release-it/release-it
Release It
release-it is a Git release automation tool designed to coordinate software versioning, changelog generation, and package publishing. It functions as a semantic versioning manager that increments project versions and updates configuration files based on semantic standards or custom schemes.
The project distinguishes itself through a plugin-based extension system that allows for custom versioning and publishing logic. It supports complex project structures via monorepo versioning automation to synchronize internal dependencies across multiple workspaces.
The tool covers a broad range of capabilities including Git release management for creating annotated tags and official release entries on platforms like GitHub and GitLab. It handles package registry publishing for registries such as npm and provides automated changelog generation from commit history. For security, it incorporates trusted publishing via OIDC, two-factor authentication support, and secure token configuration.
The tool can be executed via an interactive command-line interface or in a non-interactive headless mode for use within CI/CD deployment pipelines.
Features
- Git Versioning Managers - Manages semantic versioning and Git tags by analyzing commit history to determine the next version number.
- Semantic Versioning Systems - Calculates the next version number based on semantic versioning standards by parsing existing git tags.
- Automated Version Incrementing - Increments project version numbers and updates configuration files based on semantic versioning or custom schemes.
- Package Publishing - Updates version files and uploads software packages to the npm registry with custom scopes.
- Package Registry Integrations - Sends binaries and source code to package managers using secure authentication tokens.
- Release Changelog Generators - Automatically produces formatted release notes by filtering commit history using regular expressions.
- Project Version Managers - Updates project-level versioning and refreshes dependencies based on semantic standards.
- Release Management - Provides comprehensive tools for the versioning and distribution of software releases across various hosting platforms.
- Release Versioning Tools - Automates the update of version strings in configuration and build manifests.
- Automated Release Management - Coordinates the end-to-end process of version bumping, changelog generation, and package publishing.
- CI CD Pipelines - Executes versioning and publishing workflows within automated CI/CD pipelines using environment variables.
- CI/CD Orchestration Tools - Operates as a system to manage and execute complex automated software delivery workflows in headless environments.
- Non-Interactive Release Modes - Provides a non-interactive mode that disables user prompts and spinners for use in CI/CD pipelines.
- Git Release Automators - Automates the process of committing release changes and creating annotated Git tags for version control.
- GitHub Release Automators - Automates the generation of release notes and the publishing of official releases on GitHub.
- Plugin Extensibility - Provides a plugin system to inject custom logic for version retrieval, bumping, and publishing.
- Monorepo Versioning - Synchronizes version bumps across multiple workspaces and updates internal dependencies within monorepo structures.
- Hook-Based Plugin Systems - Implements a hook-based system that allows developers to inject custom logic for versioning and publishing.
- CLI Configuration Overrides - Allows setting or negating configuration values via command-line arguments to prioritize execution-time preferences.
- Workflow Extensibility - Enables adding custom actions to the release workflow, such as triggering webhooks or publishing to diverse registries.
- Hosting Provider API Integrations - Integrates with remote git hosting providers via APIs to automate release creation and comment posting.
- Monorepo Workflow Orchestration - Coordinates version bumps across multiple workspaces and synchronizes internal dependencies in monorepos.
- Trusted Publishing - Implements identity-based authentication via OIDC for secure, token-free package publishing.
- Configuration Merging Utilities - Resolves final settings by prioritizing command-line arguments over local configuration files and remote sources.
- Release Lifecycle Hooks - Triggers custom shell commands or scripts at predefined stages of the release process to automate peripheral tasks.
- Pre-release Versioning - Manages non-stable version identifiers such as alpha, beta, and release candidates.
- Release Asset Uploads - Uploads compiled executables, minified scripts, and documentation to releases using glob patterns.
- Release Automation - Publishes software releases to remote platforms using secure token authentication in headless CI/CD environments.
- Release Tagging Patterns - Generates custom tag names and filters existing tags to determine the latest release version.
- Latest Version Identification - Determines the most recent project version by scanning Git tags and reachable commits across branches.
- Token-Based Authentication - Uses secure environment variables and configuration files to authenticate API requests to remote git and package registries.
- Project Documentation Examples - Features expandable navigation and detailed release notes.
