| name | release-extension |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| description | Release + publish the Blinkk Agent Platform Chat Connector VS Code extension.
Lands the current work via PR, lets Changesets open the version-bump PR, merges
it to trigger the CI Marketplace publish, then creates the matching git tag +
GitHub Release (CI does NOT create these). Use when asked to "release", "publish
the extension", "ship a release", "cut a release", or "publish to the marketplace".
|
| allowed-tools | ["Bash","Read","AskUserQuestion"] |
What this skill does
Drives the full release for this repo (blinkk/vscode-agent-platform-connector).
The pipeline is Changesets + GitHub Actions; the actual Marketplace publish
runs in CI, not locally. Do NOT run vsce publish from a workstation.
The release has two automated legs and one manual leg:
- Land the change → push a changeset to
main. The release.yml workflow
sees the pending changeset and opens/updates a "ci: release" Version Packages
PR (branch changeset-release/main) that bumps the version + writes CHANGELOG.
- Merge the Version Packages PR → the same workflow, now finding no
changesets, runs
pnpm run release:ci (scripts/release-ci.mjs), which
vsce packages and vsce publishes to the Marketplace using the VSCE_PAT
repo secret. Open VSX is skipped unless OVSX_PAT is set.
- Create the git tag + GitHub Release manually. CI does not do this —
every historical release (v0.2.0 … v0.3.2) is authored by the human, and the
custom publish script emits nothing Changesets recognizes, so no tag/release
is auto-created. You must create
vX.Y.Z yourself.
Preconditions (check first)
gh auth status is logged in (SSH remote is github).- There is a changeset for the pending work:
ls .changeset/*.md shows a file
other than README.md/config.json. If missing, STOP and create one (or run
pnpm changeset) — without it the version never bumps. Feature = minor,
bugfix = patch.
- Working tree changes are committed (this skill assumes the code is ready).
Steps
1. Verify locally, then land via PR
Run the same gates CI runs, so a red build never reaches main:
pnpm run typecheck && pnpm run lint && pnpm test && pnpm run build
If the current work isn't on main yet, branch, commit (include the changeset),
push, and open a PR:
git checkout -b <type>/<slug>
git add -A && git commit -F - <<'EOF'
<type>: <summary>
<body>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
EOF
git push -u github HEAD
gh pr create --base main --head "$(git branch --show-current)" \
--title "<type>: <summary>" --body "<PR body>"
Wait for CI green, then squash-merge:
gh pr checks <PR#> --watch --interval 15
gh pr merge <PR#> --squash --delete-branch
2. Merge the Version Packages PR (this publishes to the Marketplace)
Merging step 1 triggers release.yml, which opens/updates the version PR. Wait
for it, then inspect the bump before merging:
gh pr list --state open --search "ci: release in:title" --json number,headRefName
git fetch github changeset-release/main
git show github/changeset-release/main:package.json | grep '"version"'
git show github/changeset-release/main:CHANGELOG.md | head -20
Confirm the new version is what you expect (feature → minor, fix → patch), then
squash-merge with the conventional subject so main history reads
ci: release X.Y.Z:
gh pr merge <releasePR#> --squash --subject "ci: release X.Y.Z"
Watch the publish run to success:
gh run list --workflow=release.yml --limit 3 \
--json databaseId,displayTitle,status,conclusion \
-q '.[] | "\(.databaseId) [\(.status)/\(.conclusion // "-")] \(.displayTitle)"'
gh run watch <publishRunId> --interval 15 --exit-status
Reading the publish log: runAllowingAlreadyPublished in
scripts/release-ci.mjs pipes vsce publish output and only prints it on
error. So a successful publish shows the $ pnpm exec vsce publish … echo and
then nothing before "OVSX_PAT not set; skipping". Silence = success. A real
failure throws and fails the step. Don't mistake the empty output for a no-op.
3. Create the git tag + GitHub Release (manual — CI won't)
git fetch github main && git reset --hard github/main
V=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")
awk "/^## ${V//./\\.}\$/{f=1;next} /^## [0-9]/{if(f)exit} f" CHANGELOG.md \
| sed '/^### /d' > /tmp/relnotes.md
git tag -a "v$V" -m "v$V" github/main
git push github "v$V"
gh release create "v$V" --title "v$V" --notes-file /tmp/relnotes.md --latest
4. Verify the Marketplace propagated
The Marketplace API/vsce show lags a few minutes behind a successful upload —
poll until the new version appears (don't conclude failure from the first check):
for i in $(seq 1 8); do
v=$(npx --yes @vscode/vsce show blinkk.vscode-agent-platform-connector 2>/dev/null \
| grep -A1 "Version Last" | tail -1 | awk '{print $1}')
echo "attempt $i: marketplace latest = ${v:-unknown}"
[ "$v" = "$V" ] && { echo "PUBLISHED ✓"; break; }
sleep 30
done
Done when
main has a ci: release X.Y.Z commit; the Version Packages PR is merged.- The
release.yml publish run is green.
vX.Y.Z tag + GitHub Release exist and the Release is marked Latest.vsce show blinkk.vscode-agent-platform-connector reports X.Y.Z.
Gotchas / notes
- Never
vsce publish locally — the VSCE_PAT lives only in CI. Local
publish bypasses the pipeline and can double-publish.
- Open VSX is skipped unless
OVSX_PAT is added as a repo secret; the
Marketplace is the only target today.
- If the version PR doesn't appear after a merge to
main, there was no pending
changeset — add one and push again.
- Merging the Version Packages PR is the irreversible, outward-facing step
(it publishes publicly). Confirm the version + changelog before merging it.
- CI runners warn about "Node 20 deprecated"; harmless.
