release

name	release
description	Activate when user asks to release, bump version, cut a release, merge to main, or tag a version. Handles version bumping (semver), CHANGELOG updates, PR merging, git tagging, and GitHub release creation.

Release Skill

Handles the complete release workflow: version bump, CHANGELOG, merge, tag, and GitHub release.

Auto-Merge vs Agent Merge

This skill does NOT require GitHub "auto-merge" (gh pr merge --auto). When automation is enabled, the agent performs the merge itself (runs gh pr merge) once the merge gates pass.

When to Use

• User asks to "release", "cut a release", "ship it"
• User asks to "bump version" (major/minor/patch)
• User asks to "merge to main" after PR approval
• User asks to "tag a version" or "create a release"

Prerequisites

Before releasing:

1. All changes committed and pushed
2. PR created and reviewed (ICC Stage 3 receipt is the required review gate by default)
3. Tests passing
4. No blocking review findings

Automation Controls (Skills-Level)

These controls are driven by workflow configuration (AgentTask workflow.* and icc.workflow.json):

• workflow.auto_merge=true: standing approval to merge PRs once gates pass
• workflow.release_automation=true: automate the mechanical release steps (tag + GitHub release creation)

Safety defaults:

• Never auto-merge to main unless the user explicitly requested a release workflow.
• Never publish a non-draft GitHub release without explicit user approval (draft releases are OK).

Release Workflow

Step 1: Verify Ready to Release

# Check PR status
gh pr status

# Verify PR is approved
gh pr view <PR-number> --json reviews

# Verify checks pass
gh pr checks <PR-number>

# Verify this is a release PR (base should be main)
gh pr view <PR-number> --json baseRefName --jq .baseRefName

# Verify reviewer Stage 3 receipt exists (ICC-REVIEW-RECEIPT) and matches current head SHA
PR=<PR-number>
HEAD_SHA=$(gh pr view "$PR" --json headRefOid --jq .headRefOid)
RECEIPT=$(gh pr view "$PR" --json comments --jq '.comments | map(select(.body | contains("ICC-REVIEW-RECEIPT"))) | last | .body // ""')
echo "$RECEIPT" | rg -q "Reviewer-Stage: 3 \\(temp checkout\\)"
echo "$RECEIPT" | rg -q "Head-SHA: $HEAD_SHA"
echo "$RECEIPT" | rg -q "Result: PASS"

Step 2: Determine Version Bump

Ask user if not specified:

Type	When	Example
major	Breaking changes	1.0.0 → 2.0.0
minor	New features, backward compatible	1.0.0 → 1.1.0
patch	Bug fixes, no new features	1.0.0 → 1.0.1

Step 3: Update VERSION File

# Read current version
CURRENT=$(cat src/VERSION 2>/dev/null || cat VERSION 2>/dev/null || echo "0.0.0")

# Calculate new version based on bump type
# For patch: increment last number
# For minor: increment middle, reset last to 0
# For major: increment first, reset others to 0

Step 4: Update CHANGELOG

Add new section at top of CHANGELOG.md:

## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD

### Added
- New features

### Changed
- Changes to existing features

### Fixed
- Bug fixes

### Removed
- Removed features

Derive changes from:

git log --oneline $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || echo "HEAD~10")..HEAD

Step 5: Commit Version Bump

git add VERSION src/VERSION CHANGELOG.md
git commit -m "chore: Bump version to X.Y.Z"
git push

Step 6: Merge PR

# Merge gate (required):
# - Reviewer Stage 3 receipt exists and matches head SHA (ICC-REVIEW-RECEIPT)
# - All checks passing
# - User explicitly approved the release/merge
#
# Only then merge the PR (squash or merge based on project preference)
gh pr merge <PR-number> --squash --delete-branch

Or if merge commit preferred:

gh pr merge <PR-number> --merge --delete-branch

Step 7: Create Git Tag

# Checkout main after merge
git checkout main
git pull origin main

# Create annotated tag
git tag -a "vX.Y.Z" -m "Release vX.Y.Z"
git push origin "vX.Y.Z"

Step 8: Create GitHub Release (if using GitHub)

# Default: create DRAFT release (safe). Publish only if user explicitly requests.
gh release create "vX.Y.Z" \
  --draft \
  --title "vX.Y.Z" \
  --notes "$(cat <<'EOF'
## What's Changed

### Added
- Feature 1
- Feature 2

### Fixed
- Bug fix 1

**Full Changelog**: https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/compare/vPREV...vX.Y.Z
EOF
)"

Or generate notes automatically:

gh release create "vX.Y.Z" --generate-notes

Version File Locations

Check for VERSION in order:

1. src/VERSION
2. VERSION
3. package.json (for Node projects)
4. pyproject.toml (for Python projects)

CHANGELOG Format

Follow Keep a Changelog format:

# Changelog

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

## [Unreleased]

## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD

### Added
### Changed
### Deprecated
### Removed
### Fixed
### Security

Safety Checks

Before any release action:

1. Confirm user approval for merge
2. Verify on correct branch
3. Check no uncommitted changes
4. Verify PR checks pass

Integration

Works with:

• commit-pr skill - For version bump commit
• git-privacy skill - No AI attribution in release notes
• branch-protection skill - Respect branch rules
• reviewer skill - Verify no blocking findings

Examples

Patch Release

User: "Release a patch for the bug fixes"
→ Bump 1.2.3 → 1.2.4
→ Update CHANGELOG
→ Commit, merge, tag, release

Minor Release

User: "Cut a minor release with the new features"
→ Bump 1.2.3 → 1.3.0
→ Update CHANGELOG
→ Commit, merge, tag, release

Major Release

User: "Major release - we have breaking changes"
→ Bump 1.2.3 → 2.0.0
→ Update CHANGELOG (note breaking changes)
→ Commit, merge, tag, release

Rollback

If release needs to be reverted:

# Delete the tag locally and remotely
git tag -d vX.Y.Z
git push origin :refs/tags/vX.Y.Z

# Delete the GitHub release
gh release delete vX.Y.Z --yes

# Revert the merge commit if needed
git revert <merge-commit-sha>