Release Skill for Claude

release — tiered compatibility & release workflow

For the Cull repository, use $cull-release; Cull's repository-enforced state,

artifact, updater, and Homebrew gates are stricter than this generic workflow.

A config-driven release orchestrator. Mechanics live in scripts/release.py

(unit-tested, stdlib-only); this file is the workflow you (or an agent) follow.

Read reference/config-schema.md for release.config.json and

reference/standards.md for *why* each step exists.

> Scope honesty: reference-tested on a Tauri + Rust + SvelteKit repo (Cull).

> Other stacks are supported *by config*, not yet validated. Treat first runs on

> a new stack as a dry run (see "Dry run" below) until you trust it.

When to use

The user says "release", "ship it", "cut a version", "bump version", "tag a

release", "update the changelog/COMPATIBILITY". Requires a release.config.json

at the repo root (scaffold from templates/release.config.json.tmpl).

Mental model — your public API is your declared surfaces

A version only means something once you declare *what you promise to keep

working*. release.config.json → surfaces[] is that declaration; each surface

has a tier (experimental → preview → stable) and a compatibility mode.

Only stable surfaces carry the promise. Breaking a stable surface forces a

major bump — the engine enforces this. (Standards: see reference/standards.md.)

Command

/release <patch|minor|major> — run the steps below. On an unfamiliar repo, do a

dry run first (see below). When the user asks to "explain", expand each step's

*why* into a short lesson from reference/standards.md.

Steps

• Preconditions. The configured releaseBranch (default main, in

worktree if set) is checked out, clean, and synced with origin. Abort

clearly otherwise. — *why: a release tag must point at a known-good, pushed tree.*

• Version. python3 scripts/release.py --config <cfg> plan <kind> prints the

new version + tag. It asserts the version files currently agree. Show old → new.

— *why: SemVer math; 0.x lets minors break (pre-1.0).* [[Semantic Versioning (SemVer)]]

• Readiness gate. Run cfg.gate then each cfg.extraGate[]. All must exit 0

(fmt, clippy, tests, license audit, prod build, golden contract tests). Block on

failure. — *why: this is a Production-Readiness Review.* [[Production Readiness Review]]

• TODO (deferred): cargo-deny / cargo-audit / SBOM. List, don't enforce yet.

• Changelog. Collect commit subjects since the last tag

(git log <lastTag>..HEAD --format=%s) and draft a section — the engine's

draft_changelog buckets them into Added/Changed/Fixed (Keep a Changelog).

Insert under the top of CHANGELOG.md; hand-curate the user-facing lines.

— *why: humans read changelogs; conventional commits seed them.* [[Keep a Changelog]]

• Compatibility review. Open cfg.compatibility.path (COMPATIBILITY.md). Ask:
• Did any surface change tier? (update the Surfaces table)
• New deprecations? (add a row: item / deprecated-in / removable-in / replacement)
• Does this change break a stable surface? If yes, the required bump is

major — re-run with major or the release is invalid. (Enforced by

enforce_bump.) Stamp "Last updated: <new version> (<date>)".

— *why: tiers + deprecation windows are how you evolve without lying.* [[Kubernetes API Deprecation Policy]]

• Bump & commit. python3 scripts/release.py --config <cfg> bump <kind> writes

every version file; refresh cfg.lockfiles (e.g. cargo update -p <crate> or a

build). Commit chore(release): v<new> including CHANGELOG + COMPATIBILITY.

• Tag & push. git tag v<new> and push the tag (→ the repo's release

workflow) and the branch. Confirm the tag trigger exists *before the first

release* (grep -A3 '^on:' .github/workflows/*.yml).

• Report. Print the tag, the release-workflow URL, and issues closed since the

last tag (if cfg.issueTracker is set, e.g. bd) — those are the release notes.

Dry run

There is no --dry-run flag — a dry run is steps 1–5 done *without mutating*:

run python3 scripts/release.py --config <cfg> plan <kind> (pure: prints the

version/tag, writes nothing) and optionally run cfg.gate to check readiness.

Do NOT run bump, commit, or tag. The bump subcommand is the only engine

command that writes (version files only); commit/tag/push are git steps you take

in step 6–7, never the engine.

Manual fallback (no skill)

plan → run gate → edit CHANGELOG + COMPATIBILITY → bump → commit → tag → push.

The engine is just scripts/release.py; everything else is git.

Growing into Contracts & Modes

The readiness gate runs *golden/contract tests* (cfg.extraGate). Start with one

(a DB round-trip), then add export and API contract tests. See the consuming

repo's docs/CONTRACTS.md and reference/standards.md. [[Pact — Consumer-Driven Contract Testing]]