Release Guide

This guide is the single source of truth for releasing the Weaviate Studio extension to the VS Code Marketplace and Open VSX Registry.

Source of truth

The root RELEASE_GUIDE.md is a short stub that links here. See Documentation Structure for the reasoning.

Pre-Release Checklist

Code Quality & Testing

• [ ] All tests pass: npm test
• [ ] Lint passes: npm run lint
• [ ] Build succeeds: npm install && npm run compile && npm run build:webview && npm run build:add-collection
• [ ] Manual testing completed across supported VS Code versions (see the Testing Guide)
• [ ] All features working as expected

Documentation & Metadata

• [ ] README.md updated with latest features, new GIFs, and any breaking changes
• [ ] Companion website updated with release highlights
• [ ] CHANGELOG.md updated with release notes
• [ ] package.json version bumped appropriately
• [ ] LICENSE file present and up-to-date
• [ ] All marketplace assets ready (screenshots, logos, etc.)

Repository State

• [ ] All changes committed and pushed to main
• [ ] No uncommitted changes in working directory
• [ ] Git tag created (v<version>) for release

CI/CD Workflows

Weaviate Studio uses two GitHub Actions workflows:

Workflow	File	Trigger	Purpose
CI/CD Pipeline	.github/workflows/ci.yml	Push to main/develop, PR, or Release	Lint, test, build, and publish the extension
Deploy Docs	.github/workflows/deploy-docs.yml	Push to main (when site/** changes)	Build and deploy the companion website to GitHub Pages

What the CI/CD Pipeline Does (ci.yml)

1. Runs lint and tests
2. Builds the extension (extension + webview + add-collection)
3. Packages with vsce
4. Publishes to the VS Code Marketplace
5. Publishes to the Open VSX Registry
6. Attaches the .vsix as a release artifact

The pipeline is wired to run automatically when a Git tag that starts with v is pushed.

What the Docs Deploy Workflow Does (deploy-docs.yml)

1. Triggers on push to main when files in site/ change
2. Installs dependencies (npm ci)
3. Builds the VitePress site (npm run docs:build)
4. Deploys to GitHub Pages at https://muleyprasad.github.io/weaviate-studio/

No manual steps needed — just push documentation changes to main.

Required GitHub Secrets

Secret	Purpose
VSCE_PAT	VS Code Marketplace publishing token
OVSX_PAT	Open VSX Registry publishing token
APPLICATION_INSIGHTS_CONN_STRING	Telemetry connection string

Marketplace Platforms

Platform	Publisher	CLI Tool
VS Code Marketplace	prasadmuley	vsce
Open VSX	prasadmuley	ovsx

Quick Release Steps (Automated)

Follow these six steps to publish a new version. The ci.yml workflow runs automatically on tag push.

1. Pick the Next Version

Use Semantic Versioning:

• Patch fix → 1.0.0 → 1.0.1
• Back-compatible feature → 1.1.0
• Breaking change → 2.0.0

2. Update Metadata

npm version patch|minor|major --no-git-tag-version

Then:

• Edit CHANGELOG.md — add a section for the new version (see Release Notes Style)
• Update the companion website with release highlights in site/
• Update README.md if needed

## [1.0.1] — 2025-07-08

### Added

- Something new.

### Fixed

- Something fixed.

### Breaking

- Describe any breaking change and required user action

3. Commit and Push to main

git add package.json CHANGELOG.md
git commit -m "chore(release): 1.0.1"
git push origin main

4. Tag and Publish the Release

git tag -a v1.0.1 -m "Release 1.0.1"
git push origin v1.0.1

Then open GitHub → Releases → "Draft new release" and:

• Select the just-pushed tag v1.0.1
• Paste the same CHANGELOG section in the description
• Click Publish release — this fires the release event the workflow listens for

5. Watch GitHub Actions

The ci.yml workflow will:

• Run tests & build (extension + webview)
• Package with vsce
• Publish to VS Code Marketplace using the VSCE_PAT secret
• Publish to Open VSX using the OVSX_PAT secret
• Attach the .vsix file as a build artifact

6. Verify

• The marketplace listing should show the new version a few minutes after the job succeeds
• The Open VSX listing should also reflect the new version
• Optionally test the artifact locally:

  code --install-extension weaviate-studio-<version>.vsix --force

• Verify the docs site auto-deployed (check the Deploy Docs workflow)

That's it — no manual vsce publish needed. version bump → changelog → commit → tag.

Manual Marketplace Publishing (Fallback)

Use these steps if automation fails.

VS Code Marketplace

Prerequisites:

• Microsoft account with Visual Studio Marketplace publisher access
• Personal Access Token (PAT) from Azure DevOps
• vsce CLI tool installed globally

One-Time Setup:

1. Create publisher account — Visit https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/manage and create the prasadmuley publisher account.

2. Generate Personal Access Token — Go to https://dev.azure.com/ → User Settings → Personal Access Tokens → create a token with Marketplace (publish) scope.

3. Configure vsce:

   npm install -g vsce
   vsce login prasadmuley
   # Enter your PAT when prompted

Publish:

# 1. Build
npm run compile
npm run build:webview
npm run build:add-collection

# 2. Package
vsce package

# 3. Smoke-test locally
code --install-extension weaviate-studio-<version>.vsix

# 4. Publish
vsce publish

Open VSX Registry (Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium)

One-Time Setup:

1. Create account — Sign up with GitHub at https://open-vsx.org/
2. Install CLI:

   npm install -g ovsx

3. Get access token — https://open-vsx.org/user-settings/tokens

Publish:

ovsx publish weaviate-studio-<version>.vsix -p YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN

Windsurf

Windsurf supports VS Code extensions via Open VSX. Publishing to Open VSX automatically covers it. Users can also manually install the .vsix from GitHub Releases.

Release Notes Style

Releases (v1.3.0+) follow a "Product Update" format rather than a simple changelog. Use this structure for GitHub Release descriptions.

Structure & Tone

• Catchy title: Descriptive name (e.g., v1.5.0 — GENERATIVE SEARCH & RBAC 🔭🛡️)
• Enthusiastic summary: Brief, inviting summary of the release's value
• Highlights section: 3-4 major impact changes with "Why this matters" context
• Visual categorization using consistent emojis:
  • 🔭 DATA EXPLORER / GENERATIVE SEARCH
  • 🛡️ RBAC & SECURITY
  • ⚡ PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS
  • 🎨 UX ENHANCEMENTS
  • 🐛 BUG FIXES
• PR & Issue links (e.g., (PR #63))
• Installation matrix with links to Marketplace, Open VSX, and direct VSIX downloads

Formatting Guidelines

• Use horizontal separators (--- or ----------------------------------------) between major sections
• Use ALL CAPS for section headers
• Bold key features and technical terms
• Acknowledge contributors and include test coverage statistics

Example

v1.7.0 — MULTI-VECTOR SEARCH & BACKUP IMPROVEMENTS 🔍💾

We're thrilled to announce v1.7.0, which brings full support for
Weaviate's named-vector / Muvera search and improved backup UX.

🌟 HIGHLIGHTS
- Multi-Target Vector Search: Query across multiple vector spaces...
- Backup Wildcard Support: Select all collections at once using *...

Release Notes Template

# [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD — RELEASE TITLE 🚀

We're thrilled to announce the release of **vX.Y.Z**, which brings [brief summary of major theme].

---

### 🌟 HIGHLIGHTS

- **Feature A:** Description...
  - _Why this matters:_ Context...
- **Feature B:** Description...
  - _Why this matters:_ Context...

---

### 🔭 [MAJOR FEATURE CATEGORY]

- **Detailed improvement 1:** Technical details... (PR #00)
- **Detailed improvement 2:** Technical details...

### 🛡️ [SECURITY / RBAC]

- **Enhancement 1:** ...
- **Enhancement 2:** ...

### ⚡ PERFORMANCE & UX

- **Optimization:** ...
- **UI Tweak:** ...

### 🐛 BUG FIXES

- **Fix 1:** ...
- **Fix 2:** ...

---

### 📦 INSTALLATION

| **VS Code**         | **Cursor / Windsurf** | **Manual**            |
| :------------------ | :-------------------- | :-------------------- |
| [Marketplace](LINK) | [Open VSX](LINK)      | [Download VSIX](LINK) |

---

Post-Release Monitoring

Key Metrics

• Download counts on each marketplace
• User ratings and reviews
• Issue reports and bug feedback
• Feature requests from users
• Docs site traffic (via GitHub Pages insights)

Maintenance Tasks

• Regular updates based on VS Code API changes
• Bug fixes from user reports
• Feature enhancements based on feedback
• Security updates for dependencies
• Docs site updates — push changes to site/ and they deploy automatically

Troubleshooting

Publishing Fails

# Check token permissions
vsce verify-pat

# Verify package.json format
vsce package --no-yarn

Extension Won't Load

• Check VS Code compatibility
• Verify all dependencies are bundled
• Test in clean VS Code environment

Marketplace Rejection

• Review marketplace guidelines
• Check for policy violations
• Ensure all required metadata is present

Support Resources

• VS Code Extension API
• Publishing Guide
• Open VSX Registry
• GitHub Actions Documentation

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Questions or issues? Open a GitHub issue or check the troubleshooting section above.