release-skills
Universal release workflow. Auto-detects version files and changelogs. Supports Node.js, Python, Rust, Claude Plugin, GitHub Releases, annotated tags, historical release backfill, and generic projects
Install / Use
npx skills add JimLiu/baoyu-skills --skill release-skillsInstalls into whichever agent you are using.
SKILL.md
Installable skill definition
Quality Score
Category
AutomationSupported Platforms
Our assessment of release-skills
release-skills scores 99/100 on our quality scale, 48th of 1,267 Automation skills we index (top 4%).
Its SKILL.md is 19 KB long, well organised into 40 sections with 13 code examples: a thorough specification that gives an agent plenty to work with.
With 26,131 GitHub stars, it is one of the more widely adopted skills in the catalogue.
Maintenance, license and trust
- The repository was last updated 15 days ago, so release-skills is actively maintained.
- It is released under the MIT license, a permissive license that allows use, modification and commercial use with attribution.
- Its trust signals score 100/100, with no cautions. These come from repository metadata, not a code audit — read the skill file before letting an agent act on it.
Safety scan
No issues foundOur scan of the whole file found no instruction hijacking, hidden characters, credential access, data exfiltration or destructive commands. An AI review of the same text found nothing harmful.
AI review by kimi-k2.7-code on 2026-09-25. Automated pattern scan on 2026-09-25. It catches known dangerous patterns, not every risk — read a skill before letting an agent act on it.
release-skills compared with similar skills
All 4 of these similar skills score higher than release-skills; compare them before choosing.
| Skill | Score | Stars | Updated | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| release-skills (this skill)by JimLiu | 99 | 26.1k | 15d ago | SKILL.md |
| Agent-Reachby Panniantong | 100 | 85.4k | 10d ago | CLAUDE.md |
| headroomby headroomlabs-ai | 100 | 73.8k | today | CLAUDE.md |
| rufloby ruvnet | 100 | 73.3k | 1d ago | CLAUDE.md |
| Scraplingby D4Vinci | 100 | 83.7k | today | MCP Server |
Frequently asked questions
- How do I install release-skills?
- Run
npx skills add JimLiu/baoyu-skills --skill release-skills. The install tabs above show the steps for each supported agent. - Which AI agents does release-skills work with?
- It is written for Claude Code, as a SKILL.md file. Other agents that read the same format can often use it too.
- Is release-skills safe to use?
- Our scan of the whole file found no instruction hijacking, hidden characters, credential access, data exfiltration or destructive commands. An AI review of the same text found nothing harmful. It is MIT-licensed and scores 100/100 on trust signals. Skills are instructions an agent will follow, so read the file before installing it and do not approve commands you do not understand.
- Is release-skills still maintained?
- The repository was last updated 15 days ago, so release-skills is actively maintained.
Skill content
View source on GitHubname: release-skills description: Universal release workflow. Auto-detects version files and changelogs. Supports Node.js, Python, Rust, Claude Plugin, GitHub Releases, annotated tags, historical release backfill, and generic projects. Use when user says "release", "发布", "new version", "bump version", "push", "推送", "release notes", "GitHub Release", or "回填 Release".
Release Skills
Universal release workflow supporting any project type with multi-language changelog.
User Input Tools
When this skill prompts the user, follow this tool-selection rule (priority order):
- Prefer built-in user-input tools exposed by the current agent runtime — e.g.,
AskUserQuestion,request_user_input,clarify,ask_user, or any equivalent. - Fallback: if no such tool exists, emit a numbered plain-text message and ask the user to reply with the chosen number/answer for each question.
- Batching: if the tool supports multiple questions per call, combine all applicable questions into a single call; if only single-question, ask them one at a time in priority order.
Concrete AskUserQuestion references below are examples — substitute the local equivalent in other runtimes.
Quick Start
Just run /release-skills - auto-detects your project configuration.
Supported Projects
| Project Type | Version File | Auto-Detected | |--------------|--------------|---------------| | Node.js | package.json | ✓ | | Python | pyproject.toml | ✓ | | Rust | Cargo.toml | ✓ | | Claude Plugin | marketplace.json | ✓ | | Generic | VERSION / version.txt | ✓ |
Options
| Flag | Description |
|------|-------------|
| --dry-run | Preview changes without executing |
| --major | Force major version bump |
| --minor | Force minor version bump |
| --patch | Force patch version bump |
| --backfill-releases | Create missing GitHub Releases for existing tags from changelog sections |
Workflow
Step 1: Detect Project Configuration
- Check for
.releaserc.yml(optional config override)- If present, inspect whether it defines release hooks
- Auto-detect version file by scanning (priority order):
package.json(Node.js)pyproject.toml(Python)Cargo.toml(Rust)marketplace.jsonor.claude-plugin/marketplace.json(Claude Plugin)VERSIONorversion.txt(Generic)
- Scan for changelog files using glob patterns:
CHANGELOG*.mdHISTORY*.mdCHANGES*.md
- Identify language of each changelog by filename suffix
- Detect GitHub release support:
- Check whether
originpoints to GitHub - Check whether
ghis installed and authenticated - Check existing releases with
gh release list --limit 5when available
- Check whether
- Display detected configuration
Project Hook Contract:
If .releaserc.yml defines release.hooks, keep the release workflow generic and delegate project-specific packaging/publishing to those hooks.
Supported hooks:
| Hook | Purpose | Expected Responsibility |
|------|---------|-------------------------|
| prepare_artifact | Make one target releasable | Validate the target is self-contained, sync/embed local dependencies, optionally stage extra files |
| publish_artifact | Publish one releasable target | Upload the prepared target (or a staged directory if the project uses one), attach version/changelog/tags |
Supported placeholders:
| Placeholder | Meaning |
|-------------|---------|
| {project_root} | Absolute path to repository root |
| {target} | Absolute path to the module/skill being released |
| {artifact_dir} | Absolute path to a temporary staging directory for this target, when the project uses one |
| {version} | Version selected by the release workflow |
| {dry_run} | true or false |
| {release_notes_file} | Absolute path to a UTF-8 file containing release notes/changelog text |
Execution rules:
- Keep the skill generic: do not hardcode registry/package-manager/project layout details into this SKILL.
- If
prepare_artifactexists, run it once per target before publish-related checks that need the final releasable target state. - Write release notes to a temp file and pass that file path to
publish_artifact; do not inline multiline changelog text into shell commands. - If hooks are absent, fall back to the default project-agnostic release workflow.
Language Detection Rules:
Changelog files follow the pattern CHANGELOG_{LANG}.md or CHANGELOG.{lang}.md, where {lang} / {LANG} is a language or region code.
| Pattern | Example | Language |
|---------|---------|----------|
| No suffix | CHANGELOG.md | en (default) |
| _{LANG} (uppercase) | CHANGELOG_CN.md, CHANGELOG_JP.md | Corresponding language |
| .{lang} (lowercase) | CHANGELOG.zh.md, CHANGELOG.ja.md | Corresponding language |
| .{lang-region} | CHANGELOG.zh-CN.md | Corresponding region variant |
Common language codes: zh (Chinese), ja (Japanese), ko (Korean), de (German), fr (French), es (Spanish).
Output Example:
Project detected:
Version file: package.json (1.2.3)
Changelogs:
- CHANGELOG.md (en)
- CHANGELOG.zh.md (zh)
- CHANGELOG.ja.md (ja)
Step 2: Analyze Changes Since Last Tag
LAST_TAG=$(git tag --sort=-v:refname | head -1)
git log ${LAST_TAG}..HEAD --oneline
git diff ${LAST_TAG}..HEAD --stat
Categorize by conventional commit types:
| Type | Description | |------|-------------| | feat | New features | | fix | Bug fixes | | docs | Documentation | | refactor | Code refactoring | | perf | Performance improvements | | test | Test changes | | style | Formatting, styling | | chore | Maintenance (skip in changelog) |
Breaking Change Detection:
- Commit message starts with
BREAKING CHANGE - Commit body/footer contains
BREAKING CHANGE: - Removed public APIs, renamed exports, changed interfaces
If breaking changes detected, warn user: "Breaking changes detected. Consider major version bump (--major flag)."
Step 3: Determine Version Bump
Rules (in priority order):
- User flag
--major/--minor/--patch→ Use specified - BREAKING CHANGE detected → Major bump (1.x.x → 2.0.0)
feat:commits present → Minor bump (1.2.x → 1.3.0)- Otherwise → Patch bump (1.2.3 → 1.2.4)
Display version change: 1.2.3 → 1.3.0
Step 4: Generate Multi-language Changelogs
For each detected changelog file:
- Identify language from filename suffix
- Detect third-party contributors:
- Check merge commits:
git log ${LAST_TAG}..HEAD --merges --pretty=format:"%H %s" - For each merged PR, identify the PR author via
gh pr view <number> --json author --jq '.author.login' - Compare against repo owner (
gh repo view --json owner --jq '.owner.login') - If PR author ≠ repo owner → third-party contributor
- Check merge commits:
- Generate content in that language:
- Section titles in target language
- Change descriptions written naturally in target language (not translated)
- Date format: YYYY-MM-DD (universal)
- Third-party contributions: Append contributor attribution
(by @username)to the changelog entry
- Insert at file head (preserve existing content)
Section Title Translations (built-in):
| Type | en | zh | ja | ko | de | fr | es | |------|----|----|----|----|----|----|-----| | feat | Features | 新功能 | 新機能 | 새로운 기능 | Funktionen | Fonctionnalités | Características | | fix | Fixes | 修复 | 修正 | 수정 | Fehlerbehebungen | Corrections | Correcciones | | docs | Documentation | 文档 | ドキュメント | 문서 | Dokumentation | Documentation | Documentación | | refactor | Refactor | 重构 | リファクタリング | 리팩토링 | Refactoring | Refactorisation | Refactorización | | perf | Performance | 性能优化 | パフォーマンス | 성능 | Leistung | Performance | Rendimiento | | breaking | Breaking Changes | 破坏性变更 | 破壊的変更 | 주요 변경사항 | Breaking Changes | Changements majeurs | Cambios importantes |
Changelog Format:
## {VERSION} - {YYYY-MM-DD}
### Features
- Description of new feature
- Description of third-party contribution (by @username)
### Fixes
- Description of fix
### Documentation
- Description of docs changes
Only include sections that have changes. Omit empty sections.
Third-Party Attribution Rules:
- Only add
(by @username)for contributors who are NOT the repo owner - Use GitHub username with
@prefix - Place at the end of the changelog entry line
- Apply to all languages consistently (always use
(by @username)format, not translated)
Multi-language Example:
English (CHANGELOG.md):
## 1.3.0 - 2026-01-22
### Features
- Add user authentication module (by @contributor1)
- Support OAuth2 login
### Fixes
- Fix memory leak in connection pool
Chinese (CHANGELOG.zh.md):
## 1.3.0 - 2026-01-22
### 新功能
- 新增用户认证模块 (by @contributor1)
- 支持 OAuth2 登录
### 修复
- 修复连接池内存泄漏问题
Japanese (CHANGELOG.ja.md):
## 1.3.0 - 2026-01-22
### 新機能
- ユーザー認証モジュールを追加 (by @contributor1)
- OAuth2 ログインをサポート
### 修正
- コネクションプールのメモリリークを修正
Step 5: Group Changes by Skill/Module
Analyze commits since last tag and group by affected skill/module:
- Identify changed files per commit
- Group by skill/module:
skills/<skill-name>/*→ Group under that skill- Root files (CLAUDE.md, etc.) → Group as "project"
- Multiple skills in one commit → Split into multiple groups
- For each group, identify related README updates needed
Example Grouping:
baoyu-cover-image:
- feat: add new style options
- fix: handle transparent backgrounds
→ README updates: options table
baoyu-comic:
- refactor: improve panel layout algorithm
→ No README updates needed
project:
- docs: update CLAUDE.md architecture section
Step 6: Commit Each Skill/Module Separately
For each skill/module group (in order of changes):
-
Check README updates needed:
- Scan
README*.mdfor mentions of this skill/module - Verify options/flags documented correctly
- Update usage examples if syntax changed
- Update feature descriptions if behavior changed
- Scan
-
Stage and commit:
git add skills/<skill-name>/* git add README.md README.zh.md # If updated for this skill git commit -m "<type>(<skill-name>): <meaningful description>" -
Commit message format:
- Use conventional commit format:
<type>(<scope>): <description> <type>: feat, fix, refactor, docs, perf, etc.<scope>: skill name or "project"<description>: Clear, meaningful description of changes
- Use conventional commit format:
Example Commits:
git commit -m "feat(baoyu-cover-image): add watercolor and minimalist styles"
git commit -m "fix(baoyu-comic): improve panel layout for long dialogues"
git commit -m "docs(project): update architecture documentation"
Common README Updates Needed: | Change Type | README Section to Check | |-------------|------------------------| | New options/flags | Options table, usage examples | | Renamed options | Options table, usage examples | | New features | Feature description, examples | | Breaking changes | Migration notes, deprecation warnings | | Restructured internals | Architecture section (if exposed to users) |
Step 7: Generate Changelog and Update Version
- Generate multi-language changelogs (as described in Step 4)
- Update version file:
- Read version file (JSON/TOML/text)
- Update version number
- Write back (preserve formatting)
- Create release notes file:
- Prefer the new version section from
CHANGELOG.md - If no English/default changelog exists, use the first detected changelog
- Extract only the exact
## {VERSION} - {YYYY-MM-DD}section through the next## - Match both plain version and tag-prefixed headings when needed, e.g.
1.2.3andv1.2.3 - Keep breaking changes near the top; if needed, add a short highlight before other sections
- Write notes to a UTF-8 temp file and reuse it for annotated tag messages, GitHub Releases, and
publish_artifact - I
- Prefer the new version section from
Truncated for display — read the full file on GitHub.
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Languages
Trust signals
From repository metadata: license, adoption, age and documentation. Not a code audit — see the Safety scan above for what the skill file itself contains.
