Streamline Your Development Workflow with Build Genie

In the world of modern software development, time is precious, and automation is king. As developers, we’re constantly looking for tools that can reduce manual effort, simplify workflows, and ensure consistency in our projects. Enter Build Genie – a powerful utility designed to handle build information generation, versioning, and changelog creation seamlessly.

If you're searching for solutions that incorporate semantic versioning, Git automation, and conventional commits, Build Genie is the tool you’ve been looking for. Whether you’re a seasoned developer managing CI/CD pipelines or just getting started with version control, this tool is a game-changer.

What is Build Genie?

Build Genie is a versatile tool designed to generate and serve build information about your project, such as commit hashes, tags, branches, and versions. It also automates semantic versioning, changelog generation, and git tagging based on conventional commits. This saves you hours of manual work and ensures your repository adheres to best practices.

With Build Genie, you can:

• Automate version bumps using semantic versioning.
• Generate detailed changelogs directly from commit messages.
• Manage git tags and release artifacts with ease.
• Support multi-language and multi-environment setups (e.g., Node.js, Java, Python, .NET).

Why Developers Love Build Genie

1. Automated Semantic Versioning

Gone are the days of manually updating version numbers across files. Build Genie automates the process by analyzing commit messages and determining whether your release should be a patch, minor, or major version bump.

2. Seamless Changelog Generation

Build Genie uses conventional-changelog to parse commit messages and create professional changelogs. This is especially useful for teams following the Conventional Commits Specification or those who need consistent release notes for their CI/CD pipelines.

3. Cross-Language Support

Build Genie isn't just for Node.js developers. Whether you're working with Maven (Java/Kotlin), Gradle, .NET, YAML, OpenAPI, or Python, Build Genie provides configuration options to handle versioning and changelog generation across various ecosystems.

4. Integration with CI/CD Pipelines

Designed with modern workflows in mind, Build Genie integrates seamlessly into your CI/CD pipelines, enabling automated releases without any manual intervention. You can even customize lifecycle scripts for your specific needs.

5. Developer-Friendly CLI

Build Genie’s command-line interface (CLI) is intuitive and powerful. From generating build information files to cutting releases, the CLI offers flexibility and control with simple commands.

npx build-genie release --prerelease beta
npx build-genie generate-file --filepath ./build-info.json        

Key Features

Build Information Generator

Generate JSON files containing:

• Commit SHA
• Git tag
• Branch name
• Build date
• Project name and version

These files can be served as endpoints in your application to provide real-time build information.

Commit and Tag Versioning

With support for:

• Pre-releases (e.g., alpha, beta)
• Custom tag prefixes
• Lifecycle scripts (e.g., pre-commit, post-changelog)
• Skipping lifecycle steps (e.g., skip changelog generation)

Build Genie ensures your release process is both automated and customizable.

Multi-Environment Support

Out-of-the-box configurations for:

• Maven (pom.xml)
• Gradle (build.gradle)
• .NET (.csproj)
• YAML
• OpenAPI (openapi.yaml)
• Python (pyproject.toml)

This makes Build Genie a one-stop solution for developers across languages.

How It Works

Build Genie simplifies the release process into a few steps:

1. Analyze commit messages for Conventional Commits.
2. Automatically determine the version bump (patch, minor, or major).
3. Generate a detailed changelog.
4. Commit the changes, tag the release, and optionally skip git hooks.
5. Provide a build information JSON file for downstream processes.

Getting Started

Installation

Install Build Genie via npm:

npm install build-genie        

Or use npx directly for one-off commands:

npx build-genie release --first-release        

Configuration

Configure Build Genie using a .versionrc, .versionrc.json, or directly in your package.json:

{
  "build-genie": {
    "bumpFiles": ["package.json", "package-lock.json"],
    "scripts": {
      "prechangelog": "echo 'Before changelog generation'",
      "postchangelog": "echo 'After changelog generation'"
    }
  }
}        

Use Cases

CI/CD Pipelines

Build Genie integrates effortlessly with tools like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, and GitLab CI/CD, ensuring that every release is consistent, versioned, and documented.

Multi-Language Repositories

Managing dependencies and versions in monorepos with multiple languages is no longer a headache. Build Genie supports common formats like pom.xml, build.gradle, and pyproject.toml for versioning.

AI-Driven Development

In the age of AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini AI, Build Genie’s well-documented CLI and seamless integration make it an ideal candidate for developer workflows.

Why Switch to Build Genie?

Build Genie is built on the solid foundation of commit-and-tag-version and standard-version, ensuring reliability and flexibility. It’s ideal for teams that want to:

• Automate versioning and changelog generation.
• Manage multi-environment releases.
• Simplify CI/CD workflows.

Try Build Genie Today

Don’t let manual processes slow you down. Whether you’re an individual contributor or part of a large development team, Build Genie helps you deliver faster, more consistent releases.

Learn More

• GitHub Repository: Build Genie
• Documentation: Official Docs

Embrace automation. Embrace Build Genie. ??