mach6-publish

name	mach6-publish
description	Pre-merge checks, version bump, merge PR, git tag, GitHub release. Version bump happens BEFORE merge (on the feature branch) because master requires PRs. Usage: mach6-publish 42
argument-hint	<pr-number>

mach6-publish — Version Bump, Merge, Tag, and Release

User input: $ARGUMENTS

Global Rules

1. GitHub as shared memory — All context lives on the PR.
2. No #N in comment bodies — Use "finding 3", "item 3" etc. instead.
3. Safe git — Never use git add -A or git add .. Stage files by name. Never stage secrets.
4. Task tracking — Use the tasks_update tool to show progress.
5. Non-interactive gh — Set GH_PAGER=cat and GH_EDITOR=cat before all gh commands to prevent interactive prompts from hanging the agent. Use --body-file instead of inline --body for all gh pr comment, gh pr create, and gh issue create calls to avoid shell interpretation of backticks. Write each body to a unique per-invocation temp file via mktemp (e.g. GH_BODY="$(mktemp /tmp/gh-comment.XXXXXX.md)") — never a fixed path like /tmp/gh-comment.md, which concurrent mach6 sessions on the same machine would clobber, cross-posting one session's body to another's PR/issue.

Step 1: Set up task tracking

tasks_update([
  { id: "checks", title: "Pre-merge checks", status: "in_progress" },
  { id: "version", title: "Version bump (on feature branch)", status: "pending" },
  { id: "docs", title: "Update documentation", status: "pending" },
  { id: "merge", title: "Merge PR", status: "pending" },
  { id: "release", title: "Tag and release", status: "pending" }
])

Step 2: Pre-merge checks

gh pr checkout <pr-number>
git pull
gh pr view <pr-number> --json mergeable,mergeStateStatus,statusCheckRollup,reviewDecision,comments,body
gh pr checks <pr-number>

Note: gh pr checks returns exit code 8 while checks are still pending — this is expected, not a failure. Wait and re-run if needed.

Read ALL PR comments to understand the full history — plans, reviews, assessments, progress updates, and discussion.

Verify:

• CI is passing
• No merge conflicts
• All review findings addressed (check for genuine items in latest assessment)

If there are blocking issues, report them and suggest fixes:

• Failed CI: /skill:mach6-implement <pr-number> ci
• Merge conflicts: Suggest resolving manually or rebasing
• Unaddressed findings: /skill:mach6-implement <pr-number>

Pre-merge checklist

Check for contributing guidelines first:

# Read first found: CONTRIBUTING.md, DEVELOPMENT.md, .github/CONTRIBUTING.md, AGENTS.md

Then check if these need attention:

• Documentation updated (if behavior changed) — check README, docs/, docstrings, help text
• Changelog updated (if project maintains one — check CHANGELOG.md, CHANGES.md)
• Tests passing locally

Present the checklist to the user. If items need attention, address them before proceeding.

Update task: checks → completed, version → in_progress.

Step 3: Version bump (on the feature branch — BEFORE merge)

This step is mandatory for projects with versioning. The version bump MUST happen on the feature branch and be pushed as part of the PR, because the default branch requires PRs for all changes — you cannot push commits directly to it.

1. Detect versioning:

   # Check for version files: package.json, Cargo.toml, pyproject.toml, version.txt, etc.
   

2. Determine the current version and what the new version should be. If the bump level isn't obvious from the PR context, ask the user:

   • Patch: Bug fixes, minor improvements
   • Minor: New features, non-breaking changes
   • Major: Breaking changes

3. Apply the version bump. Check AGENTS.md / CONTRIBUTING.md for project-specific version bump procedures (e.g., sync scripts, build steps that embed the version).

4. Commit and push on the feature branch:

   git add <version-files>
   git commit -m "chore: bump version to <new-version>"
   git push
   

5. Wait for CI to pass on the version bump commit before proceeding to merge.

If the project doesn't use versioning, skip this step.

Update task: version → completed, docs → in_progress.

Step 4: Update documentation

Proactively review and update ALL documentation affected by the PR's changes. This is not limited to mach6 docs — check everything in the repo.

1. Identify changed features by reading the PR diff:

   gh pr diff <pr-number>
   

2. Scan all documentation for references to changed features:

   • README.md files across all packages
   • docs/ directory (all .md files)
   • AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, .dreb/CONTEXT.md
   • Example files and their READMEs
   • Help text and CLI flag documentation
   • CHANGELOG.md or CHANGES.md

3. For each doc, verify:

   • CLI flags, settings, and commands match current code
   • Code snippets and examples are accurate
   • Cross-references point to real files and valid anchors
   • No stale descriptions of removed or changed features
   • Environment variables listed match current code

4. Fix all inaccuracies found. Commit and push:

   git add <doc-files>
   git commit -m "docs: update documentation for <version>"
   git push
   

5. Wait for CI to pass on the docs commit.

If no documentation changes are needed (rare), skip this step.

Update task: docs → completed, merge → in_progress.

Step 5: Merge

gh pr merge <pr-number> --squash --delete-branch

Use --squash by default. If the user prefers a different merge strategy, they can specify.

Then update local:

git checkout $(gh repo view --json defaultBranchRef --jq '.defaultBranchRef.name')
git pull

Clean up local feature branch if it still exists:

git branch -d <branch-name> 2>/dev/null

Update task: merge → completed, release → in_progress.

Step 6: Tag and release

Ask the user if they want to create a GitHub release:

• Yes: Proceed with tagging and release
• No: Skip — just create the tag

Always create the git tag

The tag is created on the default branch after merge, using the version from Step 3:

git tag v<version>
git push --tags

If releasing

1. Check existing releases for style:

   gh release list --limit 5
   gh release view <latest-tag>  # if releases exist
   

2. Draft release notes from the PR description and comment thread. Match existing release note style.

3. Present draft to user for approval, then create:

   GH_NOTES="$(mktemp /tmp/gh-release-notes.XXXXXX.md)"
   cat > "$GH_NOTES" << 'MACH6_EOF'
   <release-notes>
   MACH6_EOF
   gh release create v<version> --title "v<version>" --notes-file "$GH_NOTES"
   

Update task: release → completed.

Step 7: Report

Report: what was merged, tagged, released. Link to the PR and release.