release

name: release description: Cut a new release of the Partial Diff VS Code extension - guides through version bump, changelog, validation, and publish

Guide the user through cutting a release of the Partial Diff extension. The argument, if given, is the bump level (major, minor, or patch). If omitted, ask the user.

Execution rules

1. Before starting, create a task for each step below using TaskCreate.
2. Work through the tasks strictly in order. Mark each task in_progress when starting and completed when done.
3. Do NOT skip, reorder, or combine steps.
4. At each step, confirm with the user before moving to the next. Use the format Ready to <next step>? (y/N) so the user can reply with a single character.

1. Determine scope

• Run git log v<current-version>..HEAD --oneline to list commits since the last release.
• Summarise the user-facing changes (skip purely internal/CI/tooling commits unless they affect the shipped package).
• Confirm the bump level (major/minor/patch) with the user.

2. Bump version

• Run npm version <major|minor|patch> --no-git-tag-version. This updates both package.json and package-lock.json.

3. Update CHANGELOG.md

• Add a new entry at the top following the existing Keep a Changelog format. Valid change types are: Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, Security. Do NOT invent other types.
• Only include changes relevant to users. Infrastructure-only changes can be omitted or summarised briefly.
• Reference related issues/PRs with links. If the change was reported or contributed by an external user, use the (thanks to @user [#N](url)) format (see existing entries for examples).
• Use today's date.

4. Run pre-publish checks

• Run npm run prep (compile:prod + lint + test). All must pass.

5. Verify package contents

• Run npx @vscode/vsce ls and show the output.
• Review the file list with the user. Every listed file will be delivered to users — flag anything that looks unnecessary (test files, local config, CI files, etc.).
• For reference, the v1.4.4 release contained exactly these files:
  • package.json
  • README.md
  • LICENSE.txt
  • CHANGELOG.md
  • images/partial-diff_128x128.png
  • dist/extension.js.map
  • dist/extension.js

6. Test locally

• Install into VS Code: npm run test:e2e:vscode
• Install into Cursor: npm run test:e2e:cursor
• Ask the user to verify that the extension works correctly in both editors and that no errors appear.

7. Commit

• Stage package.json, package-lock.json, and CHANGELOG.md.
• Commit with message: Bump up version to v<version>

8. Publish

• Remind the user they need Personal Access Tokens for both the VS Code Marketplace and Open VSX if they haven't set them up.
• VS Code Marketplace:
  • Run npx @vscode/vsce publish — this triggers vscode:prepublish (production build) and uploads to the VS Code Marketplace.
• Run npm run vscode:postpublish to create and push the git tag, and optionally create a GitHub release (the script will prompt for confirmation). Note: vsce publish does NOT run postpublish automatically.
• Open VSX:
  • Run npx ovsx publish partial-diff-<version>.vsix — reuses the .vsix already built by vsce publish.
• Push the release commit: git push origin main