version-stamp-automation

name	version-stamp-automation
description	Version numbers in 5+ files WILL drift with manual edits:
lastReviewed	2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z

Version Stamp Automation

The Problem

Version numbers in 5+ files WILL drift with manual edits:

• package.json says 2.1.0
• README badge says 2.0.0
• CHANGELOG header says 2.1.0-beta
• Extension manifest says 2.0.1

The Solution

1. Single Source of Truth

// package.json is the ONE source
{
  "version": "2.1.0"
}

2. Bump Script That Derives All Locations

// scripts/bump-version.cjs
const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');

const newVersion = process.argv[2];
if (!newVersion) {
  console.error('Usage: node bump-version.cjs <version>');
  process.exit(1);
}

// Define all version locations
const locations = [
  {
    file: 'package.json',
    pattern: /"version":\s*"[^"]+"/,
    replace: `"version": "${newVersion}"`
  },
  {
    file: 'README.md',
    pattern: /version-v[\d.]+/g,
    replace: `version-v${newVersion}`
  },
  {
    file: 'src/extension.ts',
    pattern: /VERSION\s*=\s*['"][^'"]+['"]/,
    replace: `VERSION = '${newVersion}'`
  }
];

locations.forEach(({ file, pattern, replace }) => {
  const filePath = path.resolve(file);
  if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) return;
  
  let content = fs.readFileSync(filePath, 'utf8');
  content = content.replace(pattern, replace);
  fs.writeFileSync(filePath, content);
  console.log(`Updated: ${file}`);
});

3. Classify Each Reference

Type	Action	Example
Auto-derivable	Script updates	README badge, package.json
Manually dated	Leave alone	CHANGELOG entries, planning docs
Build-time	Inject at build	Extension about page

Verification

# After running bump script
grep -rn "2.1.0" . --include="*.json" --include="*.md" --include="*.ts"

# Should see consistent version everywhere (except historical docs)

When to Apply

• Any project with version in 3+ files
• Before any release process
• When you notice drift

Tags

versioning automation documentation devops