Release

Cut a release, validate the changelog, and ensure git hooks are installed.

Usage

/release 1.0.5 or /release patch (bumps patch from current version).

Process

When the user triggers /release <version>:

1. Gather context — run skills/release/scripts/release-context.sh <version>. This silently installs git hooks and prints everything needed: version info, working directory status, commits since last release, files changed, current [Unreleased] content, and the previous release entry for style reference.

2. Commit outstanding work — if the context shows staged, modified, or untracked files that belong in this release, commit them first. Use the /commit skill or make well-formed commits directly.

3. Write the changelog — if [Unreleased] is empty, write it now using the commits and file changes from the context output. Follow the changelog standard below. Re-run the context script after committing if needed.

4. Check dependency updates — before cutting the release, check for updates to sqlite-vec (and platform packages), node-llama-cpp, and better-sqlite3. Run pnpm outdated and report any available updates for these packages. If updates exist, bump them (pinned, no ^ ranges) and re-run tests before proceeding.

5. Cut the release — run scripts/release.sh <version>. This renames [Unreleased] → [X.Y.Z] - date, inserts a fresh [Unreleased], bumps package.json and the plugin version in .claude-plugin/marketplace.json (so installed plugins see the update), commits, and tags.

6. Show the final changelog — print the full [Unreleased] + minor series rollup via scripts/extract-changelog.sh <version>. Ask the user to confirm before pushing.

7. Push — after explicit confirmation, run git push origin main --tags.

8. Watch CI — after the push, start a background dispatch to watch the publish workflow. Use interactive_shell in dispatch mode with:

   gh run watch $(gh run list --workflow=publish.yml --limit=1 --json databaseId --jq '.[0].databaseId') --exit-status
   

   The agent will be notified when CI completes and should report the result.

If any step fails, stop and explain. Never force-push or skip validation.

Dependency Policy

All dependencies must be pinned to exact versions (no ^ or ~ ranges). The lockfile ensures reproducible installs. When adding or updating any dependency, always use the exact version string (e.g. "3.18.1" not "^3.18.1").

Changelog Standard

The changelog lives in CHANGELOG.md and follows Keep a Changelog conventions.

Heading format

• ## [Unreleased] — accumulates entries between releases
• ## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD — released versions

Structure of a release entry

Each version entry has two parts:

1. Highlights (optional, 1-4 sentences of prose)

Immediately after the version heading, before any ### section. The elevator pitch — what would you tell someone in 30 seconds? Only for significant releases; skip for small patches.

## [1.1.0] - 2026-03-01

QMD now runs on both Node.js and Bun, with up to 2.7x faster reranking
through parallel contexts. GPU auto-detection replaces the unreliable
`gpu: "auto"` with explicit CUDA/Metal/Vulkan probing.

2. Detailed changelog (### Changes and ### Fixes)

### Changes

- Runtime: support Node.js (>=22) alongside Bun. The `qmd` wrapper
  auto-detects a suitable install via PATH. #149 (thanks @igrigorik)
- Performance: parallel embedding & reranking — up to 2.7x faster on
  multi-core machines.

### Fixes

- Prevent VRAM waste from duplicate context creation during concurrent
  `embedBatch` calls. #152 (thanks @jkrems)

Writing guidelines

• Explain the why, not just the what. The changelog is for users.
• Include numbers. "2.7x faster", "17x less memory".
• Group by theme, not by file. "Performance" not "Changes to llm.ts".
• Don't list every commit. Aggregate related changes.
• Credit contributors: end bullets with #NNN (thanks @username) for external PRs. No need to credit the repo owner.

What not to include

• Internal refactors with no user-visible effect
• Dependency bumps (unless fixing a user-facing bug)
• CI/tooling changes (unless affecting the release artifact)
• Test additions (unless validating a fix worth mentioning)

GitHub Release Notes

Each GitHub release includes the full changelog for the minor series back to x.x.0. The scripts/extract-changelog.sh script handles this, and the publish workflow (publish.yml) calls it to populate the GitHub release.

Git Hooks

The pre-push hook (scripts/pre-push) blocks v* tag pushes unless:

1. package.json version matches the tag
2. CHANGELOG.md has a ## [X.Y.Z] - date entry for the version
3. CI passed on GitHub (warns in non-interactive shells, blocks in terminals)

Hooks are installed silently by the context script. They can also be installed manually via skills/release/scripts/install-hooks.sh or automatically via bun install (prepare script).