lifting-bits-sleigh/.agents/skills/sleigh-ghidra-release/SKILL.md

name, description

name	description
sleigh-ghidra-release	Update the lifting-bits/sleigh repository for a new upstream Ghidra stable release. Use when bumping Ghidra stable tags or versions, porting or regenerating src/patches/stable from HEAD patches, updating Ghidra source or spec file lists, moving HEAD-only source/header entries into stable, validating local Ghidra builds, or preparing release-update commits and PRs.

Sleigh Ghidra Release

Overview

Update this repository after NSA publishes a new Ghidra release. Prefer the repo's existing release-update shape: verify the upstream tag, reuse src/ghidra-stable, regenerate stable patches mechanically from HEAD patches where possible, update CMake lists, and validate with a local build.

Read references/release-checklist.md when doing the update; it contains the detailed checklist and decision points.

Workflow

1. Inspect state before changing anything:

   • Run git status --short.
   • Treat existing edits and untracked files as user-owned unless the task clearly says otherwise.
   • Keep unrelated files out of release-update commits.

2. Verify the target release:

   • Use official upstream sources for release and tag facts.
   • Prefer Exa MCP tools for web lookup when available.
   • Confirm the tag format, usually Ghidra_<version>_build.

3. Prepare src/ghidra-stable:

   • Use the existing checkout when present.
   • If a clone is needed, clone under src/.
   • Normalize origin to HTTPS if the remote uses a local SSH alias:

git -C src/ghidra-stable remote set-url origin https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra.git

• Fetch and check out the release tag:

git -C src/ghidra-stable fetch origin tag Ghidra_<version>_build --depth=1
git -C src/ghidra-stable checkout --detach Ghidra_<version>_build
git -C src/ghidra-stable config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
git -C src/ghidra-stable config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"

4. Regenerate stable patches mechanically:

   • Start from a clean Ghidra_<version>_build checkout.
   • Try applying HEAD patches in order.
   • If a HEAD patch fails, inspect whether it is already upstreamed, still needed with adjusted context, or only applies to HEAD-only code. Abort and retry with the applicable subset when needed.
   • Use format-patch from Ghidra_<version>_build..HEAD to create the new stable patch files.
   • Update src/setup-ghidra-source.cmake patch ordering to match the regenerated files.

5. Update release metadata and lists:

   • Set ghidra_version in src/setup-ghidra-source.cmake.
   • Search for sleigh_RELEASE_IS_HEAD; move entries into stable when the release now contains those sources or headers.
   • Update src/spec_files_stable.cmake from the release checkout's .slaspec inventory.
   • Check cmake/packaging.cmake and reset PACKAGE_VERSION to 1 when the release cycle requires it.

6. Validate the exact files CMake will use:

   • Re-checkout the release tag in src/ghidra-stable.
   • Apply src/patches/stable/*.patch.
   • Configure with FETCHCONTENT_SOURCE_DIR_GHIDRASOURCE pointing at the local checkout.
   • Build with cmake --build ... --parallel.
   • Run ctest; if no developer-mode configure was used, No tests were found may be expected.

7. Review and commit only when asked:

   • Use git diff --cached --stat, git diff --cached --name-status, and git diff --cached --check.
   • git diff --check may flag generated git format-patch signature lines; inspect before changing generated patch files.
   • Commit messages must follow the repo's 50/72 rule.