@chimp-stack/release-chimp

🦧 release-chimp

Automate your package releases with AI-powered version bumping and changelog generation.

release-chimp helps you bump versions and generate changelogs, all AI-assisted and fully configurable.

🧠 Features

• 🍌 release-chimp bump – Bump semantic version (major, minor, patch) with AI-assisted changelog
• 📝 release-chimp changelog – Generate changelogs from commit history, with optional AI summaries
• ⚙️ release-chimp config – Manage .chimprc settings without manual file edits
• 🚀 Integrates smoothly with git tagging and pushing releases
• 🤝 Part of the Chimp Stack

📦 Installation

npm install -g @chimp-stack/release-chimp

Or run without installing:

npx @chimp-stack/release-chimp bump minor --dry-run

🧠 Initialize Your Config with init

Create or update your .chimprc config for release-chimp:

npx @chimp-stack/release-chimp init

Choose local or global config location and answer simple prompts. Existing configs merge automatically.

🛠 Configuration

release-chimp uses the releaseChimp namespace inside .chimprc (JSON file at repo root).

Example .chimprc:

{
  "releaseChimp": {
    "bumpType": "patch",
    "tagFormat": "@chimp-stack/core@${version}",
    "changelog": {
      "path": "CHANGELOG.md",
      "useAI": true,
      "groupOrder": ["Added", "Fixed", "Changed"]
    },
    "dryRun": false,
    "noPackageJson": false,
    "noChangelog": false,
    "noGit": false
  }
}

Config Options

Key	Type	Description
bumpType	string	Default version bump (major, minor, or patch)
tagFormat	string	Format for git tags (e.g., "@chimp-stack/core@${version}")
changelog	object	Changelog generation options
dryRun	boolean	If true, simulate actions without writing or pushing
noPackageJson	boolean	Skip updating package.json version
noChangelog	boolean	Skip changelog generation
noGit	boolean	Skip git commit, tagging, and push

changelog options:

Key	Type	Description
path	string	File path for changelog output (default: "CHANGELOG.md")
useAI	boolean	Use OpenAI to generate summary section
groupOrder	string[]	Order of commit groups in changelog

🛠 Config Commands

You can use release-chimp config to manage settings in your .chimprc without editing the file manually (though you still can if you like that sort of thing).

config list

release-chimp config list

Prints all current config values under the gitChimp namespace.

config get <key>

release-chimp config get model

Gets the value of a specific config key.

config set <key> <value>

release-chimp config set dryRun true
release-chimp config set tagFormat "@my-org/pkg@${version}"

Sets a config key. Supports string, boolean, number, and arrays (as comma-separated values).

🧪 CLI Commands

bump

Bump the version and generate changelog:

release-chimp bump [major|minor|patch] [options]

Options

Flag	Description
--dry-run	Show what would happen, don’t write or push
--no-package-json	Skip package.json version update
--no-changelog	Skip changelog generation
--no-git	Skip git commit, tag, and push

changelog

release-chimp changelog

Generate a changelog from git commits.

Options

Flag	Description
--from <tag>	Start tag or commit (default: latest tag)
--to <ref>	End ref (default: HEAD)
--output <file>	File path to write changelog
--ai	Use AI to generate a summary section

init and config

release-chimp shares init and config commands with the Chimp Stack core tools, to easily manage your .chimprc config.

💡 Pro Tip

Config precedence (highest wins):

• CLI flags
• .chimprc config
• Defaults baked into the tool

🐒 Part of the Chimp Stack

release-chimp is part of the Chimp Stack - a growing suite of tools designed to monkey-proof your developer workflow, automating the boring parts so you can focus on shipping real crap.

Check out our other tools:

• git-chimp - AI-driven commit and PR automation
• commit-chimp - Streamlined commit and PR creation CLI
• doc-chimp - Automatic documentation generation

🐛 Contributing

Bugs, ideas, or monkey business? Open an issue or PR on GitHub.

⚖️ License

MIT. No monkeys were harmed in the making of this software. We assume.

🐵 Parting Wisdom

"Automate the tedious. Ship the awesome. Let the chimps do the rest."

— The Internet (probably)