| name | release-engineering |
| description | Release engineering tasks including version bumping, building release APKs, creating git tags, writing changelogs, and preparing F-Droid releases. Use when the user asks to prepare a release, bump version, tag a release, or build for distribution. |
| argument-hint | task description |
Release Engineering
You are performing release engineering tasks for MakeMeDown Text Reader.
Current state of the project
Read this before assuming anything. The repo is young and several pieces of release infrastructure that exist in the user's other projects do not yet exist here:
- No tags yet. This will be the first release; the tag convention below is a proposal — confirm with the user before committing to it.
- No
bumpPatchVersion Gradle task. Version bumps are done by editing app/build.gradle.kts directly.
- No
fastlane/ directory. F-Droid metadata does not exist yet. If the user asks to "prepare an F-Droid release," step zero is to confirm whether they want to create that directory tree at all.
- No release signing config.
release build type has isMinifyEnabled = false and no signingConfig declared. Signed builds happen in Android Studio (Build → Generate Signed App Bundle / APK) or via a user-provided keystore — never automate this.
applicationId: org.ghostsinthelab.app.makedown (note: app, not apps).namespace: org.ghostsinthelab.app.makedown.
Current version (verify in app/build.gradle.kts before acting — these go stale):
versionCode = 1
versionName = "1.0"
Version Scheme
- versionName: SemVer
MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH (e.g. 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.1.0).
- versionCode: monotonically increasing integer, +1 per release.
- Both live in app/build.gradle.kts inside
defaultConfig { … }.
To bump:
- Edit
versionCode (+1) and versionName in app/build.gradle.kts.
- Sync Gradle (or just rebuild) to confirm the file still parses.
- Commit the bump as part of the release commit (see below) — do not split the bump and the release into two commits unless the user wants it that way.
Release Process
The general shape, in order:
- Confirm intent — ask the user what version they're cutting and whether it's a patch, minor, or major bump. Don't guess.
- Ensure the working tree is clean on
main — git status must be empty before bumping.
- Run tests —
./gradlew :app:test at minimum. If the user has connected a device/emulator, ./gradlew :app:connectedAndroidTest is a bonus. Stop and report if anything fails.
- Bump version in app/build.gradle.kts (versionCode +1, versionName per the user's choice).
- Write changelog entries if the user maintains them — see "Changelogs" below. As of this writing, no changelog convention is in place yet, so confirm with the user what they want.
- Build signed APKs — do not run this automatically. The release build needs a keystore passphrase. Prompt the user to build via Android Studio (Build → Generate Signed App Bundle / APK) or via the command line with their own keystore. Wait for confirmation before proceeding.
- Create the release commit — see "Git Conventions" below.
- Tag the release — see "Tag Convention" below.
- Push commit and tag only after the user explicitly confirms.
- Create the GitHub Release with
gh if the user wants one (see "GitHub Release" below).
Git Conventions
- Release commit message:
chore: release <versionName> (matches the project's existing chore: convention from git log). If the user prefers a non-prefixed Release X.Y.Z, follow their lead — but ask, don't assume.
- Commits are GPG-signed (
git commit -S). See the commit-and-push skill for the full commit workflow. Do not add --signoff; this project uses GPG signatures, not DCO sign-off.
- Tag the release commit (see next section).
Tag Convention
The repo currently has zero tags, so there is no precedent. Propose the following and let the user confirm:
- Lightweight tag:
git tag <versionName> (e.g. 1.0.0)
- No
v prefix (this matches the user's other projects)
- GPG-signed annotated tag is also reasonable:
git tag -s <versionName> -m "<versionName>" — ask which the user prefers.
Once the user picks a convention, stick with it for future releases.
Build Commands Reference
./gradlew :app:assembleDebug
./gradlew :app:assembleRelease
./gradlew :app:test
./gradlew :app:connectedAndroidTest
./gradlew :app:lint
./gradlew :app:clean
The debug APK lands at app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk. The release APK (when configured) lands at app/build/outputs/apk/release/.
Note: because no archivesName is configured, the APK filename is the default app-<buildType>.apk. If the user wants a self-describing filename (e.g. org.ghostsinthelab.app.makedown_v1.0.0-release.apk), they should add archivesName under defaultConfig in app/build.gradle.kts before the release.
GPG Signing the APK
Independent of the release build's keystore signing (which is the Android signing config), some workflows GPG-sign the APK file itself for distribution verification. Do not run gpg automatically — passphrase entry is interactive.
If the user wants this, provide the commands to run manually:
gpg --detach-sign --armor app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk
gpg --detach-sign --armor app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk
This produces .asc signature files alongside the APKs. Wait for the user to confirm signing is complete before moving on.
Changelogs
As of this writing, the project has no changelog file and no fastlane/ directory. Don't fabricate one. When the user asks for a changelog:
- Ask whether they want a
CHANGELOG.md at the repo root (Keep-a-Changelog style is common), an F-Droid fastlane/metadata/.../changelogs/<versionCode>.txt, GitHub Release notes only, or some combination.
- Once they choose, stick with it for future releases.
To gather material for a changelog, list commits since the previous tag:
git log --oneline <previous-tag>..HEAD
git log --oneline
Group entries by type (feat:, fix:, docs:, chore:, etc.) since the project already uses Conventional Commit prefixes — that maps cleanly onto changelog sections.
F-Droid (only if/when set up)
If and when the user adds an F-Droid metadata tree, it would conventionally live at:
fastlane/metadata/android/en-US/
title.txt # max 50 chars
short_description.txt # max 80 chars
full_description.txt # max 4000 chars
changelogs/<versionCode>.txt # max 500 chars
images/ # icon, feature graphic, screenshots
If the user is multilingual, mirror under zh-TW/. Don't pre-create this tree without being asked.
GitHub Release
After building (and optionally GPG-signing) the APKs, create a GitHub Release with gh:
gh release create <versionName> \
--title "<versionName>" \
--notes "$(cat <<'EOF'
<release notes body>
EOF
)" \
app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk \
app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk.asc
For release notes, prefer a hand-written summary over --generate-notes alone. A good structure:
## Highlights
- (1–3 user-visible bullets — what changed for the reader)
## Changes
- (grouped by feat: / fix: / docs: / chore: from `git log`)
**Full Changelog**: https://github.com/hiroshiyui/MakeMeDownTextReader/compare/<previous-tag>...<versionName>
For the first release, omit the compare link (there's nothing to compare against) and use https://github.com/hiroshiyui/MakeMeDownTextReader/commits/<versionName> instead.
Upload whichever assets the user wants — typically the release APK plus its .asc signature. Debug APKs are usually not attached to releases unless the user says so.
Important Reminders
- Confirm before any push, tag-push, or release publish. All three are visible to others and hard to undo.
- Never automate keystore signing or
gpg — both need interactive passphrase entry, and silently skipping signing is worse than asking.
- Run tests before tagging. If the user is in a hurry and skips, note it in the release commit body.
- F-Droid (when/if enabled) builds from source using the tagged commit, so the tag must point to a buildable, signable state.
- The release
proguard-rules.pro file exists but isMinifyEnabled = false — minification is currently OFF. If the user enables it, audit ProGuard rules for kotlinx.serialization and BiometricPrompt callbacks before tagging.
Task: $ARGUMENTS
