release-branch

name	release-branch
description	Create SkiaSharp release branches and start release CI. Use when the user says "release X", "start release X", "create release branch for X", "release now", or asks for the next preview on main or a maintenance line. This is the first release step: resolve an exact version, audit immutable branch inputs, obtain approval, and reconcile both SkiaSharp and mono/skia release branches.

Release Branch

This skill is Step 1 of 5:

release-branch → release-status → release-testing → release-publish → release-milestones

Contract

• Use scripts for detection, validation, reconciliation, and writes.
• Treat remote release refs and the CI run triggered by the SkiaSharp push as irreversible. Never force-update or move an existing ref.
• Keep the current checkout unchanged and never commit directly to protected main/skiasharp branches.
• Audit the exact version first; execute only after the user approves every pending operation.
• Preserve the audited base SHA and Skia gitlink SHA during execution.
• The script may create matching release/{version} refs in both repositories.
• A regular stable release may create a protected-branch bump PR. Automation opens it; a maintainer reviews and merges it.
• This skill never merges PRs or publishes packages/releases.

Release model

Exact version	Base
X.Y.Z-preview.N / -rc.N	main before line creation, otherwise release/X.Y.x
X.Y.Z	release/X.Y.x
X.Y.Z.F-preview.N / -rc.N	Tag vX.Y.Z
X.Y.Z.F	Latest matching hotfix preview/RC branch

Preview/RC iterations begin at 1. Every SkiaSharp release branch has an identically named mono/skia branch at the exact pinned gitlink. Stable public versions are bare X.Y.Z; CI test packages remain X.Y.Z-stable.{build} until publication.

Script contract

Script	Responsibility
scripts/detect-release-version.py	Read-only next-preview calculation from main or release/X.Y.x.
scripts/create-release-branches.py	Exact-version dry-run, validation, reconciliation, push, and stable bump PR.

Operation statuses:

Status	Response
done	Validated; no write needed.
pending	Include in approval and execution.
awaiting-user	Automation is complete; report the maintainer action.

Workflow

1. Resolve the exact version

Use a supplied exact version directly. When the user requests the next release, choose main or an exact release/X.Y.x integration branch, asking only when that line is ambiguous:

python3 .agents/skills/release-branch/scripts/detect-release-version.py \
  {integration-branch}

Pin the returned releaseVersion.

2. Audit

python3 .agents/skills/release-branch/scripts/create-release-branches.py \
  {exact-version} \
  --dry-run

Render:

## Release branch audit

**Release:** `{version}` ({type})
**Base:** `{baseRef}` at `{baseSha}`
**Skia:** `{skiaSha}`
**Branches:** `mono/SkiaSharp:{releaseBranch}`,
`mono/skia:{releaseBranch}`

| Operation | Status | Detail |
|-----------|--------|--------|
| `{operations[].id}` | `{operations[].status}` | `{operations[].detail}` |

Include every warning and call out that a pending SkiaSharp push starts CI.

3. Approve and execute

If no operation is pending, report any maintainer action and continue to the handoff. Otherwise obtain approval and run the emitted executionCommand, which pins baseSha and skiaSha.

If execution fails, rerun the dry-run to reconcile partial state before retrying the emitted command.

4. Hand off

Run the returned statusCommand with release-status. For stable releases, also report the bump PR URL and its maintainer-owned merge state.

See releasing.md for the complete release process.