---

name: Release description: Create a new version release by analyzing changes, bumping version, updating changelogs, committing, tagging, and pushing

Release Skill

This skill automates the entire release process for this project.

Workflow

Step 1: Analyze Changes Since Last Release

Copy# Get the last release tag
git describe --tags --abbrev=0

# List all commits since the last tag
git log $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)..HEAD --oneline --no-merges

# Check for uncommitted changes
git status --short

Categorize all changes into:

• Added: New features
• Changed: Modifications to existing functionality
• Fixed: Bug fixes
• Removed: Removed features
• Breaking: Breaking changes (triggers major version bump)

Step 2: Determine Version Bump

Follow Semantic Versioning:

• MAJOR (X.0.0): Breaking changes or major rewrites
• MINOR (x.Y.0): New features, backward compatible
• PATCH (x.y.Z): Bug fixes, metadata updates, backward compatible

Current version can be found in:

• Cargo.toml (line ~3): version = "X.Y.Z"
• meson.build (line ~2): version: 'X.Y.Z'

Step 3: Update Version Numbers

Update the version in these files:

1. Cargo.toml: version = "X.Y.Z"
2. meson.build: version: 'X.Y.Z'

Step 4: Update CHANGELOG.md

Move content from [Unreleased] section to a new version section:

Copy## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD

### Added
- Feature description

### Changed
- Change description

### Fixed
- Fix description

Reset the [Unreleased] section to empty placeholders.

Step 5: Update README.md

Update the version header section (around line 14):

Copy## 🎉 Version X.Y.Z - [Short Title]

**Karere X.Y.Z** brings [brief description of main changes].

### 🆕 What's New in X.Y.Z

- **Feature 1**: Description
- **Feature 2**: Description

Step 6: Update metainfo.xml.in

Add a new <release> entry at the TOP of the <releases> section (after line 97):

Copy<release version="X.Y.Z" date="YYYY-MM-DD">
  <description>
    <ul>
      <li>Change description 1</li>
      <li>Change description 2</li>
    </ul>
  </description>
</release>

File location: data/io.github.tobagin.karere.metainfo.xml.in

Step 7: Update Cargo Lock and Sources

// turbo

Copycargo generate-lockfile
python3 tools/flatpak-cargo-generator.py Cargo.lock -o packaging/cargo-sources.json

Step 8: Commit All Changes

Stage and commit with a detailed message:

Copygit add .
git commit -m "Release vX.Y.Z

Changes in this release:
- [List main changes]
- [One per line]

Files updated:
- Cargo.toml, meson.build (version bump)
- CHANGELOG.md (release notes)
- README.md (version header)
- metainfo.xml.in (AppStream release)
- Cargo.lock, cargo-sources.json (dependencies)"

Step 9: Create and Push Tag

Copy# Create annotated tag
git tag -a vX.Y.Z -m "Release vX.Y.Z"

# Push commits and tags
git push origin HEAD --tags

Important Notes

• Always use the format vX.Y.Z for tags (with the v prefix)
• Date format in CHANGELOG.md and metainfo.xml is YYYY-MM-DD
• The metainfo.xml release entries should be concise (no emojis in <li> items)
• Keep README.md "What's New" section brief and user-friendly
• CHANGELOG.md can be more detailed and technical

File Locations Summary