new-release

name	new-release
description	Skill for releasing a new Helm chart version for the Azure API Management Self-Hosted Gateway, optionally with a new container image version. Handles Chart.yaml updates, helm-docs regeneration, chart packaging, repo indexing, PR creation, and draft GitHub release preparation.
user-invocable	true

Releasing a New Helm Chart Version

This skill guides you through the full release process for the Azure API Management Self-Hosted Gateway Helm chart.

Prerequisites

Before starting, confirm the user provides:

1. Container image version (required) — the new container image version being shipped (e.g. 2.12.0)
2. Helm chart version — derived from the container image version bump and the current Helm chart version:
   • Minor bump (e.g. 2.11.x → 2.12.0): increment the Helm chart minor version (e.g. 1.15.x → 1.16.0)
   • Patch bump (e.g. 2.11.0 → 2.11.1): increment the Helm chart patch version (e.g. 1.15.0 → 1.15.1)

Versioning Convention

The Helm chart version tracks the container image version bump type:

Container image bump	Helm chart bump	Example (container)	Example (chart)
Minor (X.Y.0)	Minor	2.11.0 → 2.12.0	1.15.x → 1.16.0
Patch (X.Y.Z)	Patch	2.11.0 → 2.11.1	1.15.0 → 1.15.1

Release Process

Follow the release process documented in CONTRIBUTING.md § Release Process.

Key points:

• Read helm-charts/azure-api-management-gateway/Chart.yaml to get the current version and appVersion
• Determine the correct Helm chart version using the versioning convention above
• Validate that the new Helm chart version is greater than the current version
• Create a release/<helmChartVersion> branch from main
• Use --no-verify when committing (the pre-commit hook requires Docker for helm-docs-container, but we run helm-docs natively)
• PR title must follow Conventional Commits: chore: Release Helm chart version <helmChartVersion>
• helm repo index rewrites timestamps across ALL entries in index.yaml, creating a large diff — this is expected

Draft GitHub Releases

After completing the Helm chart PR, prepare draft GitHub releases.

Container Release (only if new container image version)

This draft release can be created before the Helm chart PR is merged.

• Tag: Container-v<containerImageVersion>
• Title: Container v<containerImageVersion>
• Target: main
• Draft: Yes
• Body: Use the template in templates/container-release.md, replacing <containerImageVersion> with the actual version

Helm Chart Release

This draft release should be created after the Helm chart PR is merged.

• Tag: v<helmChartVersion>
• Title: Helm chart v<helmChartVersion>
• Target: main
• Draft: Yes
• Body: Use the template in templates/helm-release.md, replacing placeholders:
  • <helmChartVersion> — new Helm chart version
  • <containerImageVersion> — container image version (new or current)
  • <previousHelmChartVersion> — previous Helm chart version (for the changelog link)
• If no new container image was released, replace the container feature line with: - Uses container image v<containerImageVersion> (unchanged)

Summary Checklist

Present this checklist to the user after completing all steps:

• Chart.yaml updated (version + appVersion)
• README.md regenerated via helm-docs
• Helm lint passed
• Chart packaged (.tgz created)
• Repo index updated (index.yaml)
• Branch pushed and PR created
• Container draft release created (if applicable)
• Helm chart draft release created (after PR merge)