Release Process

gitsweeper releases are driven by git tags and built by GitHub Actions using goreleaser. Pushing a tag matching v* triggers the release workflow, which builds cross-platform binaries and creates a GitHub release.

Supported platforms

OS	Architectures
Linux	amd64, arm64
macOS	amd64 (Intel), arm64 (Apple Silicon)
Windows	amd64

Cutting a release

1. Update the version constant in main.go:

   const Version = "x.y.z"
   

2. Commit the version bump:

   git add main.go
   git commit -m "chore: bump version to x.y.z"
   

3. Tag and push:

   git tag vx.y.z
   git push origin vx.y.z
   

4. GitHub Actions takes over, automatically:

   • Building binaries for every supported platform.
   • Creating compressed archives (.tar.gz for Unix, .zip for Windows).
   • Creating a GitHub release tied to the tag.
   • Uploading every archive plus a checksums.txt file as release assets.
   • Updating the Homebrew formula (in Formula/gitsweeper.rb) with new SHA256 checksums.

The full release workflow lives in .github/workflows/release.yml.

Local builds

Build for every platform

make build-all

Output lands in bin/ (one binary per platform/arch).

Build release archives locally

make release-snapshot

This runs goreleaser in snapshot mode — same artifacts as a real release, just without publishing. Output lands in dist/.

You can also use the bundled smoke test:

./test-goreleaser.sh

Release artifacts

Each release publishes:

gitsweeper-vx.y.z-linux-amd64.tar.gz
gitsweeper-vx.y.z-linux-arm64.tar.gz
gitsweeper-vx.y.z-darwin-amd64.tar.gz
gitsweeper-vx.y.z-darwin-arm64.tar.gz
gitsweeper-vx.y.z-windows-amd64.zip
gitsweeper_x.y.z_checksums.txt

Each archive contains:

• The gitsweeper binary (or gitsweeper.exe on Windows).
• A copy of README.md.

Installation paths after release

Users can install the new release immediately via:

• The install script (install.sh defaults to the latest GitHub release).
• Homebrew (brew install --formula Formula/gitsweeper.rb — the formula is auto-updated by the release workflow).
• Direct download from the GitHub releases page.

See Installation for the user-facing instructions.

Troubleshooting

Release workflow didn't fire

• Confirm the tag matches v* (e.g. v0.1.2, not 0.1.2 or release-0.1.2).
• Check that the repository's GitHub Actions permissions allow workflow runs.
• Look at the Actions tab for the detailed error log.

Binary doesn't run on the target platform

• Verify the user downloaded the right architecture (uname -m).
• Check execute permissions on Linux/macOS: chmod +x gitsweeper.
• Confirm the binary isn't quarantined by Gatekeeper on macOS (xattr -d com.apple.quarantine gitsweeper).

Homebrew formula update step failed

• The formula expects three SHA256 placeholders — see the Homebrew formula reference.
• Re-running the release workflow from the Actions tab is safe; it's idempotent.