release-manager

# Release Manager

**Tier:** POWERFUL  
**Category:** Engineering  
**Domain:** Software Release Management & DevOps

## Overview

The Release Manager skill provides comprehensive tools and knowledge for managing software releases end-to-end. From parsing conventional commits to generating changelogs, determining version bumps, and orchestrating release processes, this skill ensures reliable, predictable, and well-documented software releases.

## Core Capabilities

- **Automated Changelog Generation** from git history using conventional commits
- **Semantic Version Bumping** based on commit analysis and breaking changes
- **Release Readiness Assessment** with comprehensive checklists and validation
- **Release Planning & Coordination** with stakeholder communication templates
- **Rollback Planning** with automated recovery procedures
- **Hotfix Management** for emergency releases
- **Feature Flag Integration** for progressive rollouts

## Key Components

### Scripts

1. **changelog_generator.py** - Parses git logs and generates structured changelogs
2. **version_bumper.py** - Determines correct version bumps from conventional commits
3. **release_planner.py** - Assesses release readiness and generates coordination plans

### Documentation

- Comprehensive release management methodology
- Conventional commits specification and examples
- Release workflow comparisons (Git Flow, Trunk-based, GitHub Flow)
- Hotfix procedures and emergency response protocols

## Release Management Methodology

### Semantic Versioning (SemVer)

Semantic Versioning follows the MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH format where:

- **MAJOR** version when you make incompatible API changes
- **MINOR** version when you add functionality in a backwards compatible manner  
- **PATCH** version when you make backwards compatible bug fixes

#### Pre-release Versions

Pre-release versions are denoted by appending a hyphen and identifiers:
- `1.0.0-alpha.1` - Alpha releases for early testing
- `1.0.0-beta.2` - Beta rel...

# Release Manager

A comprehensive release management toolkit for automating changelog generation, version bumping, and release planning based on conventional commits and industry best practices.

## Overview

The Release Manager skill provides three powerful Python scripts and comprehensive documentation for managing software releases:

1. **changelog_generator.py** - Generate structured changelogs from git history
2. **version_bumper.py** - Determine correct semantic version bumps
3. **release_planner.py** - Assess release readiness and generate coordination plans

## Quick Start

### Prerequisites

- Python 3.7+
- Git repository with conventional commit messages
- No external dependencies required (uses only Python standard library)

### Basic Usage

```bash
# Generate changelog from recent commits
git log --oneline --since="1 month ago" | python changelog_generator.py

# Determine version bump from commits since last tag  
git log --oneline $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)..HEAD | python version_bumper.py -c "1.2.3"

# Assess release readiness
python release_planner.py --input assets/sample_release_plan.json
```

## Scripts Reference

### changelog_generator.py

Parses conventional commits and generates structured changelogs in multiple formats.

**Input Options:**
- Git log text (oneline or full format)
- JSON array of commits
- Stdin or file input

**Output Formats:**
- Markdown (Keep a Changelog format)
- JSON structured data
- Both with release statistics

```bash
# From git log (recommended)
git log --oneline --since="last release" | python changelog_generator.py \
  --version "2.1.0" \
  --date "2024-01-15" \
  --base-url "https://github.com/yourorg/yourrepo"

# From JSON file
python changelog_generator.py \
  --input assets/sample_commits.json \
  --input-format json \
  --format both \
  --summary

# With custom output
git log --format="%h %s" v1.0.0..HEAD | python changelog_generator.py \
  --version "1.1.0" \
  --output CHANGELOG_DRAFT.md
```

**Featu...