Apollo Release Guide (Skill-driven)

This guide is for teams using Codex / Claude Code to trigger release skills via natural language. The goal is to minimize manual operations, standardize release quality, and keep human confirmation before critical external actions.

1. Scope and recommended order

The Apollo release process is covered by three skills:

1. apollo-java-release for apolloconfig/apollo-java
2. apollo-release for apolloconfig/apollo
3. apollo-helm-chart-release for apolloconfig/apollo-helm-chart

Recommended order:

1. Release apollo-java-release first (no dependency on other release flows)
2. Release apollo-release second (usually depends on the new Java SDK version)
3. Release apollo-helm-chart-release last

If a release does not involve one repository, you can skip that sub-flow.

2. Preparation

2.1 Permissions and tools

• GitHub permissions for PR, Release, Workflow, Discussion, and Milestone operations
• Required local commands: git, gh, python3, jq
• Additional command for Helm chart release: helm

2.2 Repository and branch state

• Keep each target repository clean before starting
• Ensure base branches are up to date (master for apollo, default branch for other repos)

2.3 Release inputs to prepare

• Release version (for example 2.8.0)
• Next development version (for example 2.9.0-SNAPSHOT)
• Highlights PR list (for example PR_ID_1,PR_ID_2,PR_ID_3)

2.4 Install release skills (Codex / Claude Code)

Before using the flows in this guide, install these three skills first:

• apollo-java-release
• apollo-release
• apollo-helm-chart-release

Recommended approach (natural language):

1. Use skill-installer in a Codex session
2. Set the source to the full GitHub URL: https://github.com/apolloconfig/apollo-skills
3. Install the three skills above

Example natural-language request:

• “Use skill-installer to install apollo-java-release, apollo-release, and apollo-helm-chart-release from https://github.com/apolloconfig/apollo-skills.”

If you prefer manual setup, place these skill folders into your local skill directory (usually $CODEX_HOME/skills or ~/.codex/skills) and restart the client.

3. Release Apollo Java (apollo-java-release)

3.1 How to trigger (natural language)

In the apollo-java workspace session, ask with a prompt like:

• "Use apollo-java-release to publish X.Y.Z, next version A.B.C-SNAPSHOT, and use these PRs for highlights: ..."

3.2 What the skill automates

• Version bump PR (revision from SNAPSHOT to release)
• Prerelease creation
• Trigger release.yml and wait for Sonatype Central publish completion
• Announcement discussion publishing
• Post-release snapshot bump and post-release PR
• Prerelease promotion to official release

3.3 Checkpoint interaction model

• The skill pauses automatically before critical external actions and asks whether to continue
• You respond in chat to continue, or request edits before proceeding

4. Release Apollo Server (apollo-release)

4.1 How to trigger (natural language)

In the apollo workspace session, ask with a prompt like:

• "Use apollo-release to publish X.Y.Z, next version A.B.C-SNAPSHOT, with highlights PRs ..."

4.2 What the skill automates

• Version bump PR (pom.xml revision)
• Release notes and announcement draft generation from CHANGES.md
• Prerelease creation (vX.Y.Z)
• Package build + checksum upload via GitHub Actions
• Docker publish workflow trigger
• Prerelease promotion to official release
• Announcement discussion publishing
• Post-release snapshot bump, CHANGES.md archive, milestone updates, and post-release PR

4.3 Checkpoint interaction model

Same model as apollo-java-release:

• System prompts appear at checkpoints
• You can continue or request adjustments (highlights, notes, parameters)

5. Release Helm Charts (apollo-helm-chart-release)

5.1 How to trigger (natural language)

In the apollo-helm-chart workspace session, ask with a prompt like:

• "Use apollo-helm-chart-release to publish the current chart version changes"

5.2 What the skill automates

• Chart version change detection and consistency checks
• helm lint, helm package, and helm repo index
• File whitelist checks to prevent accidental commits
• Branch and commit draft generation
• Pause before push / PR for explicit confirmation (no auto-push/no auto-PR by default)

6. Unified post-release verification

At minimum, verify:

1. Apollo release page includes 3 zip files and 3 sha1 files
2. Docker image tags are available
3. apollo-java artifacts are available in Maven Central
4. Helm repository docs/index.yaml includes the new chart versions
5. Core smoke tests pass (config publish, gray release, client fetch, portal core flows)

7. Common operations (skill usage perspective)

7.1 Resume after interruption

Ask directly in chat, for example:

• "Continue the previous release flow"
• "Resume from the next checkpoint"

The skill restores from state and does not repeat completed steps.

7.2 Dry run first

Request a dry run first, for example:

• "Run apollo-release in dry-run mode first so I can review the plan"

Then request the real run after confirmation.

7.3 Adjust highlights / wording

Before prerelease creation, ask for adjustments, for example:

• "Use these PRs for highlights: ..., then regenerate release notes"

After review, continue to the next checkpoint.