cops release checklist

cops release checklist inspects the current working directory for the prerequisites of a verify/pack/distribute release workflow. It reads package.json and checks for the presence of required scripts, the CHANGELOG, a CI workflow file, and a release tarball.

Usage

cops release checklist [flags]

Flags

--output

string

default:"table"

Output format: table, json, or markdown.

Checks

Check	Status logic
`changelog_unreleased`	`pass` when `CHANGELOG.md` contains `## [Unreleased]`; `warn` otherwise
`verify_script`	`pass` when `package.json` defines a `verify` script; `warn` otherwise
`pack_internal_script`	`pass` when `package.json` defines a `pack:internal` script; `warn` otherwise
`ci_workflow`	`pass` when `.github/workflows/ci.yml` exists; `warn` otherwise
`tarball_present`	`pass` when a `<name>-<version>.tgz` tarball matching `package.json` name and version exists; `warn` otherwise
`distribution_steps`	Always `warn` — reminder to publish/share the tarball after packing

Output columns

check, status, details

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
`0`	All checks passed
`10`	One or more checks produced a `warn` result

Recommended workflow

Update CHANGELOG.md

Add or update the ## [Unreleased] section with all changes for this release.

# Verify the section is present
grep '## \[Unreleased\]' CHANGELOG.md

Add required scripts to package.json

Ensure verify (typecheck + test + build) and pack:internal (verify + pack) scripts are defined.

{
  "scripts": {
    "verify": "npm run typecheck && npm test && npm run build",
    "pack:internal": "npm run verify && npm pack"
  }
}

Create a CI workflow

Add .github/workflows/ci.yml to run typecheck, test, build, and pack on every push.

Run pack:internal

Generate the release tarball.

npm run pack:internal

Run the checklist

Verify all prerequisites are met before distributing.

cops release checklist

Distribute the tarball

Publish or share the tarball, then install it globally.

npm i -g ./<name>-<version>.tgz

Examples

cops release checklist

check                  status  details
─────────────────────  ──────  ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
changelog_unreleased   pass    CHANGELOG has Unreleased section
verify_script          pass    npm run verify is configured
pack_internal_script   pass    npm run pack:internal is configured
ci_workflow            pass    .github/workflows/ci.yml found
tarball_present        pass    Found my-tool-1.2.0.tgz
distribution_steps     warn    After pack:internal, publish/share tarball and install with `npm i -g ./<tarball>`

cops release checklist operates on the current working directory. Run it from the root of your project where package.json and CHANGELOG.md live.