| name | releasing-mdk-package |
| description | Use when preparing a release for an MDK package — bumping PackageVersion.txt, writing user-facing release notes, or working with the CI/CD workflows that publish packages. Covers the bump-version workflow (PackageVersion.txt → ReleaseNotes.txt → CI), release notes style guidelines (user perspective, no technical jargon, focus on impact), and the buildwithartefacts.yml / version-guard.yml workflows. Trigger on edits to PackageVersion.txt or ReleaseNotes.txt, requests like "cut a release", "bump version", "add release notes", or working in .github/workflows/. |
Releasing an MDK Package
Versioning workflow
When you modify code in a project that has a PackageVersion.txt, you must:
- Bump
PackageVersion.txt — single source of truth for the version number in that package directory. All packages use the same version per release. Read in MSBuild via $([System.IO.File]::ReadAllText("$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)/PackageVersion.txt")).
- Add an entry to
ReleaseNotes.txt — describes the change to users (see guidelines below).
- CI/CD will trigger deployment —
buildwithartefacts.yml watches for changes and auto-publishes to NuGet.
Release Notes Guidelines (User-Facing)
For MDK users (Space Engineers script/mod developers) — communicates what changed between versions from their perspective.
Rules
- User perspective: describe capabilities, not implementation
- No technical jargon — avoid class names, method names, file paths
- Focus on impact: what can users now do? What works better?
- 1–2 sentences per change; group related changes into one bullet
Examples
✅ "Minification now correctly handles unused fields"
✅ "Linux support: CLI and packagers work on Linux"
✅ "Build notifications now appear in MDK Hub"
❌ "Fixed NullReferenceException in TypeTrimmer.ProcessField()" (too technical)
❌ "Configuration drawer closes automatically after normalization" (UX flow, not user benefit)
❌ "Updated Mdk.References package to use new detection logic" (describes implementation)
Release Notes location
Each package directory with PackageVersion.txt has a sibling ReleaseNotes.txt. Add new versions at the top: v.X.Y.Z followed by indented bullets. Update whenever you bump the version.
CI/CD Workflows
buildwithartefacts.yml — builds tools (win-x64) then packages; triggers on push to main when any PackageVersion.txt changes; auto-publishes to NuGet. Artifacts: mdk.exe, mdknotify-win.exe, checkdotnet.exe.version-guard.yml — PR validation: ensures PackageVersion.txt is updated when code changes, ReleaseNotes.txt includes the new version, and template package references are up to date.
