build(release): only release changed plugins

.github/actions/plugins-list/action.yml

@@ -1,20 +1,28 @@
 name: 'Load Kestra Plugin List'
-description: 'Composite action to load list of plugins'
+description: 'Composite action to load list of plugins (from .plugins) and output repositories and GA coordinates'
 inputs:
   plugin-version:
-    description: "Kestra version"
+    description: "Kestra version placeholder to replace LATEST in GA coordinates"
     default: 'LATEST'
     required: true
   plugin-file:
-    description: "File of the plugins"
+    description: "Path to the .plugins file"
     default: './.plugins'
     required: true
+  include:
+    description: "Regex include filter applied on repository names"
+    required: false
+    default: ''
+  exclude:
+    description: "Regex exclude filter applied on repository names"
+    required: false
+    default: ''
 outputs:
   plugins:
-    description: "List of all Kestra plugins"
+    description: "Space-separated list of GA coordinates (group:artifact:version)"
     value: ${{ steps.plugins.outputs.plugins }}
   repositories:
-    description: "List of all Kestra repositories of plugins"
+    description: "Space-separated list of repository names (e.g., plugin-ai plugin-airbyte)"
     value: ${{ steps.plugins.outputs.repositories }}
 runs:
   using: composite
@@ -23,7 +31,35 @@ runs:
       id: plugins
       shell: bash
       run: |
-        PLUGINS=$([ -f ${{ inputs.plugin-file }} ] && cat ${{ inputs.plugin-file }} | grep "io\\.kestra\\." | sed -e '/#/s/^.//' | sed -e "s/LATEST/${{ inputs.plugin-version }}/g" | cut -d':' -f2- | xargs || echo '');
-        REPOSITORIES=$([ -f ${{ inputs.plugin-file }} ] && cat ${{ inputs.plugin-file }} | grep "io\\.kestra\\." | sed -e '/#/s/^.//' | cut -d':' -f1 | uniq | sort | xargs || echo '')
-        echo "plugins=$PLUGINS" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-        echo "repositories=$REPOSITORIES" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        set -euo pipefail
+
+        # Read only uncommented lines that contain io.kestra.* coordinates.
+        # This avoids the previous approach that 'uncommented' lines by stripping the first char after '#'.
+        if [[ -f "${{ inputs.plugin-file }}" ]]; then
+          ENABLED_LINES=$(grep -E '^\s*[^#]' "${{ inputs.plugin-file }}" | grep "io\.kestra\." || true)
+        else
+          ENABLED_LINES=""
+        fi
+
+        # Build GA coordinates by replacing LATEST with the provided plugin-version (if present)
+        PLUGINS=$(echo "$ENABLED_LINES" \
+          | sed -e "s/LATEST/${{ inputs.plugin-version }}/g" \
+          | cut -d':' -f2- \
+          | xargs || echo '')
+
+        # Extract repository names (first column), unique + sorted
+        REPOSITORIES=$(echo "$ENABLED_LINES" \
+          | cut -d':' -f1 \
+          | uniq | sort \
+          | xargs || echo '')
+
+        # Apply include/exclude filters if provided (POSIX ERE via grep -E)
+        if [ -n "${{ inputs.include }}" ] && [ -n "$REPOSITORIES" ]; then
+          REPOSITORIES=$(echo "$REPOSITORIES" | xargs -n1 | grep -E "${{ inputs.include }}" | xargs || true)
+        fi
+        if [ -n "${{ inputs.exclude }}" ] && [ -n "$REPOSITORIES" ]; then
+          REPOSITORIES=$(echo "$REPOSITORIES" | xargs -n1 | grep -Ev "${{ inputs.exclude }}" | xargs || true)
+        fi
+
+        echo "plugins=$PLUGINS" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        echo "repositories=$REPOSITORIES" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"

.github/workflows/gradle-release-plugins.yml

@@ -15,24 +15,111 @@ on:
         description: 'Use DRY_RUN mode'
         required: false
         default: 'false'
+        type: choice
+        options: ['false', 'true']
+      repositories:
+        description: 'Space-separated repo names to release (e.g. "plugin-ai plugin-airbyte"). If empty, uses .plugins.'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      include:
+        description: 'Regex include filter on repo names (applied when using .plugins)'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      exclude:
+        description: 'Regex exclude filter on repo names (applied when using .plugins)'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      onlyChanged:
+        description: 'Release only repos changed since last tag (or sinceTag if provided)'
+        required: false
+        default: 'false'
+        type: choice
+        options: ['false', 'true']
+      sinceTag:
+        description: 'Optional tag used as base for change detection (e.g. v0.24.0)'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+
 jobs:
-  release:
-    name: Release plugins
+  prepare:
+    name: Compute target repositories
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      matrix: ${{ steps.compute.outputs.matrix }}
     steps:
-      # Checkout
+      # Checkout the current repo (assumed to contain .plugins and the workflow)
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
 
-      # Checkout GitHub Actions
+      # Checkout the kestra-io/actions repo (for setup-build, etc.)
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           repository: kestra-io/actions
           path: actions
           ref: main
 
-      # Setup build
+      - name: Install tools
+        run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y jq
+
+      # Load repositories from .plugins (only uncommented lines) with optional include/exclude filters
+      - name: Get Plugins List
+        id: plugins-list
+        uses: ./.github/actions/plugins-list
+        with:
+          plugin-version: 'LATEST'
+          plugin-file: './.plugins'
+          include: ${{ github.event.inputs.include }}
+          exclude: ${{ github.event.inputs.exclude }}
+
+      # Finalize repo list:
+      # - If "repositories" input is provided, it takes precedence.
+      # - Otherwise, use the filtered list from the composite action.
+      - name: Build repo list
+        id: build-list
+        shell: bash
+        env:
+          INP_REPOS: ${{ github.event.inputs.repositories }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          if [ -n "${INP_REPOS:-}" ]; then
+            LIST="${INP_REPOS}"
+          else
+            LIST="${{ steps.plugins-list.outputs.repositories }}"
+          fi
+          # Convert to JSON array for matrix
+          arr_json=$(printf '%s\n' $LIST | jq -R . | jq -s .)
+          echo "list=$LIST" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "arr_json=$arr_json" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+      - name: Compute matrix
+        id: compute
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          echo "matrix={\"repo\": ${{ steps.build-list.outputs.arr_json }}}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+  release:
+    name: Release ${{ matrix.repo }}
+    needs: [prepare]
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix: ${{ fromJson(needs.prepare.outputs.matrix) }}
+    steps:
+      # Checkout the current repo (for dev-tools/release-plugins.sh)
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      # Checkout the kestra-io/actions repo (for setup-build, etc.)
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          repository: kestra-io/actions
+          path: actions
+          ref: main
+
+      # Build toolchain used by plugin builds
       - uses: ./actions/.github/actions/setup-build
         id: build
         with:
@@ -41,42 +128,45 @@ jobs:
           python-enabled: true
           caches-enabled: true
 
-      # Get Plugins List
-      - name: Get Plugins List
-        uses: ./.github/actions/plugins-list
-        id: plugins-list
-        with:
-          plugin-version: 'LATEST'
-
-      - name: 'Configure Git'
+      - name: Configure Git
         run: |
           git config --global user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
           git config --global user.name "github-actions[bot]"
 
-      # Execute
       - name: Run Gradle Release
         if: ${{ github.event.inputs.dryRun == 'false' }}
         env:
           GITHUB_PAT: ${{ secrets.GH_PERSONAL_TOKEN }}
         run: |
-          chmod +x ./dev-tools/release-plugins.sh;
-          
-          ./dev-tools/release-plugins.sh \
-          --release-version=${{github.event.inputs.releaseVersion}} \
-          --next-version=${{github.event.inputs.nextVersion}} \
-          --yes \
-           ${{ steps.plugins-list.outputs.repositories }}
+          chmod +x ./dev-tools/release-plugins.sh
+          ARGS=()
+          ARGS+=(--release-version="${{ github.event.inputs.releaseVersion }}")
+          ARGS+=(--next-version="${{ github.event.inputs.nextVersion }}")
+          ARGS+=(--yes)
+          if [ "${{ github.event.inputs.onlyChanged }}" = "true" ]; then
+            ARGS+=(--only-changed)
+          fi
+          if [ -n "${{ github.event.inputs.sinceTag }}" ]; then
+            ARGS+=(--since-tag="${{ github.event.inputs.sinceTag }}")
+          fi
+          ./dev-tools/release-plugins.sh "${ARGS[@]}" "${{ matrix.repo }}"
 
+      # Dry-run release
       - name: Run Gradle Release (DRY_RUN)
         if: ${{ github.event.inputs.dryRun == 'true' }}
         env:
           GITHUB_PAT: ${{ secrets.GH_PERSONAL_TOKEN }}
         run: |
-          chmod +x ./dev-tools/release-plugins.sh;
-          
-          ./dev-tools/release-plugins.sh \
-          --release-version=${{github.event.inputs.releaseVersion}} \
-          --next-version=${{github.event.inputs.nextVersion}} \
-          --dry-run \
-          --yes \
-          ${{ steps.plugins-list.outputs.repositories }}
+          chmod +x ./dev-tools/release-plugins.sh
+          ARGS=()
+          ARGS+=(--release-version="${{ github.event.inputs.releaseVersion }}")
+          ARGS+=(--next-version="${{ github.event.inputs.nextVersion }}")
+          ARGS+=(--dry-run)
+          ARGS+=(--yes)
+          if [ "${{ github.event.inputs.onlyChanged }}" = "true" ]; then
+            ARGS+=(--only-changed)
+          fi
+          if [ -n "${{ github.event.inputs.sinceTag }}" ]; then
+            ARGS+=(--since-tag="${{ github.event.inputs.sinceTag }}")
+          fi
+          ./dev-tools/release-plugins.sh "${ARGS[@]}" "${{ matrix.repo }}"

dev-tools/release-plugins.sh

@@ -1,152 +1,199 @@
-#!/bin/bash
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
 #===============================================================================
 # SCRIPT: release-plugins.sh
 #
 # DESCRIPTION:
-#   This script can be used to run a ./gradlew release command on each kestra plugin repository.
-#   By default, if no `GITHUB_PAT` environment variable exist, the script will attempt to clone GitHub repositories using SSH_KEY.
+#   Runs Gradle release for one or multiple Kestra plugin repositories.
+#   - If $GITHUB_PAT is set, HTTPS cloning via PAT is used.
+#   - Otherwise, SSH cloning is used (requires SSH key configured on runner).
+#
+# USAGE:
+#   ./release-plugins.sh [options] [plugin-repositories...]
 #
-# USAGE: ./release-plugins.sh [options]
 # OPTIONS:
-#   --release-version <version>  Specify the release version (required)
-#   --next-version    <version>  Specify the next version (required)
-#   --dry-run                    Specify to run in DRY_RUN.
-#   -y, --yes                    Automatically confirm prompts (non-interactive).
-#   -h, --help                   Show the help message and exit
-
+#   --release-version <version>   Specify the release version (required).
+#   --next-version    <version>   Specify the next (development) version (required).
+#   --plugin-file     <path>      File containing the plugin list (default: ../.plugins).
+#   --dry-run                     Run in DRY_RUN mode (no publish, no changes pushed).
+#   --only-changed                Skip repositories with no commits since last tag (or --since-tag).
+#   --since-tag      <tag>        Use this tag as base for change detection (default: last tag).
+#   -y, --yes                     Automatically confirm prompts (non-interactive).
+#   -h, --help                    Show this help message and exit.
+#
 # EXAMPLES:
-# To release all plugins:
-#   ./release-plugins.sh --release-version=0.20.0 --next-version=0.21.0-SNAPSHOT
-# To release a specific plugin:
-#   ./release-plugins.sh --release-version=0.20.0 --next-version=0.21.0-SNAPSHOT plugin-kubernetes
-# To release specific plugins from file:
-#   ./release-plugins.sh --release-version=0.20.0 --plugin-file .plugins
+#   # Release all plugins from .plugins:
+#   ./release-plugins.sh --release-version=1.0.0 --next-version=1.1.0-SNAPSHOT
+#
+#   # Release a specific plugin:
+#   ./release-plugins.sh --release-version=1.0.0 --next-version=1.1.0-SNAPSHOT plugin-kubernetes
+#
+#   # Release specific plugins from file:
+#   ./release-plugins.sh --release-version=1.0.0 --next-version=1.1.0-SNAPSHOT --plugin-file .plugins
+#
+#   # Release only plugins that have changed since the last tag:
+#   ./release-plugins.sh --release-version=1.0.0 --next-version=1.1.0-SNAPSHOT --only-changed --yes
 #===============================================================================
 
-set -e;
+set -euo pipefail
 
 ###############################################################
-# Global vars
+# Globals
 ###############################################################
-BASEDIR=$(dirname "$(readlink -f $0)")
-WORKING_DIR=/tmp/kestra-release-plugins-$(date +%s);
+BASEDIR=$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$0")")
+WORKING_DIR="/tmp/kestra-release-plugins-$(date +%s)"
 PLUGIN_FILE="$BASEDIR/../.plugins"
-GIT_BRANCH=master
+GIT_BRANCH="master"   # Fallback if default branch cannot be detected
 
 ###############################################################
 # Functions
 ###############################################################
 
-# Function to display the help message
 usage() {
-    echo "Usage: $0 --release-version <version> --next-version [plugin-repositories...]"
-    echo
-    echo "Options:"
-    echo "  --release-version <version>  Specify the release version (required)."
-    echo "  --next-version    <version>  Specify the next version (required)."
-    echo "  --plugin-file                File containing the plugin list (default: .plugins)"
-    echo "  --dry-run                    Specify to run in DRY_RUN."
-    echo "  -y, --yes                    Automatically confirm prompts (non-interactive)."
-    echo "  -h, --help                   Show this help message and exit."
-    exit 1
+  echo "Usage: $0 --release-version <version> --next-version <version> [options] [plugin-repositories...]"
+  echo
+  echo "Options:"
+  echo "  --release-version <version>   Specify the release version (required)."
+  echo "  --next-version    <version>   Specify the next version (required)."
+  echo "  --plugin-file     <path>      File containing the plugin list (default: ../.plugins)."
+  echo "  --dry-run                     Run in DRY_RUN mode."
+  echo "  --only-changed                Skip repositories with no commits since last tag (or --since-tag)."
+  echo "  --since-tag      <tag>        Use this tag as base for change detection (default: last tag)."
+  echo "  -y, --yes                     Automatically confirm prompts (non-interactive)."
+  echo "  -h, --help                    Show this help message and exit."
+  exit 1
 }
 
-# Function to ask to continue
-function askToContinue() {
-  read -p "Are you sure you want to continue? [y/N] " confirm
+askToContinue() {
+  read -r -p "Are you sure you want to continue? [y/N] " confirm
   [[ "$confirm" =~ ^[Yy]$ ]] || { echo "Operation cancelled."; exit 1; }
 }
 
+# Detect default branch from remote; fallback to $GIT_BRANCH if unknown
+detect_default_branch() {
+  local default_branch
+  default_branch=$(git remote show origin | sed -n '/HEAD branch/s/.*: //p' || true)
+  if [[ -z "${default_branch:-}" ]]; then
+    default_branch="$GIT_BRANCH"
+  fi
+  echo "$default_branch"
+}
+
+# Return last tag that matches v* or any tag if v* not found; empty if none
+last_tag_or_empty() {
+  local tag
+  tag=$(git tag --list 'v*' --sort=-v:refname | head -n1 || true)
+  if [[ -z "${tag:-}" ]]; then
+    tag=$(git tag --sort=-creatordate | head -n1 || true)
+  fi
+  echo "$tag"
+}
+
+# True (0) if there are commits since tag on branch, False (1) otherwise.
+has_changes_since_tag() {
+  local tag="$1"
+  local branch="$2"
+  if [[ -z "$tag" ]]; then
+    # No tag => consider it as changed (first release)
+    return 0
+  fi
+  git fetch --tags --quiet
+  git fetch origin "$branch" --quiet
+  local count
+  count=$(git rev-list --count "${tag}..origin/${branch}" || echo "0")
+  [[ "${count}" -gt 0 ]]
+}
+
 ###############################################################
-# Options
+# Options parsing
 ###############################################################
 
 PLUGINS_ARGS=()
 AUTO_YES=false
 DRY_RUN=false
-# Get the options
+ONLY_CHANGED=false
+SINCE_TAG=""
+
+RELEASE_VERSION=""
+NEXT_VERSION=""
+
 while [[ "$#" -gt 0 ]]; do
-    case "$1" in
-        --release-version)
-            RELEASE_VERSION="$2"
-            shift 2
-            ;;
-        --release-version=*)
-            RELEASE_VERSION="${1#*=}"
-            shift
-            ;;
-        --next-version)
-            NEXT_VERSION="$2"
-            shift 2
-            ;;
-        --next-version=*)
-            NEXT_VERSION="${1#*=}"
-            shift
-            ;;
-        --plugin-file)
-            PLUGIN_FILE="$2"
-            shift 2
-            ;;
-        --plugin-file=*)
-            PLUGIN_FILE="${1#*=}"
-            shift
-            ;;
-        --dry-run)
-            DRY_RUN=true
-            shift
-            ;;
-        -y|--yes)
-            AUTO_YES=true
-            shift
-            ;;
-        -h|--help)
-            usage
-            ;;
-        *)
-            PLUGINS_ARGS+=("$1")
-            shift
-            ;;
-    esac
+  case "$1" in
+    --release-version)
+      RELEASE_VERSION="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+    --release-version=*)
+      RELEASE_VERSION="${1#*=}"; shift ;;
+    --next-version)
+      NEXT_VERSION="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+    --next-version=*)
+      NEXT_VERSION="${1#*=}"; shift ;;
+    --plugin-file)
+      PLUGIN_FILE="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+    --plugin-file=*)
+      PLUGIN_FILE="${1#*=}"; shift ;;
+    --dry-run)
+      DRY_RUN=true; shift ;;
+    --only-changed)
+      ONLY_CHANGED=true; shift ;;
+    --since-tag)
+      SINCE_TAG="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+    --since-tag=*)
+      SINCE_TAG="${1#*=}"; shift ;;
+    -y|--yes)
+      AUTO_YES=true; shift ;;
+    -h|--help)
+      usage ;;
+    *)
+      PLUGINS_ARGS+=("$1"); shift ;;
+  esac
 done
 
-## Check options
+# Required options
 if [[ -z "$RELEASE_VERSION" ]]; then
-   echo -e "Missing required argument: --release-version\n";
-   usage
+  echo -e "Missing required argument: --release-version\n"; usage
 fi
-
 if [[ -z "$NEXT_VERSION" ]]; then
-    echo -e "Missing required argument: --next-version\n";
-    usage
+  echo -e "Missing required argument: --next-version\n"; usage
 fi
 
-## Get plugin list
+###############################################################
+# Build plugin list (from args or from .plugins)
+###############################################################
+PLUGINS_ARRAY=()
+PLUGINS_COUNT=0
+
 if [[ "${#PLUGINS_ARGS[@]}" -eq 0 ]]; then
-  if [ -f "$PLUGIN_FILE" ]; then
-  	PLUGINS=$(cat "$PLUGIN_FILE" | grep "io\\.kestra\\." | sed -e '/#/s/^.//' | cut -d':' -f1 | uniq | sort);
-  	PLUGINS_COUNT=$(echo "$PLUGINS" | wc -l);
-  	PLUGINS_ARRAY=$(echo "$PLUGINS" | xargs || echo '');
-  	PLUGINS_ARRAY=($PLUGINS_ARRAY);
+  if [[ -f "$PLUGIN_FILE" ]]; then
+    # Keep only uncommented lines, then keep the first column (repo name)
+    mapfile -t PLUGINS_ARRAY < <(
+      grep -E '^\s*[^#]' "$PLUGIN_FILE" 2>/dev/null \
+      | grep "io\.kestra\." \
+      | cut -d':' -f1 \
+      | uniq | sort
+    )
+    PLUGINS_COUNT="${#PLUGINS_ARRAY[@]}"
+  else
+    echo "Plugin file not found: $PLUGIN_FILE"
+    exit 1
   fi
 else
   PLUGINS_ARRAY=("${PLUGINS_ARGS[@]}")
   PLUGINS_COUNT="${#PLUGINS_ARGS[@]}"
 fi
 
-# Extract the major and minor versions
+# Extract major.minor (e.g. 0.21) to build the release branch name
 BASE_VERSION=$(echo "$RELEASE_VERSION" | sed -E 's/^([0-9]+\.[0-9]+)\..*/\1/')
 PUSH_RELEASE_BRANCH="releases/v${BASE_VERSION}.x"
 
-## Get plugin list
 echo "RELEASE_VERSION=$RELEASE_VERSION"
 echo "NEXT_VERSION=$NEXT_VERSION"
 echo "PUSH_RELEASE_BRANCH=$PUSH_RELEASE_BRANCH"
-echo "GIT_BRANCH=$GIT_BRANCH"
+echo "GIT_BRANCH=$GIT_BRANCH (fallback)"
 echo "DRY_RUN=$DRY_RUN"
-echo "Found ($PLUGINS_COUNT) plugin repositories:";
-
+echo "ONLY_CHANGED=$ONLY_CHANGED"
+echo "SINCE_TAG=${SINCE_TAG:-<auto>}"
+echo "Found ($PLUGINS_COUNT) plugin repositories:"
 for PLUGIN in "${PLUGINS_ARRAY[@]}"; do
-    echo "$PLUGIN"
+  echo " - $PLUGIN"
 done
 
 if [[ "$AUTO_YES" == false ]]; then
@@ -156,56 +203,77 @@ fi
 ###############################################################
 # Main
 ###############################################################
-mkdir -p $WORKING_DIR
+mkdir -p "$WORKING_DIR"
 
-COUNTER=1;
-for PLUGIN in "${PLUGINS_ARRAY[@]}"
-do
-  cd $WORKING_DIR;
+COUNTER=1
+for PLUGIN in "${PLUGINS_ARRAY[@]}"; do
+  cd "$WORKING_DIR"
 
   echo "---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
   echo "[$COUNTER/$PLUGINS_COUNT] Release Plugin: $PLUGIN"
   echo "---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
-  if [[ -z "${GITHUB_PAT}" ]]; then
-    git clone git@github.com:kestra-io/$PLUGIN
+
+  # Clone the repo using SSH, otherwise PAT if provided
+  if [[ -z "${GITHUB_PAT:-}" ]]; then
+    git clone "git@github.com:kestra-io/${PLUGIN}.git"
   else
     echo "Clone git repository using GITHUB PAT"
-    git clone https://${GITHUB_PAT}@github.com/kestra-io/$PLUGIN.git
-  fi
-  cd "$PLUGIN";
-
-  if [[ "$PLUGIN" == "plugin-transform" ]] && [[ "$GIT_BRANCH" == "master" ]]; then # quickfix
-    git checkout main;
-  else
-    git checkout "$GIT_BRANCH";
+    git clone "https://${GITHUB_PAT}@github.com/kestra-io/${PLUGIN}.git"
   fi
 
-  # Check if tag already exists on remote
-  TAG_EXISTS=$(git ls-remote --tags origin "refs/tags/v${RELEASE_VERSION}" | wc -l)
+  cd "$PLUGIN"
+
+  # Determine the default branch dynamically to avoid hardcoding "master"/"main"
+  DEFAULT_BRANCH=$(detect_default_branch)
+  git checkout "$DEFAULT_BRANCH"
+
+  # Skip if the release tag already exists on remote (check both with and without 'v' prefix)
+  TAG_EXISTS=$(
+    { git ls-remote --tags origin "refs/tags/v${RELEASE_VERSION}" \
+      && git ls-remote --tags origin "refs/tags/${RELEASE_VERSION}"; } | wc -l
+  )
   if [[ "$TAG_EXISTS" -ne 0 ]]; then
     echo "Tag ${RELEASE_VERSION} already exists for $PLUGIN. Skipping..."
+    COUNTER=$(( COUNTER + 1 ))
     continue
   fi
-    
-  if [[ "$DRY_RUN" == false ]]; then
-    CURRENT_BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current);
 
-    echo "Run gradle release for plugin: $PLUGIN";
-    echo "Branch: $CURRENT_BRANCH";
+  # Change detection (if requested)
+  if [[ "$ONLY_CHANGED" == true ]]; then
+    git fetch --tags --quiet
+    git fetch origin "$DEFAULT_BRANCH" --quiet
+    BASE_TAG="$SINCE_TAG"
+    if [[ -z "$BASE_TAG" ]]; then
+      BASE_TAG=$(last_tag_or_empty)
+    fi
+
+    if has_changes_since_tag "$BASE_TAG" "$DEFAULT_BRANCH"; then
+      echo "Changes detected since ${BASE_TAG:-<no-tag>} on ${DEFAULT_BRANCH}, proceeding."
+    else
+      echo "No changes since ${BASE_TAG:-<no-tag>} on ${DEFAULT_BRANCH} for $PLUGIN. Skipping..."
+      COUNTER=$(( COUNTER + 1 ))
+      continue
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  if [[ "$DRY_RUN" == false ]]; then
+    CURRENT_BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)
+    echo "Run gradle release for plugin: $PLUGIN"
+    echo "Branch: $CURRENT_BRANCH"
 
     if [[ "$AUTO_YES" == false ]]; then
       askToContinue
     fi
 
-    # Create and push release branch
-    git checkout -b "$PUSH_RELEASE_BRANCH";
-    git push -u origin "$PUSH_RELEASE_BRANCH";
+    # Create and push the release branch (branch that will hold the release versions)
+    git checkout -b "$PUSH_RELEASE_BRANCH"
+    git push -u origin "$PUSH_RELEASE_BRANCH"
 
-    # Run gradle release
-    git checkout "$CURRENT_BRANCH";
+    # Switch back to the working branch to run the gradle release
+    git checkout "$CURRENT_BRANCH"
 
+    # Run Gradle release with snapshot tolerance if releaseVersion contains -SNAPSHOT
     if [[ "$RELEASE_VERSION" == *"-SNAPSHOT" ]]; then
-      # -SNAPSHOT qualifier maybe used to test release-candidates
       ./gradlew release -Prelease.useAutomaticVersion=true \
         -Prelease.releaseVersion="${RELEASE_VERSION}" \
         -Prelease.newVersion="${NEXT_VERSION}" \
@@ -218,22 +286,28 @@ do
         -Prelease.pushReleaseVersionBranch="${PUSH_RELEASE_BRANCH}"
     fi
 
-    git push;
-    # Update the upper bound version of kestra
+    # Push new commits/tags created by the release plugin
+    git push --follow-tags
+
+    # Update the upper bound version of Kestra on the release branch (e.g., [0.21,))
     PLUGIN_KESTRA_VERSION="[${BASE_VERSION},)"
-    git checkout "$PUSH_RELEASE_BRANCH" && git pull;
+    git checkout "$PUSH_RELEASE_BRANCH" && git pull --ff-only
     sed -i "s/^kestraVersion=.*/kestraVersion=${PLUGIN_KESTRA_VERSION}/" ./gradle.properties
     git add ./gradle.properties
-    # Check if there are staged changes
+
+    # Commit only if there are actual changes staged
     if ! git diff --cached --quiet; then
-      git commit -m"chore(deps): update kestraVersion to ${PLUGIN_KESTRA_VERSION}."
+      git commit -m "chore(deps): update kestraVersion to ${PLUGIN_KESTRA_VERSION}."
       git push
     fi
-    sleep 5; # add a short delay to not spam Maven Central
-  else
-    echo "Skip gradle release [DRY_RUN=true]";
-  fi
-  COUNTER=$(( COUNTER + 1 ));
-done;
 
-exit 0;
+    # Small delay to avoid hammering Maven Central
+    sleep 5
+  else
+    echo "Skip gradle release [DRY_RUN=true]"
+  fi
+
+  COUNTER=$(( COUNTER + 1 ))
+done
+
+exit 0