| name | release |
| description | Create a new version release for vidpipe. Use this skill when asked to release, version, tag, or create a new version. Handles version bump, changelog generation, GitHub release, and npm publishing. |
Release Skill
Complete workflow for creating a new versioned release of vidpipe, including version bump, release notes, GitHub release, and npm publishing.
Prerequisites
- Clean working tree (
git status shows no uncommitted changes)
- All tests passing (
npm test)
gh CLI authenticated (gh auth status)- npm publish token available (see npm-publish skill)
Release Workflow
Step 1: Determine Version Bump
Check commits since the last tag to decide the bump type:
git log --oneline $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)..HEAD
- patch (x.x.1): Only bug fixes (
fix: commits)
- minor (x.1.0): New features (
feat: commits), no breaking changes
- major (1.0.0): Breaking changes (
BREAKING CHANGE or !: commits)
Step 2: Bump Version
npm version <patch|minor|major> --no-git-tag-version
This updates package.json and package-lock.json without creating a git tag (we'll do that manually after release notes).
Step 3: Build and Test
npm run build && npm test
All tests must pass before proceeding.
Step 4: Commit Version Bump
git add package.json package-lock.json
git commit -m "chore: bump version to <NEW_VERSION>"
git push origin main
Step 5: Create Git Tag
git tag -a v<NEW_VERSION> -m "v<NEW_VERSION>"
git push origin v<NEW_VERSION>
Step 6: Generate Release Notes
Write release notes that include:
- Features (
feat: commits) — describe what's new with user-facing impact
- Bug Fixes (
fix: commits) — describe what was broken and how it's fixed
- Documentation — notable doc improvements
- Internal — infrastructure, refactoring, DX improvements
Format as GitHub-flavored markdown with emoji section headers (✨ Features, 🐛 Fixes, 📖 Documentation, 🔧 Internal).
Include a changelog link at the bottom:
**Full Changelog**: https://github.com/htekdev/vidpipe/compare/vOLD...vNEW
Step 7: Create GitHub Release
gh release create v<NEW_VERSION> --title "v<NEW_VERSION> — <SHORT_DESCRIPTION>" --notes "<RELEASE_NOTES>"
Step 8: Publish to npm
Follow the npm-publish skill:
- Set auth token:
npm config set //registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=<TOKEN>
- Publish:
npm publish --access public
- Verify:
npm view vidpipe version
- Clean up:
npm config delete //registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken
If no token is available, use Playwright to create one (see npm-publish skill).
Step 9: Verify
- GitHub release visible:
gh release view v<NEW_VERSION>
- npm version matches:
npm view vidpipe version
Important Notes
- Always push commits BEFORE creating the tag (tag should point to a pushed commit)
- Use
--no-git-tag-version with npm version to separate the version bump commit from the tag
- Release notes should be written for END USERS, not developers
- The npm token (vidpipe-publish) expires every 90 days — check expiry if publish fails
- If npm registry shows old version after publish, wait 30-60 seconds for propagation
