More dev notes in README

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ jobs:
 #      - name: 🧪 test
 #        run: dotnet test --no-build --no-restore
 
-      - name: 📦 publish (package) artifacts
+      - name: 📦 publish (compile & package) artifacts
         run: |
           dotnet publish src/Extension.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained -o bin/win-x64 --no-restore -p:PublishSingleFile=true /p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true
           dotnet publish src/Extension.csproj -c Release -r osx-x64 --self-contained -o bin/osx-x64 --no-restore -p:PublishSingleFile=true /p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true

README.md

@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ When run, the extension simply outputs a short greeting message.
 
 ### Dev Container
 This repo includes a [Dev Container](https://containers.dev/)
-that eleminates the need to install the [GitHub CLI](https://cli.github.com/), .NET 8.0 SDK, and other tools on your local machine.
+that eliminates the need to install the [GitHub CLI](https://cli.github.com/), .NET 8.0 SDK, and other tools on your local machine.
 
 If you're using VS Code, see [Developing inside a Container](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/devcontainers/containers).
 
@@ -59,17 +59,72 @@ If you're using VS Code, see [Developing inside a Container](https://code.visual
 
 Catalog of [GitHub CLI extensions implemented in C#](https://github.com/topics/gh-extension?l=c%23)
 
+## Developing a GitHub CLI Extension in C#
+
+When installed, a GitHub CLI Extension is loaded by the CLI from a release in a GitHub repo.
+
+### Creating a Repo for a GitHub CLI Extension
+
+The name of the GitHub repo that the extension is loaded from must be in the format:
+```
+gh-EXTENSION-NAME
+```
+
+#### Tell the world about your Extension
+If your GitHub repo and you want others to be able to find your extension, you can add the  `gh-extension` repository topic to your repo. So your extension will appear on the [gh-extension topic page](https://github.com/topics/gh-extension).
+
+See [Classifying your repository with topics](https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/managing-your-repositorys-settings-and-features/customizing-your-repository/classifying-your-repository-with-topics)
+ in GitHub Docs for more info.
+
+
+### Releasing a GH CLI Extensions
+
+#### 1. Build executables for each supported platform
+
+A separate platform-specific executable must be created for each platform that the extension should run on. Where each executable created is self-contained, and bundles the application and its dependencies, along with the .NET runtime and libraries, in a single file for the specific runtime.
+
+The name of the of each executable must be in the format:
+```
+gh-<extension-Name><OS>-<architecture>[.file-extension]
+```
+Note: Windows executables must have a `.exe` file extension.
+
+Examples:
+|.NET runtime | OS | Architecture	| Executable Name |
+|-------------|----|--------------|-----------------|
+| `osx-x64` | Darwin (Mac OS) | AMD 64-bit | `gh-yourext-amd64` |
+| `osx-arm64` | Darwin (Mac OS) |	ARM 64-bit	| `gh-yourext-darwin-arm64` |
+| `linux-x64` | Linux	| AMD 64-bit	| `gh-yourext-linux-amd64` |
+| `win-x64` | Windows	| AMD 64-bit	| `gh-yourext-windows-amd64.exe`|
+
+See the `build` job the `.github\workflows\ci.yml` file for details on how the platform-specific executable files are are created.
+
+See [here](https://github.com/cli/cli/blob/14f704fd0da58cc01413ee4ba16f13f27e33d15e/pkg/cmd/extension/manager.go#L696) for a list of OS and Architecture combinations recognized by the GH CLI.
+
+#### 2. Create a release and attached the executables
+Create a release in the repo and attach each of the extension's platform-specific executables to the release.
+
+The `publish` job in the `.github\workflows\ci.yml` file
+uses the [softprops/action-gh-release](https://github.com/softprops/action-gh-release/tree/v1/) GitHub Action to create the release and attach the platform-specific executables as release artifacts.
 
 ## Building and Packaging the sample GitHub CLI Extension
 
-A build of the sample extension is triggered on push to `main` or by pull request.
+A build of the sample extension is triggered on push to `main` or on a pull request.
 
 The `build` job defined in the `.github\workflows\ci.yml` file shows how the extension is built and then packaged for multiple target platforms.
 
-## Creating Releases the sample GitHub CLI Extension
+## Releasing the sample GitHub CLI Extension
+
+Publishing a release of the sample extension is done in two steps
+1. Creating a draft release on push or PR.
+1. Manually publishing the draft release.
+
+Details for these steps are described in the following subsections.
+Along with notes for publishing the release in a single step.
 
 ### Create a Draft Release of the Extension
-A draft release is created in the repo when a tag with a 'v' prefix is pushed to 'main'. For example:
+A draft release of the extension is created in the repo when a tag with a 'v' prefix is pushed to 'main'.
+For example:
 ```shell
 git tag v1.2.3
 git push origin v1.2.3
@@ -80,7 +135,6 @@ The `publish` job defined in the `.github\workflows\ci.yml` file shows how the d
 
 The [softprops/action-gh-release](https://github.com/softprops/action-gh-release/tree/v1/) GitHub Action is used to create the draft release.
 
-
 ### Publishing a Release of the Extension
 A draft release in the repo can be published by editing the release and switching it from draft to published.
 
@@ -91,3 +145,15 @@ gh release edit v1.2.3 --draft=false
 ```
 
 Once the release is published, users can install the extension as described above.
+
+### Automatically Create and Publish a Release of the Extension
+To automatically publish a release of the extension whenever `v` prefixed tag is pushed, edit the `publish` job the `.github\workflows\ci.yml` file and set the `draft` input to `false`.
+
+```yaml
+      - name: 🚀 create and publish release
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
+        with:
+          draft: false
+          . . .
+```
+See [softprops/action-gh-release](https://github.com/softprops/action-gh-release/tree/v1/)