RELEASE_PLEASE_VERSIONING.md

Release-Please Versioning Guide

Important: When to Remove versioning: 'prerelease'

Current State (Prerelease Versions) - WORKING FINE

When your packages are using prerelease versions (like 0.0.3-alpha.0, 0.1.0-beta.1, etc.), the versioning: 'prerelease' field CAN BE USED and is working correctly.

✅ CURRENT CONFIG (Working):

{
  "packages": {
    ".": {
      "release-type": "node",
      "prerelease": true,
      "prerelease-type": "alpha",
      "versioning": "prerelease" // ← This is working fine for prereleases
    }
  }
}

When to Remove versioning: 'prerelease'

The versioning: 'prerelease' field should be REMOVED when:

1. Transitioning to stable versions (like 1.0.0, 2.1.0)
2. Moving away from prerelease mode
3. Starting a new stable release cycle

❌ INCORRECT for stable versions:

{
  "packages": {
    ".": {
      "release-type": "node",
      "versioning": "prerelease" // ← REMOVE THIS for stable versions
    }
  }
}

✅ CORRECT for stable versions:

{
  "packages": {
    ".": {
      "release-type": "node"
      // No versioning field needed for stable versions
    }
  }
}

Migration Path

Step 1: Current (Prerelease) - WORKING

{
  "packages": {
    ".": {
      "release-type": "node",
      "prerelease": true,
      "prerelease-type": "alpha",
      "versioning": "prerelease" // ← Keep this for prereleases
    }
  }
}

Step 2: When reaching stable version (1.0.0) - REMOVE

{
  "packages": {
    ".": {
      "release-type": "node"
      // Remove versioning field for stable versions
    }
  }
}

Current Configuration (Prerelease Versions)

Since your packages are currently at:

• Main package: 0.1.0-alpha.0
• Dapp package: 0.1.0-alpha.0

Summary

Package Version	Config Field	Action
0.1.0-alpha.0	versioning: 'prerelease'	✅ KEEP (working)
1.0.0	versioning: 'prerelease'	❌ REMOVE

Remember: The versioning field works fine for prereleases but should be removed when transitioning to stable versions!