Version Bump & Release Workflow

IMPORTANT: Plan and write detailed release notes before starting.

CRITICAL: Commit EVERYTHING (including build artifacts). At the end of this workflow, NOTHING should be left uncommitted or unpushed. Run git status at the end to verify.

Preparation

1. Analyze: Determine if the change is PATCH (bug fixes), MINOR (features), or MAJOR (breaking).

2. Environment: Identify repository owner/name from git remote -v.

3. Paths — every file that carries the version string:

   • package.json — the npm/npx-published version (npx claude-mem@X.Y.Z resolves from this)
   • plugin/package.json — bundled plugin runtime deps
   • .claude-plugin/marketplace.json — version inside plugins[0].version
   • .claude-plugin/plugin.json — top-level Claude-plugin manifest
   • plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json — bundled Claude-plugin manifest
   • .codex-plugin/plugin.json — Codex-plugin manifest
   • plugin/.codex-plugin/plugin.json — bundled Codex-plugin manifest
   • .qoder-plugin/plugin.json — Qoder plugin manifest
   • plugin/.qoder-plugin/plugin.json — bundled Qoder plugin manifest
   • openclaw/openclaw.plugin.json — OpenClaw plugin manifest
   • .grok-plugin/plugin.json — Grok plugin manifest
   • claude-mem-cursor/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json — Cursor plugin manifest
   • claude-mem-grok-bot/.cursor-plugin/plugin.json — Grok Bot Cursor plugin manifest
   • dsh/package.json — bundled DSH plugin package
   • README.md — the version badge (version-X.Y.Z-green), not a "version" key

   Verify coverage before editing: git grep -l "\"version\": \"<OLD>\"" should list the fourteen JSON files above, and git grep -n "version-<OLD>-green" the README badge. If a new manifest has been added since this doc was last updated, update this list.

Workflow

1. Update: Increment the version string in every path above. Do NOT touch CHANGELOG.md — it's regenerated.
2. Verify: git grep -n "\"version\": \"<NEW>\"" — confirm all fourteen JSON files match, and the README badge reads version-<NEW>-green. git grep -n "\"version\": \"<OLD>\"" — should return zero hits.
3. Build and sync: npm run build-and-sync to regenerate artifacts, sync the local marketplace copy, restart the worker, and clear the queue. Do not use plain npm run build for release validation because it can leave the local marketplace/worker out of sync.
4. Commit: git add -A && git commit -m "chore: bump version to X.Y.Z".
5. Tag: git tag -a vX.Y.Z -m "Version X.Y.Z".
6. Push: git push origin main && git push origin vX.Y.Z.
7. GitHub release: gh release create vX.Y.Z --title "vX.Y.Z" --notes "RELEASE_NOTES".
8. Changelog: Regenerate via the project's changelog script:

   npm run changelog:generate
   

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   (Runs node scripts/generate-changelog.js, which pulls releases from the GitHub API and rewrites CHANGELOG.md.)
9. Sync changelog: Commit and push the updated CHANGELOG.md.
10. Pre-publish audit: Verify the release commit, tag, GitHub release, and changelog are pushed, and the release worktree has no pending tracked changes.
11. Publish to npm — the workflow does it. Pushing the vX.Y.Z tag triggers .github/workflows/npm-publish.yml, which builds, runs the clean-room smoke and publishes through npm trusted publishing (GitHub OIDC), so it needs no npm token. Watch the run:

    gh run list --workflow npm-publish.yml --branch vX.Y.Z   # tag runs report the tag as their branch
    gh run watch <run-id> --exit-status
    

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    Do not run npm publish locally, even if a local npm login works: the workflow is the only publish path, and only it attaches provenance. If the run fails, read the failing step with gh run view <run-id> --log-failed. A transient failure (network, registry outage) is re-run with gh run rerun <run-id>; a re-run builds the same tagged commit, so a fix in the code or workflow ships through a PR and the next patch release instead. Never move or recreate a pushed tag. The trusted publisher lives on npmjs.com → claude-mem → Settings → Trusted Publisher (GitHub Actions, thedotmack/claude-mem, npm-publish.yml, npm publish allowed). Renaming the workflow file breaks publishing until that entry is updated; changing it requires the maintainer's security key.
12. Post-publish verification and notification: After publishing, verify both the exact version and the latest dist-tag:

    npm view claude-mem@X.Y.Z version
    npm view claude-mem dist-tags.latest
    npm view claude-mem@X.Y.Z dist.attestations --json   # provenance from the workflow
    

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    Then post the release to X, only after npm verification:
    • Generate one image about the release with an available image-generation tool, drawn from the release notes.
    • In a browser that is already logged in to X (for example Claude in Chrome), open x.com and check the active account is @Claude_Memory. If no browser is logged in, or the account is a different one, skip the post and say so in the release report. Never sign in or switch accounts.
    • Post a short summary of the release with the version, the GitHub release URL and the image attached, then report the post's URL.
13. Finalize: git status — working tree must be clean and everything must be pushed.

Checklist

• All fifteen version files (fourteen JSON manifests and the README badge) have matching versions
• git grep for old version returns zero hits
• npm run build-and-sync succeeded
• Git tag created and pushed
• GitHub release created with notes
• CHANGELOG.md updated and pushed
• Pre-publish audit passed
• Publish to npm workflow run for the tag succeeded (no local npm publish)
• Exact npm version and latest both verified after publishing
• Release posted to X as @Claude_Memory with a generated image after npm verification (or skipped because no browser was logged in as that account)
• git status shows clean tree