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Troubleshooting

Common release-please issues and solutions.

Validate Config First

Most issues stem from configuration. Use the JSON schema and verify paths match between config and manifest files.

Common Issues

Issue Cause Solution
No PR created No conventional commits Use feat:, fix:, etc. prefixes
Wrong version bump Commit type mismatch Check commit types match changelog-sections
Changelog empty Hidden sections Remove hidden: true from desired sections
Duplicate tags Inconsistent component settings Verify include-component-in-tag consistency
PRs don't trigger builds Using GITHUB_TOKEN Switch to GitHub App token
Version not updated in file Missing annotation Add # x-release-please-version comment

Debugging Steps

1. Check Commit Format

git log --oneline -10

Commits must follow conventional format:

feat: add new feature
fix: resolve bug
chore: update dependencies

2. Validate Configuration

Ensure $schema is set in release-please-config.json:

{
  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/googleapis/release-please/main/schemas/config.json"
}

3. Check Manifest Versions

Verify .release-please-manifest.json contains correct package paths:

{
  "packages/backend": "1.0.0",
  "packages/frontend": "1.0.0"
}

Paths must match release-please-config.json exactly.

4. Review Workflow Logs

Check the release-please action output for errors:

gh run view --log

Version Stuck

If versions aren't bumping:

  1. Check for release PR - Merge any open release-please PRs
  2. Verify commit scope - Commits must touch files in package path
  3. Check branch - Release-please only runs on default branch

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