release

name	release
description	> Use when this capability is needed.

Calculator Plus — Release Preparation

You are preparing a new release of the Calculator Plus Android app. Follow every step below in order. Do not skip steps or reorder them.

Project root: C:\Users\pc\Documents\github\Calculator-Plus

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Step 1 — Find the last released version

Read CHANGELOG.md. The first ## vX.Y.Z heading is the last released version. Note this version string (e.g. 2.7.0).

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Step 2 — Find the baseline commit

You need the commit that represents the start of work after that last release so you can collect only the new changes.

Try in order until one works:

1. Check for a git tag matching the version:

   git tag --list "v{last_version}"
   

   If it exists, use it as the baseline: git log v{last_version}..HEAD --oneline

2. If no tag, search the git log for the CI version-bump commit for that version:

   git log --oneline --grep="bump version to {last_version}"
   

   Use the hash of that commit as the baseline: git log {hash}..HEAD --oneline

3. If still nothing, use the full git log --oneline and visually find the last release boundary (look for a "bump version to {last_version}" commit).

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Step 3 — Collect all commits since the baseline

Run:

git log {baseline}..HEAD --oneline

Filter out these — they carry no useful changelog information:

• ci: bump version to X.Y.Z commits
• Merge commits (Merge branch ... / Merge pull request ...)

For every remaining commit (feat, fix, build, refactor, chore, docs, UI), get the full detail:

git show {hash} --stat

For commits that touch source files (not just docs/config), also read the full commit body:

git log -1 {hash} --format="%B"

Build a map of:

• What user-visible things changed (new features, bug fixes, UI tweaks)
• What internal/build things changed (toolchain, ProGuard, CI)
• Exact version numbers of upgraded dependencies

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Step 4 — Determine the new version

Look at the current versionName in app/build.gradle (defaultConfig.versionName). This may already be ahead of the last release if the user bumped it manually.

Apply this logic to suggest the next version:

• Any feat: commit (new user-visible feature) → bump the minor version (e.g. 2.6.x → 2.7.0)
• Only fix:, build:, chore:, ci: commits → bump the patch version (e.g. 2.6.0 → 2.6.1)

Show the user:

• Last released version: vX.Y.Z
• Current versionName in build.gradle: X.Y.Z
• Suggested new version: X.Y.Z (with one-line reason)

Ask: "What should the new version number be?"

Wait for the user's answer before proceeding.

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Step 5 — Update versionName in app/build.gradle

Edit app/build.gradle. Find the line inside defaultConfig {}:

versionName "X.Y.Z"

Change it to the version the user confirmed.

Never touch version.properties — VERSION_CODE is managed exclusively by CI via the bumpVersionCode Gradle task.

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Step 6 — Write the CHANGELOG.md entry

Insert a new section at the top of CHANGELOG.md, immediately after the # Changelog heading and before the previous ## vX.Y.Z section.

Format rules

• Plain technical markdown — no emojis
• Group under these headings (omit any with no entries):
  • ### New Features
  • ### Bug Fixes
  • ### UI
  • ### Build & Toolchain
  • ### Dependencies
  • ### CI & Tooling
• Be specific: include file names, class names, method names, and exact version numbers (e.g. AGP 9.2.0 → 9.2.1, not just "upgraded AGP")
• For bug fixes, include the root cause in one sentence (commit bodies usually have this — use them verbatim if clear)
• Skip all ci: bump version to X.Y.Z commits entirely
• Skip merge commits
• Add a --- divider after the new section to separate it from the previous one

Example shape

## v2.8.0

### New Features
- Added scientific notation toggle in Settings (`SettingsActivity`,
  `AppPreference.SCIENTIFIC_NOTATION`)

### Bug Fixes
- **Theme crash on Android 16**: Migrated `BaseTheme` from
  `Theme.MaterialComponents` to `Theme.Material3.DayNight.NoActionBar` —
  `MaterialToolbar` requires `colorSurfaceContainer` which M2 does not define

### Build & Toolchain
- Upgraded AGP 8.11.1 → 9.2.0; Gradle wrapper 8.13 → 9.4.1
- Enabled R8 minification and resource shrinking; APK size 14.85 MB → 4.72 MB

### Dependencies
- `firebase-bom` 34.0.0 → 34.13.0
- `play-services-ads` 24.5.0 → 24.8.0

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Step 7 — Write docs/whatsnew/whatsnew-en-GB

This file is published to the Google Play Store and read by end users.

Rules

• 4 to 6 bullet points maximum
• One emoji at the start of each line
• First line is always: 🎉 Calculator Plus vX.Y.Z is here!
• Then a blank line, then the bullets
• Each bullet: emoji Short label — one plain sentence
• No technical jargon — no class names, no library names, no build terms
• Do not mention toolchain upgrades, ProGuard, Gradle, Kotlin, AGP, dependency version bumps, CI changes, or anything a non-developer would not recognise
• Focus on what a user would notice: new features, visible UI changes, performance improvements, crash fixes, new Android version support
• Read the existing file first and match its tone and brevity exactly

Example

🎉 Calculator Plus v2.8.0 is here!

✨ Scientific notation — results now display in scientific format when needed
📱 Android 16 support — fully compatible with the latest Android
⚡ Faster & lighter — app loads quicker and takes less storage
🔧 Under the hood improvements for better stability and performance

Overwrite the entire file with the new content.

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Step 8 — Summary and commit offer

Show the user a concise summary of every file changed:

1. app/build.gradle — versionName updated to X.Y.Z
2. CHANGELOG.md — new ## vX.Y.Z section added at the top
3. docs/whatsnew/whatsnew-en-GB — updated for the new release

Then ask: "Do you want me to commit these changes?"

If yes, stage only these three files and commit:

chore: prepare release vX.Y.Z

Do not push — the user triggers the GitHub Actions release workflow manually from the Actions tab.

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Hard rules

• Never edit version.properties — CI owns VERSION_CODE
• Never run ./gradlew bumpVersionCode — CI does this during the release workflow
• Never push to remote
• No emojis in CHANGELOG.md
• No class/library/version names in whatsnew-en-GB
• No build tooling changes in whatsnew-en-GB

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Source: arch10/Calculator-Plus — distributed by TomeVault.