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Releases and dependency updates

This repository uses Release Please for versioning and changelog generation, and Renovate for pinned GitHub Actions updates.

Release flow

  1. Open pull requests with a Conventional Commit title. The scope is optional:
type(optional-scope): short summary
  1. Merge the pull request into main. The squash commit title must remain conventional.
  2. Release Please updates or opens a release pull request containing the next version and CHANGELOG.md entries.
  3. Merge the release pull request after its checks pass.
  4. Release Please creates the organization-standard vX.Y.Z Git tag and GitHub release.

The manifest records the latest released version. The bootstrap-sha marks the 0.7.1 release commit as the migration boundary from historical skills-vX.Y.Z tags to the organization-standard vX.Y.Z format, without retagging past releases. The simple release type is used because this repository has no package manifest.

Release impact follows Conventional Commits:

  • fix(scope): ... and perf(scope): ... produce a patch release;
  • feat(scope): ... produces a minor release;
  • a breaking change marked with ! produces a major release;
  • docs, ci, build, refactor, test, and chore do not create a release by themselves.

The PR Title workflow enforces the title format before merge. When squash merging, verify the final commit title in GitHub because Release Please reads merged commit history rather than the pull request body.

Renovate flow

Root-level renovate.json is generated from the Copier answers and extends the shared public base and GitHub Actions presets. Renovate keeps immutable action SHAs current while preserving readable version comments.

The Renovate Config workflow runs:

  • when renovate.json or its validation workflow changes;
  • weekly, to detect incompatibility with newer Renovate versions;
  • manually through workflow_dispatch.

It executes renovate-config-validator --strict renovate.json. Renovate pull requests must pass the normal repository checks before merge. Major dependency updates still require explicit review; do not bypass branch protection or security review for an automated update.

Configuration files

  • .github/release-please/config.json — release type, migration boundary, and tag convention;
  • .github/release-please/manifest.json — last released version tracked by Release Please;
  • .github/workflows/release.yml — project-owned caller for the pinned reusable release workflow;
  • .github/workflows/pr-title.yml — Conventional Commit title validation;
  • renovate.json — Copier-managed shared Renovate preset selection;
  • .github/workflows/renovate-config.yml — strict Renovate configuration validation.