Release Tools By Stack

Release Tools by Stack

Per-tool and per-stack reference for the /release workflow. Covers detection of existing release tooling, the version-bump and changelog commands each tool exposes, and monorepo per-package versioning approaches. Knowledge skill — never invoked directly; loaded as context by /release.

Tool Detection Table

Before running any inline release flow, check whether the repo already has release tooling configured. If so, route to it; the team's choice supersedes anything inline.

If a tool is detected:

1. Inspect its config for current state (next version, release branch, prerelease suffixes).
2. Run its release command (or open a PR / merge a release-please PR depending on tool).
3. Skip the inline version-bump + changelog + tag steps; the tool handles all three.
4. Continue at the /release Memory Write step so the release is recorded in runs.jsonl.

Per-tool commands

release-please

Releases happen via the GitHub Action on PR merge. Check for an open release-please PR; review and merge it instead of cutting manually. The action proposes a release PR that bumps versions and updates CHANGELOG.md; merging it creates the tag and GitHub Release.

Detection: release-please-config.json, .release-please-manifest.json.

semantic-release

Releases happen in CI on push to the release branch. Verify the next release will fire; do not bump manually. Commit-message conventions (Conventional Commits) drive the version bump and changelog generation automatically.

Detection: .releaserc* (.json/.yml/.js), release.config.js, or a semantic-release entry in package.json.

Changesets

Monorepo Node release tool. Per-package versioning workflow:

• npx changeset — for each affected package, record an intent file (<random>.md with package name + bump type + summary).
• npx changeset version — rewrites all affected package.json versions and changelogs based on accumulated intent files.
• npx changeset publish — tags and publishes (typically via CI).

Detection: .changeset/ directory + .changeset/config.json.

GoReleaser

Go release automation — builds binaries, creates archives, generates checksums, pushes to GitHub Releases / Docker registries.

Command: goreleaser release --clean (CI usually drives it on tag push).

Detection: .goreleaser.yaml or .goreleaser.yml.

cargo-release

Rust release automation for crates.

Command: cargo release <level> — e.g., cargo release minor, cargo release patch, cargo release major.

Detection: Cargo.toml with [workspace.metadata.release], or local release.toml.

JReleaser

JVM polyglot release tool (Java, Kotlin, Scala, etc.).

Command: jreleaser release (Maven and Gradle plugins also available).

Detection: jreleaser.yml.

Monorepo per-package versioning

If .changeset/, pnpm-workspace.yaml, lerna.json, or nx.json is present, the repo uses per-package versioning. Different bump strategy applies — pick by tool present:

Changesets (Node monorepo)

For each affected package:

1. npx changeset — records an intent file (<random>.md) with package name + bump type + summary.
2. npx changeset version — rewrites all affected package.json versions and updates per-package changelogs.
3. npx changeset publish — tags and publishes (or via CI).

Use when: Node monorepo with independent per-package versions; team wants explicit human-authored intent files; pnpm/yarn workspaces.

Lerna

• npx lerna version <minor|patch|major> — bumps versions across affected packages.
• npx lerna version --conventional-commits — derives bumps from commit history.
• npx lerna publish from-package — releases the bumped packages.

Use when: existing Lerna workspace; Conventional Commits already in use.

Nx release

• npx nx release — replaces Lerna for Nx workspaces 17+.

Use when: Nx workspace (17+); team has standardized on Nx tooling for build + release.

For monorepos, fall back to per-package single-package flow only when the team has decided to handle one package outside the workspace tooling.

Per-stack release conventions

If no release tool is detected, the inline /release flow updates version files per stack:

When this applies

Integration

• Used by: /release (orchestrator — detection + bump + changelog stages)
• External references:
  • release-please: https://github.com/googleapis/release-please
  • semantic-release: https://semantic-release.gitbook.io
  • Changesets: https://github.com/changesets/changesets
  • GoReleaser: https://goreleaser.com
  • cargo-release: https://github.com/crate-ci/cargo-release
  • JReleaser: https://jreleaser.org