release-cli 0.4.0

AI-assisted CLI release manager powered by Backboard

Rel-Ease

Rel-Ease (release-cli on PyPI) is a terminal release manager that pairs a Click CLI with a Backboard assistant. The LLM reads your diff, proposes SemVer bumps, updates release_notes.md, stages commits, and for Python packages runs uv build and twine upload — all through explicit tools you control.

Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• git, BACKBOARD_API_KEY
• Python projects: uv, twine (and PyPI credentials via TWINE_USERNAME / TWINE_PASSWORD or standard twine config)
• Node/TypeScript: npm (for npm install --package-lock-only after version bumps)
• Rust: manual cargo publish after the assistant bumps Cargo.toml and commits (by design)

Install

cd rel-ease
uv sync
uv pip install -e .
# or: uv tool install .

Quick start

export BACKBOARD_API_KEY=sk-...

# Sanity-check environment and repo detection
rel-ease doctor .

# Show how the project is classified (no network)
rel-ease detect .

# Run the release assistant (creates/updates Backboard assistant named `rel-ease`)
rel-ease release .

# Read-only rehearsal
rel-ease release . --dry-run

# Extra guidance for the model
rel-ease release . --hint "User asked for a minor bump for the new API."

Optional: set REL_EASE_ASSISTANT_ID to pin a specific Backboard assistant UUID after the first run.

Repo detection (deterministic)

Order of precedence from the repository root:

1. Rust — Cargo.toml with a [package] version
2. Python — pyproject.toml with [project].version
3. Node/TS — package.json with version

If the kind is Python, uv_build and twine_upload run for real. For Node or Rust, those tools return a skipped result so the model does not pretend PyPI ran.

Tools exposed to the assistant

Tool	Role
get_repo_context	Refresh kind, version file, current version
increment_version	Bump patch / minor / major or set explicit_version
git_diff	git diff with optional --stat and path filters
git_status_files	Porcelain status per path
git_add	Stage explicit paths
git_commit	Commit with your message
uv_build	Clean dist/ and uv build (Python only)
release_notes_update	Create/update release_notes.md (replace or append)
twine_upload	Upload artifacts from dist/ (Python only)

The Backboard model interprets diffs and drives the sequence; every mutation goes through these tools on your machine.

Environment

Variable	Purpose
BACKBOARD_API_KEY	Required for rel-ease release
REL_EASE_ASSISTANT_ID	Optional UUID override
TWINE_USERNAME / TWINE_PASSWORD	PyPI upload (if not using another twine config)

What Rel-Ease does not do

• No automatic git push, tags, or GitHub releases (keep using gh or CI).
• No cargo publish wrapper yet — the assistant will remind you after a Rust bump.

License

MIT