Release Skill

Handles semver releases for Go and Phoenix/Elixir projects. Detects the project type automatically and follows the appropriate workflow.

Detect Project Type

If both exist, ask the user which to release.

Pre-release Checklist

Before bumping, verify:

1. •Working tree is clean — git status --porcelain should be empty. If not, warn the user.
2. •On the correct branch — check with git branch --show-current. Typically main. Warn if on a different branch.
3. •Tests pass — run mix precommit (Elixir, per project rules) or go test ./... (Go).
4. •Current version — read and display the current version so the user confirms the bump.

Version Bump

Determine Bump Type

If the user said "bump" without specifying, ask:

Bump type? major (breaking changes), minor (new features), patch (fixes)

Apply semver rules: given X.Y.Z:

• •major → X+1.0.0
• •minor → X.Y+1.0
• •patch → X.Y.Z+1

Phoenix/Elixir

Version location: mix.exs → version: "X.Y.Z" in the project/0 function.

Steps:

1. •Read current version from mix.exs
2. •Compute new version based on bump type
3. •Update mix.exs with new version string
4. •Run mix compile to verify
5. •Commit: chore: bump version to vX.Y.Z
6. •Tag: git tag vX.Y.Z
7. •Push: git push origin $(git branch --show-current) && git push origin vX.Y.Z
8. •Verify CI: gh run list --limit 1 — confirm the workflow triggered

CI trigger: The GitHub Actions workflow should trigger on tag pushes (on: push: tags: ['v*']). If the current workflow triggers on push: branches: [main] instead, warn the user that the CI won't trigger on tags and suggest updating the workflow.

Version display: Phoenix apps using a Meta module (pattern: @version Mix.Project.config()[:version]) will automatically pick up the new version at compile time. The Docker build bakes it into the release.

Migration note: If the release includes Ecto migrations, remind the user to run the migration job after deployment:

kubectl create -f apps/<app-name>/migration-job.yaml

Go

Version location: Set via ldflags at build time. The version comes from the git tag — no file to edit.

Steps:

1. •Read current version: git describe --tags --abbrev=0 (or check GitHub releases)
2. •Compute new version based on bump type
3. •Commit any pending changes first (if needed)
4. •Tag: git tag vX.Y.Z
5. •Push: git push origin $(git branch --show-current) && git push origin vX.Y.Z
6. •Verify CI: gh run list --limit 1 — confirm the release workflow triggered

GoReleaser detection: Check for .goreleaser.yml or .goreleaser.yaml in the repo root. If present, the CI uses GoReleaser. If absent, check .github/workflows/ for the release mechanism — it may use a custom workflow or go build directly.

GoReleaser convention: Go projects use .goreleaser.yml with ldflags to inject:

• •-X main.Version={{.Version}}
• •-X main.Commit={{.ShortCommit}}
• •-X main.BuildDate={{.Date}}

No file edits needed — the git tag IS the version.

Post-release Verification

After pushing:

1. •Check CI status: gh run list --repo <owner/repo> --limit 3 --json status,conclusion,displayTitle
2. •Wait for completion if still running, then report success/failure
3. •For Phoenix/Elixir: Remind about pod rollout and migration if applicable:
   • •kubectl rollout restart deployment/<app-name> (if using :latest tag)
   • •kubectl create -f apps/<app-name>/migration-job.yaml (if migrations exist)
   • •kubectl rollout status deployment/<app-name> --timeout=120s
4. •For Go: Check GitHub Releases page: gh release view vX.Y.Z --repo <owner/repo>

Output Format

## Release Summary

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Project | <name> |
| Type | Phoenix/Elixir or Go |
| Previous | vX.Y.Z |
| New | vX.Y.Z |
| Tag | vX.Y.Z |
| CI | ✅ Passed / ⏳ Running / ❌ Failed |

Common Issues

• •CI doesn't trigger on tags: Check that the workflow has on: push: tags: ['v*'], not just on: push: branches: [main]
• •Elixir version not updated in footer: The Meta module reads @version at compile time — the Docker build must happen AFTER the version bump commit
• •Go version shows "dev": The ldflags aren't being set — check .goreleaser.yml or the build command
• •ArgoCD doesn't pick up new image: If deployment.yaml uses :latest, ArgoCD won't see a change. Either pin to the semver tag or run kubectl rollout restart