Release Cut

Release Cut

Bump the version, generate a changelog, tag, and publish a GitHub release for shipctl.

Inputs

• Target version (semver, e.g. 1.2.0 or patch/minor/major)
• Release channel (defaults to stable; pre for release candidates)
• Skip binary attach? (boolean, defaults to false)

Steps

1. Verify the working tree is clean

``bash git status --porcelain `` If dirty, commit or stash before proceeding.

1. Run the full test suite

``bash cargo test --workspace `` Abort if any test fails.

1. Run the breaking-change audit (invoke the breaking-change-audit skill)

Confirms no accidental public-interface regressions before tagging.

1. Bump the version

``bash # For Rust: cargo set-version {version} # or edit Cargo.toml manually # For Go: # Update version constant in cmd/root.go ` Commit the version bump: `bash git commit -am "chore(release): bump version to {version}" ``

1. Generate the changelog

``bash scripts/release-cut.sh --changelog-only {version} ` Review CHANGELOG.md — edit entries if the generated text is unclear. Commit: git commit -am "docs(changelog): {version} release notes"`

1. Create and push the tag

``bash git tag -a "v{version}" -m "Release v{version}" git push origin "v{version}" ``

1. Trigger cross-compile and attach binaries

The CI matrix builds all registered target triples (see cross-compile-matrix skill). Wait for the release workflow to complete: ``bash gh run watch --exit-status ``

1. Draft the GitHub release

``bash gh release create "v{version}" \ --title "v{version}" \ --notes-file CHANGELOG.md \ --draft ` Review the draft, then publish: `bash gh release edit "v{version}" --draft=false ``

1. Announce (if applicable)

Post in the team channel: title, key changes, install command: `` cargo install shipctl --version {version} ``

Conventions

• Version tags always use the v prefix: v1.2.0, not 1.2.0
• Changelog entries follow the Keep a Changelog format (Added / Changed / Deprecated / Removed / Fixed / Security)
• Release candidates are tagged v1.2.0-rc.1
• Binary naming: shipctl-{version}-{target}.tar.gz
• Dry-run: scripts/release-cut.sh --dry-run {version} prints the plan without side effects

Edge Cases

• Tag already exists: Delete the local tag, investigate what was released, never force-push a tag that CI has already processed.
• Changelog is empty: Check that commits follow conventional format (feat:, fix:, etc.); if the log is legitimately empty, write a manual entry.
• Binary attach fails: Re-run gh release upload "v{version}" dist/*.tar.gz; check that the CI artifact paths match what the release workflow uploads.
• Yanked release: Use gh release delete "v{version}" + git push origin --delete "v{version}"; never publish a replacement under the same tag.

Source & license

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

• Author: zakelfassi
• Source: zakelfassi/skills-driven-development
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://zakelfassi.github.io/skills-driven-development/

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