for issues

Hotfix Process

# Create hotfix branch from release tag
git checkout -b hotfix/1.2.1 v1.2.0

# Make fix
# ... commit changes ...
git commit -m "fix(critical): resolve payment processing error"

# Bump patch version
npm version patch

# Push and create PR to main
git push origin hotfix/1.2.1

# After merge, tag and release
git checkout main
git pull
git tag -a v1.2.1 -m "Hotfix v1.2.1"
git push origin v1.2.1

Rollback Process

# Revert to previous version
git revert HEAD  # If single commit

# Or reset to tag
git checkout v1.1.0

# Create new patch release
npm version patch
git push origin main --follow-tags