git:20260405.a722c39 to git:20260827.8361274

- ---

- name: "versioning-policy"

- description: "Semver versioning rules for Squad SDK and CLI — prevents prerelease version incidents"

- domain: "release, versioning, npm, CI"

- confidence: "medium"

- source: "earned (PR #640 workspace resolution incident, PR #116 prerelease leak, CI gate implementation)"

- ---

-

- ## Context

-

- Squad is a monorepo with two publishable npm packages (`@bradygaster/squad-sdk` and `@bradygaster/squad-cli`) managed via npm workspaces. Version mismatches and prerelease leaks have caused production incidents — most notably PR #640, where a `-build.N` prerelease version silently broke workspace dependency resolution.

-

- This skill codifies the versioning rules every agent must follow.

-

- ## 1. Version Format

-

- All packages use **strict semver**: `MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH`

-

- - ✅ `0.9.1`, `1.0.0`, `0.10.0`

- - ❌ `0.9.1-build.4`, `0.9.1-preview.1`, `0.8.6.1-preview`

-

- No prerelease suffixes on `dev` or `main` branches — ever.

-

- ## 2. Prerelease Versions Are Ephemeral

-

- The `scripts/bump-build.mjs` script creates `-build.N` versions (e.g., `0.9.1-build.4`) for **local development testing only**.

-

- Rules:

- - `-build.N` versions are created automatically during local `npm run build`

- - They are **never committed** to `dev` or `main`

- - The script skips itself in CI (`CI=true` or `SKIP_BUILD_BUMP=1`)

- - If you see a `-build.N` version in a PR diff, it is a bug — reject the PR

-

- ## 3. SDK and CLI Version Sync

-

- Both `@bradygaster/squad-sdk` and `@bradygaster/squad-cli` **MUST have the same version** at all times. The root `package.json` version must also match.

-

- `bump-build.mjs` enforces this by updating all three `package.json` files in lockstep (root + `packages/squad-sdk` + `packages/squad-cli`).

-

- If versions diverge, workspace resolution silently breaks (see §4).

-

- ## 4. npm Workspace Semver Footgun

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- The CLI depends on the SDK via a workspace dependency with a semver range:

-

- ```json

- "@bradygaster/squad-sdk": ">=0.9.0"

- ```

-

- **Critical:** Per the semver specification, `>=0.9.0` does **NOT** match `0.9.1-build.4`.

-

- Semver prerelease versions (anything with a `-` suffix) are only matched by ranges that explicitly reference the same `MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH` base with a prerelease comparator. A bare `>=0.9.0` range skips all prerelease versions.

-

- **What happens:** When the local SDK has version `0.9.1-build.4`, npm's workspace resolution fails to match the `>=0.9.0` range. npm then **silently installs a stale published version** from the npm registry instead of using the local workspace link. The build succeeds but runs against old SDK code.

-

- This is the root cause of the **PR #640 incident**, where workspace packages appeared linked but were actually running against stale registry versions.

-

- ## 5. Who Bumps Versions

-

- **Surgeon (Release Manager) owns all version bumps.**

-

- | Agent | May modify `version` in package.json? |

- |-------|---------------------------------------|

- | Surgeon | ✅ Yes — sole owner of version bumps |

- | Any other agent | ❌ No — unless explicitly fixing a prerelease leak |

-

- If you discover a prerelease version committed to `dev` or `main`, you may fix it (revert to the clean release version) without Surgeon's approval. This is a safety escape hatch, not a license to manage versions.

-

- ## 6. Version Bump Lifecycle

-

- ```

- ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐

- │ Development phase │

- │ Versions stay at current release: 0.9.1 │

- │ bump-build.mjs creates -build.N locally (not committed)│

- ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤

- │ Pre-release testing │

- │ bump-build.mjs → 0.9.1-build.1, -build.2, ... │

- │ Local only. Never committed. Never pushed. │

- ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤

- │ Release │

- │ Surgeon bumps to next version (e.g., 0.9.2 or 0.10.0) │

- │ Tags, publishes to npm registry │

- ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤

- │ Post-release │

- │ Versions stay at the new release version (e.g., 0.9.2) │

- │ Development continues on clean version │

- └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

- ```

-

- ## 7. CI Enforcement

-

- The **`prerelease-version-guard`** CI gate blocks any PR to `dev` or `main` that contains prerelease version strings in `package.json` files.

-

- - The gate scans all three `package.json` files for `-` in the version field

- - PRs with prerelease versions **cannot merge** until the version is cleaned

- - The `skip-version-check` label bypasses the gate — use **only** for the bump-build script's own PR (if applicable), and only with Surgeon's approval

-

- ## 8. Incident Reference — PR #640

-

- **PR #640** is the cautionary tale for this entire policy.

-

- **What happened:** Prerelease versions (`0.9.1-build.4`) were committed to a branch. The workspace dependency `>=0.9.0` failed to match the prerelease version per semver spec. npm silently installed a stale published SDK from the registry instead of linking the local workspace copy. Four PRs (#637–#640) attempted iterative patches before the root cause was identified.

-

- **Root cause:** No versioning policy existed. Agents didn't know that prerelease versions break workspace resolution, or that only Surgeon should modify versions.

-

- **Resolution:** This skill, the `prerelease-version-guard` CI gate, and the team decision to centralize version ownership under Surgeon.

-

- ## Quick Reference

-

- | Rule | Summary |

- |------|---------|

- | Format | `MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH` — no prerelease on dev/main |

- | Prerelease | `-build.N` is local-only, never committed |

- | Sync | SDK + CLI + root must have identical versions |

- | Ownership | Surgeon bumps versions; others don't touch them |

- | CI gate | `prerelease-version-guard` blocks prerelease PRs |

- | Escape hatch | Any agent may revert a prerelease leak to clean version |

- | Footgun | `>=0.9.0` does NOT match `0.9.1-build.4` per semver |