release-build

name	release-build
description	End-to-end checklist for building a signed macOS release — bump manifest min_app_version, verify sidecars, build, and inspect the .app

Release Build Checklist

The release process does not bump src-tauri/Cargo.toml — that version represents the current release and stays as-is. After shipping, bump it separately using the bump-dev-version skill to start the next dev cycle.

---

1. Bump min_app_version in models/manifest.json

Set min_app_version to the current version from src-tauri/Cargo.toml:

{
  "manifest_version": 1,
  "min_app_version": "X.Y.Z",
  ...
}

This tells older app installs that they must update before the new model manifest applies.

---

2. Update changelogs

Update both:

• CHANGELOG.md (root) — add bullet points for this release under the current version tag
• docs/changelog.md — mirror the same entries (this is the public-facing website changelog)

Use git log <prev-tag>..HEAD --oneline to enumerate commits since the last release.

---

3–5. Pre-build checks, build, and post-build verification

These steps are fully automated by tools/release-build.sh. Run it from the repo root:

tools/release-build.sh

The script:

• Extracts ACOUSTID_CLIENT_KEY automatically from src-tauri/.cargo/config.toml
• Verifies all sidecar binaries and dylibs are present
• Checks no /opt/homebrew/ paths exist in the source binaries
• Verifies @loader_path/../Frameworks is in the rpath
• Validates the Developer ID signing cert
• Checks tauri.conf.json frameworks match src-tauri/binaries/
• Runs cargo test and npm test
• Runs npm run tauri build
• Verifies the built .app bundle layout, paths, signatures, and Gatekeeper status

Output lands in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/.

If you've run brew upgrade llama.cpp since the last release, re-run tools/bundle-llama-server.sh before running the build script.

To run the build manually instead:

ACOUSTID_CLIENT_KEY=$(grep ACOUSTID_CLIENT_KEY src-tauri/.cargo/config.toml | sed 's/.*= *"\(.*\)"/\1/') \
  npm run tauri build

---

6. Publish

Replace X.Y.Z with the current version:

VERSION=$(grep '^version' src-tauri/Cargo.toml | head -1 | sed 's/.*= *"\(.*\)"/\1/')

git add models/manifest.json CHANGELOG.md docs/changelog.md tools/ skills/
git commit -m "chore: release v$VERSION"
git tag "v$VERSION"
git push origin main --tags

gh release create "v$VERSION" \
  "src-tauri/target/release/bundle/dmg/Deep Cuts_${VERSION}_aarch64.dmg" \
  --title "v$VERSION" \
  --notes "$(sed -n "/^## \[${VERSION}\]/,/^---/p" CHANGELOG.md | head -n -1)"

---

7. Checklist

• min_app_version in models/manifest.json set to current version
• CHANGELOG.md (root) and docs/changelog.md updated
• tools/release-build.sh passes all checks (covers steps 3–5)
• Git tag pushed, DMG attached to GitHub release via gh release create