| name | release-tag |
| description | This skill should be used when the user asks to "create a release tag", "bump version", "tag a release", "release major/minor/patch", "bump major", "bump minor", "bump patch", "create version tag", or "/release-tag". Bumps semantic version, invokes changelog, and creates annotated git tag. |
Release Tag Skill
Purpose
Bump a semantic version tag, update CHANGELOG.md via the /changelog skill, and create an annotated git tag with a commit summary message. Handles initial tagging from 0.0.0 when no tags exist.
Invocation
/release-tag <major|minor|patch>
A bump type argument is required. Reject invocation without one.
/release-tag patch # 1.2.3 -> 1.2.4
/release-tag minor # 1.2.3 -> 1.3.0
/release-tag major # 1.2.3 -> 2.0.0
Workflow
Execute these steps sequentially:
Step 1: Determine current version
git tag --sort=-version:refname | head -1
If no tags exist, use 0.0.0 as the base version.
Step 2: Calculate new version
Parse the current version into major.minor.patch components and apply the bump:
| Bump type | Rule |
|---|
patch | Increment patch, keep major and minor |
minor | Increment minor, reset patch to 0, keep major |
major | Increment major, reset minor and patch to 0 |
Report to the user: Bumping <current> -> <new>
Step 3: Verify clean working tree
git status --porcelain
If the working tree has uncommitted changes, stop and report the issue. Do not proceed with a dirty tree. The user must commit or stash changes first.
Step 4: Invoke changelog
Use the Skill tool to invoke /changelog. This updates CHANGELOG.md with the latest changes.
After changelog completes, stage and commit the changelog update:
git add CHANGELOG.md
git commit -m "docs: update changelog for <new-version>"
Step 5: Build tag message
Gather commits since the last tag (or all commits if no previous tag):
git log <last-tag>..HEAD --oneline
git log --oneline
Group commits by conventional commit type (feat, fix, docs, refactor, etc.) for the tag message. Format as a readable summary.
Step 6: Create annotated tag
git tag -a <new-version> -m "<tag-message>"
Report success: Created tag <new-version>
Remind the user to push the tag when ready: git push origin <new-version>
Rules
- No "v" prefix: Tags are
1.0.0, never v1.0.0
- Annotated tags only: Always use
git tag -a, never lightweight tags
- Clean tree required: Refuse to tag with uncommitted changes (step 3)
- Changelog first: Always invoke
/changelog before creating the tag (step 4)
- No auto-push: Never push automatically; remind the user to push manually
- No AI attribution: Never add Co-Authored-By or AI references to the changelog commit
- Bump argument required: Reject invocation without
major, minor, or patch
