Add GitHub Actions release workflow with semantic versioning #2

Copilot · 2025-12-11T15:42:23Z

Automates releases using semantic versioning calculated from conventional commit messages.

Workflow Features

Dual triggers: Manual dispatch with explicit version selection (patch/minor/major) or automatic on push to main when extension files change
Conventional commits: Parses commit messages to determine version bump
- Any commit type with !: (e.g., feat!:, fix!:, refactor!:) or BREAKING CHANGE: → major
- feat: or feat(scope): → minor
- Everything else → patch
Automated packaging: Updates manifest.json, creates .zip artifact, generates changelog, publishes GitHub release
First-release handling: Detects missing tags, analyzes all commits from repository root, and generates appropriate initial release notes
Duplicate protection: Detects existing tags and skips release creation when version already exists

Technical Implementation

Uses jq for safe JSON manipulation of manifest.json (parsing and updating)
Regex patterns support scoped conventional commits: ^[a-z]+($[^)]*$)?!:
Robust git error handling with conditional operations and explicit error checking
Prevents infinite loop by excluding manifest.json from automatic trigger paths
Quotes variables for command injection safety
Node.js 20 for consistent environment

Usage

Manual release:

Actions → Release with Semantic Versioning → Run workflow → Select version bump

Automatic release:
Push to main with changes to content.js or styles.css

Note: manifest.json is intentionally excluded from automatic triggers to prevent infinite loops, as the workflow commits version bumps to this file.

Original prompt

Let's add a github actions release workflow that uses semantic versioning to calculate the new version number

✨ Let Copilot coding agent set things up for you — coding agent works faster and does higher quality work when set up for your repo.

coderabbitai · 2025-12-11T15:42:30Z

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Co-authored-by: narthur <[email protected]>

…er error handling Co-authored-by: narthur <[email protected]>

…ndling Co-authored-by: narthur <[email protected]>

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR adds automated release management to the repository using GitHub Actions with semantic versioning based on conventional commit messages. The workflow can be triggered manually or automatically when extension files are modified.

Key changes:

New GitHub Actions workflow that calculates version bumps from commit messages using conventional commit patterns
Automated packaging, changelog generation, and GitHub release publishing
Documentation in README explaining both manual and automatic release processes

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated 8 comments.

File	Description
`.github/workflows/release.yml`	Complete release automation workflow with semantic versioning, manifest updates, packaging, and GitHub release creation
`README.md`	Added comprehensive documentation section explaining release process, manual triggers, and automatic versioning rules

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Copilot · 2025-12-11T16:04:09Z

.github/workflows/release.yml

+          if git diff --staged --quiet; then
+            echo "No changes to commit"
+          else
+            git commit -m "chore: bump version to ${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}"
+          fi


The workflow continues even when there are no changes to commit, but this can lead to issues in subsequent steps. If the manifest.json version hasn't actually changed (e.g., re-running the workflow with the same version), the git push in the "Create and push tag" step may fail or behave unexpectedly because there's nothing new to push to the branch. Consider adding a check to exit gracefully or skip subsequent git operations when no changes are detected.

Fixed in commit 4060085. Added has_changes output flag and conditional logic to skip branch push when no changes were committed.

Copilot · 2025-12-11T16:04:09Z

.github/workflows/release.yml

+          git tag -a "v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}" -m "Release v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}"
+          git push origin "v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}"
+          git push origin HEAD:${{ github.ref_name }}
+


This step will fail when the tag already exists. If the workflow is re-run or if a release with the same version already exists, git tag creation will fail with an error. Additionally, pushing the tag before verifying it was created successfully could cause issues. Consider checking if the tag exists before creating it, or use force-tagging with caution, or handle the error appropriately to prevent workflow failure.

Suggested change

git tag -a "v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}" -m "Release v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}"

git push origin "v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}"

git push origin HEAD:${{ github.ref_name }}

TAG="v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}"

# Check if tag already exists

if git rev-parse "$TAG" >/dev/null 2>&1; then

echo "Tag $TAG already exists. Skipping tag creation and push."

else

git tag -a "$TAG" -m "Release $TAG"

git push origin "$TAG"

fi

git push origin HEAD:${{ github.ref_name }}

Fixed in commit 4060085. Added check using git rev-parse to detect existing tags and skip creation when tag already exists.

Copilot · 2025-12-11T16:04:09Z

.github/workflows/release.yml

+        run: |
+          git tag -a "v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}" -m "Release v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}"
+          git push origin "v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}"
+          git push origin HEAD:${{ github.ref_name }}


Pushing to HEAD with the ref name may cause issues if the workflow is triggered from a detached HEAD state or if there were conflicts. The push could fail silently or push to an unexpected location. Consider using a more explicit branch reference or adding error handling to verify the push was successful.

Suggested change

git push origin HEAD:${{ github.ref_name }}

git push origin ${{ github.ref_name }} || { echo "Failed to push to branch ${{ github.ref_name }}"; exit 1; }

Fixed in commit 4060085. Added explicit error handling with || { echo "Failed to push..."; exit 1; } and conditional execution based on has_changes flag.

Copilot · 2025-12-11T16:04:10Z

.github/workflows/release.yml

+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+    paths:
+      - 'content.js'
+      - 'manifest.json'
+      - 'styles.css'


This trigger configuration will create an infinite loop. When the workflow runs automatically on push to main, it commits the version bump to manifest.json (line 165) and pushes it back to main (line 172). Since manifest.json is in the paths filter (line 20), this push will trigger the workflow again, creating a continuous cycle of releases. Consider excluding automated commits from triggering the workflow by using commit message patterns or skip conditions, or remove manifest.json from the paths filter.

Fixed in commit 4060085. Removed manifest.json from the paths filter to prevent the infinite loop. The workflow now only triggers on changes to content.js and styles.css.

Copilot · 2025-12-11T16:04:10Z

.github/workflows/release.yml

+      - name: Get current version from manifest
+        id: current_version
+        run: |
+          CURRENT_VERSION=$(grep -o '"version": "[^"]*"' manifest.json | cut -d'"' -f4)


Using grep and cut for parsing JSON is fragile and error-prone. If the manifest.json format changes slightly (e.g., different spacing, ordering), this parsing could break. Since jq is already being used later in the workflow (line 109), it would be more reliable and consistent to use jq here as well for extracting the version.

Suggested change

CURRENT_VERSION=$(grep -o '"version": "[^"]*"' manifest.json | cut -d'"' -f4)

CURRENT_VERSION=$(jq -r '.version' manifest.json)

Fixed in commit 4060085. Now using jq -r '.version' for consistent and reliable JSON parsing.

Copilot · 2025-12-11T16:04:10Z

.github/workflows/release.yml

+          # Create a zip file with the extension
+          zip -r dist/gh2cursor-v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}.zip \
+            manifest.json \
+            content.js \
+            styles.css \
+            icons/ \
+            LICENSE \
+            README.md \
+            -x "*.git*" "*.DS_Store"


The list of files to include in the zip is hardcoded in multiple places (here and potentially needs to stay in sync with the actual extension structure). If new files are added to the extension, this step needs manual updates. Consider using a more dynamic approach or documenting which files should be included, or alternatively, use a configuration file to define the list of files to package.

Suggested change

# Create a zip file with the extension

zip -r dist/gh2cursor-v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}.zip \

manifest.json \

content.js \

styles.css \

icons/ \

LICENSE \

README.md \

-x "*.git*" "*.DS_Store"

# Use package-files.txt to define which files to include in the zip archive.

# Update package-files.txt in the repository root to add/remove files for packaging.

zip -r dist/gh2cursor-v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}.zip $(cat package-files.txt) -x "*.git*" "*.DS_Store"

Fixed in commit 4060085. Added a clear comment: "NOTE: Update this list when adding new files to the extension" to document that the file list needs manual updates.

Copilot · 2025-12-11T16:04:11Z

.github/workflows/release.yml

+            PREV_TAG=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+
+            if [ -z "$PREV_TAG" ]; then
+              COMMITS=$(git log --pretty=%B -10)


The fallback to last 10 commits when no tags exist is arbitrary and could lead to incorrect version bump detection. If the repository has more than 10 commits before the first release, some relevant commit messages won't be analyzed. Consider using all commits from the repository root for the first release, or document this 10-commit limitation in the README.

Suggested change

COMMITS=$(git log --pretty=%B -10)

COMMITS=$(git log --pretty=%B)

Fixed in commit 4060085. Changed to git log --pretty=%B to analyze all commits from repository root for first release.

Copilot · 2025-12-11T16:04:11Z

README.md

+- `styles.css`
+
+The version bump type is determined from commit messages using conventional commit patterns:
+- Breaking changes (`feat!:`, `fix!:`, or `BREAKING CHANGE:` in commit body) → major version


The documentation states that fix!: triggers a major version bump, but the actual workflow implementation (line 72 in release.yml) only checks for the pattern ^[a-z]+($[^)]*$)?!: which would match any commit type with an exclamation mark, not specifically fix!:. While fix!: would work, the documentation could be more accurate by saying "any commit type with ! (e.g., feat!, fix!, refactor!)" or list the pattern more generally.

Suggested change

- Breaking changes (`feat!:`, `fix!:`, or `BREAKING CHANGE:` in commit body) → major version

- Breaking changes (any commit type with `!:` such as `feat!:`, `fix!:`, `refactor!:`, or `BREAKING CHANGE:` in commit body) → major version

Fixed in commit 4060085. Updated documentation to accurately state "any commit type with !: such as feat!:, fix!:, refactor!:".

narthur · 2025-12-11T16:06:53Z

@copilot apply changes based on the comments in this thread

…ror handling, and fix documentation Co-authored-by: narthur <[email protected]>

… safety Co-authored-by: narthur <[email protected]>

Initial plan

e41ecb1

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and narthur Dec 11, 2025

Copilot started work on behalf of narthur December 11, 2025 15:42 View session

Copilot AI and others added 4 commits December 11, 2025 15:45

Add GitHub Actions release workflow with semantic versioning

90f9389

Co-authored-by: narthur <[email protected]>

docs: Add release workflow documentation to README

a72138b

Co-authored-by: narthur <[email protected]>

refactor: Improve release workflow with conventional commits and bett…

97ff634

…er error handling Co-authored-by: narthur <[email protected]>

fix: Improve workflow robustness with jq for JSON and better error ha…

b6c0c9c

…ndling Co-authored-by: narthur <[email protected]>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Add GitHub Actions release workflow with semantic versioning~~ Add GitHub Actions release workflow with semantic versioning Dec 11, 2025

Copilot AI requested a review from narthur December 11, 2025 15:56

Copilot finished work on behalf of narthur December 11, 2025 15:56

narthur approved these changes Dec 11, 2025

View reviewed changes

narthur marked this pull request as ready for review December 11, 2025 16:00

narthur requested a review from Copilot December 11, 2025 16:00

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of narthur December 11, 2025 16:01 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Dec 11, 2025

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of narthur December 11, 2025 16:07 View session

Copilot AI and others added 2 commits December 11, 2025 16:10

fix: Address code review feedback - prevent infinite loop, improve er…

4060085

…ror handling, and fix documentation Co-authored-by: narthur <[email protected]>

fix: Add proper handling for existing tags and quote branch names for…

fac364b

… safety Co-authored-by: narthur <[email protected]>

Copilot AI requested a review from narthur December 11, 2025 16:18

Copilot finished work on behalf of narthur December 11, 2025 16:18

-          git tag -a "v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}" -m "Release v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}"
-          git push origin "v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}"
-          git push origin HEAD:${{ github.ref_name }}
+          TAG="v${{ steps.semver.outputs.version }}"
+          # Check if tag already exists
+          if git rev-parse "$TAG" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "Tag $TAG already exists. Skipping tag creation and push."
+          else
+            git tag -a "$TAG" -m "Release $TAG"
+            git push origin "$TAG"
+          fi
+          git push origin HEAD:${{ github.ref_name }}

	git push origin HEAD:${{ github.ref_name }}
	git push origin ${{ github.ref_name }} \|\| { echo "Failed to push to branch ${{ github.ref_name }}"; exit 1; }

	CURRENT_VERSION=$(grep -o '"version": "[^"]*"' manifest.json \| cut -d'"' -f4)
	CURRENT_VERSION=$(jq -r '.version' manifest.json)

	COMMITS=$(git log --pretty=%B -10)
	COMMITS=$(git log --pretty=%B)

	- Breaking changes (`feat!:`, `fix!:`, or `BREAKING CHANGE:` in commit body) → major version
	- Breaking changes (any commit type with `!:` such as `feat!:`, `fix!:`, `refactor!:`, or `BREAKING CHANGE:` in commit body) → major version

Add GitHub Actions release workflow with semantic versioning #2

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