release-screendrop

name	release-screendrop
description	Release the Screendrop macOS app to GitHub using the screendrop-release CLI tool. Use this skill whenever the user wants to publish a new version, create a release, ship an update, push a release to GitHub, or update the appcast. Also use when they mention DMG creation, Sparkle signing, or anything related to distributing a new Screendrop version.

Release Screendrop

This skill handles releasing new versions of Screendrop to GitHub using a custom Go CLI tool.

Prerequisites

Before releasing, the user must have:

1. Exported Screendrop.app to ~/Downloads/Screendrop.app from Xcode (Archive > Export after notarization)
2. Bumped version numbers in Xcode (MARKETING_VERSION and CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION)
3. The following tools installed: create-dmg (brew), gh (GitHub CLI), git
4. The Sparkle sign_update binary available in DerivedData (built automatically when the project is built in Xcode)

The Release CLI

The release tool is a Go binary built from source in the project:

/Users/fayazahmed/Developer/fayazara/mac/OpenShot/cmd/screendrop-release/

What it does (in order)

1. Preflight checks -- verifies create-dmg, gh, git, and Sparkle's sign_update are available
2. Validates Screendrop.app -- reads version and build number from ~/Downloads/Screendrop.app/Contents/Info.plist, checks for Sparkle keys (SUFeedURL, SUPublicEDKey)
3. Collects release notes -- prompts for bullet points (one per line, empty line to finish)
4. Creates DMG -- uses create-dmg to package ~/Downloads/Screendrop.app into ~/Downloads/Screendrop.dmg
5. Signs DMG -- runs Sparkle's sign_update to generate an EdDSA signature
6. Updates appcast.xml -- parses the existing appcast in the repo, prepends a new <item> entry with version info, signature, and download URL, then writes it back
7. Git push -- commits and pushes the updated appcast.xml to main
8. Creates GitHub release -- uses gh release create to create a tagged release with the DMG attached

Running it

The tool is interactive (prompts for release notes and confirmation), so it needs to be run in a terminal the user can interact with. You cannot run it directly via a non-interactive shell.

Guide the user to build and run:

cd /Users/fayazahmed/Developer/fayazara/mac/OpenShot && go run ./cmd/screendrop-release/

Or build a binary first:

cd /Users/fayazahmed/Developer/fayazara/mac/OpenShot && go build -o screendrop-release ./cmd/screendrop-release/ && ./screendrop-release

Environment

• The tool auto-detects the repo at ~/Developer/fayazara/mac/OpenShot or ~/Developer/fayazara/mac/Screendrop. Override with SCREENDROP_REPO env var.
• GitHub repo target: fayazara/screendrop
• Git branch: main
• DMG volume name: Screendrop
• Minimum macOS version: 26.4

Sparkle Configuration

The Sparkle auto-update framework is fully configured:

• SUFeedURL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fayazara/screendrop/main/appcast.xml
• SUPublicEDKey: MA/6n0fqT0T2updDlkXr8BjhJKoHWik9uf6Lh5pUG7U=
• UpdaterManager.swift: Singleton, starts at launch (Release builds only), menu bar + Settings UI integration

Workflow Guide

When the user wants to release, walk them through this checklist:

1. Confirm they've bumped the version in Xcode
2. Confirm they've archived, notarized, and exported Screendrop.app to ~/Downloads/
3. Have them run the release CLI
4. After it completes, verify the GitHub release was created successfully

If something goes wrong mid-release (e.g., signing fails, git push fails), help debug using the error output from the CLI. Common issues:

• Screendrop.app not found -- they need to export from Xcode first
• sign_update not found -- they need to build the project in Xcode so DerivedData has the Sparkle artifacts
• gh auth -- they may need to run gh auth login first
• Build already in appcast -- they may have forgotten to bump the build number