Release Rust

Skill: release-rust

When to Use

• User asks for this skill's functionality

Purpose

Create and publish a new release of the Rust project.

Prerequisites

• All CI checks pass on main
• CHANGELOG.md updated
• cargo-dist installed

Steps

0. Verify crate name availability on crates.io (FIRST TIME PUBLISH ONLY)

Before the very first publish, confirm the crate name is not already taken:

# Check via cargo search
cargo search 

# Or via API (404 = available, 200 = taken)
curl -s https://crates.io/api/v1/crates/ | python3 -m json.tool | grep '"name"'

# Or open in browser: https://crates.io/crates/

> See .agents/skills/crates-io-name-check/SKILL.md for full naming guidance and best practices.

Do not proceed with publishing if the name is taken — choose a unique name first.

1. Pre-release checks

cargo fmt --all -- --check
cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings
cargo nextest run --all-features
cargo audit && cargo deny check

2. Bump version in Cargo.toml

cargo update --workspace

3. Commit and tag

git add Cargo.toml Cargo.lock CHANGELOG.md
git commit -m "chore: release vX.Y.Z"
git tag -a vX.Y.Z -m "Release vX.Y.Z"
git push origin main --tags

4. GitHub Release via CI

Pushing a tag triggers .github/workflows/release.yml:

• Builds binaries for all targets
• Creates GitHub Release with assets
• Optionally publishes to crates.io

Version Scheme

• MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH (Semantic Versioning)
• Breaking = MAJOR, features = MINOR, fixes = PATCH

Success Criteria

• Tag on GitHub
• Release with binaries created
• CHANGELOG updated
• Crate name verified unique on crates.io (first publish)

Rationalizations

| Rationalization | Reality | |-----------------|---------| | "I'll skip the pre-release checks to save time." | Publishing broken code breaks downstream users. Always run the full check suite. | | "The changelog can be updated after release." | Users read the changelog to understand what changed. Update it before tagging. | | "I'll just push the tag directly." | Use git tag -a with a message. Tags without messages are unhelpful in history. |

Red Flags

• [ ] Pushing a tag without running pre-release checks
• [ ] Bumping the version without updating CHANGELOG.md
• [ ] Publishing to crates.io without verifying crate name availability

References

• cargo-dist
• Keep a Changelog
• crates.io naming policy

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: d-oit
• Source: d-oit/rust-2026-template
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://d-oit.github.io/rust-2026-template/

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.