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Integrating Semantic Versioning into MfGames Writing

Up a Level

The final component of this MfGames Writing[1] series is how to integrate semantic releases[2] into the publication process.

1: /tags/mfgames-writing/

2: /blog/2018/08/13/publishing-processes/

If you want to use sentimental versioning[3], then you can probably skip this. I like having automatic versioning because it helps me identify the version that beta readers or an editor has when I go to integrate the changes.

3: http://sentimentalversioning.org/

Series

I appear to be writing a short series of post about the tools I use for publication and writing.

Semantic Versions and Releases[4]: Why semantic versioning helps with the writing process.

4: /blog/2018/08/13/publishing-processes/

Evolution of MfGames Writing[5]: A brief history and reasoning behind the tools.

5: /blog/2018/08/21/mfgames-writing-reasons/

First Steps Using MfGames Writing[6]: Starting a new project with MfGames Writing.

6: /blog/2018/08/22/mfgames-writing-init/

Adding Content to MfGames Writing[7]: Adding front and back matter to novels.

7: /blog/2018/08/23/mfgames-writing-content/

Working with MfGames Writing, CI, and Docker[8]: Adding automatic building with commits.

8: /blog/2018/08/24/mfgames-writing-docker-and-ci/

Additional Formats for MfGames Writing[9]: How to create PDF, MOBI, DOCX, and HTML versions.

9: /blog/2018/08/25/mfgames-writing-formats/

Theming for MfGames Writing[10]: A light introduction on how to customize the output.

10: /blog/2018/08/26/mfgames-writing-themes/

Integrating Semantic Versioning into MfGames Writing: Tying semantic releases into the process.

NPM Packages

Like everything else, we pull in a number of packages from NPM to handle the release process.

$ npm install
npm install \
  @commitlint/cli \
  @commitlint/config-conventional \
  @semantic-release/changelog \
  @semantic-release/git \
  commitizen \
  cz-conventional-changelog \
  husky \
  semantic-release

This is a pretty big and scary list, but there isn't a lot of clean ways to do this. I'll give a brief summary of them.

The `@commitlint` is to make sure we have a consistent commit messages (the `feat:` and `fix:` stuff). This makes sure everything else works smoothly.

The `@semantic-release` packages are to do the release process.

The two packages, `commitizen` and `cz-conventional-changelog`, are used to help guide you through creating the commits if you are unfamiliar with it. When these are installed, you can use `git cz` instead of `git commit`.

Finally, `husky` is used to make sure you follow the commits correctly because it will reject the commit if you don't follow conventions.

Configuration

The bulk of the configuration happens inside `package.json`. This file can get pretty big, so I'm only going to list the differences.

{
    "scripts": {
        "commitmsg": "commitlint -E GIT_PARAMS"
    },
    "release": {
        "branch": "master",
        "message": "chore(release): v${nextRelease.version}\n\n${nextRelease.notes}",
        "verifyConditions": [
            "@semantic-release/changelog",
            "@semantic-release/git"
        ],
        "analyzeCommits": ["@semantic-release/commit-analyzer"],
        "prepare": [
            "@semantic-release/changelog",
            "@semantic-release/npm",
            "@semantic-release/git"
        ],
        "publish": [],
        "success": [],
        "fail": []
    },
    "commitlint": {
        "extends": ["@commitlint/config-conventional"]
    }
}

Updating .gitlab-ci.yml

To actually use this, we have to modify the GitLab setup slightly.

image: dmoonfire/mfgames-writing-js:1.1.1

stages:
    - publish

publish:
    stage: publish
    tags:
        - docker
    script:
        - npm ci
        - npx commitlint --from=master to=CI_BUILD_REF_NAME
        - npx semantic-release
        - npm run build

    artifacts:
        expire_in: 1 week
        paths:
            - "*.pdf"
            - "*.epub"
            - "*.mobi"
            - "*.docx"
            - "*.html"

The two new lines are what does the release process.

- npx commitlint --from=master to=CI_BUILD_REF_NAME
- npx semantic-release

What Does This Give You

So, given the amount of setup, what does this give you? Every time you push up a `feat:` or `fix:`, it will do the following:

Bump the version to the next appropriate one (1.0.0 to 1.1.0 for example).
Generate the EPUB, MOBI, etc file.
Create or update the `CHANGELOG.md` file with the summary of your changes.
Tag the version in Git with `v1.1.0` (for example).

That means, every change you do will have a distinct version. With everything else tied together, you could put it in a header and use that to figure out where to make the changes (my writing group gives me 4-12 sets of corrections, frequently overlapping).

This isn't for everyone but I have found it very helpful when working with others.