Release Skill for Boomerang+

Create and manage releases for the Boomerang+ audio looper plugin.

When to Use

This skill applies when the user asks to:

• •Create a release
• •Write release notes
• •Prepare for a new version
• •Tag a release
• •Bump the version

Information Gathering

1. •Get current version from CMakeLists.txt line ~3: project(Boomerang VERSION x.x.x.x)
2. •Get installer version from build-installer.sh line ~7: VERSION="x.x.x-alpha-N"
3. •Get commits since last tag:
   bash

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

4. •Check open issues for Known Issues section: gh issue list --state open
5. •Review previous release notes in releases/ for style consistency

Release Notes Format

Follow this exact structure (reference: releases/v2.0.0-alpha-3/release-notes.md):

# vX.X.X-alpha-N (JUCE port)

**⚠️ Alpha Release** - This is an early alpha release with known issues. Please test thoroughly and report any problems.

## What's New

### [Category]
- **Bold feature name**: Description of change

## Installation

### macOS
Download and run the `.pkg` installer, or manually install:
- VST3 → `/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/`
- AU → `/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/`
- Standalone → `/Applications/`

### Windows/Linux
VST3 builds for other platforms coming soon.

## Known Issues

- Issue description (#XX)

## How to Help

Found a bug? Please [file an issue](https://github.com/mcascone/boomerang-plugin/issues/new) with:
- Steps to reproduce
- Expected vs actual behavior
- Loop length, direction, mode settings
- Host/DAW and buffer size

---

**Full Changelog**: https://github.com/mcascone/boomerang-plugin/compare/vPREVIOUS...vNEW

File Locations

Commit Categorization

Group commits into these categories:

• •Bug Fixes & Stability - Crash fixes, race conditions, buffer issues
• •UI Improvements - Layout, buttons, visual changes
• •Build Improvements - CMake, installer, signing, CI
• •Architecture - Refactoring, code cleanup, patterns

Pre-Completion Checklist

• • Version numbers match in CMakeLists.txt and build-installer.sh
• • Release notes saved to releases/vX.X.X-alpha-N/release-notes.md
• • Known issues reference current open GitHub issues
• • Changelog link uses correct tag names

Building the Installer

After release notes are ready and version numbers updated:

1. •

   Build the plugin (if not already built):

   bash

   ./build.sh
   

2. •

   Build the installer package:

   bash

   ./build-installer.sh
   

   This creates build/installer/Boomerang-{VERSION}.pkg

3. •

   Verify the output:

   bash

   ls -la build/installer/Boomerang-*.pkg
   

Creating GitHub Release & Uploading Assets

After user confirms release notes and build:

1. •

   Create and push the git tag:

   bash

   git tag -a vX.X.X-alpha-N -m "Release vX.X.X-alpha-N"
   git push origin vX.X.X-alpha-N
   

2. •

   Create GitHub release with asset:

   bash

   gh release create vX.X.X-alpha-N \
     --title "vX.X.X-alpha-N (JUCE port)" \
     --notes-file releases/vX.X.X-alpha-N/release-notes.md \
     build/installer/Boomerang-X.X.X-alpha-N.pkg
   

   Or create release and upload separately:

   bash

   gh release create vX.X.X-alpha-N --title "..." --notes-file ...
   gh release upload vX.X.X-alpha-N build/installer/Boomerang-*.pkg
   

3. •

   Optionally create a zip of raw artifacts:

   bash

   cd build/Boomerang_artefacts
   zip -r ../../releases/vX.X.X-alpha-N/Boomerang-vX.X.X-alpha-N-macOS.zip VST3 AU Standalone
   gh release upload vX.X.X-alpha-N releases/vX.X.X-alpha-N/Boomerang-vX.X.X-alpha-N-macOS.zip
   

Requires User Confirmation

Never automatically:

• •Create git tags
• •Push to remote
• •Create GitHub releases
• •Run build scripts

Always ask the user before these operations.