| name | release-jetbrains |
| description | Use when releasing the Kilo JetBrains plugin -- resolve a version ("next rc" or explicit), run the prepare workflow, edit and commit a filtered human-readable changelog on the release PR, then watch publish to completion. |
JetBrains Release
Use this skill when releasing the Kilo JetBrains plugin.
This skill drives the existing JetBrains release workflows. It must not move, delete, or recreate JetBrains release tags. It must always confirm the resolved version with the user before dispatching the prepare workflow because the prepare workflow creates an immutable jetbrains/v<version> tag.
Preconditions
- Run from the repository root.
gh must be authenticated for Kilo-Org/kilocode with permission to dispatch workflows, read PRs, and write contents. Merge permission is only required if the user asks the skill to merge the release PR automatically.- Check auth with
gh auth status. For GitHub CLI OAuth, refresh common release scopes with gh auth refresh -s repo -s workflow; repo covers private-repo contents and PR operations, and workflow allows workflow dispatch. If using a fine-grained token instead, grant repository permissions for Actions read/write, Contents read/write, and Pull requests read/write. Merging still requires normal repository collaborator permission or a token/user allowed by branch protection.
- Reference
packages/kilo-jetbrains/RELEASING.md for manual recovery rules.
- Do not locally check out the generated release branch. The helper scripts update the release branch through GitHub to avoid disturbing the current worktree.
Version Resolution
Resolve the user's version request:
bun .kilo/skills/release-jetbrains/script/resolve-version.ts --spec "next rc"
Accepted specs:
| Spec | Meaning |
|---|
next rc | If the latest JetBrains tag is an RC, increment its rc.n; otherwise start the next patch RC at rc.1. |
next stable | If the latest JetBrains tag is an RC, use its base version; otherwise use the next patch stable. |
x.y.z-rc.n | Explicit RC release. |
x.y.z | Explicit stable release. |
Show the resolved version, kind, and default fromTagDefault to the user.
CLI Pin Verification
Before dispatching prepare, verify the JetBrains plugin is pinned to the intended Kilo Core release. The plugin downloads the CLI version from packages/kilo-jetbrains/package.json, not from the JetBrains plugin version. Prepare tags origin/main, so the authoritative pin is the value on origin/main, not a local edit.
Run the pin preflight:
bun .kilo/skills/release-jetbrains/script/check-pin.ts
The script prints:
| Field | Meaning |
|---|
pinMain | CLI version that origin/main will lock into the release tag. |
pinLocal | CLI version in the current worktree, useful for catching stale local checkouts. |
latestCli | Latest stable v* Kilo CLI GitHub release. |
prevJetbrainsCli | CLI pin used by the latest jetbrains/v* release tag, for reviewing the jump. |
pinnedMain / pinnedLocal | Whether kilo.cli.pinned=true; false means repo CLI dev mode. |
assetsOk / missingAssets | Whether the pinned CLI release has every runtime asset. |
drift | up-to-date, behind, worktree-behind-main, repo-mode-on-main, repo-mode-local, or assets-missing. |
Interpretation:
| Drift | Action |
|---|
up-to-date | Continue after user confirmation. |
behind | Stop and show pinMain, latestCli, and prevJetbrainsCli; ask whether to cancel, bump + test, or proceed anyway. |
worktree-behind-main | Explain that prepare tags origin/main; refresh the worktree or rely on pinMain in the confirmation. |
repo-mode-on-main | Stop. kilo.cli.pinned=false is dev-only and must be reset to true on main before release. |
repo-mode-local | Stop or reset local kilo.cli.pinned=true; release checks should run from a releasable local state. |
assets-missing | Stop. The pinned CLI release is incomplete and would fail runtime download. |
Show the resolved JetBrains plugin version, release kind, default fromTagDefault, pinMain, latestCli, prevJetbrainsCli, and assetsOk to the user, then ask for confirmation before continuing. If the user wants a different CLI pin, use the bump workflow below and do not dispatch prepare until the bump is merged to main.
Bump the CLI Pin
Use this only when the user wants to test or release with a different CLI than origin/main currently pins. The helper refuses versions whose GitHub release or runtime assets are missing.
Local test edit only:
bun .kilo/skills/release-jetbrains/script/set-pin.ts --latest
bun .kilo/skills/release-jetbrains/script/set-pin.ts --version 7.4.1
Then test from packages/kilo-jetbrains/:
./gradlew typecheck
./gradlew test
If the user confirms the tested pin should be released, open or update a pin bump PR to main:
bun .kilo/skills/release-jetbrains/script/set-pin.ts --latest --pr
bun .kilo/skills/release-jetbrains/script/set-pin.ts --version 7.4.1 --pr
After that PR merges to main, re-run resolve-version.ts, re-run check-pin.ts, confirm drift=up-to-date, then dispatch prepare. Do not dispatch prepare from a local-only pin edit; the prepare workflow tags origin/main.
Prepare Workflow
After confirmation, dispatch and watch the prepare workflow:
bun .kilo/skills/release-jetbrains/script/dispatch-prepare.ts --kind rc --version 7.0.1-rc.7
Pass a generous Bash timeout, such as 1800000 ms, because the script blocks on gh run watch --exit-status. If the shell times out but the workflow is still running, re-attach with:
bun .kilo/skills/release-jetbrains/script/dispatch-prepare.ts --kind rc --version 7.0.1-rc.7 --run-id <run-id>
The script prints prNumber, prUrl, runUrl, and branch on success. Immediately show the prUrl to the user so they can open the release PR without asking for it later.
Changelog Draft
Create a changelog draft after the prepare PR exists:
- Read the PR body with
gh pr view <pr> --json body.
- Extract
JetBrains-From-Tag, JetBrains-Tag, and ## Generated Notes.
- Fetch the release range tags if they are missing locally:
git fetch origin refs/tags/<from-tag>:refs/tags/<from-tag> refs/tags/<tag>:refs/tags/<tag>
- Use the release range and path filter as the primary relevance signal:
git log --oneline <from-tag>..<tag> -- packages/opencode packages/kilo-jetbrains
Keep JetBrains and CLI/runtime changes. Drop unrelated VS Code, docs, gateway, telemetry, i18n, desktop, and webview-only changes unless they affect the CLI bundled into the JetBrains plugin.
Rewrite terse commit or PR titles into user-facing bullets grouped under ### Added, ### Fixed, and ### Changed. Keep the exact generated header format:
## [<version>] - <date>
Write the editable draft to:
packages/kilo-jetbrains/build/release/<version>-changelog.md
Include source context in an HTML comment so it is easy to edit but not shipped:
<!-- CONTEXT - deleted automatically on commit. Source PRs in range:
- #1234 feat(jetbrains): ... https://github.com/Kilo-Org/kilocode/pull/1234
- #1235 fix(cli): ... https://github.com/Kilo-Org/kilocode/pull/1235
-->
Ask the user to edit the file and confirm when done.
Commit Changelog
After the user confirms the draft is ready, strip the <!-- CONTEXT ... --> block into a temporary cleaned file, then commit the cleaned section to the release branch:
bun .kilo/skills/release-jetbrains/script/update-changelog.ts --version 7.0.1-rc.7 --file /path/to/clean-section.md
The script updates packages/kilo-jetbrains/CHANGELOG.md on jetbrains/release/v<version> through the GitHub contents API and commits with:
docs(jetbrains): edit changelog for v<version>
If update-changelog.ts fails with gh: Not Found (HTTP 404), verify the release branch and changelog path with:
gh api "repos/Kilo-Org/kilocode/contents/packages/kilo-jetbrains/CHANGELOG.md?ref=jetbrains/release/v<version>"
Then either fix and retry the helper, or perform the equivalent contents API update using ref in the query string.
After the changelog commit succeeds, show the release PR URL again and tell the user that the PR needs manual approval and merge before publishing can continue.
Approve And Publish
Ask the user to approve the release changelog and metadata. Before merging or publishing, verify the PR approval and required checks are green:
gh pr view <pr> --json mergeStateStatus,reviewDecision,statusCheckRollup
gh pr checks <pr> --watch --interval 10
Do not merge or publish while required checks are failing unless the user explicitly gives a maintainer override.
If a required check fails from an apparent flake, rerun only the failed jobs and wait for the run to finish:
gh run rerun <run-id> --failed
gh run watch <run-id> --exit-status
By default, have the user merge the release PR manually in GitHub, then watch the publish workflow:
bun .kilo/skills/release-jetbrains/script/watch-publish.ts --pr <number> --version 7.0.1-rc.7
Only merge automatically when the user explicitly asks for it and gh has merge permission:
bun .kilo/skills/release-jetbrains/script/watch-publish.ts --pr <number> --version 7.0.1-rc.7 --merge
Pass a generous Bash timeout, such as 1800000 ms. If the shell times out, re-attach with:
bun .kilo/skills/release-jetbrains/script/watch-publish.ts --pr <number> --version 7.0.1-rc.7 --run-id <run-id>
If watch-publish.ts --merge reports that the PR is already merged, or a transient GitHub API 5xx interrupts publish-run discovery, rerun without --merge:
bun .kilo/skills/release-jetbrains/script/watch-publish.ts --pr <number> --version <version>
Report the Marketplace channel and GitHub Release URL. RC versions publish to the eap channel; stable versions publish to the default Marketplace channel.
Recovery
- If prepare created the tag but failed before creating a PR, rerun prepare for the same version. The existing workflow reuses the tag if it points to the same commit.
- If a tag points to an unexpected SHA, stop and inspect manually. Do not move or delete release tags casually.
- If prepare tagged an unintended CLI pin, do not move the tag. Land the intended pin on
main, resolve the next JetBrains version, and create a new release tag.
- If release PR checks fail from an apparent flake, use
gh run rerun <run-id> --failed, then gh run watch <run-id> --exit-status before publishing.
- If publish fails after merge, rerun the failed workflow only if Marketplace did not already accept the version.
- If Marketplace succeeds but GitHub Release upload fails, manually create or edit the GitHub Release for
jetbrains/v<version> using the reviewed changelog.
