NPM Release Workflow

Overview

Standardized release process for cc-devflow npm package ensuring consistent versioning, changelog maintenance, and safe publishing.

Core Principle: Atomic release - all version markers (package.json, CHANGELOG.md, git tag) must stay in sync.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• ✅ Ready to release a new version of cc-devflow
• ✅ All changes committed and pushed
• ✅ On main branch with clean working directory
• ✅ Need to publish to npm registry

Don't use when:

• ❌ Working directory has uncommitted changes
• ❌ Not on main branch
• ❌ Pre-release/beta versions (needs adaptation)

Release Types

Follow Semantic Versioning:

Type	Version Change	When
Patch	2.4.3 → 2.4.4	Bug fixes, minor improvements
Minor	2.4.4 → 2.5.0	New features, backward compatible
Major	2.5.0 → 3.0.0	Breaking changes

Complete Workflow

Phase 1: Pre-Release Checks

# 1. Verify git status
git status
# MUST show: "On branch main", "working tree clean"

# 2. Check current version
cat package.json | grep version
# e.g., "version": "2.4.3"

# 3. Review recent changes
git log --oneline -10

STOP if:

• Not on main branch
• Uncommitted changes exist
• Unpushed commits exist

Phase 2: Version Updates

Step 1: Update CHANGELOG.md

Add new version section at the top (after ---):

## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD

### 🎯 Release Title

Brief description of main changes.

#### Changed / Added / Fixed
- Bullet point 1
- Bullet point 2

#### Benefits
- ✅ Benefit 1
- ✅ Benefit 2

Step 2: Update package.json

# Manually edit or use npm version
npm version patch --no-git-tag-version  # For patch release
npm version minor --no-git-tag-version  # For minor release
npm version major --no-git-tag-version  # For major release

Or edit directly:

{
  "version": "X.Y.Z"
}

Phase 3: Git Operations

Step 1: Create Release Commit

git add CHANGELOG.md package.json

git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
chore(release): bump version to X.Y.Z

Release X.Y.Z - [Brief title]

主要变更：
- 变更点 1
- 变更点 2

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
EOF
)"

Step 2: Create Annotated Tag

git tag -a vX.Y.Z -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
Release vX.Y.Z - [Brief title]

🎯 Main changes:
- Change 1
- Change 2

Benefits:
✅ Benefit 1
✅ Benefit 2

Full changelog: https://github.com/Dimon94/cc-devflow/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md
EOF
)"

Step 3: Verify

# Check commit
git log --oneline -1

# Check tag
git tag -l "v2.4.*" | tail -3

# Verify tag annotation
git show vX.Y.Z

Phase 4: Publish

Step 1: Push to GitHub

# Push commits
git push origin main

# Push tags
git push origin vX.Y.Z
# Or push all tags: git push origin --tags

Step 2: Create GitHub Release (Optional)

Via GitHub CLI:

gh release create vX.Y.Z \
  --title "vX.Y.Z - [Title]" \
  --notes-file <(sed -n '/## \[X.Y.Z\]/,/## \[/p' CHANGELOG.md | head -n -1)

Or manually at: https://github.com/Dimon94/cc-devflow/releases/new

Step 3: Publish to npm

# Test publish first (dry-run)
npm publish --dry-run

# Actual publish
npm publish

# Verify publication
npm view cc-devflow version

Quick Reference

Step	Command	Purpose
Check status	git status	Verify clean state
Check version	grep version package.json	Current version
Bump version	Edit package.json	Update version number
Update changelog	Edit CHANGELOG.md	Document changes
Create commit	git commit -m "chore(release): ..."	Commit version bump
Create tag	git tag -a vX.Y.Z -m "..."	Tag release
Push commits	git push origin main	Push to GitHub
Push tags	git push origin vX.Y.Z	Push tag to GitHub
Publish npm	npm publish	Publish to registry

Common Mistakes

❌ Mistake 1: Forgetting to Update CHANGELOG.md

Problem: Version bumped but no changelog entry

Fix: Always update CHANGELOG.md BEFORE committing

❌ Mistake 2: Inconsistent Version Numbers

Problem: package.json shows 2.4.4 but CHANGELOG.md shows 2.4.3

Fix: Double-check all version numbers match before committing

❌ Mistake 3: Pushing Tag Before Commit

Problem: Tag points to wrong commit

Fix: Always commit first, then tag, then push both together

❌ Mistake 4: Not Testing npm publish

Problem: Published package is broken

Fix: Run npm publish --dry-run first to catch issues

❌ Mistake 5: Network Timeout During Push

Problem: Failed to connect to github.com port 443

Fix:

# Option 1: Retry after network stabilizes
git push origin main
git push origin vX.Y.Z

# Option 2: Switch to SSH (if HTTPS blocked)
git remote set-url origin git@github.com:Dimon94/cc-devflow.git
git push origin main

Network Troubleshooting

If git push fails with timeout:

1. Check network connectivity:

   curl -I https://github.com 2>&1 | head -5

2. Try SSH instead of HTTPS:

   git remote -v  # Check current remote URL
   git remote set-url origin git@github.com:Dimon94/cc-devflow.git

3. If SSH fails (publickey error):

   • Check SSH key: ssh -T git@github.com
   • Add SSH key to GitHub: https://github.com/settings/keys
   • Or stay with HTTPS and retry later

4. Commits and tags are safe locally:

   • They won't be lost
   • Push when network is available

Post-Release Verification

After successful release:

# 1. Verify GitHub tag
open https://github.com/Dimon94/cc-devflow/tags

# 2. Verify npm package
npm view cc-devflow version
npm view cc-devflow time

# 3. Test installation
npm install -g cc-devflow@latest
cc-devflow --version  # Should show new version

Rollback (If Needed)

If published version has critical bugs:

# 1. Unpublish from npm (within 72 hours)
npm unpublish cc-devflow@X.Y.Z

# 2. Delete git tag locally and remotely
git tag -d vX.Y.Z
git push origin :refs/tags/vX.Y.Z

# 3. Revert commit
git revert HEAD

# 4. Fix bug and re-release with new patch version

Note: npm unpublish is only available within 72 hours of publication. After that, publish a new patch version instead.

Real-World Impact

Following this workflow ensures:

• ✅ Consistency: All version markers stay in sync
• ✅ Traceability: Clear changelog and git history
• ✅ Safety: Dry-run catches issues before publishing
• ✅ Recoverability: Can rollback if needed
• ✅ Automation-ready: Scriptable workflow for future CI/CD

---

[PROTOCOL]: 变更时更新此头部，然后检查 CLAUDE.md