Homebridge SmartHQ Branch & Release Workflow

This skill enforces the branch management and pull request workflow for the homebridge-smarthq project, ensuring all changes go through beta branches first with proper semantic versioning.

Branch Structure

The project maintains a beta-first release workflow:

Core Rules

1. **Never target `latest` directly** - All PRs must go to a beta branch first

2. **Labels are mandatory** - Every issue must have `patch`, `minor`, or `major` label before work begins

3. **Beta branch required** - Create appropriate beta branch if one doesn't exist

4. **Semantic versioning** - Beta branch version must match the change type

Semantic Version Labels

Before starting work on any issue, ensure one of these labels is applied:

Creating Beta Branches

If no appropriate beta branch exists, create one based on semantic versioning:

Determine Next Version

1. Check `package.json` in `latest` branch for current stable version (e.g., 0.4.0)

2. Check for existing active beta branches (e.g., `beta-0.5.0`)

3. Determine target version based on change type:

- **Patch** (0.4.0 → 0.4.1): `beta-0.4.1`

- **Minor** (0.4.0 → 0.5.0): `beta-0.5.0`

- **Major** (0.5.0 → 1.0.0): `beta-1.0.0`

Create Beta Branch

```bash

git fetch origin

git checkout latest

git pull origin latest

git checkout -b beta-X.Y.Z

git push origin beta-X.Y.Z

```

PR Workflow

When creating a pull request:

1. **Verify label** - Confirm issue has `patch`, `minor`, or `major` label

2. **Check beta branches** - Look for existing beta branch matching intended version

3. **Create beta branch if needed** - Follow creation steps above if no match exists

4. **Target correct beta** - Set PR base to appropriate beta branch, never `latest`

5. **Validate version alignment** - Ensure beta branch version matches label (patch/minor/major)

Examples

Bug Fix (Patch)

New Feature (Minor)

Breaking Change (Major)

Release Process

1. **Beta releases**: PRs merge to beta branches → trigger beta release workflow (e.g., v0.5.0-beta.5)

2. **Stable releases**: Beta branches merge to `latest` → trigger main release workflow (e.g., v0.5.0)

Pre-PR Validation Checklist

Before creating any pull request, verify:

Constraints