tag-alpha

name	tag-alpha
description	Create and push a timestamped alpha tag for the Nucleus 2.0 branch in the format v2.0.0-alpha-YYYYMMDDHHMM. Use when the user asks to "tag", "release alpha", "publish alpha", "cut an alpha", or similar on this project.

Tag alpha — Nucleus 2.0

Creates a timestamped alpha tag on the current HEAD and pushes it to origin.

Format

v2.0.0-alpha-YYYYMMDDHHMM — e.g. v2.0.0-alpha-202605151813 for May 15 2026, 18:13.

Timestamp components come from date -u +%Y%m%d%H%M (UTC, no separators, 12 chars).

Procedure

1. Verify branch is nucleus-2.0 — abort with a clear message if not. Other branches must not produce v2.0.0-alpha-* tags.
2. Verify working tree is clean — git status --porcelain empty. If dirty, ask the user whether to commit first or abort. Never tag a dirty tree.
3. Verify HEAD is in sync with origin/nucleus-2.0 — fetch first (git fetch origin nucleus-2.0). If local is behind, abort and tell the user to pull. If local is ahead, ask whether to push first (a tag on an unpushed commit is useless to others).
4. Generate the timestamp with date -u +%Y%m%d%H%M.
5. Check the tag doesn't already exist — git tag -l v2.0.0-alpha-<ts>. If it does (clock raced), wait a minute or use the next minute.
6. Create an annotated tag:

   git tag -a "v2.0.0-alpha-<ts>" -m "v2.0.0-alpha-<ts>"
   

   Annotated (not lightweight) because the published history uses annotated tags.
7. Push the tag:

   git push origin "v2.0.0-alpha-<ts>"
   

8. Report the tag name and commit SHA back to the user.

Hard rules

• Never tag main or any branch other than nucleus-2.0 with this format.
• Never overwrite an existing tag. If asked to retag the same commit, refuse and explain — the user should bump to the next minute or use a different scheme.
• Never push with --force or --force-with-lease for tags.
• Never add Co-Authored-By or AI attribution to the tag message (per project's CLAUDE.md).
• Tag message body is just the tag name itself — concise, matches the existing convention.

When NOT to use this skill

• Stable releases (v2.0.0, v2.0.1) — those need a different process with changelog, signing, etc.
• Tagging from main — main uses a separate versioning scheme.
• Backporting tags onto old commits — this skill always tags HEAD.