release-process

name	release-process
description	Create a new release: version bump, tarball creation, git tagging, and GitHub release with attached binaries.

What I do

I guide the complete release process for sprachspiel: bumping version numbers, updating documentation, creating tarballs, tagging, and publishing the GitHub release.

When to use me

Use this skill when the user asks to create a release or when all planned features for a version are complete and ready to ship.

Step 1: Update Version Numbers

Update the version X.Y.Z in three files:

1.1 Cargo.toml

version = "X.Y.Z"

1.2 man/sprach.1

Update the .TH line with the new version number:

.TH "SPRACH" "1" "April 2026" "X.Y.Z" "Sprach Manual"

1.3 doc/src/CHANGELOG.md

Add a new version section at the top (after [Unreleased]):

## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD

### Added

- Feature description

### Changed

- Change description

### Fixed

- Fix description

### Removed

- Removal description

Step 2: Update CHANGELOG

Collect all changes since the last release:

1. Review git log <last-tag>..HEAD --oneline
2. Categorize changes into Added/Changed/Fixed/Removed
3. Write clear, user-facing descriptions (not internal details)

Step 3: Commit and Push

git add Cargo.toml Cargo.lock man/sprach.1 doc/src/CHANGELOG.md
git commit -m "chore: bump version to X.Y.Z"
git push origin master

Step 4: Create Tarballs

make all-tarballs

This creates 4 tarballs in dist/:

Tarball	Platform	Features
sprachspiel-X.Y.Z-linux-x86_64.tar.gz	Linux x86_64	Default features
sprachspiel-X.Y.Z-linux-x86_64-all-tools.tar.gz	Linux x86_64	All features
sprachspiel-X.Y.Z-termux-aarch64-linux-android.tar.gz	Termux (Android)	Default features
sprachspiel-X.Y.Z-termux-aarch64-linux-android-all-tools.tar.gz	Termux (Android)	All features

Tarball Contents

• Linux: Binary, man page (sprach.1), README.md, LICENSE.txt
• Termux: Binary, README-TERMUX.txt with installation instructions

Step 5: Create Tag and GitHub Release

# Create annotated tag
git tag -a vX.Y.Z -m "Release vX.Y.Z"
git push origin vX.Y.Z

# Create GitHub release with all 4 tarballs
gh release create vX.Y.Z \
  --title "vX.Y.Z" \
  --notes "## Changes

$(head -50 doc/src/CHANGELOG.md)" \
  dist/sprachspiel-X.Y.Z-linux-x86_64.tar.gz \
  dist/sprachspiel-X.Y.Z-linux-x86_64-all-tools.tar.gz \
  dist/sprachspiel-X.Y.Z-termux-aarch64-linux-android.tar.gz \
  dist/sprachspiel-X.Y.Z-termux-aarch64-linux-android-all-tools.tar.gz

Step 6: Post-Release Verification

1. Check the release page on GitHub: all 4 tarballs attached
2. Verify tarball contents: binary runs, man page present
3. Update IMPLEMENTATION.md version header if needed
4. Verify project board: all issues in the release should have cards in "Done"
5. Check for any stale cards (issues that are closed but cards still in "In Progress" or "In Review")