feat(releaser): add --no-release flag to skip GitLab release creation

Pushes the commit and tag as normal but exits before calling the GitLab
API. Useful when the project is hosted on a non-GitLab forge (e.g.
Gitea) where the release is handled by a separate CI workflow triggered
on the tag push.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

.gitea/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -37,4 +37,4 @@ jobs:
         run: go test ./...
 
       - name: build
-        run: go build ./cmd/...
+        run: go build -o /dev/null ./cmd/...

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -3,6 +3,13 @@
 All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 Format: [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/).
 
+## [0.4.2] - 2026-07-07
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **CI build step** — `go build ./cmd/...` failed with "output already exists and is a directory" because Go tried to write a binary named `cmd`, conflicting with the source directory; fixed by passing `-o /dev/null`
+- **Optional pom.xml** — releaser no longer fails when `pom.xml` (or the configured `maven.pom_path`) does not exist; it logs a notice and proceeds directly to tag and push, making the tool usable in non-Maven projects
+
 ## [0.4.0] - 2026-07-07
 
 ### Added

README.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # releaser
 
-![release](https://img.shields.io/badge/release-v0.4.0-blue.svg)
+![release](https://img.shields.io/badge/release-v0.4.2-blue.svg)
 
 A CI-friendly release automation tool for GitFlow workflows using Conventional Commits.
 

cmd/main.go

@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ func newRootCmd() *cobra.Command {
 	var (
 		dryRun         bool
 		noPush         bool
+		noRelease      bool
 		noCommit       bool
 		tagOnly        bool
 		branchOverride string
@@ -62,6 +63,7 @@ func newRootCmd() *cobra.Command {
 				patternSet:     patternSet,
 				dryRun:         dryRun,
 				noPush:         noPush,
+				noRelease:      noRelease,
 				noCommit:       noCommit,
 				tagOnly:        tagOnly,
 			})
@@ -70,6 +72,7 @@ func newRootCmd() *cobra.Command {
 
 	root.Flags().BoolVar(&dryRun, "dry-run", false, "print next version without making changes")
 	root.Flags().BoolVar(&noPush, "no-push", false, "create commit and tag locally without pushing or creating a GitLab release")
+	root.Flags().BoolVar(&noRelease, "no-release", false, "push commit and tag but skip creating the GitLab release")
 	root.Flags().BoolVar(&noCommit, "no-commit", false, "update pom.xml but do not commit, tag, or push")
 	root.Flags().BoolVar(&tagOnly, "tag-only", false, "tag HEAD without updating pom.xml (assumes version was already committed)")
 	root.Flags().StringVar(&branchOverride, "branch", "", "override branch name detection (required in detached HEAD)")
@@ -101,6 +104,7 @@ type options struct {
 	patternSet     bool
 	dryRun         bool
 	noPush         bool
+	noRelease      bool
 	noCommit       bool
 	tagOnly        bool
 }
@@ -203,9 +207,15 @@ func run(o options) error {
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	// --- pom.xml (skipped with --tag-only) ---
+	// --- pom.xml (skipped with --tag-only or when the file does not exist) ---
-	if !o.tagOnly {
+	pomPath := filepath.Join(absRepo, cfg.Maven.PomPath)
-		pomPath := filepath.Join(absRepo, cfg.Maven.PomPath)
+	_, statErr := os.Stat(pomPath)
+	hasPom := !errors.Is(statErr, os.ErrNotExist)
+	if statErr != nil && hasPom {
+		return fmt.Errorf("check pom path: %w", statErr)
+	}
+
+	if !o.tagOnly && hasPom {
 		currentPomVersion, err := maven.ReadVersion(pomPath)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("read pom version: %w", err)
@@ -235,6 +245,8 @@ func run(o options) error {
 			return fmt.Errorf("commit pom.xml: %w", err)
 		}
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "info: committed: %s\n", commitMsg)
+	} else if !o.tagOnly && !hasPom {
+		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "info: no pom.xml found — skipping version bump commit")
 	}
 
 	// --- Git tag ---
@@ -256,6 +268,10 @@ func run(o options) error {
 	fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "info: pushed")
 
 	// --- GitLab release ---
+	if o.noRelease {
+		fmt.Printf("released %s\n", nextTag)
+		return nil
+	}
 	if cfg.GitLab.URL == "" || cfg.GitLab.Project == "" {
 		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "warning: GitLab URL or project not configured — skipping release creation")
 		fmt.Printf("released %s\n", nextTag)

cmd/main_test.go

@@ -211,6 +211,7 @@ func TestRunPomOverride(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestRunMissingPom(t *testing.T) {
+	// --pom points to a non-existent file: pom update is skipped, tag is still created.
 	_, dir := setupRepo(t)
 	addFile(t, dir, "x.go", "// fix")
 	repo, _ := gogit.PlainOpen(dir)
@@ -218,10 +219,38 @@ func TestRunMissingPom(t *testing.T) {
 	w.Add("x.go")
 	w.Commit("fix: patch", &gogit.CommitOptions{Author: testSig()})
 
-	// Use --pom to point to a non-existent file; keeps the working tree clean.
+	err := execCmd(t, "--no-push", "--branch", "release/1.2", "--repo", dir, "--pom", "nonexistent.xml")
-	err := execCmd(t, "--branch", "release/1.2", "--repo", dir, "--pom", "nonexistent.xml")
+	if err != nil {
-	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("missing pom should be skipped, got error: %v", err)
-		t.Fatal("expected error for missing pom.xml")
+	}
+
+	// Tag must still have been created.
+	repo2, _ := gogit.PlainOpen(dir)
+	_, err = repo2.Tag("v1.2.0")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Error("expected tag v1.2.0 to be created")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRunNoPomAtDefaultPath(t *testing.T) {
+	// Repo with no pom.xml at the default path: runs without error, creates tag.
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	repo, err := gogit.PlainInit(dir, false)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	addFile(t, dir, "main.go", "package main")
+	commitAll(t, repo, dir, "fix: initial")
+
+	err = execCmd(t, "--no-push", "--branch", "release/2.0", "--repo", dir)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("no pom.xml should not be an error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	repo2, _ := gogit.PlainOpen(dir)
+	_, err = repo2.Tag("v2.0.0")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Error("expected tag v2.0.0 to be created")
 	}
 }
 
@@ -431,6 +460,25 @@ func TestRunSkipGitLab(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestRunNoRelease(t *testing.T) {
+	_, dir := setupRepoWithRemote(t)
+	addFile(t, dir, "x.go", "// fix")
+	repo, _ := gogit.PlainOpen(dir)
+	w, _ := repo.Worktree()
+	w.Add("x.go")
+	w.Commit("fix: patch something", &gogit.CommitOptions{Author: testSig()})
+
+	// --no-release skips GitLab release even when credentials are configured
+	t.Setenv("CI_SERVER_URL", "https://gitlab.example.com")
+	t.Setenv("CI_PROJECT_ID", "42")
+	t.Setenv("GITLAB_TOKEN", "test-token")
+
+	err := execCmd(t, "--no-release", "--branch", "release/1.2", "--repo", dir)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("--no-release: unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestRunMissingToken(t *testing.T) {
 	_, dir := setupRepoWithRemote(t)
 	addFile(t, dir, "x.go", "// fix")