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Modular Release Pipelines

Automated version management, changelog generation, and optimized builds for monorepos.

Smart Builds

Only build what changed. GitHub App tokens trigger builds correctly. Release-please handles versions automatically.

Overview

This guide covers implementing release automation with:

  • Release-please for version bumping and changelog generation
  • GitHub App authentication for proper workflow triggering
  • Change detection to skip unnecessary builds
  • Cascade rebuilds when shared dependencies change
flowchart LR
    subgraph release[Release Pipeline]
        Main[Push to Main] --> AppToken[GitHub App Token]
        AppToken --> RP[Release-Please]
        RP --> PR[Creates PR]
    end

    subgraph build[Build Pipeline]
        PR -->|pull_request event| DC[Detect Changes]
        DC --> Test[Test]
        Test --> Build[Build]
        Build --> Status[Build Status]
    end

    %% Ghostty Hardcore Theme
    style Main fill:#65d9ef,color:#1b1d1e
    style AppToken fill:#9e6ffe,color:#1b1d1e
    style RP fill:#9e6ffe,color:#1b1d1e
    style PR fill:#fd971e,color:#1b1d1e
    style DC fill:#fd971e,color:#1b1d1e
    style Test fill:#9e6ffe,color:#1b1d1e
    style Build fill:#a7e22e,color:#1b1d1e
    style Status fill:#5e7175,color:#f8f8f3

The Problem

Traditional CI/CD pipelines rebuild everything on every commit. In a monorepo with multiple components, this means:

  • Unnecessary compute time for unchanged components
  • Longer feedback loops for developers
  • Wasted resources on duplicate work

Additionally, release-please using the default GITHUB_TOKEN won't trigger build pipelines on its PRs -- a GitHub security measure to prevent infinite loops.

The Solution

A modular pipeline architecture that:

  1. Uses a GitHub App token for release-please (triggers pull_request events correctly)
  2. Detects which components changed
  3. Only builds affected components
  4. Automatically versions and releases based on commits

Guides

Guide Description
Release-Please Configuration Setting up automated versioning with GitHub App
Change Detection Detecting and cascading changes
Workflow Triggers GitHub App token vs GITHUB_TOKEN
Protected Branches Working with branch protection rules

Prerequisites

Before implementing release pipelines, set up a GitHub App for your organization:

Architecture

Build Pipeline

Runs on pull requests (including release-please PRs with GitHub App token):

flowchart TD
    subgraph detect[Change Detection]
        Contracts[Contracts Changed?]
        Backend[Backend Changed?]
        Frontend[Frontend Changed?]
        Charts[Charts Changed?]
    end

    subgraph cascade[Cascade Logic]
        BNB[Backend Needs Build]
        FNB[Frontend Needs Build]
    end

    subgraph build[Conditional Build]
        Test[Test Node Packages]
        BB[Build Backend]
        BF[Build Frontend]
        HC[Helm Charts]
    end

    Contracts -->|yes| BNB
    Contracts -->|yes| FNB
    Backend -->|yes| BNB
    Frontend -->|yes| FNB

    BNB --> Test
    FNB --> Test
    BNB --> BB
    FNB --> BF
    Charts --> HC

    %% Ghostty Hardcore Theme
    style Contracts fill:#fd971e,color:#1b1d1e
    style Backend fill:#fd971e,color:#1b1d1e
    style Frontend fill:#fd971e,color:#1b1d1e
    style Charts fill:#fd971e,color:#1b1d1e
    style BNB fill:#a7e22e,color:#1b1d1e
    style FNB fill:#a7e22e,color:#1b1d1e
    style Test fill:#9e6ffe,color:#1b1d1e
    style BB fill:#a7e22e,color:#1b1d1e
    style BF fill:#a7e22e,color:#1b1d1e
    style HC fill:#bded5f,color:#1b1d1e

Release Pipeline

Runs on main branch pushes:

flowchart LR
    Main[Push to Main] --> Token[Generate App Token]
    Token --> RP[Release Please]
    RP --> DC[Detect Changes]
    DC --> Test[Test]
    DC --> Build[Build]
    Build --> Scan[Security Scan]
    Scan --> Deploy[Deploy Signal]

    %% Ghostty Hardcore Theme
    style Main fill:#65d9ef,color:#1b1d1e
    style Token fill:#9e6ffe,color:#1b1d1e
    style RP fill:#9e6ffe,color:#1b1d1e
    style DC fill:#fd971e,color:#1b1d1e
    style Test fill:#9e6ffe,color:#1b1d1e
    style Build fill:#a7e22e,color:#1b1d1e
    style Scan fill:#f92572,color:#1b1d1e
    style Deploy fill:#e6db74,color:#1b1d1e

Quick Start

  1. Set up GitHub App for your organization
  2. Configure release-please with App token
  3. Set up change detection for your components
  4. Handle protected branches if applicable

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