SKILL: Plugin Release Workflow

Purpose: Execute plugin release workflow with version bumping, git tagging, and GitHub release Target: Plugin maintainers releasing new versions

Quick Start

When to Use This Skill

•Release new plugin version
•Bump version (patch/minor/major)
•Create git tag and GitHub release

Quick Reference

bash

# Standard release (patch version, CI handles GitHub release)
/999_release

# Minor version
/999_release minor

# Force local GitHub release
/999_release patch --create-gh

# Dry run (preview)
/999_release patch --dry-run

What This Skill Covers

In Scope

•Version synchronization (plugin.json, marketplace.json)
•Git tagging and pushing
•CHANGELOG auto-generation from commits
•GitHub release creation (optional)
•Pre-flight validation

Out of Scope

•Plugin architecture → @CLAUDE.md
•Git workflow patterns → @.claude/skills/git-master/SKILL.md
•Migration guide → MIGRATION.md

Core Concepts

Single Source of Truth

plugin.json is the PRIMARY version source:

json

{
  "version": "4.2.0"  // Always update this file
}

Auto-synced file (DO NOT edit manually):

•marketplace.json - Plugin entry version

Release Workflow

Pre-flight → Version bump → CHANGELOG → Git tag → GitHub release

•Pre-flight Checks: Validate jq, git, working tree, plugin manifests
•Version Bump: Update version files atomically
•CHANGELOG: Auto-generate from git commits (conventional commit format)
•Git Operations: Commit, tag, push to remote
•GitHub Release: Optional (local or CI/CD)

CI/CD Integration

Hybrid model: Local tagging + CI/CD release creation

•Local: Bump version, create tag, push
•CI: Validates versions, creates GitHub release

Benefits:

•No API rate limits
•No authentication setup
•Runs on GitHub's infrastructure

Execution Steps (Summary)

Parse Arguments

•VERSION_BUMP="${1:-patch}" - Default: patch
•--dry-run - Preview changes
•--skip-gh - Skip local GitHub release (default)
•--create-gh - Force local GitHub release

Phase 1: Pre-flight Checks

•Verify jq installed
•Check git working tree is clean
•Validate plugin manifest (single plugin standard)
•Check marketplace.json version sync
•Validate plugin.json fields (no unsupported fields like agents)

Phase 2: Version Bump

•Read current version from plugin.json
•Parse version components (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH)
•Calculate new version based on bump type
•Check for existing tag
•Update plugin.json (PRIMARY source)
•Update marketplace.json (sync all version fields)
•Verify version consistency

Phase 3: Auto-Generate CHANGELOG

•Get previous tag
•Parse git commits since previous tag
•Categorize by conventional commit type (feat, fix, docs, etc.)
•Group into categories (Added, Changed, Fixed, Documentation)
•Insert at top of CHANGELOG.md

Phase 4: Git Operations

•Preview changes (if --dry-run)
•Stage version files
•Commit with conventional commit format
•Create annotated tag
•Push commit and tag to remote

Phase 5: GitHub Release (Optional)

•Check if gh CLI installed
•Extract CHANGELOG section for version
•Create GitHub release using gh CLI
•Skip by default (CI/CD handles it)