fix(release): sync VERSION and package.json via release-please-config

[chorrell]

Problem

Issue #336 reported that four version sources in the repository were drifting apart:

• VERSION file: 1.3.0
• package.json: 1.0.0
• .release-please-manifest.json: 1.6.0
• CHANGELOG.md latest entry: 1.6.0

This inconsistency makes it unclear which version of career-ops is actually installed or released.

Additionally, for users on version ≤ 1.5.0 the update-system.mjs users won't get notified of newer releases.

Solution

This PR adds release-please-config.json (required by the Release Please workflow) and configures it to:

1. Own and update the VERSION file during releases (via release-type: simple)
2. Keep package.json in sync automatically via extra-files with a JSON path entry
3. Simplify the GitHub Actions workflow to reference the config file instead of inline parameters

The PR also bumps both VERSION and package.json to 1.6.0 to match the current manifest and changelog.

Changes

• .github/workflows/release.yml: Updated to use config-file: release-please-config.json instead of inline release-type and package-name parameters
• VERSION: Bumped 1.3.0 → 1.6.0
• package.json: Bumped "version": "1.0.0" → "version": "1.6.0"
• release-please-config.json (new): Defines release behavior with extra-files to keep package.json synced on future releases

Result

After this PR merges and the next release is cut:

• All four version sources will be automatically synchronized
• Release Please will own and update all version metadata
• Future releases will keep versions in sync without manual intervention

Closes #336

Summary by CodeRabbit

Release Notes

• Chores
  • Bumped project version to 1.6.0
  • Updated release automation configuration to utilize external configuration file
  • Synchronized version across project files

[github-actions]

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[coderabbitai]

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

This pull request aligns inconsistent version metadata across the repository by updating VERSION and package.json to version 1.6.0, and introducing a release-please-config.json configuration file that establishes a unified release process using Release Please's configuration-driven approach.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Version Alignment VERSION, package.json	Updated version identifiers from inconsistent values (1.3.0 and 1.0.0 respectively) to unified version 1.6.0 to resolve version metadata conflicts.
Release Automation .github/workflows/release.yml, release-please-config.json	Transitioned Release Please workflow from inline configuration (release-type, package-name inputs) to external config file reference; introduced new release-please-config.json specifying root package with simple release type and version binding to package.json.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~10 minutes

Suggested labels

🔴 core-architecture, 🔧 scripts

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check	✅ Passed	The title accurately describes the main change: configuring Release Please to synchronize multiple version sources through a config file.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	All primary objectives from issue #336 are addressed: VERSION and package.json are synced to 1.6.0, release-please-config.json ensures future synchronization, and update-system.mjs will now read the correct version.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	All changes directly address issue #336 with no out-of-scope modifications; workflow updates, version bumps, and config file are all required to solve the version inconsistency problem.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.

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✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests

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[chorrell]

Also resolves #523

[Qodo-Free-For-OSS]

Hi, release-please-config.json only declares package.json in extra-files, so VERSION will not be guaranteed to stay in sync based on repo configuration alone. This can break or degrade update notifications because update-system.mjs uses the raw GitHub VERSION file as a primary update signal.

Severity: remediation recommended | Category: reliability

How to fix: Add VERSION to extra-files

Agent prompt to fix - you can give this to your LLM of choice:

Issue description

release-please-config.json does not explicitly configure updates to VERSION, but update-system.mjs relies on VERSION (local and raw GitHub) as a core update signal. Ensure releases always bump VERSION via explicit config.

Issue Context

The workflow now uses config-file: release-please-config.json, so the repo’s declared config should fully describe all version sources you want automatically updated.

Fix Focus Areas

• release-please-config.json[3-16]
  • Add an extra-files entry for VERSION (e.g., a raw/text file update) alongside the existing package.json jsonpath entry.
• update-system.mjs[26-28]
• update-system.mjs[104-107]
  • No code change required, but these lines show why VERSION must remain authoritative.

---

Found by Qodo code review

[santifer]

Welcome to career-ops, @chorrell. Excellent fix — the structural approach (release-please-config.json externo + release-type: simple con extra-files JSONPath para package.json) es exactamente la dirección correcta vs. inline workflow config. Closes #336 (overdue 14 días) y #523 community-reported.

A partir del próximo release PR, VERSION + package.json se sincronizan automáticamente. Drift público resuelto. Merged 🚀

Una nota técnica: @nhardgrove también opened #547 con un approach paralelo (extra-files inline + parseVersionFile defensive helper). Tu approach estructural es superior. Voy a invitar a nhardgrove a rebasear #547 manteniendo solo el parseVersionFile helper, que es buena defensive code que tu PR no incluye. Both contributions land.