feat: add --force-tag option to explicitly create git tags for releases. by Fanzzzd · Pull Request #2627 · googleapis/release-please

Fanzzzd · 2025-11-23T08:00:38Z

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Make sure to open an issue as a bug/issue before writing your code! That way we can discuss the change, evaluate designs, and agree on the general idea
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Fixes #1650

…tion

Fanzzzd · 2025-11-23T08:10:44Z

Use this PR to add "force-tag" to "release-please-config.json" to force the creation of tags. With this option, the draft releases can be traced by the force-created tags.

This option is set to false by default, so it won't affect other implementations.

Here is an example of how to use this option:

 {
    "packages": {
        "apps/desktop": {
            "release-type": "node",
            "package-name": "@acme/desktop",
            "draft": true,
            "force-tag": true, <---Set "force-tag" to true
            "extra-files": [
                "src-tauri/Cargo.toml",
                "src-tauri/Cargo.lock"
            ]
        },
        "apps/web": {
            "release-type": "node",
            "package-name": "@acme/web",
            "draft": true,
            "force-tag": true, <---Set "force-tag" to true
        }
    },
    "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/googleapis/release-please/main/schemas/config.json"
}

Fanzzzd · 2025-11-23T08:18:05Z

And I also forked the release-please action to test this branch more easily.

You can replace:

-  uses: googleapis/release-please-action@v4

in your release-please.yml with:

-  uses: Fanzzzd/release-please-action@release-with-force-tag

to try this new feature.

Here is the link for your interest: [Fanzzzd/release-please-action]

ferrarimarco

Thanks for this PR. A few things to check, then I'll have a look at testing this.

docs/cli.md

__snapshots__/cli.js

docs/cli.md

src/bin/release-please.ts

__snapshots__/cli.js

…iption across code, schema, and documentation.

Fanzzzd · 2025-12-20T06:34:41Z

@ferrarimarco Thank you for the thorough review! I've addressed all your feedback:

Renamed --force-tag to --force-tag-creation to better convey what the option does.
Updated the description to "Force the creation of a Git tag for the release."
Extended the documentation to explain why this is useful when draft is enabled - GitHub does not create tags for draft releases until they are published, which causes release-please to fail to find the previous release.

Please let me know if there's anything else you'd like me to adjust.

schemas/config.json

src/github.ts

ferrarimarco

Thanks. Added two minor comments.

erka · 2026-01-19T22:57:37Z

Hey @Fanzzzd and @ferrarimarco. Any progress with this? How could we help to push it forward?

- add debug log on 422 when creating the tag - revert unrelated formatting changes in config schema

Fanzzzd · 2026-01-20T01:21:37Z

@ferrarimarco , thank you for the review. I have addressed the two issues you mentioned.

erka · 2026-01-20T17:13:00Z

Thank you all so much!

…rors (#554) # Pull Request ## Description Fixes the persistent `HTTP 422: tag_name was used by an immutable release` error in the `publish-release` job. This is the **fifth iteration** (PRs #538 → #545 → #550 → #552) — all previous approaches failed because they attempted to delete and recreate releases or tags after publication, which GitHub's immutability model permanently forbids. ### Root Cause GitHub's [immutable releases documentation](https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/releasing-projects-on-github/about-releases#about-immutable-releases) states: > *"Git tags cannot be moved or deleted"* for immutable releases. *"Even if you delete a repository and create a new one with the same name, you cannot reuse tags that were associated with immutable releases."* The tag name is **permanently tainted** at GitHub's infrastructure level once a release is published with immutability enabled. Every delete/recreate approach was fundamentally doomed: | PR | Approach | Failure Mode | |----|----------|-------------| | #538 | `"draft": true` in config | Race condition — release-please can't find draft releases (lazy tag) | | #545 | `gh release edit --draft=true` | Can't edit published immutable release | | #550 | Delete published, recreate as draft | Worked for upload, but publish step failed | | #552 | Delete draft, recreate as published | HTTP 422 — tag name permanently reserved | ### Solution: Draft-First Flow Follow [GitHub's recommended workflow](https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/releasing-projects-on-github/about-releases#creating-immutable-releases): 1. **release-please creates release as draft** (`"draft": true` in config) 2. **Explicit git tag creation** via API (workaround for release-please's lazy tag behavior) 3. **Upload assets to the mutable draft** (existing `attest-and-upload` and `upload-plugin-packages` jobs) 4. **Publish**: `gh release edit --draft=false` — release becomes immutable with all assets already attached ### Draft Race Condition Workaround release-please with `"draft": true` uses lazy tag creation — the git tag isn't materialized until publish. Without the tag, release-please's GraphQL query returns null for `tag` and `tagCommit`, causing it to skip the draft and propose a bogus version bump. This was fixed upstream in [googleapis/release-please#2627](googleapis/release-please#2627) (`force-tag-creation` option), but the fix is **not yet released** in release-please-action (latest: v4.4.0 → release-please 17.1.3). We work around this by explicitly creating the git tag via API after draft creation. When a new release-please-action ships with PR #2627, replace the manual tag creation step with `"force-tag-creation": true` in `release-please-config.json`. ## Related Issue(s) Supersedes PRs #538, #545, #550, #552 ## Type of Change Select all that apply: **Code & Documentation:** - [x] Bug fix (non-breaking change fixing an issue) **Infrastructure & Configuration:** - [x] GitHub Actions workflow ## Testing - Verified YAML and JSON syntax (no lint errors) - Logic validated against [GitHub REST API docs](https://docs.github.com/en/rest/releases/releases), [immutable releases concept](https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/releasing-projects-on-github/about-releases#about-immutable-releases), and [release-please issue #1650](googleapis/release-please#1650) - The draft-first approach avoids all immutability enforcement because assets are uploaded to mutable drafts, and publish is a single `--draft=false` edit (not a delete/create) ## Checklist ### Required Checks - [x] Documentation is updated (if applicable) - [x] Files follow existing naming conventions - [x] Changes are backwards compatible (if applicable) ## Security Considerations - [x] This PR does not contain any sensitive or NDA information - [x] Any new dependencies have been reviewed for security issues ## Additional Notes - **v2.3.7 remediation**: The v2.3.7 tag is permanently tainted. A manual release may be needed if v2.3.7 assets need to be published. The next release-please cycle (v2.3.8+) will use the draft-first flow and should succeed cleanly. - **Future upgrade**: Once `release-please-action` includes `force-tag-creation` support, the manual tag creation step can be replaced with a single config line. This is documented in a code comment referencing googleapis/release-please#2627.

Fanzzzd added 2 commits November 23, 2025 13:07

feat: add --force-tag option to explicitly create git tags for releases.

57122da

docs: add --force-tag option to CLI and manifest releaser documenta…

7cacbe1

…tion

Fanzzzd requested review from a team as code owners November 23, 2025 08:00

product-auto-label bot added the size: l Pull request size is large. label Nov 23, 2025

blunderbuss-gcf bot assigned chingor13 Nov 23, 2025

ferrarimarco requested changes Dec 12, 2025

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feat: rename force-tag to force-tag-creation and expand its descr…

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…iption across code, schema, and documentation.

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bendasgfyug approved these changes Jan 4, 2026

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Fanzzzd and others added 2 commits January 20, 2026 08:21

Merge branch 'main' into feat/draft-release-force-tag

5bbf68e

fix(github): log when tag already exists during release creation

5dfb877

- add debug log on 422 when creating the tag - revert unrelated formatting changes in config schema

Fanzzzd force-pushed the feat/draft-release-force-tag branch from 2c78dff to 5dfb877 Compare January 20, 2026 08:46

test: update CLI help snapshots

96e4c45

ferrarimarco approved these changes Jan 20, 2026

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chingor13 approved these changes Jan 20, 2026

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chingor13 merged commit e3eba37 into googleapis:main Jan 20, 2026
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release-please bot mentioned this pull request Jan 15, 2026

chore(main): release 17.2.0 #2616

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agreaves-ms mentioned this pull request Feb 13, 2026

fix(workflows): add manual tag creation for draft releases until release-please-action updates microsoft/hve-core#538

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WilliamBerryiii mentioned this pull request Feb 14, 2026

fix(workflows): use draft-first release flow to avoid immutability errors microsoft/hve-core#554

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This was referenced Feb 14, 2026

fix(workflows): add skip-github-pull-request conditional to prevent bogus release PRs microsoft/hve-core#559

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ci(workflows): skip PR creation on release commits to prevent bogus major-version PRs microsoft/hve-core#560

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Fanzzzd commented Nov 23, 2025 •

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