Add release-please for automated Electron releases

[mattgodbolt]

Summary

Implements release-please for lightweight, automated release management of Electron desktop builds. Web deployments continue unchanged.

How It Works

1. Make commits as normal - optionally use conventional commit messages (feat:, fix:, etc.)
2. release-please bot watches main - automatically creates/updates a "Release PR"
3. Review the Release PR - shows version bump, changelog, and what's included
4. Merge when ready - bot creates a GitHub release with version tag
5. CI builds and uploads - .deb, .rpm, .snap packages attached to the release

What This Adds

Automated Release Management

• Release PRs: Bot creates/updates PR with version bump and changelog
• CHANGELOG.md: Automatically maintained from commit history
• Version bumping: Follows semver based on commit types
• GitHub releases: Created automatically when release PR is merged
• Electron artifacts: Built and uploaded to each GitHub release

Version Display

• Shows current version in the About dialog footer
• Reads from package.json automatically
• Updates with each release

No Impact on Existing Workflows

• ✅ Web deployments to S3 continue on every main commit
• ✅ Existing CI continues to verify Electron builds work
• ✅ Tests run as before
• ✅ You control when releases happen (by merging the release PR)

Files Changed

• .github/workflows/release-please.yml - Release automation workflow
• .release-please-manifest.json - Current version tracking
• release-please-config.json - Release-please configuration
• index.html - Added version display element in About modal
• src/main.js - Import and display version from package.json
• src/app/electron.js - Updated comment to describe IPC functionality

Example Workflow

# 1. Make commits (optionally use conventional commits)
git commit -m "feat: add new disc format support"
git commit -m "fix: resolve loading issue with ZIP files"

# 2. Push to main - release-please bot creates/updates a release PR

# 3. When ready, merge the release PR
#    - Bot creates GitHub release with new version tag
#    - CI builds Electron packages
#    - Packages uploaded to the release
#    - Web deployment happens as normal

Testing

• ✅ Version displays correctly in About dialog
• ✅ Release-please workflow is valid
• ✅ Upload workflow will run on release creation
• ✅ No changes to existing test/build/deploy workflows

🤖 Generated with Claude Code