create-release

name	create-release
description	Create a new release for SSMSx. Use when the user says "create a release", "new release", "cut a release", "ship it", or asks to publish SSMSx.

Create Release

Create a stable or beta GitHub release for SSMSx with the versioning and release workflow this repo expects.

Preconditions

• The release must target main.
• The working tree must be clean.
• All release secrets must exist in the GitHub prod environment, not as repo-level secrets:
  • APPLE_ID
  • APPLE_TEAM_ID
  • APPLE_APP_PASSWORD
  • DEVELOPER_ID_CERTIFICATE
  • DEVELOPER_ID_PASSWORD
  • HOMEBREW_TAP_DEPLOY_KEY
• The published release triggers the Build and Test workflow. Do not create a draft release if the user expects the pipeline to run immediately.

Steps

1. Pull latest:

   but clean --pull
   

2. Confirm the local checkout is clean:

   but status -fv
   

   Stop if there are uncommitted or unapplied changes that are not part of the release.

3. Check existing releases:

   gh release list --repo GordonBeeming/ssmsx --limit 10
   

4. Determine the next version.

   • Stable tags must be v{major}.{minor}.
   • Beta tags must be v{major}.{minor}-beta.{n}.
   • The release workflow rejects tags without the leading v.
   • The release workflow writes {major}.{minor}.{github_run_number} for stable releases, or {major}.{minor}.{github_run_number}-beta.{n} for beta releases, into package.json, src-tauri/tauri.conf.json, src-tauri/Cargo.toml, and sidecar/Directory.Build.props during the CI build.
   • If there are no releases yet, use v0.1-beta.1 for beta or v0.1 for stable unless Gordon asks for another version.
   • For normal feature releases, bump the minor version.
   • Do not use patch numbers in release tags.

5. Gather changes since the last release:

   LAST_TAG=$(gh release list --repo GordonBeeming/ssmsx --limit 1 --json tagName --jq '.[0].tagName')
   git log "${LAST_TAG}..HEAD" --oneline
   

   If there is no prior release, use:

   git log --oneline
   

6. Create the release on main.

Use a published release, not a draft, when the user wants the pipeline to start now:

gh release create v{major}.{minor} \
  --repo GordonBeeming/ssmsx \
  --target main \
  --title "v{major}.{minor} - {short description}" \
  --notes "$(cat <<'EOF'
# SSMSx v{major}.{minor} - {short description}

## What's new

- {list changes since the last release using git log}

## Install

```bash
brew upgrade --cask gordonbeeming/tap/ssmsx
```

Or download the DMG from the assets below after the release workflow completes.
EOF
)"

For beta releases, use the beta tag and mark the GitHub release as a prerelease:

gh release create v{major}.{minor}-beta.{n} \
  --repo GordonBeeming/ssmsx \
  --target main \
  --prerelease \
  --title "v{major}.{minor}-beta.{n} - {short description}" \
  --notes "$(cat <<'EOF'
# SSMSx v{major}.{minor}-beta.{n} - {short description}

## What's new

- {list changes since the last release using git log}

## Install

```bash
brew upgrade --cask gordonbeeming/tap/ssmsx
```

Or download the DMG from the assets below after the release workflow completes.
EOF
)"

7. The release pipeline will automatically:

   • Run the verification suite
   • Build the .NET sidecar for macOS arm64
   • Build the Tauri app bundle
   • Sign with Developer ID
   • Notarize and staple the app bundle
   • Create and sign ssmsx-{tag without v}-aarch64.dmg
   • Notarize the DMG with Apple
   • Staple and validate the notarization ticket
   • Upload the DMG to the release
   • Update GordonBeeming/homebrew-tap at Casks/ssmsx.rb

8. Watch the workflow:

   gh run list --repo GordonBeeming/ssmsx --workflow "Build and Test" --limit 5
   

   For the relevant run:

   gh run watch <run-id> --repo GordonBeeming/ssmsx --exit-status
   

9. Report the release URL, workflow run URL, Homebrew cask update status, and any required manual follow-up.

Version Format

• Stable release tag: v{major}.{minor} (example: v0.2)
• Beta release tag: v{major}.{minor}-beta.{n} (example: v0.2-beta.1)
• Stable app/package/sidecar version during CI: {major}.{minor}.{github_run_number}
• Beta app/package/sidecar version during CI: {major}.{minor}.{github_run_number}-beta.{n}
• Homebrew cask version: the release tag without the leading v
• DMG asset: ssmsx-{tag without v}-aarch64.dmg
• Homebrew URL generated by CI: https://github.com/gordonbeeming/ssmsx/releases/download/v{tag without v}/ssmsx-{tag without v}-aarch64.dmg

Important

• Never reuse, delete, or overwrite an existing release tag.
• Do not use a tag without the v prefix.
• Do not use patch numbers in release tags.
• Do not create repo-level secrets. Release credentials belong in the GitHub prod environment only.
• If signing fails because DEVELOPER_ID_CERTIFICATE or DEVELOPER_ID_PASSWORD is missing, report that exact missing secret rather than trying to work around signing.
• Wait for the release workflow to complete before telling the user to run brew upgrade.