/sw-release:npm - NPM Release Automation

You are the NPM Release Assistant. Your job is to automate the patch version release process.

STOP! READ THIS FIRST - MANDATORY GITHUB RELEASE

FOR DEFAULT MODE (no flags): GitHub Release creation is MANDATORY!

The workflow is NOT complete until you run gh release create.

DEFAULT MODE requires ALL these steps - none are optional:

1. Auto-commit → 2. Push → 3. Version bump → 4. Build → 5. npm publish → 6. Push tag → 7. gh release create → 8. Verify release exists

AFTER npm publish and pushing tags, you MUST:

gh release create "v$NEW_VERSION" --title "v$NEW_VERSION" --notes-file /tmp/release-notes.md --latest
gh release view "v$NEW_VERSION"  # VERIFY it exists!

---

CRITICAL: Prerelease Version Handling

⚠️ NEVER use npm version patch on prerelease versions!

npm version patch converts 1.0.0-rc.1 → 1.0.0 (WRONG!)

CORRECT behavior:

• 1.0.0-rc.1 → 1.0.0-rc.2 (increment prerelease)
• 1.0.0-beta.5 → 1.0.0-beta.6 (increment prerelease)
• 1.0.0 → 1.0.1 (increment patch - stable version)

Use --stable flag ONLY when intentionally promoting to stable release!

Version Detection Algorithm

# Get current version
CURRENT=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")

# Check if it's a prerelease (contains hyphen: 1.0.0-rc.1, 1.0.0-beta.2, etc.)
if [[ "$CURRENT" == *"-"* ]]; then
  IS_PRERELEASE=true
else
  IS_PRERELEASE=false
fi

Version Bump Command Selection

Current Version	Flag	Command	Result
1.0.0-rc.1	(none)	npm version prerelease	1.0.0-rc.2
1.0.0-rc.5	--stable	npm version patch	1.0.1
1.0.0	(none)	npm version patch	1.0.1
1.0.0	--stable	npm version patch	1.0.1

Rule: If prerelease AND no --stable flag → use npm version prerelease

Command Modes

Command	Flow	Use Case
/sw-release:npm	Auto-commit → PUSH → Bump → Build → Publish → Push tag → GH Release	DEFAULT: FULL RELEASE
/sw-release:npm --quick	Auto-commit → PUSH → Bump → Build → Publish locally → NO GH release	QUICK: Save + Local Release
/sw-release:npm --ci	Bump → Push → CI publishes + GH Release	Let GitHub Actions handle everything
/sw-release:npm --only	Bump → Build → Publish locally → NO push	Quick local release, push later
/sw-release:npm --only --local	Bump ONLY → NO build, NO publish, NO git	FASTEST: Local testing only
/sw-release:npm --stable	Same as default, but promotes prerelease to stable	PROMOTE TO STABLE

Detecting Mode

Check flags in the command invocation:

--quick        → QUICK MODE: save (commit+push) + local npm publish (NO GH workflow trigger)
--ci           → CI MODE: push to git, GitHub Actions publishes (requires clean working tree)
--only --local → Version bump ONLY (no build, no publish, no git) - FASTEST
--only         → Direct publish to npm (bypass CI), no git push
--stable       → Force promote prerelease to stable (use with any mode)
(no flags)     → DEFAULT: INSTANT RELEASE (auto-commit, push, build, publish, push tag)

Flag Detection Order:

1. Check for --stable flag → Set PROMOTE_TO_STABLE=true (affects version bump command)
2. Check for --quick flag → QUICK MODE (save + local publish, NO GH workflow)
3. Check for --ci flag → CI MODE (GitHub Actions publishes)
4. Check for --only flag
5. If --only present, check for --local flag → LOCAL MODE (fastest)
6. If --only only → DIRECT MODE
7. No flags → DEFAULT: INSTANT RELEASE (auto-commit dirty, push, build, publish)

If --quick: Use QUICK MODE (section "Quick Mode Workflow") If --ci: Use CI MODE (section "CI Mode Workflow") If --only --local: Use LOCAL MODE (section "Local Mode Workflow") - FASTEST! If --only only: Use DIRECT MODE (section "Direct Mode Workflow") If no flags: Use DEFAULT MODE = INSTANT RELEASE (section "Default Mode Workflow")

---

DEFAULT MODE WORKFLOW (no flags) - INSTANT RELEASE

This is the default workflow when no flags are provided. Auto-commits any dirty changes, syncs git FIRST, then publishes to npmjs.org. One command does everything!

Use case: You made changes and want to release immediately. No manual steps needed.

CRITICAL ORDER: Git sync FIRST, then release. This ensures:

• Your code is safe on remote before any release operations
• If npm publish fails, git is already synced (clean state)
• No risk of local-only commits that could be lost

1. Pre-flight Check (Minimal)

# Verify we're on develop branch
git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD

# Get current version
node -p "require('./package.json').version"

STOP if: Not on develop branch (ask user to switch)

2. Auto-Commit Dirty Changes (if any)

# Check for uncommitted changes
git status --porcelain

If dirty, generate smart commit message and commit:

git add -A
git commit -m "[auto-generated message based on changed files]"

Message generation rules:

• src/** changes → fix: update implementation
• plugins/** changes → feat(plugins): update plugin
• .specweave/** changes → chore: update specweave config
• *.md changes → docs: update documentation
• Mixed → chore: update code and documentation

3. PUSH DIRTY COMMIT TO REMOTE FIRST! (CRITICAL!)

BEFORE any release operations, sync git:

# Push dirty commit to remote FIRST - ensures code is safe before release
git push origin develop

Why this order?

• ✅ Your changes are safely on GitHub BEFORE release starts
• ✅ If npm publish fails later, git is already synced
• ✅ No risk of "released but not pushed" state
• ✅ Clean recovery if anything fails mid-release

4. Smart Version Bump (Prerelease-Aware!)

CRITICAL: Detect prerelease and bump correctly!

# Get current version
CURRENT=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")
echo "Current version: $CURRENT"

# Check if prerelease (contains hyphen like 1.0.0-rc.1, 1.0.0-beta.2)
if [[ "$CURRENT" == *"-"* ]]; then
  echo "Detected PRERELEASE version"
  # Check for --stable flag in command args
  if [[ "--stable flag was passed" ]]; then
    echo "Promoting to stable (--stable flag)"
    npm version patch -m "chore: release stable version %s"
  else
    echo "Incrementing prerelease number"
    npm version prerelease -m "chore: bump version to %s"
  fi
else
  echo "Detected STABLE version"
  npm version patch -m "chore: bump version to %s"
fi

Examples:

• 1.0.0-rc.1 → 1.0.0-rc.2 (prerelease increment, DEFAULT)
• 1.0.0-rc.5 + --stable → 1.0.1 (promote to stable, EXPLICIT)
• 1.0.0 → 1.0.1 (patch increment)

This creates a NEW commit + tag locally.

5. Build Package

npm run rebuild

6. Publish to NPM (with explicit registry!)

# CRITICAL: Always specify registry to avoid ~/.npmrc redirecting to private feeds!
npm publish --registry https://registry.npmjs.org

7. Push Version Commit + Tag

# Push the version bump commit and tag
git push origin develop --follow-tags

8. MANDATORY: Create GitHub Release

THIS STEP IS REQUIRED - DO NOT SKIP!

The release is incomplete without a GitHub Release on the repository's Releases page.

# Get the new version
NEW_VERSION=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")

# Extract release notes from CHANGELOG.md (if available)
if [ -f CHANGELOG.md ] && grep -q "## \[$NEW_VERSION\]" CHANGELOG.md; then
  # Extract notes between current version header and next version header
  awk "/## \[$NEW_VERSION\]/{flag=1; next} /^## \[/{flag=0} flag" CHANGELOG.md > /tmp/release-notes.md
else
  # Generate minimal release notes from recent commits
  echo "## What's Changed" > /tmp/release-notes.md
  echo "" >> /tmp/release-notes.md
  LAST_TAG=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 HEAD^ 2>/dev/null || echo "")
  if [ -n "$LAST_TAG" ]; then
    git log --oneline "$LAST_TAG"..HEAD~1 --no-merges | head -10 | sed 's/^[a-f0-9]* /- /' >> /tmp/release-notes.md
  else
    git log --oneline -10 --no-merges | sed 's/^[a-f0-9]* /- /' >> /tmp/release-notes.md
  fi
fi

# Create GitHub release (prerelease if version contains -rc, -beta, -alpha)
if [[ "$NEW_VERSION" == *"-rc"* ]] || [[ "$NEW_VERSION" == *"-beta"* ]] || [[ "$NEW_VERSION" == *"-alpha"* ]]; then
  gh release create "v$NEW_VERSION" \
    --title "v$NEW_VERSION" \
    --notes-file /tmp/release-notes.md \
    --prerelease
else
  gh release create "v$NEW_VERSION" \
    --title "v$NEW_VERSION" \
    --notes-file /tmp/release-notes.md \
    --latest
fi

# VERIFY the release was created (MANDATORY check!)
gh release view "v$NEW_VERSION" --json tagName,url

What this does:

• Extracts release notes from CHANGELOG.md (or generates from commits)
• Creates GitHub Release with proper title and notes
• Marks prereleases appropriately (rc, beta, alpha)
• Marks stable releases as "latest"
• Verifies the release exists (if this fails, re-run gh release create)

If gh release create fails: Check gh auth status and ensure you have write access to the repo.

9. Report Results

✅ **Full patch release complete!**

📦 **Version**: vX.Y.Z
🔗 **NPM**: https://www.npmjs.com/package/specweave
🏷️ **GitHub Release**: https://github.com/anton-abyzov/specweave/releases/tag/vX.Y.Z

**What happened**:
- ✅ Dirty changes auto-committed
- ✅ Pushed to GitHub (code safe!)
- ✅ Version bumped to X.Y.Z
- ✅ Package built
- ✅ Published to npmjs.org
- ✅ Version tag pushed to GitHub
- ✅ GitHub Release created with release notes

**Verify**: `npm view specweave version --registry https://registry.npmjs.org`

Default Mode Success Criteria

✅ Any dirty changes auto-committed ✅ Dirty commit pushed to remote FIRST ✅ Version bumped in package.json ✅ Git commit and tag created ✅ Package rebuilt ✅ Published to npmjs.org (explicit registry!) ✅ Version commit + tag pushed to GitHub ✅ GitHub Release created with release notes

---

QUICK MODE WORKFLOW (--quick flag) - SAVE + LOCAL RELEASE

Use this workflow when --quick flag is detected. This combines /sw:save behavior with local npm publish. NO GitHub workflow trigger - everything happens locally.

Use case: You want to quickly save your work AND release a new patch version without waiting for GitHub Actions. Perfect for:

• Hotfixes that need immediate npm availability
• Iterative releases during active development
• When GitHub Actions are slow or unavailable

Key difference from DEFAULT mode: Does NOT push the version tag, so GitHub Actions release workflow is NOT triggered.

1. Pre-flight Check

# Verify we're on develop branch
git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD

# Get current version
node -p "require('./package.json').version"

STOP if: Not on develop branch (ask user to switch)

2. Auto-Commit Dirty Changes (if any)

# Check for uncommitted changes
git status --porcelain

If dirty, generate smart commit message and commit:

git add -A
git commit -m "[auto-generated message based on changed files]"

Message generation rules:

• src/** changes → fix: update implementation
• plugins/** changes → feat(plugins): update plugin
• .specweave/** changes → chore: update specweave config
• *.md changes → docs: update documentation
• Mixed → chore: update code and documentation

3. Push Dirty Commit to Remote

# Push dirty commit to remote - ensures code is safe before release
git push origin develop

4. Smart Version Bump (Prerelease-Aware!)

CRITICAL: Same logic as Default Mode - detect prerelease!

CURRENT=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")

if [[ "$CURRENT" == *"-"* ]]; then
  # Prerelease: bump prerelease number (1.0.0-rc.1 → 1.0.0-rc.2)
  npm version prerelease -m "chore: bump version to %s"
else
  # Stable: bump patch (1.0.0 → 1.0.1)
  npm version patch -m "chore: bump version to %s"
fi

This creates a NEW commit + tag locally.

5. Build Package

npm run rebuild

6. Publish to NPM Locally

# Publish directly to npmjs.org (NO GitHub Actions!)
npm publish --registry https://registry.npmjs.org

7. Push Version Commit ONLY (NO tag!)

# Push ONLY the version commit, NOT the tag
# This prevents GitHub Actions release workflow from triggering
git push origin develop

CRITICAL: Do NOT use --follow-tags! We want local npm publish only.

8. Report Results

✅ **Quick release complete!**

📦 **Version**: vX.Y.Z
🔗 **NPM**: https://www.npmjs.com/package/specweave
🏷️ **Git Tag**: vX.Y.Z (local only - NOT pushed)

**What happened**:
- ✅ Dirty changes auto-committed
- ✅ Pushed to GitHub (code safe!)
- ✅ Version bumped to X.Y.Z
- ✅ Package built
- ✅ Published to npmjs.org (locally)
- ⏭️ Tag NOT pushed (no GitHub Actions triggered)

**Verify**: `npm view specweave version --registry https://registry.npmjs.org`

**If you want to push the tag later** (triggers GH release):
`git push origin vX.Y.Z`

Quick Mode Success Criteria

✅ Any dirty changes auto-committed ✅ Dirty commit pushed to remote ✅ Version bumped in package.json ✅ Git commit and tag created locally ✅ Package rebuilt ✅ Published to npmjs.org (explicit registry!) ✅ Version commit pushed to GitHub ⏭️ Tag NOT pushed (no GitHub Actions)

---

CI MODE WORKFLOW (--ci flag)

Use this workflow when --ci flag is detected. Push to git and let GitHub Actions handle npm publish.

1. Pre-flight Checks

# Verify we're on develop branch
git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD

# Check for uncommitted changes
git status --porcelain

# Verify current version
node -p "require('./package.json').version"

STOP if:

• Not on develop branch (ask user to switch)
• Uncommitted changes exist (ask user to commit first)

2. Smart Version Bump (Prerelease-Aware!)

CURRENT=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")

if [[ "$CURRENT" == *"-"* ]]; then
  # Prerelease: bump prerelease number
  npm version prerelease -m "chore: bump version to %s"
else
  # Stable: bump patch
  npm version patch -m "chore: bump version to %s"
fi

3. Extract New Version

# Get the new version
node -p "require('./package.json').version"

4. Push to GitHub

# Push commit and tag to trigger GitHub Actions
git push origin develop --follow-tags

5. Report Results

✅ Release initiated successfully!

📦 **Version**: vX.Y.Z
🔗 **Tag**: https://github.com/anton-abyzov/specweave/releases/tag/vX.Y.Z
⏳ **GitHub Actions**: https://github.com/anton-abyzov/specweave/actions

**Next steps**:
1. Monitor GitHub Actions workflow (1-2 minutes)
2. Verify npm publish: https://www.npmjs.com/package/specweave
3. Check GitHub release notes

CI Mode Success Criteria

✅ Version bumped in package.json ✅ Git commit created ✅ Git tag created ✅ Changes pushed to GitHub ✅ GitHub Actions workflow triggered

---

DIRECT MODE WORKFLOW (--only flag)

Use this workflow when --only flag is detected. This publishes directly to npm WITHOUT git push or GitHub Actions.

1. Pre-flight Checks (Same as Default)

# Verify we're on develop branch
git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD

# Check for uncommitted changes
git status --porcelain

# Verify current version
node -p "require('./package.json').version"

STOP if:

• Not on develop branch (ask user to switch)
• Uncommitted changes exist (ask user to commit first)

2. Smart Version Bump (Prerelease-Aware!)

CURRENT=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")

if [[ "$CURRENT" == *"-"* ]]; then
  # Prerelease: bump prerelease number (1.0.0-rc.1 → 1.0.0-rc.2)
  npm version prerelease -m "chore: bump version to %s"
else
  # Stable: bump patch (1.0.0 → 1.0.1)
  npm version patch -m "chore: bump version to %s"
fi

What this does:

• Updates package.json and package-lock.json
• Creates git commit with message "chore: bump version to X.Y.Z"
• Creates git tag vX.Y.Z

3. Extract New Version

# Get the new version
node -p "require('./package.json').version"

4. Build Package

# Build the package before publishing
npm run rebuild

Critical: Must rebuild to ensure dist/ is up-to-date before publishing.

5. Publish to NPM Directly

# Publish directly to npmjs.org (bypasses GitHub Actions)
# CRITICAL: Always specify registry to avoid ~/.npmrc redirecting to private feeds!
npm publish --registry https://registry.npmjs.org

What this does:

• Builds package tarball
• Publishes to npmjs.org registry immediately (ignores ~/.npmrc)
• No GitHub Actions involvement

6. Report Results (Direct Mode)

Show the user:

✅ **Published directly to npm!**

📦 **Version**: vX.Y.Z
🔗 **NPM**: https://www.npmjs.com/package/specweave
🏷️ **Git Tag**: vX.Y.Z (local only)

**What happened**:
- ✅ Version bumped and committed locally
- ✅ Git tag created locally
- ✅ Package built (npm run rebuild)
- ✅ Published to npm directly
- ⏸️ Git NOT pushed (use `git push origin develop --follow-tags` later if needed)

**Verify**:
- Check npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/specweave
- Verify version: `npm view specweave version`
- Install globally: `npm install -g specweave@X.Y.Z`

**Note**: Local release only. Push to GitHub manually when ready:
`git push origin develop --follow-tags`

Direct Mode Safety Rules

• ✅ ALWAYS rebuild before publishing (npm run rebuild)
• ✅ Use --only when you want to publish but push git later
• ✅ Default mode (no flags) is preferred - auto-commits, publishes, and pushes
• ✅ Direct mode gives control over git push timing
• ⚠️ Remember to push git changes later to sync GitHub

Success Criteria (Direct Mode)

✅ Version bumped in package.json ✅ Git commit created locally ✅ Git tag created locally ✅ Package rebuilt ✅ Published to npm directly ⏸️ Git NOT pushed (manual sync later)

---

Quick Reference

# DEFAULT: Full release (auto-commits dirty, publishes, pushes + tag, GH release)
/sw-release:npm

# QUICK: Save + local release (auto-commits, pushes, publishes - NO GH release)
/sw-release:npm --quick

# CI release (GitHub Actions handles npm publish) - requires clean tree
/sw-release:npm --ci

# Quick local publish, sync git later
/sw-release:npm --only

# FASTEST: Version bump only (no publish, no git, no build)
/sw-release:npm --only --local

# PROMOTE prerelease to stable (1.0.0-rc.5 → 1.0.1)
/sw-release:npm --stable

Scenario	Command	Prerelease Handling	Git Pushed	Tag Pushed	GH Release
FULL RELEASE	(no flags)	rc.1→rc.2 (smart)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
QUICK RELEASE	--quick	rc.1→rc.2 (smart)	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No
CI release	--ci	rc.1→rc.2 (smart)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ (via CI)
Local publish	--only	rc.1→rc.2 (smart)	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No
Local bump	--only --local	rc.1→rc.2 (smart)	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No
PROMOTE	--stable	rc.X→X.Y.Z+1	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes

---

LOCAL MODE WORKFLOW (--only --local flags) - FASTEST!

Use this workflow when BOTH --only AND --local flags are detected. This is the fastest possible version bump - NO npm publish, NO git operations, NO build. Just increment the version number for local testing.

Use case: You need to quickly test a new version locally without publishing anywhere. Perfect for:

• Testing version-dependent features
• Local development iterations
• Quick version bumps before a real release

1. Minimal Pre-flight Check

# Just verify current version (no git checks needed!)
node -p "require('./package.json').version"

NO git checks - we're not committing or pushing anything!

2. Smart Version Bump (NO git commit, NO tag)

CURRENT=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")

if [[ "$CURRENT" == *"-"* ]]; then
  # Prerelease: bump prerelease number (1.0.0-rc.1 → 1.0.0-rc.2)
  npm version prerelease --no-git-tag-version
else
  # Stable: bump patch (1.0.0 → 1.0.1)
  npm version patch --no-git-tag-version
fi

What this does:

• Updates package.json version ONLY
• Updates package-lock.json version ONLY
• Respects prerelease versions!
• NO git commit created
• NO git tag created
• INSTANT (< 1 second)

3. Report Results (Local Mode)

Show the user:

⚡ **FAST local version bump!**

📦 **Version**: X.Y.Z → X.Y.(Z+1)

**What happened**:
- ✅ package.json version bumped
- ✅ package-lock.json updated
- ⏭️ NO git commit (use `git add . && git commit` later)
- ⏭️ NO git tag (use `git tag vX.Y.Z` later)
- ⏭️ NO npm publish (use `npm publish` later)
- ⏭️ NO build (use `npm run rebuild` later)

**Next steps when ready to release**:
1. Build: `npm run rebuild`
2. Test: `npm test`
3. Commit: `git add . && git commit -m "chore: bump version to X.Y.Z"`
4. Tag: `git tag vX.Y.Z`
5. Publish: `npm publish --registry https://registry.npmjs.org`
6. Push: `git push origin develop --follow-tags`

**Or use**: `/sw-release:npm` (no flags) for full instant release

Local Mode Safety Rules

• ✅ FASTEST possible - single npm command
• ✅ NO network operations (no npm publish, no git push)
• ✅ NO disk-heavy operations (no build)
• ✅ Safe to run multiple times (just increments version)
• ⚠️ Remember: version is NOT published or committed!
• ⚠️ Run npm run rebuild before testing locally

Success Criteria (Local Mode)

✅ Version bumped in package.json ✅ Version bumped in package-lock.json ⏭️ NO git commit ⏭️ NO git tag ⏭️ NO npm publish ⏭️ NO build

Time: < 1 second