release

name

release

description

Prepare a new version release for the openroad-mcp project. Automates version bumping, changelog generation, lockfile updates, and release commit creation. Use this skill whenever the user asks to: - Prepare a release, cut a release, or do a release - Bump the version or update the version - Create a release commit - Ship a new version - Update the changelog for a new release Trigger on phrases like "release", "bump version", "prepare release", "cut v0.x", "ship it", "new release", or any mention of version numbers in the context of publishing. Also trigger when the user references the release process we've done before (e.g., "do the release thing", "same as last time").

Release Preparation

This skill automates the full release preparation workflow for the openroad-mcp project. It ensures every file that references the version gets updated consistently.

Project context

• Build system: hatchling (Python)
• Package manager: uv
• Version source: python/pyproject.toml [project] version
• Changelog format: Keep a Changelog
• Commit style: Conventional Commits (feat:, fix:, chore:, etc.)
• GitHub repo: The-OpenROAD-Project/openroad-mcp
• Release gatekeeper: @vvbandeira (org member) — must approve and merge all releases

Workflow

Step 1: Determine versions

Read the current version from python/pyproject.toml:

grep '^version = ' python/pyproject.toml

Then ask the user what the new version should be. Suggest the next logical semver bump based on the commits since the last release:

• Patch (0.3.0 → 0.3.1): only fixes and minor changes
• Minor (0.3.0 → 0.4.0): new features added, backwards compatible
• Major (0.3.0 → 1.0.0): breaking changes

Show the suggestion but let the user decide.

Step 2: Collect commits since last release

Get the last release tag:

git tag --sort=-v:refname | head -5

Then list all commits since that tag:

git log <last-tag>..HEAD --oneline

If no tag exists, use the first commit or the last "chore: release" commit:

git log --oneline --grep="chore: release" | head -1

Step 3: Categorize commits into changelog sections

Read each commit message and sort into Keep a Changelog categories:

Category	Conventional commit prefix
Added	feat:
Changed	chore:, build:, ci:, perf:, refactor:
Fixed	fix:
Removed	commits mentioning removal/deprecation

For each commit, format the changelog entry as:

- Description ([#PR](https://github.com/The-OpenROAD-Project/openroad-mcp/pull/PR))

Use the PR number from the commit message if present. For commits without a PR number, just use the description part after the prefix.

Step 4: Update all version references

These files must be updated with the new version. Update ALL of them — missing one breaks the release consistency.

python/pyproject.toml — Update version = "X.Y.Z" in the [project] section.

server.json — Update all three version references:

• Top-level "version": "X.Y.Z"
• PyPI package "version": "X.Y.Z"
• OCI identifier "identifier": "ghcr.io/The-OpenROAD-Project/openroad-mcp:X.Y.Z"

MCP manifest files and README — These files use git+https://github.com/The-OpenROAD-Project/openroad-mcp without a version pin. Update every occurrence to pin to the release tag, which prevents supply chain attacks by ensuring users install a known, reviewed commit:

Change:

"git+https://github.com/The-OpenROAD-Project/openroad-mcp"

To:

"git+https://github.com/The-OpenROAD-Project/openroad-mcp@vX.Y.Z#subdirectory=python"

The #subdirectory=python fragment is required because the Python project lives under python/, not at the repo root — without it uvx --from git+… fails with "does not appear to be a Python project".

Use a single perl pass that handles all three URL patterns in the README (and normalizes the #subdirectory=python fragment, re-pinning even URLs that already carry it):

• JSON/TOML quoted: "git+https://...openroad-mcp@v0.5.3#subdirectory=python"
• YAML unquoted list item: - git+https://...openroad-mcp@v0.5.3#subdirectory=python (end of line)
• Bare (first-time pin): "git+https://...openroad-mcp"

perl -i -pe 's!git\+https://github\.com/The-OpenROAD-Project/openroad-mcp(?:\@v[\d.]+)?(?:#subdirectory=python)?(?="|$)!git+https://github.com/The-OpenROAD-Project/openroad-mcp\@vX.Y.Z#subdirectory=python!g' README.md python/README.md

The ! delimiter avoids clashing with the | inside the lookahead (?="|$). The lookahead matches either a closing quote (JSON/TOML) or end of line (YAML), so all config formats are covered. The optional (?:#subdirectory=python)? lets the pass re-pin URLs that already carry the fragment without doubling it.

After updating, verify all pinned URLs show the new tag:

grep "The-OpenROAD-Project/openroad-mcp@" README.md python/README.md

Every line should show @vX.Y.Z. Also confirm no bare URLs remain:

grep 'The-OpenROAD-Project/openroad-mcp"' README.md python/README.md

That should return no output.

Side note for users: If you always want the latest version and prefer not to pin, omit the @vX.Y.Z suffix and use the bare URL: git+https://github.com/The-OpenROAD-Project/openroad-mcp. This trades supply chain safety for convenience — acceptable for local/dev setups, not recommended for shared or production environments.

python/uv.lock — Regenerate by running uv lock from python/. Do NOT hand-edit this file.

CHANGELOG.md — Add new section before the previous version's section. Today's date goes in the header. Add the link at the bottom:

[X.Y.Z]: https://github.com/The-OpenROAD-Project/openroad-mcp/releases/tag/vX.Y.Z

ROADMAP.md — Find the "Version Milestones" table and add a new row for this release. Move any now-completed items from future milestones into this release's description.

Step 5: Run tests

Run the test suite to verify nothing is broken:

cd python && uv run pytest --tb=short -q

If tests fail, report the failures to the user before proceeding. Do not commit a broken release.

Step 6: Create the release commit and open a PR

Stage only the release-related files:

git add CHANGELOG.md ROADMAP.md python/pyproject.toml server.json python/uv.lock README.md python/README.md

Commit under the openroad-ci bot identity (public org member — required so the MCP Registry OIDC check passes when the release workflow runs):

git -c user.name="openroad-ci" \
    -c user.email="[e-mail]" \
    commit -m "chore: release vX.Y.Z"

Then push to a dedicated release branch and open a PR:

git checkout -b release/vX.Y.Z
git push -u origin release/vX.Y.Z
gh pr create \
  --title "chore: release vX.Y.Z" \
  --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Release vX.Y.Z

See [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) for full details.

/cc @vvbandeira — please review and merge when ready.
EOF
)" \
  --reviewer vvbandeira

NEVER push directly to main. The decision to merge and tag belongs exclusively to @vvbandeira. Once the PR is open, report the PR URL to the user and stop — do not merge, squash, or tag.

Tagging is automated. When @vvbandeira squash-merges the release PR, the auto-tag.yml workflow detects the chore: release vX.Y.Z commit message and pushes the tag as openroad-ci using OPENROAD_CI_PAT. This ensures the release workflow actor is a publicly visible org member, satisfying the MCP Registry OIDC check. No manual tagging needed.

Important details

• Never push to main directly. Always use a release/vX.Y.Z branch and open a PR.
• @vvbandeira must review and merge — request them as a reviewer on every release PR.
• OPENROAD_CI_PAT secret required — this PAT must be stored in the repo settings with Contents: Read and write scope. The auto-tag.yml workflow uses it to push the release tag as openroad-ci, satisfying the MCP Registry org-membership check.
• Always use uv lock to regenerate the lockfile rather than editing it manually
• The CHANGELOG date format is ISO: YYYY-MM-DD
• Version tags use a v prefix: v0.4.0 (but the version in files has no prefix)
• Check for ALL files referencing the old version by running:

  grep -r "OLD_VERSION" --include="*.toml" --include="*.json" --include="*.lock" --include="*.md"
  

  (replace OLD_VERSION with the actual previous version, e.g. 0\.5\.2) before committing, to catch any missed references
• Also verify the README git URLs were updated:

  grep "openroad-mcp@" README.md
  

  All occurrences should show the new @vX.Y.Z tag
• If server.json doesn't exist, skip it (some repos may not have it)
• If ROADMAP.md doesn't exist or has no version table, skip it