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This document explains how our automated release process works using Release Please.

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Overview

We use Release Please to automate releases. When you push to master, Release Please automatically:
  1. Parses commit messages for conventional commits
  2. Creates/updates a Release PR with version bumps and changelog
  3. Tags and creates a GitHub release when the Release PR is merged

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How It Works

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1. Write Conventional Commits

Use these prefixes in your commit messages:
  • feat: - New feature (minor version bump)
  • fix: - Bug fix (patch version bump)
  • feat!: or fix!: - Breaking change (major version bump)
  • chore:, docs:, refactor: - No version bump
feat: add user authentication
fix: resolve login button issue
feat!: change API response format

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2. Push to Master

When commits with releasable changes (feat, fix, deps) are pushed to master, Release Please automatically creates or updates a Release PR.

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3. Release PR Lifecycle

Release PRs have status labels:

Pending

autorelease: pending - PR is ready for review/merge

Tagged

autorelease: tagged - PR merged, release tagged

Published

autorelease: published - GitHub release published

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4. Merge Release PR

When you merge the Release PR, Release Please:
  1. Updates CHANGELOG.md and version files
  2. Creates a git tag with the new version
  3. Creates a GitHub Release

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Best Practices

  • Use squash-merge for PRs to maintain clean commit history
  • Write clear commit messages that explain the change’s impact
  • Review Release PRs before merging to ensure correct version bumps

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Manual Version Override

To release a specific version, add Release-As: x.x.x to your commit body: 
git commit --allow-empty -m "chore: release 2.0.0" -m "Release-As: 2.0.0"

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Troubleshooting

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No Release PR Created?

1

Check Releasable Commits

Ensure you have feat:, fix:, or deps: commits
2

Remove Stale Labels

Look for old PRs with autorelease: pending labels
3

Force Rerun

Add release-please:force-run label to trigger manually

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Fix Release Notes

Edit the merged PR body and add: 
BEGIN_COMMIT_OVERRIDE
feat: corrected commit message for release notes
END_COMMIT_OVERRIDE
This allows you to correct commit messages that will appear in the release notes after the fact.

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Resources

Release Please Docs

Official Release Please documentation

Conventional Commits

Learn about conventional commit specification

Customizing Guide

Advanced customization options

Troubleshooting Guide

Common issues and solutions