Release automation CLI for calculating versions from commit history, generating release notes, tagging releases, and publishing from CI.
$npx semantic-release
AI Analysis
semantic-release is a CI-first release automation CLI that decides the next version from commit history and existing tags, then runs notes, tag, and publish steps through plugins. It fits repos that want releases to happen from merges or pushes instead of manual version bumping.
What It Enables
- Calculate the next semantic version from analyzed commit history and the last Git tag on a release branch.
- Generate release notes, create Git tags, and publish packages or hosted releases after CI passes.
- Extend the pipeline with plugins or shareable configs for npm, GitHub, GitLab, or custom shell-based release steps, including non-JavaScript projects.
Agent Fit
- Dry runs, branch rules, and non-interactive CI execution make it workable in scripted release pipelines.
- The CLI writes human-oriented logs and rendered release notes, not a dedicated JSON output mode; structured results exist only through the JavaScript API.
- Best for agents maintaining repo-local release config and CI credentials, not for ad hoc exploratory shell tasks.
Caveats
- Publishing depends on correct Git tags, release-branch setup, and host or registry credentials in the environment.
- Most real behavior comes from configured plugins, so capability varies by project rather than by the base command alone.