claude-code-plugin-release
This Claude Code skill automates semantic versioning and release workflows for Claude plugins by incrementing version numbers across eight manifest and configuration files, verifying consistency, building artifacts, creating git tags and commits, and pushing to GitHub. Use it when releasing a new version of a Claude plugin to ensure all version strings stay synchronized and deployment artifacts are properly generated, stopping short of NPM publishing which requires human credentials.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem /tmp/claude-code-plugin-release && cp -r /tmp/claude-code-plugin-release/plugin/skills/version-bump ~/.claude/skills/claude-code-plugin-releaseSKILL.md
# Version Bump & Release Workflow
**IMPORTANT:** Plan and write detailed release notes before starting.
**CRITICAL:** Commit EVERYTHING (including build artifacts). At the end of this workflow, NOTHING should be left uncommitted or unpushed. Run `git status` at the end to verify.
## Preparation
1. **Analyze**: Determine if the change is **PATCH** (bug fixes), **MINOR** (features), or **MAJOR** (breaking).
2. **Environment**: Identify repository owner/name from `git remote -v`.
3. **Paths — every file that carries the version string**:
- `package.json` — **the npm/npx-published version** (`npx claude-mem@X.Y.Z` resolves from this)
- `plugin/package.json` — bundled plugin runtime deps
- `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json` — version inside `plugins[0].version`
- `.claude-plugin/plugin.json` — top-level Claude-plugin manifest
- `plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json` — bundled Claude-plugin manifest
- `.codex-plugin/plugin.json` — Codex-plugin manifest
- `plugin/.codex-plugin/plugin.json` — bundled Codex-plugin manifest
- `openclaw/openclaw.plugin.json` — OpenClaw plugin manifest
Verify coverage before editing: `git grep -l "\"version\": \"<OLD>\""` should list all eight. If a new manifest has been added since this doc was last updated, update this list.
## Workflow
1. **Update**: Increment the version string in every path above. Do NOT touch `CHANGELOG.md` — it's regenerated.
2. **Verify**: `git grep -n "\"version\": \"<NEW>\""` — confirm all eight files match. `git grep -n "\"version\": \"<OLD>\""` — should return zero hits.
3. **Build and sync**: `npm run build-and-sync` to regenerate artifacts, sync the local marketplace copy, restart the worker, and clear the queue. Do not use plain `npm run build` for release validation because it can leave the local marketplace/worker out of sync.
4. **Commit**: `git add -A && git commit -m "chore: bump version to X.Y.Z"`.
5. **Tag**: `git tag -a vX.Y.Z -m "Version X.Y.Z"`.
6. **Push**: `git push origin main && git push origin vX.Y.Z`.
7. **Publish to npm — HAND OFF TO HUMAN.** The human maintainer raised npm
security, so publishing now requires credentials/2FA only they can provide.
The agent MUST NOT run `npm publish` (or `np` / `npm run release:*`, which
also publish) itself. **Hand off NPM publishing to the human now:** stop and
tell them the version is committed, tagged, and pushed, and that they must
publish to npm to make `npx claude-mem@X.Y.Z` resolve. Give them the command:
```bash
npm publish # run by the HUMAN — the prepublishOnly script rebuilds the package
```
Wait for the human to confirm they published, then verify it landed:
```bash
npm view claude-mem@X.Y.Z version # should print X.Y.Z
```
If the publish build touched local artifacts, run `npm run build-and-sync` again afterward.
8. **GitHub release**: `gh release create vX.Y.Z --title "vX.Y.Z" --notes "RELEASE_NOTES"`.
9. **Changelog**: Regenerate via the project's changelog script:
```bash
npm run changelog:generate
```
(Runs `node scripts/generate-changelog.js`, which pulls releases from the GitHub API and rewrites `CHANGELOG.md`.)
10. **Sync changelog**: Commit and push the updated `CHANGELOG.md`.
11. **Notify**: Run the Discord notification from `~/Scripts/claude-mem/`, where the `.env` with Discord webhook details lives:
```bash
cd ~/Scripts/claude-mem/ && npm run discord:notify vX.Y.Z
```
Do this even when the release worktree does not have a local `.env`.
12. **Finalize**: `git status` — working tree must be clean.
## Checklist
- [ ] All eight config files have matching versions
- [ ] `git grep` for old version returns zero hits
- [ ] `npm run build-and-sync` succeeded
- [ ] Git tag created and pushed
- [ ] **NPM publishing handed off to the human** (agent does NOT run `npm publish` — human raised security); once they publish, `npm view claude-mem@X.Y.Z version` confirms it (so `npx claude-mem@X.Y.Z` resolves)
- [ ] GitHub release created with notes
- [ ] `CHANGELOG.md` updated and pushed
- [ ] Discord notification run from `~/Scripts/claude-mem/`
- [ ] `git status` shows clean treeWatch a pull request or review cycle until it is ready to merge. Use when asked to babysit, monitor, or keep checking PR comments, reviews, and CI until all actionable issues are resolved.
Audit a design against Dieter Rams' ten "Good design is..." principles, then hand off a /make-plan prompt for one of three outcomes — new design, refine design, or redesign. Use when the user says "audit this design", "design review", "check this UI against Rams", "is this UI good", "critique this design", "design audit", or asks for a critique that should lead to a plan.
Execute a phased implementation plan using subagents. Use when asked to execute, run, or carry out a plan — especially one created by make-plan.
Explain how claude-mem captures observations, when memory injection kicks in, and where data lives. Use when the user asks "how does claude-mem work?" or "what is this thing doing?".
Build and query AI-powered knowledge bases from claude-mem observations. Use when users want to create focused "brains" from their observation history, ask questions about past work patterns, or compile expertise on specific topics.
Prime a codebase by reading every source file in full. Use when starting work on a new or unfamiliar project, or when the user asks to "learn the codebase", "read the codebase", "prime", or "get up to speed".
Create a detailed, phased implementation plan with documentation discovery. Use when asked to plan a feature, task, or multi-step implementation — especially before executing with do.