dotnet-release-management
dotnet-release-management
Release lifecycle management for .NET projects: Nerdbank.GitVersioning (NBGV) setup with version.json configuration, version height calculation, and public release vs pre-release modes; SemVer 2.0 strategy for .NET libraries (when to bump major/minor/patch, API compatibility considerations) and applications (build metadata, deployment versioning); changelog generation (Keep a Changelog format, auto-generation with git-cliff and conventional commits); pre-release version workflows (alpha, beta, rc, stable progression); and release branching patterns (release branches, hotfix branches, trunk-based releases with tags).
Version assumptions: .NET 8.0+ baseline. Nerdbank.GitVersioning 3.6+ (current stable). SemVer 2.0 specification.
Scope boundary: This skill owns the release lifecycle strategy -- versioning, changelogs, pre-release workflows, and branching patterns. Plugin-specific release workflows (dotnet-artisan versioning and publishing) are documented in repo-level CONTRIBUTING.md. CI/CD publish workflows (NuGet push, container push, deployment) are owned by [skill:dotnet-gha-publish] and [skill:dotnet-ado-publish]. GitHub Release creation and asset management are owned by [skill:dotnet-github-releases]. NuGet package versioning properties (Version, PackageVersion) are owned by [skill:dotnet-nuget-authoring].
Out of scope: Plugin-specific release workflow -- see repo-level CONTRIBUTING.md. CI/CD NuGet push and deployment workflows -- see [skill:dotnet-gha-publish] and [skill:dotnet-ado-publish]. GitHub Release creation and asset attachment -- see [skill:dotnet-github-releases]. NuGet package metadata and signing -- see [skill:dotnet-nuget-authoring]. Project-level configuration (SourceLink, CPM) -- see [skill:dotnet-project-structure].
Cross-references: [skill:dotnet-gha-publish] for CI publish workflows, [skill:dotnet-ado-publish] for ADO publish workflows, [skill:dotnet-nuget-authoring] for NuGet package versioning properties.
NBGV (Nerdbank.GitVersioning)
NBGV calculates deterministic version numbers from git history. The version is derived from a version.json file and the git commit height (number of commits since the version was set), producing unique versions for every commit without manual version bumps.
Installation
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