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Release Automation

Technical documentation on the automated release process and info generation.

Overview​

The release info integration automatically:

  1. Validates version consistency across package.json, package-lock.json, and com.github.IsmaelMartinez.teams_for_linux.appdata.xml
  2. Extracts release notes from the com.github.IsmaelMartinez.teams_for_linux.appdata.xml file
  3. Generates a release-info.json file conforming to electron-builder's ReleaseInfo interface
  4. Makes release info available for Linux publishing to GitHub

How It Works​

Build Process Integration​

  1. Pre-build: The prebuild npm script runs generate-release-info before any build
  2. After Pack: The afterPack hook in electron-builder generates fresh release info for Linux builds
  3. Publishing: The release-info.json file is referenced by electron-builder's releaseNotesFile setting for Linux publishing to GitHub

Generated Files​

  • release-info.json (project root): Used for Linux publishing process

Usage​

NPM Scripts​

# Generate release info manually
npm run generate-release-info

# Build with automatic release info generation
npm run pack
npm run dist

Essential Commands​

Quick Reference
  • npm run generate-release-info - Generate release information manually
  • npm run pack - Development build with automatic release info generation
  • npm run dist - Production build with publishing support

File Structure​

project/
├── package.json                           # Contains version and build config
├── package-lock.json                      # Version consistency check
├── com.github.IsmaelMartinez.teams_for_linux.appdata.xml  # Source of release notes
├── release-info.json                      # Generated release info (dev)
├── scripts/
│   ├── generateReleaseInfo.js             # Release info generator
│   └── afterpack.js                       # Build hook integration

Configuration​

electron-builder Configuration (package.json)​

{
  "build": {
    "linux": {
      "publish": {
        "provider": "github",
        "releaseType": "draft",
        "releaseInfo": {
          "releaseNotesFile": "release-info.json"
        }
      }
    },
    "afterPack": "scripts/afterpack.js"
  }
}

NPM Scripts (package.json)​

{
  "scripts": {
    "generate-release-info": "node scripts/generateReleaseInfo.js",
    "prebuild": "npm run generate-release-info"
  }
}

Release Info Schema​

The generated release-info.json follows electron-builder's ReleaseInfo interface:

{
  "releaseName": "2.0.16",
  "releaseNotes": "• Added feature A\n• Fixed bug B\n• Improved performance C",
  "releaseDate": "2025-06-05"
}

Properties​

PropertySourceDescription
releaseNamepackage.jsonCurrent version number
releaseNotesappdata.xmlRelease notes from <description> section
releaseDateappdata.xmlRelease date from date attribute

Release Workflow​

Adding Release Notes​

To add release notes for a new version:

  1. Update version in package.json
  2. Update lock file by running npm install to update package-lock.json
  3. Add release entry in com.github.IsmaelMartinez.teams_for_linux.appdata.xml:
<release version="2.0.17" date="2025-06-15">
  <description>
    <ul>
      <li>New feature description</li>
      <li>Bug fix description</li>
      <li>Performance improvement</li>
    </ul>
  </description>
</release>
  1. Build automatically - The release info will be generated during the next build

Release Checklist​

  • Version updated in package.json
  • package-lock.json updated via npm install
  • Release entry added to appdata.xml
  • Release notes describe all significant changes
  • Version consistency validated
  • Build and test locally before publishing

Error Handling​

The system performs validation and provides helpful error messages:

Common Errors
  • Version Mismatch: If package.json and package-lock.json versions don't match
  • Missing Release Entry: If no release entry exists for the current version in appdata.xml
  • Empty Release Notes: If the release entry has no description
  • Missing Files: If any required file is not found

Troubleshooting Steps​

  1. Check version consistency across all three files
  2. Validate XML syntax in the appdata file
  3. Ensure release entry exists for the current version
  4. Verify file permissions for script execution

Examples​

Manual Generation​

cd /path/to/teams-for-linux
npm run generate-release-info

Successful Output:

✅ Version consistency check passed!
   package.json: 2.0.16
   package-lock.json: 2.0.16
   com.github.IsmaelMartinez.teams_for_linux.appdata.xml: 2.0.16 (with release notes)

📋 Generated Release Info (electron-builder ReleaseInfo interface):

{
  "releaseName": "2.0.16",
  "releaseNotes": "• Added a reimplementation of the call events to revive the incoming call scripts\n• Added an incoming call toast just like the one from the discontinued Linux Teams App from Microsoft",
  "releaseDate": "2025-06-05"
}

💾 Release info saved to: /path/to/teams-for-linux/release-info.json

Build Integration​

npm run pack  # Automatically runs prebuild and afterPack hooks

The release info will be automatically generated and bundled with the application.

CI/CD Integration​

For automated releases in GitHub Actions:

- name: Generate Release Info
  run: npm run generate-release-info

- name: Build Application
  run: npm run dist

- name: Publish Release
  run: npm run publish

Advanced Configuration​

Custom Release Notes Format​

You can customize the release notes extraction by modifying the generateReleaseInfo.js script to:

  • Change formatting (HTML to Markdown conversion)
  • Add additional metadata
  • Include commit information
  • Generate changelogs from git history

Multi-Platform Releases​

For cross-platform releases, ensure:

  • Version consistency across all platforms
  • Platform-specific release notes if needed
  • Proper artifact naming and organization