Release Management

GitHub Release Management Skill

This skill provides operations for managing GitHub releases, including creating releases, uploading assets, managing tags, and distributing software versions.

Available Operations

1. Create Release

Create a new release with tag, title, and release notes.

2. List Releases

View all releases in a repository.

3. View Release

Get details about a specific release.

4. Edit Release

Update release information.

5. Delete Release

Remove a release (keeps the tag).

6. Upload Assets

Add files to a release.

7. Download Assets

Download release assets.

8. Delete Assets

Remove assets from a release.

9. Manage Tags

Create and manage Git tags for releases.

Usage Examples

Create Release

Create release from tag:

gh release create v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --title "Version 1.0.0" \
  --notes "Initial release with core features"

Create with auto-generated notes:

gh release create v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --title "Version 1.0.0" \
  --generate-notes

Create from notes file:

gh release create v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --title "Version 1.0.0" \
  --notes-file CHANGELOG.md

Create pre-release:

gh release create v2.0.0-beta.1 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --title "Version 2.0.0 Beta 1" \
  --notes "Beta release for testing" \
  --prerelease

Create draft release:

gh release create v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --title "Version 1.0.0" \
  --notes "Release draft" \
  --draft

Create with assets:

gh release create v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --title "Version 1.0.0" \
  --notes "Release with binaries" \
  dist/app-linux-x64.tar.gz \
  dist/app-macos-x64.tar.gz \
  dist/app-windows-x64.zip

Create on specific branch/commit:

gh release create v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --title "Version 1.0.0" \
  --notes "Release notes" \
  --target main

Latest release:

gh release create v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --title "Version 1.0.0" \
  --notes "Latest stable release" \
  --latest

List Releases

List all releases:

gh release list --repo owner/repo-name

Limit results:

gh release list --repo owner/repo-name --limit 10

Exclude drafts:

gh release list --repo owner/repo-name --exclude-drafts

Exclude pre-releases:

gh release list --repo owner/repo-name --exclude-pre-releases

JSON output:

gh release list --repo owner/repo-name --json tagName,name,publishedAt,isPrerelease,isDraft

Using API:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/releases --jq '.[] | {tag: .tag_name, name: .name, published: .published_at}'

View Release

View latest release:

gh release view --repo owner/repo-name

View specific release:

gh release view v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name

View in browser:

gh release view v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --web

JSON output:

gh release view v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --json tagName,name,body,assets,publishedAt

View assets:

gh release view v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --json assets --jq '.assets[] | {name, size, download_count}'

Edit Release

Update title and notes:

gh release edit v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --title "Version 1.0.0 - Updated" \
  --notes "Updated release notes"

Update from file:

gh release edit v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --notes-file RELEASE_NOTES.md

Mark as latest:

gh release edit v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --latest

Mark as pre-release:

gh release edit v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --prerelease

Publish draft:

gh release edit v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --draft=false

Change to draft:

gh release edit v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --draft

Update discussion category:

gh release edit v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --discussion-category announcements

Delete Release

Delete release (keeps tag):

gh release delete v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name

Delete with confirmation:

gh release delete v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --yes

Delete and cleanup tag:

gh release delete v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --yes
git push --delete origin v1.0.0  # Delete remote tag

Upload Assets

Upload single file:

gh release upload v1.0.0 dist/app.tar.gz --repo owner/repo-name

Upload multiple files:

gh release upload v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name \
  dist/app-linux.tar.gz \
  dist/app-macos.tar.gz \
  dist/app-windows.zip

Upload with glob pattern:

gh release upload v1.0.0 dist/*.tar.gz --repo owner/repo-name

Overwrite existing asset:

gh release upload v1.0.0 dist/app.tar.gz --repo owner/repo-name --clobber

Using API:

# Get upload URL
UPLOAD_URL=$(gh api repos/owner/repo-name/releases/tags/v1.0.0 --jq '.upload_url' | sed 's/{?name,label}//')

# Upload asset
gh api "$UPLOAD_URL?name=app.tar.gz" \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/gzip" \
  --input dist/app.tar.gz

Download Assets

Download all assets:

gh release download v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name

Download specific asset:

gh release download v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --pattern "*.tar.gz"

Download to directory:

gh release download v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --dir downloads/

Download latest release:

gh release download --repo owner/repo-name

Download with pattern matching:

gh release download v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --pattern "*linux*"

Using API to get download URL:

# Get asset URL
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/releases/tags/v1.0.0 --jq '.assets[] | {name, browser_download_url}'

# Download with curl
ASSET_URL=$(gh api repos/owner/repo-name/releases/tags/v1.0.0 --jq '.assets[0].browser_download_url')
curl -L -o app.tar.gz "$ASSET_URL"

Delete Assets

Using API to delete asset:

# Get asset ID
ASSET_ID=$(gh api repos/owner/repo-name/releases/tags/v1.0.0 --jq '.assets[] | select(.name=="app.tar.gz") | .id')

# Delete asset
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/releases/assets/$ASSET_ID -X DELETE

Delete and re-upload:

# Delete old asset
ASSET_ID=$(gh api repos/owner/repo-name/releases/tags/v1.0.0 --jq '.assets[] | select(.name=="app.tar.gz") | .id')
gh api repos/owner/repo-name/releases/assets/$ASSET_ID -X DELETE

# Upload new version
gh release upload v1.0.0 dist/app.tar.gz --repo owner/repo-name

Manage Tags

Create tag:

cd repo-name
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Version 1.0.0"
git push origin v1.0.0

List tags:

cd repo-name
git tag -l

View tag details:

cd repo-name
git show v1.0.0

Delete tag:

cd repo-name
git tag -d v1.0.0  # Delete local
git push --delete origin v1.0.0  # Delete remote

Create tag from specific commit:

cd repo-name
git tag -a v1.0.0 abc123def -m "Version 1.0.0"
git push origin v1.0.0

Common Patterns

Standard Release Workflow

# 1. Prepare release
VERSION="v1.2.0"
cd repo-name

# 2. Update version files
echo "1.2.0" > VERSION
git add VERSION
git commit -m "Bump version to 1.2.0"
git push

# 3. Create and push tag
git tag -a $VERSION -m "Release $VERSION"
git push origin $VERSION

# 4. Build release artifacts
npm run build  # or your build command
mkdir -p dist

# 5. Create release with artifacts
gh release create $VERSION \
  --title "Release $VERSION" \
  --generate-notes \
  dist/*.tar.gz \
  dist/*.zip

Pre-release to Stable

# 1. Create pre-release
gh release create v2.0.0-rc.1 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --title "Release Candidate 1" \
  --notes "Testing release" \
  --prerelease \
  dist/*

# 2. After testing, promote to stable
gh release edit v2.0.0-rc.1 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --prerelease=false \
  --latest

# 3. Or create new stable release
gh release create v2.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --title "Version 2.0.0" \
  --notes "Stable release" \
  dist/*

Draft Release for Review

# 1. Create draft
gh release create v1.5.0 --repo owner/repo-name \
  --title "Version 1.5.0" \
  --notes-file CHANGELOG.md \
  --draft \
  dist/*

# 2. Review in browser
gh release view v1.5.0 --repo owner/repo-name --web

# 3. Publish when ready
gh release edit v1.5.0 --repo owner/repo-name --draft=false

Multi-Platform Release

VERSION="v1.0.0"

# Build for all platforms
./build-linux.sh
./build-macos.sh
./build-windows.sh

# Create release with all platform binaries
gh release create $VERSION --repo owner/repo-name \
  --title "Version 1.0.0 - Multi-platform" \
  --notes "Available for Linux, macOS, and Windows" \
  dist/app-linux-amd64.tar.gz \
  dist/app-linux-arm64.tar.gz \
  dist/app-darwin-amd64.tar.gz \
  dist/app-darwin-arm64.tar.gz \
  dist/app-windows-amd64.zip \
  dist/app-windows-arm64.zip

Automated Release with GitHub Actions

# Trigger release workflow (example)
gh workflow run release.yml --repo owner/repo-name \
  -f version=1.2.0 \
  -f prerelease=false

# Monitor release workflow
gh run watch $(gh run list --workflow release.yml --limit 1 --json databaseId --jq '.[0].databaseId')

Rollback Release

# 1. Delete problematic release
gh release delete v1.2.0 --repo owner/repo-name --yes

# 2. Delete tag
git push --delete origin v1.2.0

# 3. Mark previous version as latest
gh release edit v1.1.0 --repo owner/repo-name --latest

Generate Release Notes from Commits

VERSION="v1.3.0"
PREV_VERSION="v1.2.0"

# Get commits since last release
git log $PREV_VERSION..HEAD --pretty=format:"- %s (%h)" > release_notes.txt

# Create release
gh release create $VERSION --repo owner/repo-name \
  --title "Release $VERSION" \
  --notes-file release_notes.txt \
  dist/*

Download Latest Release for Installation

# Script to download and install latest release
REPO="owner/repo-name"

# Get latest release tag
LATEST=$(gh release view --repo $REPO --json tagName --jq '.tagName')

# Download release assets
gh release download $LATEST --repo $REPO --pattern "*linux*"

# Extract and install
tar -xzf app-linux-*.tar.gz
sudo mv app /usr/local/bin/

Advanced Usage

Release Statistics

View download counts:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/releases --jq '.[] | {
  tag: .tag_name,
  downloads: [.assets[].download_count] | add
}'

Most popular release:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/releases --jq 'map({
  tag: .tag_name,
  downloads: [.assets[].download_count] | add
}) | sort_by(.downloads) | reverse | .[0]'

Asset-level statistics:

gh release view v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --json assets --jq '.assets[] | {
  name,
  size,
  downloads: .download_count
} | sort_by(.downloads) | reverse'

Bulk Release Management

List all tags without releases:

# Get all tags
ALL_TAGS=$(git tag)

# Get tags with releases
RELEASE_TAGS=$(gh release list --repo owner/repo-name --limit 1000 --json tagName --jq '.[].tagName')

# Find difference
comm -23 <(echo "$ALL_TAGS" | sort) <(echo "$RELEASE_TAGS" | sort)

Delete old pre-releases:

gh api repos/owner/repo-name/releases --jq '.[] | select(.prerelease==true) | select(.created_at < "2024-01-01") | .tag_name' | \
  while read tag; do
    echo "Deleting $tag"
    gh release delete $tag --repo owner/repo-name --yes
  done

Custom Release Notes Template

# Create release notes from template
cat > release_notes.md << EOF
## What's Changed

$(git log v1.0.0..v1.1.0 --pretty=format:"- %s by @%an" | grep -v "Merge pull request")

## New Contributors

$(git log v1.0.0..v1.1.0 --pretty=format:"%an" | sort -u | sed 's/^/* @/')

**Full Changelog**: https://github.com/owner/repo-name/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0
EOF

gh release create v1.1.0 --notes-file release_notes.md

Error Handling

Tag Already Exists

# Check if tag exists
git tag -l v1.0.0

# Delete and recreate if needed
git tag -d v1.0.0
git push --delete origin v1.0.0
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release v1.0.0"
git push origin v1.0.0

Release Already Exists

# Check if release exists
gh release view v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name 2>&1 | grep -q "release not found" || echo "Release exists"

# Delete and recreate
gh release delete v1.0.0 --repo owner/repo-name --yes
gh release create v1.0.0 --title "Version 1.0.0" --notes "Release notes"

Asset Upload Failures

# Verify asset exists locally
[ -f dist/app.tar.gz ] && echo "File exists" || echo "File not found"

# Check file size (GitHub limit is 2GB per asset)
ls -lh dist/app.tar.gz

# Retry upload
gh release upload v1.0.0 dist/app.tar.gz --repo owner/repo-name --clobber

Best Practices

1. Use semantic versioning: Follow vX.Y.Z format (e.g., v1.2.3)
2. Write meaningful notes: Include what changed, breaking changes, and upgrade instructions
3. Use draft releases: Review before publishing
4. Tag commits properly: Create annotated tags with messages
5. Include checksums: Provide SHA256 checksums for assets
6. Test pre-releases: Use beta/rc releases for testing
7. Clean naming: Use consistent asset naming conventions
8. Keep releases focused: One release per version
9. Link to documentation: Include links to docs in release notes
10. Archive old releases: Delete very old pre-releases to reduce clutter

Semantic Versioning

• Major (X.0.0): Breaking changes
• Minor (1.X.0): New features, backwards compatible
• Patch (1.2.X): Bug fixes, backwards compatible
• Pre-release: v1.2.0-alpha.1, v1.2.0-beta.1, v1.2.0-rc.1

Integration with Other Skills

• Use workflow-management to automate releases with GitHub Actions
• Use issue-management to reference issues fixed in release
• Use pull-request-management to include PR links in notes
• Use commit-operations to generate changelog from commits

References

• GitHub CLI Release Documentation
• GitHub Releases Guide
• Semantic Versioning
• GitHub Releases API