🦧 release-chimp

Automate your package releases with AI-powered version bumping and changelog generation.

release-chimp helps you bump versions and generate changelogs, all AI-assisted and fully configurable.

🧠 Features

• 🍌 release-chimp bump – Bump semantic version (major, minor, patch) with AI-assisted changelog
• 📝 release-chimp changelog – Generate changelogs from commit history, with optional AI summaries
• ⚙️ release-chimp config – Manage .chimprc settings without manual file edits
• 🚀 Integrates smoothly with git tagging and pushing releases
• 🤝 Part of the Chimp Stack

📦 Installation

npm install -g @chimp-stack/release-chimp

Or run without installing:

npx @chimp-stack/release-chimp bump minor --dry-run

🧠 Initialize Your Config with init

Create or update your .chimprc config for release-chimp:

npx @chimp-stack/release-chimp init

Choose local or global config location and answer simple prompts. Existing configs merge automatically.

🛠 Configuration

release-chimp uses the releaseChimp namespace inside .chimprc (JSON file at repo root).

Example .chimprc:

{
  "releaseChimp": {
    "bumpType": "patch",
    "tagFormat": "@chimp-stack/core@${version}",
    "changelog": {
      "path": "CHANGELOG.md",
      "useAI": true,
      "groupOrder": ["Added", "Fixed", "Changed"]
    },
    "dryRun": false,
    "noPackageJson": false,
    "noChangelog": false,
    "noGit": false
  }
}

Config Options

| Key | Type | Description | | --------------- | --------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | bumpType | string | Default version bump (major, minor, or patch) | | tagFormat | string | Format for git tags (e.g., "@chimp-stack/core@${version}") | | changelog | object | Changelog generation options | | dryRun | boolean | If true, simulate actions without writing or pushing | | noPackageJson | boolean | Skip updating package.json version | | noChangelog | boolean | Skip changelog generation | | noGit | boolean | Skip git commit, tagging, and push |

changelog options: | Key | Type | Description | | ------------ | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | path | string | File path for changelog output (default: "CHANGELOG.md") | | useAI | boolean | Use OpenAI to generate summary section | | groupOrder | string[] | Order of commit groups in changelog |

🛠 Config Commands

You can use release-chimp config to manage settings in your .chimprc without editing the file manually (though you still can if you like that sort of thing).

config list

release-chimp config list

Prints all current config values under the gitChimp namespace.

config get <key>

release-chimp config get model

Gets the value of a specific config key.

config set <key> <value>

release-chimp config set dryRun true
release-chimp config set tagFormat "@my-org/pkg@${version}"

Sets a config key. Supports string, boolean, number, and arrays (as comma-separated values).

🧪 CLI Commands

bump

Bump the version and generate changelog:

release-chimp bump [major|minor|patch] [options]

Options | Flag | Description | | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | --dry-run | Show what would happen, don’t write or push | | --no-package-json | Skip package.json version update | | --no-changelog | Skip changelog generation | | --no-git | Skip git commit, tag, and push |

changelog

release-chimp changelog

Generate a changelog from git commits.

Options

| Flag | Description | | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------- | | --from <tag> | Start tag or commit (default: latest tag) | | --to <ref> | End ref (default: HEAD) | | --output <file> | File path to write changelog | | --ai | Use AI to generate a summary section |

init and config

release-chimp shares init and config commands with the Chimp Stack core tools, to easily manage your .chimprc config.

💡 Pro Tip

Config precedence (highest wins):

1. CLI flags
2. .chimprc config
3. Defaults baked into the tool

🐒 Part of the Chimp Stack

release-chimp is part of the Chimp Stack - a growing suite of tools designed to monkey-proof your developer workflow, automating the boring parts so you can focus on shipping real crap.

Check out our other tools:

• git-chimp - AI-driven commit and PR automation
• commit-chimp - Streamlined commit and PR creation CLI
• doc-chimp - Automatic documentation generation

🐛 Contributing

Bugs, ideas, or monkey business? Open an issue or PR on GitHub.

⚖️ License

MIT. No monkeys were harmed in the making of this software. We assume.

🐵 Parting Wisdom

"Automate the tedious. Ship the awesome. Let the chimps do the rest."

— The Internet (probably)