repo-release-tools

repo-release-tools keeps release policy boring in the best possible way.

Use it from GitHub Marketplace when you want CI to validate branch names, commit subjects, and changelog policy. Install it from PyPI when you want a local CLI, hook integration, version bumps, and release-branch automation.

• GitHub Marketplace action: https://github.com/marketplace/actions/repo-release-tools-policy-checks
• PyPI package: https://pypi.org/project/repo-release-tools/

• Choose your entry point
  • Use the GitHub Action for CI policy checks
  • Use the Python package for local workflow automation
• Changelog workflows
• What the project includes
• Start with the doc that matches your task
• License

Choose your entry point

Use the GitHub Action for CI policy checks

Choose the action if you want pull requests and pushes to fail fast when a repo drifts from your release policy.

• validates branch names such as feat/add-parser
• validates Conventional Commit subjects
• validates changelog policy in CI
• optionally checks that the working tree stays clean
• can run rrt doctor as a pre-release health gate

- uses: actions/checkout@v6
  with:
    fetch-depth: 0

- uses: Anselmoo/repo-release-tools@v1.14.1
  with:
    check-branch-name: "true"
    check-commit-subject: "true"
    check-changelog: "true"

See the full action guide: https://anselmoo.github.io/repo-release-tools/action/

See the full CLI and commands reference: https://github.com/Anselmoo/repo-release-tools/blob/main/docs/commands/rrt-cli.md

Use the Python package for local workflow automation

Choose the package if you want the developer-side tools: branch helpers, version bumps, config inspection, pre-commit hooks, and release automation. The Python package is published on PyPI and has a CI counterpart in the GitHub Action guide.

pip install repo-release-tools
rrt init
rrt branch new feat "add parser"
rrt git commit "add parser"
rrt git doctor
rrt bump patch

Or run the CLI without installing it permanently:

uvx repo-release-tools branch new feat "add parser"

If rrt is already installed and you want the bundled agent skill for Copilot, Claude, or Codex, install it with:

rrt skill install --target copilot-local
rrt skill install --target claude-local --target codex-local
rrt skill install --target codex-global --dry-run

For basic versioning, bump and ci-version can run without [tool.rrt] by auto-detecting repo-root pyproject.toml, package.json, Cargo.toml, .rrt.toml, or .config/rrt.toml. If multiple version files are found, they are updated together. Explicit config is for the nice extras: grouped releases, changelog paths, release branches, lock commands, generated files, and custom patterns.

Version targets also support common language/project files such as Python (pep621, python_version), Node/JS/TS (package_json), Go (go_version), Rust (cargo_toml), and .NET (csproj) so multi-language repositories can keep their release versions aligned.

Changelog workflows

Pick the style that matches how your repository lands changes.

incremental (default) — for teams that maintain changelog entries during development.

• rrt-update-unreleased and rrt-changelog hooks stay active.
• The GitHub Action resolves changelog-strategy: auto to per-commit.
• rrt bump defaults to auto.

squash — for repositories that squash many commits into one PR merge.

• Changelog write and check hooks skip enforcement.
• The GitHub Action resolves changelog-strategy: auto to release-only.
• rrt bump defaults to generate.

Minimal config:

[tool.rrt]
release_branch = "release/v{version}"
changelog_file = "CHANGELOG.md"
changelog_workflow = "incremental"  # or "squash"

[[tool.rrt.version_targets]]
path = "pyproject.toml"
kind = "pep621"

Native config is also supported in package.json ("rrt": { ... }) and Cargo.toml ([package.metadata.rrt] / [workspace.metadata.rrt]). Go repos should use .rrt.toml or .config/rrt.toml.

What the project includes

• rrt CLI for branches, bumps, config inspection, and Git helpers
• rrt-hooks for pre-commit, lefthook, husky, and CI validation
• a reusable GitHub Action in action.yml
• bundled agent skills for uvx and installed-CLI workflows
• docs for branch policy, hook setup, and release workflows

Start with the doc that matches your task

• Docs index: https://anselmoo.github.io/repo-release-tools/
• GitHub Action: https://anselmoo.github.io/repo-release-tools/action/
• CLI reference: https://github.com/Anselmoo/repo-release-tools/blob/main/docs/commands/rrt-cli.md
• Hook setup: https://github.com/Anselmoo/repo-release-tools/blob/main/docs/commands/hooks.md
• Conventional branches: https://github.com/Anselmoo/repo-release-tools/blob/main/docs/commands/branch.md
• Git workflow helpers: https://github.com/Anselmoo/repo-release-tools/blob/main/docs/commands/git_cmd.md
• Agent skills: https://github.com/Anselmoo/repo-release-tools/blob/main/docs/commands/skill.md
• Project tree: https://github.com/Anselmoo/repo-release-tools/blob/main/docs/commands/tree.md
• Markdown TOC: https://github.com/Anselmoo/repo-release-tools/blob/main/docs/commands/toc.md
• Config health checks: https://github.com/Anselmoo/repo-release-tools/blob/main/docs/commands/doctor.md
• Runtime EOL tracking: https://github.com/Anselmoo/repo-release-tools/blob/main/docs/commands/eol_check.md
• MCP Server: https://anselmoo.github.io/repo-release-tools/mcp-server/
• Agent instructions: https://anselmoo.github.io/repo-release-tools/agent-instructions/

License

repo-release-tools is released under the MIT License.

Some workflow ideas were initially inspired by joseluisq/gitnow, but the rrt git surface is intentionally narrower and reshaped around conventional branching, safe commits, and release automation.