/configure:release-please

Check and configure release-please against project standards.

Context

This command validates release-please configuration and workflow against project standards.

Skills referenced: release-please-standards, release-please-protection

Version Checking

CRITICAL: Before configuring release-please, fetch latest action version from GitHub API:

# Fetch latest release-please-action version
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/googleapis/release-please-action/releases/latest | jq -r '.tag_name'

Use this command to get the current version dynamically rather than hardcoding.

References:

• release-please-action releases
• release-please CLI releases

Workflow

Phase 1: Configuration Detection

Check for required files:

1. .github/workflows/release-please.yml – GitHub Actions workflow
2. release-please-config.json – Release configuration
3. .release-please-manifest.json – Version manifest

Phase 2: Project Type Detection

Determine appropriate release-type:

• node: Has package.json (default for frontend/backend apps)
• python: Has pyproject.toml without package.json
• helm: Infrastructure with Helm charts
• simple: Generic projects

Phase 3: Compliance Analysis

Workflow file checks:

• Action version: googleapis/release-please-action@v4
• Token: Uses MY_RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN secret (not GITHUB_TOKEN)
• Trigger: Push to main branch
• Permissions: contents: write, pull-requests: write

Config file checks:

• Valid release-type for project
• changelog-sections includes feat and fix
• Appropriate plugins (e.g., node-workspace for Node projects)

Manifest file checks:

• Valid JSON structure
• Package paths match config

Phase 4: Report Generation

Release-Please Compliance Report
====================================
Project Type: node (detected)

File Status:
  Workflow        .github/workflows/release-please.yml  ✅ PASS
  Config          release-please-config.json            ✅ PASS
  Manifest        .release-please-manifest.json         ✅ PASS

Configuration Checks:
  Action version  v4                                    ✅ PASS
  Token           MY_RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN               ✅ PASS
  Release type    node                                  ✅ PASS
  Changelog       feat, fix sections                    ✅ PASS
  Plugin          node-workspace                        ✅ PASS

Overall: Fully compliant

Phase 5: Configuration (If Requested)

If --fix flag or user confirms:

1. Missing workflow: Create from standard template
2. Missing config: Create with detected release-type
3. Missing manifest: Create with initial version 0.0.0
4. Outdated action: Update to v4
5. Wrong token: Update to use MY_RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN

Phase 6: Standards Tracking

Update .project-standards.yaml:

components:
  release-please: "2025.1"

Standard Templates

Workflow Template

name: Release Please

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

permissions:
  contents: write
  pull-requests: write

jobs:
  release-please:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: googleapis/release-please-action@v4
        with:
          token: ${{ secrets.MY_RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN }}

Config Template (Node)

{
  "packages": {
    ".": {
      "release-type": "node",
      "changelog-sections": [
        {"type": "feat", "section": "Features"},
        {"type": "fix", "section": "Bug Fixes"},
        {"type": "perf", "section": "Performance"},
        {"type": "deps", "section": "Dependencies"}
      ]
    }
  },
  "plugins": ["node-workspace"]
}

Manifest Template

{
  ".": "0.0.0"
}

Flags

Important Notes

• Requires MY_RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN secret in repository settings
• CHANGELOG.md is managed by release-please – never edit manually
• Version fields in package.json/pyproject.toml are managed automatically
• Works with conventional-pre-commit hook for commit validation

See Also

• /configure:pre-commit – Ensure conventional commits hook
• /configure:all – Run all compliance checks
• release-please-protection skill – Protected file rules