release

name	release
description	Cut a new WormsCursor release — bump the version, roll the CHANGELOG, tag, and push so the GitHub release workflow builds and publishes it. Use when asked to "release", "ship a version", "bump the version", "cut a release", "tag a release", or "publish an update".

Releasing WormsCursor

A release is driven entirely by pushing a vX.Y.Z git tag. The tag triggers .github/workflows/release.yml, which packages the app with Velopack and publishes a GitHub Release. There is no manual upload step — push the tag and watch the run.

Versioning

Semver-ish, matching the existing tags:

• Feature added → bump the minor (0.6.1 → 0.7.0).
• Fix / docs / packaging only → bump the patch (0.7.0 → 0.7.1).
• Pre-release: a tag containing a hyphen (e.g. v0.8.0-rc1) is published as a draft pre-release automatically.

The git tag is the source of truth for the packed version: release.yml derives the Velopack pack version from the tag (strips the leading v). Keep <Version> in src/WormsCursor.App/WormsCursor.App.csproj in sync with it (it's the dev-build / in-app version readout) and commit it as Release X.Y.Z — so tag v0.7.0 ⇄ <Version>0.7.0</Version>. That's the established convention (see the Release … commits).

Steps

1. Pick the version X.Y.Z per the rules above.

2. Bump the assembly version in src/WormsCursor.App/WormsCursor.App.csproj:

   <Version>X.Y.Z</Version>
   

3. Roll the CHANGELOG (CHANGELOG.md, Keep a Changelog style — one section per tag):

   • Rename the top ## Unreleased section to ## X.Y.Z - YYYY-MM-DD (today's date).
   • If there is no ## Unreleased section, add a new ## X.Y.Z - YYYY-MM-DD section at the top (below the intro) describing what shipped, grouped under ### Added / ### Changed / ### Fixed / ### Removed.
   • The release job extracts THIS section verbatim into the GitHub release notes by matching the ## header that contains the version string — so keep the header in the ## X.Y.Z - DATE shape and don't let the same version appear in another header.

4. Sanity-build before tagging (the tag triggers a real release):

   dotnet build WormsCursor.sln -c Release
   

5. Commit the bump + changelog together:

   git add src/WormsCursor.App/WormsCursor.App.csproj CHANGELOG.md
   git commit -m "Release X.Y.Z"
   

6. Tag and push (push the branch first, then the tag):

   git push origin main
   git tag vX.Y.Z
   git push origin vX.Y.Z
   

7. Watch the workflow:

   gh run list --workflow=release.yml --limit 3
   gh run watch <run-id>   # optional, follows to completion
   

What the workflow does (.github/workflows/release.yml)

Triggered on push of tags matching v*:

• build (windows-latest): dotnet publish self-contained win-x64 → sanity-checks the payload (WormsCursor.exe + Assets/) → installs vpk 0.0.1298 (kept in lockstep with the Velopack PackageReference in the csproj) → downloads the latest prior stable release into velopack-output/ so vpk pack can compute a delta (skipped only when there is no prior stable release) → vpk pack → uploads the velopack artifact.
• release (ubuntu-latest): downloads the artifact → extracts the matching CHANGELOG.md section into release-body.md → softprops/action-gh-release publishes the GitHub Release with Setup.exe, Portable.zip, the .nupkg, and the Velopack releases.win.json / assets.win.json. Tags containing a - are marked draft + prerelease.

Gotchas

• Tag must equal the csproj <Version>. A mismatch ships a package whose version doesn't match the tag people downloaded.
• Delta integrity: the workflow aborts if a prior stable release exists but vpk download fails, rather than shipping a full-only/missing-delta package that could brick auto-update on existing installs.
• Don't reuse a tag. To redo a release, bump to the next patch instead of retagging.
• The in-app updater is Velopack; "Check for updates" (tray + Preferences) pulls from the GitHub Releases this workflow publishes. A build run from bin\ reports as a dev build and can't self-update — that's expected.

See also

• .github/workflows/release.yml — the workflow this skill triggers (publish → vpk pack with a delta vs the prior stable release → GitHub release; notes from the CHANGELOG section).
• src/WormsCursor.App/Services/UpdateService.cs + Program.cs (VelopackApp.Build().Run()) — how the in-app updater consumes those releases; it no-ops for dev builds run from bin\.