Release bump

Bump to the Next Version

Discover the project's current version and versioning scheme, work out what "next" means, get the user's explicit choice, then run the full the release-cut skill procedure at the chosen version.

Arguments: $ARGUMENTS

First, read references/release-conventions.md. The safety contract in the release-cut skill applies here unchanged: no push, no tag, no tag push without the explicit flags.

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Phase 1: Discover the Current Position

Gather three signals and check they agree:

1. Manifest version — from the version-bearing files (conventions reference).
2. Latest tag — git tag --sort=-creatordate | head -20, noting the prefix convention and the increment vocabulary the project has actually used (aN, bN, rcN, postN, devN, -next.N, plain semver).
3. CHANGES unreleased header — the version it already targets. A stable-track header like ## <project> 0.63.x (unreleased) constrains the next release to the 0.63 series unless the user overrides; a prerelease-track header names the next version outright.

If the signals disagree (manifest ahead of tags, CHANGES targeting a different series), surface the discrepancy before proposing anything.

Phase 2: Enumerate Candidates

Build the candidate list from the project's scheme — concrete versions, not abstract bump names:

• Prerelease track (e.g. current 0.1.9a1):
  • Next prerelease: 0.1.9a2 — the routine increment
  • Graduate to final: 0.1.9
  • Promote the segment (a → b → rc) — only if the project's tag history uses those segments
• Stable track (e.g. current 0.1.9):
  • Patch: 0.1.10
  • Minor: 0.2.0
  • Major: 1.0.0
  • Start a prerelease series: 0.2.0a0 (PEP 440) or the npm equivalent (0.2.0-next.0) — matching the project's vocabulary
• npm prerelease track (e.g. 0.1.0-next.11): next prerelease 0.1.0-next.12, or graduate to 0.1.0.

Do not offer post/dev releases unless the user asks or the argument names one.

Phase 3: Resolve the Version

• Explicit version argument (e.g. 0.2.0a0) — validate it sorts after the current version and fits the scheme, then proceed. If it breaks the scheme (a -next.N version in a PEP 440 project), stop and ask.
• Bump-type argument (patch, minor, major, prerelease, final) — map it to the concrete candidate. If the mapping is ambiguous for this scheme (prerelease on a stable track could mean 0.1.10a0 or 0.2.0a0; patch on a prerelease track could mean the next prerelease or the graduated final), do not guess — present the interpretations via ask-user-choice.
• No argument — present the Phase 2 candidates via ask-user-choice. Recommend the increment the project performed most recently (its last two tags show the habitual step). Label each option with the concrete version and a one-line description of when it is the right choice.

Never proceed on an inferred version. The user picks; the panel selection is the confirmation.

Phase 4: Cut

Run the complete the release-cut skill procedure (the release-cut skill, Phase 1 onward) with the chosen version, forwarding any --push / --tag / --push-tag flags the user passed.

The CHANGES step must leave the next unreleased header in MAJOR.MINOR.x form on stable-track projects. The typical precedent is the next minor series — after cutting 1.70.1 the fresh placeholder reads ## <project> 1.71.x (unreleased) — but the file's own past release-to-placeholder transitions are the specification; mirror them. Prerelease-track projects instead name the full next prerelease (after 0.0.1a35, the placeholder is ## <project> 0.0.1a36 (unreleased)).

Portability notes

• ask-user-choice — present the listed options and wait for the user to pick one. Hosts with a structured multiple-choice tool (Claude Code's AskUserQuestion) should use it; otherwise print a numbered list and wait for a numbered reply. Never proceed on an assumed answer.
• $ARGUMENTS — the text the user passed when invoking this skill. If your host does not substitute it, read it as the user's request in the current turn, and ask when there is none.
• Bundled files — every relative path in this skill points at a file shipped inside this skill directory. Read them from here, not from the host's plugin tree.