release

name	release
description	Release a new version of p5.capture to npm. Use this skill whenever the user mentions releasing, publishing, bumping version, cutting a release, or shipping a new version of p5.capture. Guides through: version bump type selection, CHANGELOG.md update, pnpm version, and tag push that triggers the automated GitHub Actions release workflow.

p5.capture Release

This skill walks through releasing a new version of p5.capture. The automated part (npm publish + GitHub Release creation) is handled by GitHub Actions once you push the tag — your job is to decide the version, update the CHANGELOG, and push.

Step 1: Confirm the current state

Run these checks before starting:

# Confirm you're on main and it's clean
git status
git log --oneline -5

# Show current version
node -p "require('./package.json').version"

If there are uncommitted changes or you're not on main, resolve that first.

Step 2: Decide the version bump type

Pick based on what changed since the last release:

Type	When to use	Example
patch	Bug fixes, dependency updates, no new features	1.6.0 → 1.6.1
minor	New features, backwards-compatible changes	1.6.0 → 1.7.0
major	Breaking API changes	1.6.0 → 2.0.0

Look at the git log since the last tag to help decide:

git log $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)..HEAD --oneline

Ask the user which type if it's not obvious from the context.

Step 3: Bump the version (package.json only)

Use --no-git-tag-version so that package.json is updated but no commit or tag is created yet. This lets you update CHANGELOG.md and README.md in the same commit.

pnpm version patch --no-git-tag-version   # or minor / major

Step 4: Update CHANGELOG.md

Add a new entry at the top of CHANGELOG.md in this format:

## {new version} ({Month} {D}, {YYYY})

- Description of change 1
- Description of change 2

Use the same date format as existing entries (e.g., April 15, 2026).

Step 5: Update README.md

README.md is auto-generated from scripts/README.template.md using the version in package.json. Run:

pnpm update:readme

Step 6: Commit, tag, and push — this triggers the release

Stage all three files together, create the release commit, tag it, then push:

NEW_VERSION=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")
git add package.json CHANGELOG.md README.md
git commit -m "chore: release v${NEW_VERSION}"
git tag "v${NEW_VERSION}"
git push origin main --tags

This push triggers .github/workflows/release.yml, which:

1. Runs build + unit tests + E2E tests (Chromium)
2. Publishes to npm
3. Creates a GitHub Release with notes extracted from CHANGELOG.md

Step 7: Confirm success

After a few minutes, verify:

# Check the GitHub Actions run
gh run list --repo tapioca24/p5.capture --limit 3

# Check npm (may take a minute to propagate)
npm view p5.capture version

Also check the GitHub Releases page to confirm the release notes look correct.

Notes

• The prepublishOnly script in package.json is not used by the workflow — tests run as explicit steps. The workflow handles everything.
• If the Actions run fails, the npm package is not published. Fix the issue, push a new patch, and release again.
• The npm token (NPM_TOKEN) expires every 90 days. If publish fails with an auth error, regenerate the token on npmjs.com and update the GitHub Secret.