# Automate the version bump and tag

A manual bump-and-tag ritual replaced with a scripted one, dry-run first.

Category: Release, deploy, and environments
Source: https://letsship.ai/use-cases/automate-the-version-bump-and-tag
Published: 2026-08-25

## Goal

Automate the version bump and tag step of the release.

## Acceptance criteria

- The bump is derived from the merged changes rather than chosen by hand
- A dry run reports what it would do without doing it
- Dry-run output is attached
- The tag format matches the existing convention exactly

## What lands as proof

Dry-run output on a real release branch, showing the version and tag it would create.

## Prompt

Copy this to an agent to open the ticket:

```text
Create a Linear issue in my team and assign it to the SHIP agent.

Title: Automate the release version bump

Description: Automate the version bump and tag step of the release.

Acceptance criteria:
- The bump is derived from the merged changes rather than chosen by hand
- A dry run reports what it would do without doing it
- Dry-run output is attached
- The tag format matches the existing convention exactly

Before you create the issue, document this repository's current manual release steps in the description.
```

## Questions

### What does the agent actually change?

The ticket is scoped to one outcome: automate the version bump and tag step of the release. Work that serves that outcome is in scope, and anything outside it is left for a separate ticket, so the pull request stays reviewable.

### How do I know the work is done?

The pull request carries the evidence, not only the diff. Here that means dry run on a release branch attached to the pull request, so a reviewer can confirm the result without reproducing the work locally.

### How much oversight does this need?

The run stops once the plan is written. Somebody reads the approach and approves it before any code exists, which is the cheapest moment to redirect the work.