Version Updates Skill for Claude

Version Update Workflow

When To Use

Use this skill when preparing a release or bumping the project version.

Run Skill(sanctum:git-workspace-review) first to capture current changes.

When NOT To Use

• Just documentation updates - use doc-updates
• Full PR preparation - use pr-prep

Required TodoWrite Items

• version-update:context-collected
• version-update:target-files
• version-update:version-set
• version-update:docs-updated
• version-update:verification

Step 1: Collect Context (context-collected)

• Confirm which version to apply (default: bump patch).
• If the prompt provides an explicit version, note it.
• validate Skill(sanctum:git-workspace-review) has already captured the repository status.

Step 2: Identify Targets (target-files)

• Find ALL configuration files that store versions using recursive search:
• Root level: Cargo.toml, package.json, pyproject.toml
• Nested directories: Use glob to find */pyproject.toml, */Cargo.toml, */package.json
• Example: plugins/memory-palace/hooks/pyproject.toml must be included
• Exclude virtual environments (.venv, node_modules, target/) using grep -v
• Include changelog and README references that mention the version.
• Use: find plugins -name "pyproject.toml" -o -name "Cargo.toml" | grep -v ".venv"

Step 3: Update Versions (version-set)

• Automated approach: Use plugins/sanctum/scripts/update_versions.py <version> to update all version files
• Supports pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, package.json
• Automatically excludes virtual environments
• Finds nested version files (e.g., plugins/memory-palace/hooks/pyproject.toml)
• Use --dry-run flag first to preview changes
• Manual approach: Update each target file with the new version
• For semantic versions, follow MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH or the specified format
• If the project supports multiple packages, document each update

Step 4: Update Documentation (docs-updated)

• Add or update changelog entries with today's date.
• Refresh README and docs references to mention the new version and any release notes.

Critical Documentation Files with Version References

These files contain version numbers and MUST be checked during version bumps:

| File | Content |

|------|---------|

| docs/api-overview.md | Plugin inventory table with all plugin versions |

| CHANGELOG.md | Version history and release notes |

| book/src/reference/capabilities-reference.md | May reference version-specific features |

| Plugin READMEs | May mention plugin versions |

Scan for Additional Version References

# Find all docs mentioning the OLD version
grep -r "1\.2\.6" docs/ book/ --include="*.md" | grep -v node_modules

# Common patterns to search:
# - "v1.2.6", "1.2.6", "(v1.2.6)"
# - Version tables in markdown
# - "Added in X.Y.Z" annotations

Update Sequence

• Update config files (pyproject.toml, plugin.json, etc.) - automated
• Update CHANGELOG.md - add new version section
• Update docs/api-overview.md - update version table and plugin details
• Scan for other version references and update as needed

Step 5: Verification (verification)

• Run relevant builds or tests if version bumps require them (e.g., cargo test, npm test).
• Show git status -sb and git diff excerpts to confirm the version bumps.

Output Instructions

• Summarize the files changed and the new version number.
• Mention follow-up steps, such as publishing or tagging, if applicable.

Exit Criteria

• [ ] All 5 TodoWrite items (version-update:context-collected

through version-update:verification) are created before any

file is modified and marked complete in order

• [ ] update_versions.py --dry-run <version> run first and its

output reviewed before any version file is written

• [ ] Version bumped consistently across all found config files

(pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, package.json, plugin.json)

with no target file missing the update

• [ ] CHANGELOG.md updated with a new version section dated today
• [ ] git diff output confirms version changes in all identified

target files; a summary of files changed and new version number

is reported to the user