Release

One command to release any package. Detects your ecosystem, bumps the version, updates the changelog, commits, tags, pushes, and watches CI.

Commands

Step 1: Parse Arguments

Determine the release type from the invocation:

• patch, minor, major → stable release
• alpha, beta, rc → pre-release
• context → read-only status
• dry → dry run simulation
• setup-ci → CI workflow generation
• No argument → show this command reference and stop

Step 2: Detect Ecosystem

Scan the project root for manifest files to determine the ecosystem:

For the npm ecosystem, also detect the package manager:

If multiple lock files exist, use the highest match from the table (top = highest priority) and note the conflict to the user.

Guard Rails

Before proceeding, check for known unsupported configurations:

1. Read package.json and check for a workspaces field. If present:

   • Print: "Monorepo detected (workspaces field found). This skill supports single-package repos only. For monorepos, see changesets or release-please."
   • Stop.

2. Check for "private": true in package.json. If present:

   • Print: "Note: Package is marked private. Publishing will be skipped, but version bumping, changelog management, and tagging will still work."
   • Continue (do not stop).

Step 3: Check Infrastructure

Before routing to a flow, check what infrastructure exists:

1. CHANGELOG.md — Does it exist? Does it contain ## [Unreleased] (case-insensitive)?
2. Pre-push hook — Does .git/hooks/pre-push exist and contain release validation?
3. CI workflows — Does .github/workflows/ contain a file with npm publish or a publish step?

If the command is context, just report what's missing — don't offer to create anything.

For all other commands, if CHANGELOG.md is missing or has no [Unreleased] section:

• Route to flows/init.md to bootstrap before continuing.

After init completes, note missing infrastructure (hook, CI) to offer at the end of the release.

Step 4: Route to Flow

Load the adapter file and the appropriate flow file based on the command:

Stable Release (patch, minor, major)

1. Read adapters/npm.md for ecosystem-specific commands
2. Follow flows/release.md for the 10-step release flow

Pre-Release (alpha, beta, rc)

1. Read adapters/npm.md for ecosystem-specific commands
2. Follow flows/pre-release.md for the pre-release flow

Context

1. Read adapters/npm.md for read_version
2. Follow flows/context.md for the status report

Dry Run

1. Read adapters/npm.md for ecosystem-specific commands
2. Follow flows/dry-run.md for the simulation flow

Setup CI

1. Read adapters/npm.md for template selection
2. Follow flows/setup-ci.md for CI workflow generation

Step 5: Post-Release Offers

After a successful stable release (push completed), check and offer:

1. Pre-push hook not installed? → "Would you like to install a pre-push hook to validate releases? It checks that tag versions match your package.json and changelog."

2. No CI publish workflow? → Check if the remote contains github.com. If yes: "Would you like to generate GitHub Actions workflows for CI and automated publishing? Run /release setup-ci." If not on GitHub: "No CI publish workflow detected. /release setup-ci can generate GitHub Actions workflows if needed, but note that only GitHub Actions is supported at this time."

These are suggestions only — never install automatically without confirmation.

Rollback

If anything goes wrong during a release, see reference/rollback.md for exact recovery commands for every failure scenario.

Design Principles

• Human-written changelogs. The skill manages the format; you write the content.
• Confirm before push. Every release shows a summary and waits for explicit approval.
• Ecosystem adapters. Same flow, different commands. Adding a new ecosystem is one file.
• Graceful degradation. Network-dependent steps (push, CI watch) degrade cleanly when unavailable. Steps 1–8 work with just filesystem and git.
• No tool-specific instructions. Commands use standard bash — works with any agent that can run shell commands.