📦 release utility #

The release utility is, as its name suggests, a small command-line tool that helps you quickly release your Dart apps.

It takes care of :

• Reading the pubspec.yaml file to find the current version.
• Detecting changes since the last release run.
• Bumping the version and version code, including marking breaking changes.
• Writing the changes to the CHANGELOG.md file.
• Updating both pubspec.yaml and snap/snapcraft.yaml.
• Committing and pushing the changes.
• Creating a Github release, or just a tag if the release fails.
• Publishing to pub.flutter-io.cn, if no publish_to: none is specified in the pubspec.yaml.

Also : almost everything is configurable.

Getting Started #

Installation #

For most users, simply run the following commands :

dart pub add dev:release
dart pub get

Usage #

It's as simple as :

dart run release

The utility will guide you through the release process. Note that in order to generate your CHANGELOG.md file, release requires your commits to follow the Conventional Commits format.

Here is an example output :

D:\Projects\Flutter\Project>dart run release
Building package executable...
Built release:release.
Successfully read pubspec.yaml.
Current version is "0.1.0".
Last tag is "0.1.0".
Found no breaking change.
Proposed new version is "0.1.1", enter "Y" to continue or type a new version proposal. Type "N" to cancel. Y
Enter a comma separated list of scopes to ignore (default is "docs,version,deps") or "Y" to continue. Y
Writing changelog content...
Done.
Writing version to "pubspec.yaml" and running `flutter pub get`...
Done.
Do you want to commit the changes ? (Y/N) Y
Committing changes...
Done.
Do you want to push the changes ? (Y/N) Y
Pushing...
Done.
Do you want to create a Github release ? (Y/N) Y
Creating a release on Github...
Done.
Fetching tags...
Done.
Do you want to publish the new version on pub.flutter-io.cn ? (Y/N) Y
Publishing...
Done.

Configuration #

You can configure the release utility directly in your pubspec.yaml file. Here's an example :

name: my_app
description: my_app_description
version: 0.0.1
repository: https://github.com/me/my_app

# Other values, like dependencies and dev dependencies.

# See https://pub.flutter-io.cn/documentation/release/latest/release/ReleaseConfig-class.html for more details.
release:
  changelog:
    header: '# 📰 my_app changelog'
    defaultIgnoredScopes: ['docs', 'version', 'deps'] # This is the default.
    defaultIgnoredTypes: ['test'] # This is the default.
    # Entries are processed using the Liquid template engine.
    entry:
      title: '## v{{ version }}' # This is the default.
      header: 'Released on {{ date | date: "MMMM d, yyyy" }}.' # This is the default.
      item: '* **{% if breaking %}BREAKING {% endif %}{{ type | upcase }}**: {{ description }} ({% if repo %}[#{{ hash }}](https://github.com/{{ repo }}/commit/{{ hash }}){% else %}#{{ hash }}{% endif %})' # This is the default.
  git:
    github: https://github.com/me/my_app # Alternative to top-level `repository`.
    newVersionCommitMessage: 'chore(version): Updated version and changelog.' # This is the default.
    remote: 'main' # This is the default.

Setting up Github Releases #

To enable Github releases, go to https://github.com/settings/personal-access-tokens/new to create a new fine-grained personal access token.

• Token name: Choose any name you like.
• Description: Optional.
• Expiration date: Set as preferred.

In the Repository access section, select Only select repositories, then choose your app's repository.

In the Permissions section :

• Click Add permissions.
• Under Contents :
  • Set Contents to Read and write.
  • Set Metadata to Read-only.

Here is a screenshot of my setup for the release utility.

Once done, click Generate token. Then create a .env file at the root of your project folder and add your Github token :

GITHUB_PAT=github_pat_...

Example #

This utility is already in use in some of my apps and projects. Feel free to check out their CHANGELOG.md, pubspec.yaml, and release pages :

• Open Authenticator
• Scriny
• Beerstory

License #

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Contributions #

There are many ways to contribute to this project :

• Fork it on Github.
• Submit an issue for a feature request or bug report.
• Donate to support the developer.