Drift Release Skill (python-semantic-release)

Releases are fully automated via python-semantic-release (PSR) in CI.

Executive Summary

Agents no longer need to run a manual release command.

Workflow: .github/workflows/release.yml runs on every push to main. PSR parses conventional commits and handles version bump, changelog, tag, GitHub Release, and PyPI publish.

When to Use This Skill

✅ Know this after:

• Feature complete (feat: ... commit)
• Bug fixed (fix: ... commit)
• Breaking change (BREAKING: ... commit)
• All tests pass
• Code committed + pushed to main

The CI release workflow handles everything else automatically.

What Agents Must Do

Step 1: Use Conventional Commits

feat: add new detector for X       →  MINOR bump (0.X.0)
fix: false alarm in signal Y       →  PATCH bump (0.0.X)
BREAKING: remove deprecated API    →  MAJOR bump (X.0.0)

Step 2: Run Tests Locally

make test-fast

Step 3: Commit and Push

PSR in CI handles the rest after push to main.

What PSR Does Automatically (in CI)

1. Commits analyzed — from last tag to HEAD
2. Version calculated — based on commit types (feat → minor, fix → patch, BREAKING → major)
3. Files updated:
   • pyproject.toml (version field)
   • CHANGELOG.md (new entry)
4. Release commit created — chore: Release X.Y.Z
5. Git tag created — vX.Y.Z
6. GitHub Release created
7. Built and published to PyPI

Troubleshooting

Important Details

• 🔐 PyPI token: PYPI_RELEASE secret in GitHub environment pypi
• 📊 CHANGELOG: Auto-generated by PSR from commit history
• 🏷️ Tag format: vX.Y.Z (e.g., v1.4.2)
• ⚙️ Workflow: .github/workflows/release.yml
• 📝 Config: pyproject.toml → [tool.semantic_release]
• 🔄 Major tag: v1 auto-updated to latest patch (e.g., v1 → v1.4.3)

DO NOT DO THIS

❌ Forget to release after code changes ❌ Skip tests to "speed up" the release ❌ Manually create git tags/commits for releases ❌ Edit version numbers outside of pyproject.toml ❌ Push without running the full release workflow

Quick Reference

# Full release (recommended)
python scripts/release_automation.py --full-release

# Just calculate version
python scripts/release_automation.py --calc-version

# Just update changelog
python scripts/release_automation.py --update-changelog

# Skip tests (NOT recommended)
python scripts/release_automation.py --full-release --skip-tests

Need Full Details?

Reference documentation: .github/instructions/drift-release-automation.instructions.md

For questions about releases → Check that file first.