Launch

/afc:launch — Generate Release Artifacts

Generates release artifacts (CHANGELOG entry, README updates, GitHub Release notes) from git history and optional spec context. This is a standalone utility — not part of the auto pipeline. Works with or without a prior afc pipeline run.

Arguments

• $ARGUMENTS — (optional) One of:
  • Version tag: e.g. "v2.2.1" — uses this as the release version
  • "auto" — auto-detects version from package.json/Cargo.toml/pyproject.toml
  • Not specified: prompts for version

Git Context (auto-loaded)

!git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || echo "[NO_TAGS]" !git log $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || echo "")..HEAD --pretty=format:"%h %s" --no-merges 2>/dev/null || git log --pretty=format:"%h %s" --no-merges

Execution Steps

1. Detect Project Context

1. Version detection:

   • If $ARGUMENTS is a version string (matches v?\d+\.\d+\.\d+): use it
   • If $ARGUMENTS = "auto": read version from package.json → Cargo.toml → pyproject.toml → setup.py (first found)
   • If not specified: check package.json etc. for current version, present to user, confirm or override

2. Previous version detection:

   git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || echo "none"
   

   • If a previous tag exists: diff range = {previous_tag}..HEAD
   • If no tags: diff range = all commits (warn user: "No previous release tag found. Including all history.")

3. Changelog detection:

   • Check for existing: CHANGELOG.md → CHANGES.md → HISTORY.md
   • If found: will prepend new entry
   • If not found: will create CHANGELOG.md

2. Gather Change Context

Collect all available context for high-quality release notes:

1. Git history (required):

   git log {previous_tag}..HEAD --pretty=format:"%h %s" --no-merges
   

2. Changed files summary (required):

   git diff --stat {previous_tag}..HEAD
   

3. Spec context (optional — enhances quality):

   • Glob .claude/afc/specs/*/spec.md — if any exist, read Overview and User Stories sections
   • This provides intent context that raw commit messages lack
   • If no specs found: rely on git history only (still produces good output)

4. Review context (optional):

   • Glob .claude/afc/memory/reviews/* — if any exist from this version cycle, note key findings
   • Skip if not found

5. Breaking change detection:

   • Grep commit messages for: BREAKING, breaking change, !: (conventional commits)
   • Grep diffs for: deleted public exports, renamed public APIs, changed function signatures
   • Flag any findings as breaking changes in the output

3. Generate CHANGELOG Entry

Prepend a new entry to the changelog file:

1. Duplicate check: Grep the changelog for ## [{version}]. If an entry for this version already exists:

   • Ask user: "CHANGELOG already has an entry for {version}. (1) Overwrite (2) Abort"
   • If overwrite: replace the existing entry (from ## [{version}] to the next ## [ line)
   • If abort: skip CHANGELOG generation

2. Follow the existing format if one exists; otherwise use Keep a Changelog format:

## [{version}] - {YYYY-MM-DD}

### Added
- {new features, described from user perspective}

### Changed
- {modifications to existing functionality}

### Fixed
- {bug fixes}

### Removed
- {removed features or deprecated items}

### Breaking Changes
- {if any — empty section omitted}

Quality rules:

• Write from user perspective, not developer perspective ("Add dark mode support" not "Add ThemeProvider component")
• Group related changes into single entries (don't list every file)
• If spec context is available: use feature names from specs, not commit message fragments
• Omit empty sections (if no fixes, don't include "### Fixed")

4. Update README (conditional)

Only update README if meaningful changes warrant it:

1. Check triggers:

   • New CLI commands or API endpoints added?
   • Installation process changed?
   • New dependencies or requirements?
   • Feature that users need to know about?

2. If no triggers match: skip README update entirely (print: "README: no updates needed")

3. If triggers match: read current README, identify the relevant section, apply minimal targeted edit

   • Do NOT rewrite the entire README
   • Do NOT add badges, shields, or decorative elements
   • Only update sections directly affected by changes

5. Generate GitHub Release Notes

Create .claude/afc/release-notes.md (draft for gh release create):

# {version}

{2-3 sentence summary of this release — what's the headline?}

## Highlights

- {top 1-3 user-facing changes, expanded with context}

## What's Changed

{CHANGELOG entry content, reformatted for GitHub}

## Breaking Changes

{if any — clear migration instructions}

**Full Changelog**: {previous_tag}...{version}

6. Present Summary and Next Steps

Release artifacts generated: {version}
├─ CHANGELOG.md: entry prepended ({N} items across {M} categories)
├─ README.md: {updated section / no updates needed}
├─ .claude/afc/release-notes.md: draft created
├─ Breaking changes: {count or "none"}
├─ Commits included: {N} (since {previous_tag})
└─ Specs referenced: {N or "none (git-only mode)"}

Next steps:
  git add CHANGELOG.md README.md
  git commit -m "docs: prepare release {version}"
  git tag {version}
  gh release create {version} --notes-file .claude/afc/release-notes.md

Do NOT execute these commands automatically. Present them for the user to review and run.

Notes

• Not part of the auto pipeline. Launch is a standalone utility invoked when you're ready to release, not after every feature.
• Non-destructive: only creates/edits CHANGELOG and README (conditionally). Does not push, tag, or create releases automatically.
• Git history is the source of truth. Spec context enhances quality but is never required.
• Conventional Commits awareness: if the project uses conventional commits (feat:, fix:, chore:), the generated CHANGELOG respects those categories.
• Idempotent: running launch twice with the same version overwrites the release-notes.md draft and re-generates the CHANGELOG entry (warns before overwriting).
• No scope for clean: release-notes.md in .claude/afc/ is a draft file. The user decides whether to keep or delete it after the release.