> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://thehypixelguardians.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Releasing

> Changelogs, version bumps, and the release workflow.

TriBridge keeps **two** changelogs, written for different people, and both are updated in the same commit as
the change itself.

| File                   | Reader                                | Voice                                                      |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| `CHANGELOG.md`         | Whoever runs the bot, and future you  | Third person, complete, sub-bullets for the details        |
| `DISCORD_CHANGELOG.md` | Guild members reading an announcement | Second person, one line per change, nothing they can't see |

The full format lives in
[docs/RELEASING.md](https://github.com/TheHypixelGuardians/TriBridge/blob/master/docs/RELEASING.md). The summary:

## CHANGELOG.md

SkyHanni-style — a `##` release section, a `###` category, a `####` feature area, then `+` bullets with
indented `+` sub-bullets.

```markdown theme={null}
## Unreleased

### New Features

#### Bridge

+ Added **guild-to-guild bridging**: chat in one Hypixel guild can now be shared straight into the others.
    + Off by default and turned on per guild with `/guilds edit guild:sb crossbridge:True`.
```

Categories: `New Features`, `Improvements`, `Fixes`, `Technical Details`, `Removed Features` — only the ones
with entries. Feature areas: `Bridge`, `Account Linking`, `Management`, `Information`, `Requests`,
`Admin Panel`, `Documentation`, `Core`, `Misc`.

Write for the people running and using the bot. Refactors and dependency bumps go under `Technical Details`.
Always say what the default is, and what an existing install sees if it does nothing.

## DISCORD\_CHANGELOG.md

A change earns a line only if a guild member would notice it. One line, second person, no sub-bullets. Only
markdown Discord renders — no tables, no `+` bullets, no titled links. **Each `##` section must stay under 2000
characters** so it pastes as one message.

## Versioning

The bot is on a pre-release beta line: versions look like `0.1.0-beta.1`, and each beta release bumps the
trailing number. Lowercase `beta`, a dot before the number, no leading `v` — anything else is not valid
semver, and npm copies it verbatim into `package-lock.json` rather than correcting it.

Ordinary semver resumes at the first stable release, `1.0.0`: patch for fixes, minor for features, major for a
config format existing `*Config.json` files can't be read as. The `Version 1.0.0` to `Version 1.2.1` sections
in the changelog predate the beta line and are left alone.

## Cutting a release

1. Bump `version` in `package.json` — the beta number, or the semver component above. This is the step that
   gets skipped; nothing else catches it.
2. Rename `## Unreleased` to `## Version X.Y.Z` in **both** changelogs, and add a fresh empty `## Unreleased`
   above it in each.
3. Check [Installation](/tribridge/installation) and the README if the Node version or the dependencies changed.
4. Commit as `Update: X.Y.Z release`.
5. Post the new `##` section of `DISCORD_CHANGELOG.md` to the announcement channel.

Never tag or push tags unless explicitly asked.

## Deploying

```bash theme={null}
git pull
npm install
```

Then restart. Config files live outside the repository and survive the pull — see [Updating](/tribridge/updating) for
what to check afterwards, including the up-to-an-hour delay before new slash commands appear.

## Public docs (Mintlify)

User-facing documentation deploys from [`site/`](https://github.com/TheHypixelGuardians/TriBridge/tree/master/site)
on every push to `master` — there is no separate publish step at release time. Preview locally with
`cd site && npx mint dev`. See [site/README.md](https://github.com/TheHypixelGuardians/TriBridge/blob/master/site/README.md).

## Next

* [Updating](/tribridge/updating)
* [Contributing](/tribridge/contributing)