chore: automate releases with release-please action (#396)

* feat: add release-please workflow

Adds a GitHub Actions workflow to automate releases using release-please.
The workflow runs on pushes to main and can be triggered manually.

* feat: configure release-please settings

Adds release-please configuration with changelog sections and
pull request settings. Initializes manifest with version 1.18.0.

* remove the scripts from /tool

* chore: format changelog

* feat: exclude paths that do not warrant a release

* chore: update contributing doc

* feat: automate major version tagging

---------

Co-authored-by: Matias Leyba <[email protected]>

Author: Josh-Sanford

.github/workflows/release_please.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+name: release_please
+
+concurrency:
+  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+
+jobs:
+  release-please:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: googleapis/release-please-action@v4
+        id: release-please
+        with:
+          token: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN }}
+          manifest-file: ".release-please-manifest.json"
+          config-file: ".release-please-config.json"
+
+      - name: Checkout code
+        if: ${{ steps.release-please.outputs.release_created }}
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Update major version tag
+        if: ${{ steps.release-please.outputs.release_created }}
+        run: |
+          VERSION=${{ steps.release-please.outputs.major }}
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+          git tag -fa "v${VERSION}" -m "Update v${VERSION} to ${{ steps.release-please.outputs.tag_name }}"
+          git push origin "v${VERSION}" --force

.release-please-config.json

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/googleapis/release-please/main/schemas/config.json",
+  "changelog-sections": [
+    { "type": "feat", "section": "Features" },
+    { "type": "fix", "section": "Bug Fixes" },
+    { "type": "refactor", "section": "Refactors" },
+    { "type": "chore", "section": "Miscellaneous Chores" },
+    { "type": "docs", "section": "Docs" }
+  ],
+  "pull-request-header": ":rotating_light: There are changes ready for release :rocket:\n\nℹ Merge this PR once the team confirms the release is ready.\n",
+  "packages": {
+    ".": {
+      "release-type": "simple",
+      "pull-request-title-pattern": "chore: release ${version}"
+    }
+  },
+  "exclude-paths": [
+    ".github",
+    "site",
+    ".release-please-manifest.json",
+    ".release-please-config.json",
+    "CONTRIBUTING.md",
+    "CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md",
+    "examples"
+  ]
+}

.release-please-manifest.json

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+  ".": "1.18.0"
+}

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-# 1.18.0
+# Changelog
+
+## 1.18.0
 
 - fix: update mason creds example ([#263](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/263))
 - feat: update publish workflows to use Setup Dart action ([#272](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/272))
@@ -17,7 +19,7 @@
   - chore: add label sync action ([#176](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/176))
   - chore: update issue templates ([#247](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/247))
 
-# 1.17.0
+## 1.17.0
 
 - **dart_package:**
   - chore(deps): bump webfactory/ssh-agent from 0.8.0 to 0.9.0 ([#175](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/175))
@@ -43,16 +45,16 @@
 - **semantic_pull_request:**
   - docs: updating semantic pull request docs ([#174](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/174))
 
-# 1.16.1
+## 1.16.1
 
 - fix(dart_package): runnable skipped tests in Dart packages ([#168](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/168))
 
-# 1.16.0
+## 1.16.0
 
 - docs: add example usage to license_check ([#164](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/164))
 - feat: add timeout input to the publish workflows ([#166](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/166))
 
-# 1.15.0
+## 1.15.0
 
 - chore(deps): bump actions/setup-node from 3 to 4 ([#155](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/155))
 - chore(deps): bump streetsidesoftware/cspell-action from 2 to 4 ([#153](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/153))
@@ -63,7 +65,7 @@
 - feat: introduce license_check workflow ([#154](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/154))
 - chore(deps): bump streetsidesoftware/cspell-action from 4 to 5 ([#162](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/162))
 
-# 1.14.0
+## 1.14.0
 
 - feat: Add `format_directories` option ([#113](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/113))
 - feat: add `format_line_length` input ([#114](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/114))
@@ -73,7 +75,7 @@
 - docs: link to pana versions page ([#141](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/141))
 - fix: remove analytics due to cli update ([#143](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/pull/143))
 
-# [1.13.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.12.0...v1.13.0) (2023-05-12)
+## [1.13.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.12.0...v1.13.0) (2023-05-12)
 
 ### Features
 
@@ -82,45 +84,45 @@
 - add publish scripts ([#111](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/111)) ([9fce5d3](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/9fce5d35e66685847e8e3df2c92eda6e0cafe540))
 - support excluding directories ([#110](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/110)) ([462b9d2](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/462b9d2f52da70f6adaf85a9275b340c79ff8002))
 
-# [1.12.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.11.0...v1.12.0) (2023-01-26)
+## [1.12.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.11.0...v1.12.0) (2023-01-26)
 
 ### Features
 
 - replace flutter format with dart format ([#95](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/95)) ([d23279e](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/d23279ec9c5271ed441565df73240526b1eb5e98))
 
-# [1.11.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.10.0...v1.11.0) (2022-10-27)
+## [1.11.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.10.0...v1.11.0) (2022-10-27)
 
 ### Features
 
 - add cache key options ([#87](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/87)) ([9aae3cb](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/9aae3cb573a24e16374a0686e52ee08037bf9330))
 
-# [1.10.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.9.0...v1.10.0) (2022-10-19)
+## [1.10.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.9.0...v1.10.0) (2022-10-19)
 
 ### Features
 
 - add dependabot ([#79](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/79)) ([bff6468](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/bff6468cc09c495bfd7a8a0d87cb775c502eb0fb))
 - add optional setup step to flutter and dart package workflows ([#85](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/85)) ([d6c97a4](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/d6c97a412579a7fdda75de1f0f84634fcb6e0633))
 
-# [1.9.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.8.0...v1.9.0) (2022-10-11)
+## [1.9.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.8.0...v1.9.0) (2022-10-11)
 
 ### Features
 
 - **semantic_pull_request:** add types and scopes inputs ([#65](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/65)) ([e54fbb1](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/e54fbb1e853e28a883941d9cdbf649ec9def4faf))
 - spell check workflow ([#76](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/76)) ([9c12bb5](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/9c12bb5e67b3ce4949750c99e2e27ee137741473))
 
-# [1.8.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.7.0...v1.8.0) (2022-10-04)
+## [1.8.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.7.0...v1.8.0) (2022-10-04)
 
 ### Features
 
 - upgrade dart and flutter package to very_good_coverage@v2 ([#73](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/73)) ([3571d72](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/3571d72c0ed2b8b8bc3fb1ad7699c8dc8975984e))
 
-# [1.7.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.6.0...v1.7.0) (2022-09-09)
+## [1.7.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.6.0...v1.7.0) (2022-09-09)
 
 ### Features
 
 - **dart_package:** add platform input ([#70](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/70)) ([575c4f8](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/575c4f8928f91d46de82b132a8aa13664f811175))
 
-# [1.6.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.5.4...v1.6.0) (2022-09-01)
+## [1.6.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.5.4...v1.6.0) (2022-09-01)
 
 ### Bug Fixes
 
@@ -154,13 +156,13 @@
 
 - **semantic_pull_request:** remove wip (write access) ([#54](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/54)) ([6eb0847](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/6eb084735c27a2b8b7a710ee5c151a1a9246f1bd))
 
-# [1.5.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.4.0...v1.5.0) (2022-07-05)
+## [1.5.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.4.0...v1.5.0) (2022-07-05)
 
 ### Features
 
 - **dart_package:** `report_on` and `analyze_directories` inputs ([#52](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/52)) ([ab40b19](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/ab40b190bc9e310a2994342498abfdb9384eeaa4))
 
-# [1.4.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.3.0...v1.4.0) (2022-06-28)
+## [1.4.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.3.0...v1.4.0) (2022-06-28)
 
 ### Bug Fixes
 
@@ -172,7 +174,7 @@
 - **semantic_pull_request:** add semantic pull request workflow ([#48](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/48)) ([43beb8a](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/43beb8a0a20617ccf02a1a5e603ba2d90e45f00d))
 - add semantic commit check to workflows ([#45](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/45)) ([3afb04f](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/3afb04feba5abf760b105c908d31b5033aaf6839))
 
-# [1.3.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.2.2...v1.3.0) (2022-05-31)
+## [1.3.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.2.2...v1.3.0) (2022-05-31)
 
 ### Features
 
@@ -191,7 +193,7 @@
 
 - **dart_package:** use dart test instead of test_coverage ([#28](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/28)) ([b62ee03](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/b62ee0393c6da47f8fe8d452406b80aa8d217a05))
 
-# [1.2.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.1.1...v1.2.0) (2022-04-07)
+## [1.2.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.1.1...v1.2.0) (2022-04-07)
 
 ### Features
 
@@ -204,7 +206,7 @@
 
 - **flutter_package:** use very_good test runner ([#17](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/17)) ([37174b1](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/37174b1cd607d13ad9f9f398d15a1725bccc95aa))
 
-# [1.1.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.0.2...v1.1.0) (2022-02-28)
+## [1.1.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/v1.0.2...v1.1.0) (2022-02-28)
 
 ### Features
 
@@ -222,7 +224,7 @@
 
 - enhance workflow step names ([#9](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/9)) ([6429f08](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/commit/6429f0849fa0d6b9dc845d6f00d62e4a3d875ff1))
 
-# [1.0.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/07e989fcadd9f5a2250ad14b0fdb82e6c8bc6704...v1.0.0) (2022-01-12)
+## [1.0.0](https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/compare/07e989fcadd9f5a2250ad14b0fdb82e6c8bc6704...v1.0.0) (2022-01-12)
 
 ### Bug Fixes
 

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -27,77 +27,41 @@ pull request reviewed, the reviewer(s) may ask you to complete additional
 work, tests, or other changes before your pull request can be ultimately
 accepted.
 
-## 🦦 Releasing
+## Release Process 🚀
 
-1. Go to the **main** branch and ensure it is up to date with the remote:
+This project uses [release-please-action](https://github.com/googleapis/release-please-action) to automate releases. Versioning
+and changelog generation are handled automatically based on [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/).
 
-    ```bash
-    git checkout main
-    git pull
-    ```
+### How It Works
 
-1. Run the script that will generate the CHANGELOG for you:
+- 📌 **On every commit to `main`:**
+    - Commits are analyzed using Conventional Commits standards
+    - A release PR is automatically created or updated if a version bump is needed
+    - The **release PR** includes:
+        - An updated `CHANGELOG.md` 
+        - A version bump in `.release-please-manifest.json`
 
-    ```bash
-    sh tool/release_ready.sh <new-version>
-    ```
+    ##### 💡 Notes
 
-    **Note 💡** : You should follow semantic versioning and bump according to the changes the new version makes.
+    - The GitHub Action workflow that automates the release process is configured in `.github/workflows/release_please.yml`
+    - release-please settings are defined in `.release-please-config.json` and `.release-please-manifest.json`
+    - The release PR can be manually edited before merging
+    - The release PR should be merged **ONLY** when a new release is needed.
 
-    `<new-version>`: The version of this new extension release, for example: 0.2.1
+<br />
 
-    The release_ready script will:
+- ✅ **When the release PR is merged:**
+    - A new Git tag is created
+    - A GitHub Release is published with the changelog
+    - The new version is immediately available using: `VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/.github/workflows/<workflow_name>@v<version>`
 
-    - Create a new branch just for this release and checkout to it.
-    - Automatically update the CHANGELOG file with the associated changes.
+    ##### 💡 Notes
 
-1. Manually remove the *(deps-dev)* scope or other entries of the conventional commits entries in the CHANGELOG
-1. Add the changes and commit with the commit message that the *release_ready* script outputted.
-1. Raise a Pull Request, the title should be the same as the commit message outputted by the *release_ready* script.
-1. When the Pull Request is merged, tag a new release to the commit. When adding the tag ensure:
-    - The tag is pointing to the commit that you recently merged.
-    - The title of the tag should be v<new-version>
-    - The title of the release should be v<new-version>
-    - The description should be a raw copy of the CHANGELOG’s file version’s body you recently crafted (without the version header). If in doubt, see the other released tags as an example.
-1. After the release is tagged the new changes will be available by the the following syntax:
+    - Changes to excluded paths (.github/, site/, examples/, docs) will not trigger releases
+    - Only workflow file changes will result in version bumps
+    - Major version tags (e.g., `v1`) are automatically updated to point to the latest release within that major version
 
-    ```yaml
-    VeryGoodOpenSource/..@v<new-version>
-    ```
-
-    Where:
-
-    - `<new-version>`: The version of this new workflow or action, for example: 0.2.1
-
-1. Go to the **main** branch and ensure it is up to date with the remote:
-
-    ```yaml
-    git checkout main
-    git pull
-    ```
-
-1. Retag the major release.
-
-    For the Workflow or Action to be updated for those users using the `@<major-version` syntax we will require to retag the major release.
-
-    ```yaml
-    sh tool/retag_v<major-version>.sh <new-version>
-    ```
-
-    Where:
-
-    - `<major-version>`: Is the major version of the release, for example in 2.16.3 the major version is 2. For more information see the [semantic versioning documentation](https://semver.org/).
-    - `<new-version>`: The version of this new workflow or action, for example: 0.2.1.
-
-    If your change is a breaking change and requires a new major release you should update the name of the retag script and its `v<major-version>` instances.
-
-1. After the retag the new changes will be available by the the following syntax:
-
-    ```yaml
-    VeryGoodOpenSource/..@v<major-version>
-    ```
-
-    Where: `<major-version>`: Is the major version of the release, for example in 2.16.3 the major version is 2. For more information see the [semantic versioning documentation](https://semver.org/).
+<br />
 
 [conventional_commits_link]: https://www.conventionalcommits.org/en/v1.0.0
 [bug_report_link]: https://github.com/VeryGoodOpenSource/very_good_workflows/issues/new?assignees=&labels=bug&template=bug_report.md&title=fix%3A+