Setting Up Release-Please

This skill guides you through setting up release-please in a repository.

Before You Start

Ask the user (if not clear from context):

1. What language/framework? (determines release-type)
2. Single package or monorepo?
3. Current version of the package(s)?

Setup Steps

1. Create GitHub Actions Workflow

Create .github/workflows/release-please.yml:

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

permissions:
  contents: write
  pull-requests: write

name: release-please

jobs:
  release-please:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: googleapis/release-please-action@v4
        with:
          release-type: <type>  # See references/release-types.md

Unified release-please + GoReleaser workflow (recommended when both are used)

If the project uses both release-please and GoReleaser, prefer a single workflow file. Run release-please first, then run GoReleaser only when release_created is true.

This avoids the common PAT workaround. You do not need a custom RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN just to trigger a second workflow for GoReleaser.

For the canonical recipe, see references/release-please-goreleaser-unified-workflow.md.

name: release-please

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

permissions:
  contents: write
  pull-requests: write
  packages: write

jobs:
  release-please:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    outputs:
      release_created: ${{ steps.release.outputs.release_created }}
      tag_name: ${{ steps.release.outputs.tag_name }}
    steps:
      - id: release
        uses: googleapis/release-please-action@v4
        with:
          release-type: <type>

  goreleaser:
    needs: release-please
    if: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.release_created == 'true' }}
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
      packages: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
          ref: ${{ needs.release-please.outputs.tag_name }}
      - uses: actions/setup-go@v5
        with:
          go-version-file: go.mod
      - uses: goreleaser/goreleaser-action@v6
        with:
          version: latest
          args: release --clean
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

If the user needs CI to run on release PRs (common), they need a PAT for that PR-triggering behavior:

        with:
          token: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN }}

Do not use this PAT requirement as the default fix for release-please + GoReleaser integration. Prefer the unified single-workflow pattern above.

2. Create Config Files (for advanced setups)

For monorepos or custom config, create manifest files instead of using release-type input.

release-please-config.json:

{
  "packages": {
    ".": {
      "release-type": "<type>"
    }
  }
}

.release-please-manifest.json:

{
  ".": "<current-version>"
}

Then update the workflow to omit release-type:

- uses: googleapis/release-please-action@v4
  with:
    token: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN }}

3. Bootstrap Existing Repository

For repos with existing releases, set the current version in .release-please-manifest.json to match the latest release tag.

If there's extensive commit history, add bootstrap-sha to config to limit changelog scope:

{
  "bootstrap-sha": "<commit-sha-before-first-desired-commit>",
  "packages": { ... }
}

Common Setup Patterns

Node.js Package

• release-type: node
• Updates package.json and CHANGELOG.md

Python Package

• release-type: python
• Updates pyproject.toml/setup.py and CHANGELOG.md

Go Module

• release-type: go
• Updates CHANGELOG.md only (version from tags)

Monorepo

• Use manifest config with multiple packages
• Consider node-workspace or cargo-workspace plugins
• See references/manifest-config.md

Post-Setup Checklist

Tell the user:

1. Commit and push the new files
2. Start using conventional commits: feat:, fix:, feat!:
3. Use squash-merge for PRs (cleaner changelogs)
4. Release-please will create a Release PR after releasable commits
5. Merge the Release PR to create the GitHub release

Reference Files

Read these for detailed options:

• references/release-types.md - All supported languages
• references/github-actions.md - Action inputs, outputs, examples
• references/manifest-config.md - Full config options, plugins, monorepos
• references/release-please-goreleaser-unified-workflow.md - Canonical combined setup for release-please + GoReleaser