release

name	release
description	Merge source branch (default main) to production, create a CalVer release, and generate release content (GitHub release notes, Discord announcement)
disable-model-invocation	true
argument-hint	[dry-run] [from:<branch>] | <ref>..<ref>

Release

Merge a source branch into production, tag a CalVer release, and generate release content for multiple channels.

Arguments

• $ARGUMENTS — optional, space-separated tokens:
  • dry-run — generate content without merging, tagging, or publishing
  • from:<branch> — override the source branch (default: main). Examples: from:staging, from:develop
  • <ref>..<ref> — generate content for an arbitrary git range. Implies dry-run — no merge, tag, or publish. Examples:
    • abc123..def456 — between two commits
    • 2026.4.1..2026.4.2 — between two tags
    • 2026.4.2..HEAD — from a tag to current HEAD
  • (empty) — full release: main → production merge, tag, GitHub release, content generation

Tokens can appear in any order. from:<branch> is ignored when an explicit <ref>..<ref> range is given.

Argument Parsing

Parse $ARGUMENTS to determine the mode:

1. Extract from:<branch> if present → set SOURCE_BRANCH to <branch>, otherwise default to main.

2. If $ARGUMENTS contains .., treat it as an explicit range. Validate both refs exist:

   git rev-parse --verify <left-ref>
   git rev-parse --verify <right-ref>
   

   Set RANGE="<left-ref>..<right-ref>" and DRY_RUN=true.

3. If $ARGUMENTS contains dry-run, set RANGE="$REMOTE/production..$REMOTE/$SOURCE_BRANCH" and DRY_RUN=true.

4. If $ARGUMENTS is empty (or only from:<branch>), set RANGE="$REMOTE/production..$REMOTE/$SOURCE_BRANCH" and DRY_RUN=false.

Use $RANGE in all subsequent git log/diff commands. Skip Steps 1 and 6 entirely when DRY_RUN=true.

Step 1: Pre-flight Checks

Determine the upstream remote (varies by contributor setup):

# Use 'upstream' if it exists, otherwise 'origin'
git remote | grep -q upstream && REMOTE=upstream || REMOTE=origin
echo "Using remote: $REMOTE"

Use $REMOTE throughout all subsequent steps instead of hardcoding a remote name.

Verify the repo is in a clean state and the branches exist:

# Ensure working tree is clean
git status --porcelain

# Fetch latest
git fetch $REMOTE

# Verify both branches exist
git rev-parse --verify $REMOTE/$SOURCE_BRANCH
git rev-parse --verify $REMOTE/production

Check there are actually changes to release:

# Show what source branch has that production doesn't
git log --oneline $REMOTE/production..$REMOTE/$SOURCE_BRANCH

If there are no commits between source branch and production, stop and tell the user — there's nothing to release.

Create backup branches

Before any destructive operations, snapshot the current state of both branches:

TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)
git branch backup/$SOURCE_BRANCH-pre-release-$TIMESTAMP $REMOTE/$SOURCE_BRANCH
git branch backup/production-pre-release-$TIMESTAMP $REMOTE/production

Tell the user the backup branch names so they can recover if anything goes wrong.

Check for production-only commits (hotfixes)

Production may have commits that source branch doesn't (e.g., hotfixes applied directly to production):

# Commits on production that are NOT on source branch
git log --oneline $REMOTE/$SOURCE_BRANCH..$REMOTE/production

If this returns any commits, source branch must be rebased on top of production before proceeding. Tell the user:

• Show them the production-only commits
• Explain that source branch needs to be rebased onto production to maintain linear history
• Do not proceed with the release until this is resolved

The rebase should happen on the source branch before the release continues:

git checkout $SOURCE_BRANCH
git rebase $REMOTE/production
git push $REMOTE $SOURCE_BRANCH --force-with-lease

Always confirm with the user before force-pushing. After the rebase, re-run the pre-flight checks.

Step 2: Gather Context

Determine the last release tag and collect the changes in $RANGE:

# Get the latest CalVer tag
LAST_TAG=$(git tag --list '20[0-9][0-9].[0-9]*' --sort=-version:refname | head -1)
echo "Last release: ${LAST_TAG:-none}"

# Commit log for the range
git log --format="%H %s" $RANGE

Collect the raw material:

# Diff stat for scope overview
git diff --stat $RANGE

# Changed files
git diff --name-only $RANGE

Read the full diff for understanding the substance of changes:

git diff $RANGE

Important: Commit messages are a signal, not the source of truth. Always cross-reference messages against the actual diff to understand what really changed. Commits may understate, overstate, or mislabel changes.

Step 3: Determine Version

CalVer format: YYYY.MM.N where N is a sequential counter starting at 1, resetting each month.

YEAR=$(date +%Y)
MONTH=$(date +%-m)
PREFIX="${YEAR}.${MONTH}"

# Find the highest N for this month
LAST_N=$(git tag --list "${PREFIX}.*" --sort=-version:refname | head -1 | awk -F. '{print $3}')

if [ -z "$LAST_N" ]; then
  NEXT_VERSION="${PREFIX}.1"
else
  NEXT_VERSION="${PREFIX}.$((LAST_N + 1))"
fi

echo "Next version: $NEXT_VERSION"

Step 4: Analyze Changes

Before generating any output, analyze the changes and categorize them:

1. User-facing features — new functionality visible to end users
2. Bug fixes — things that were broken and are now fixed
3. Improvements — enhancements to existing features (UI polish, performance, UX)
4. Infrastructure/internal — refactors, dependency updates, CI changes, developer tooling

Prioritize by impact to users. Minor internal refactors may not deserve mention in the Discord announcement but belong in the GitHub release notes.

Step 5: Generate Outputs

Generate two markdown outputs, each following its template. Read each template before generating:

1. GitHub Release notes — see templates/github-release.md
2. Discord announcement — see templates/discord.md

Present both outputs to the user for review before proceeding.

Step 6: Merge and Release

Skip this step if $ARGUMENTS contains dry-run.

After the user approves the outputs:

1. Fast-forward production to source branch (linear history — no merge commits):

   git checkout production
   git merge $REMOTE/$SOURCE_BRANCH --ff-only
   

   If the fast-forward fails, stop. This means production has diverged from source branch — the hotfix rebase in Step 1 was not completed. Do not force merge.

2. Tag the release on the production branch:

   git tag -a $NEXT_VERSION -m "Release $NEXT_VERSION"
   

3. Push production and the tag:

   git push $REMOTE production
   git push $REMOTE $NEXT_VERSION
   

4. Create the GitHub release using the approved release notes:

   gh release create $NEXT_VERSION --target production --title "$NEXT_VERSION" --notes-file <release-notes-file>
   

5. Print the Discord announcement markdown for the user to copy.

Always confirm with the user before pushing and creating the GitHub release. These are public-facing, non-reversible actions.

Notes

• If there are no changes between source branch and production, stop — don't create an empty release.
• If the commit history is messy (many fixups, WIP commits), focus on the diff rather than the messages to understand what actually changed.
• Linear history is enforced: source branch and production must always share a linear history. The --ff-only merge guarantees this. If it fails, something is wrong — investigate rather than forcing.