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Releasing guide

(The current process to release a new version still has many manual tasks. These should be further automated.)

This document explains how to release a new version. As the whole releasing process is half automated, this covers the other half that humans should manually conduct.

Note that there is the quick summary to remind those who have already read this document of checklist on the bottom. If it is your first time to this, you should read the whole document first.

Versioning

The Libplanet project follows Semantic Versioning. If you are not familiar with this versioning system, you should read its specification first. We will use the terms that Semantic Versioning defines, e.g., major/minor/patch versions.

Note that we use two kinds of branches in the project:

  • main: The unreleased code for the next major/minor version. For example, if the highest released version is 1.2.3, the main branch contains the code for 1.3.0 or 2.0.0 (it depends on the roadmap).

  • X.Y-maintenance: The unreleased code for the next patch version. There can be multiple maintenance branches at a time. For example, there could be 1.1-maintenance and 1.0-maintenance at a time. These maintenance branches are closed when their corresponding major/minor versions are decided to discontinue to support.

Changelog

Immediately before releasing a new version, you need to fill up the release date on the changelog of the version to release. As long as there is nothing wrong with it, there should be a section of the unreleased version in the CHANGES.md file.

For example, let's suppose you are going to release the version 1.2.3. Then there should be a section like this:

Version 1.2.3
-------------

To be released.

...

You should replace the sentence To be released with Released on ... (put the release date instead):

Version 1.2.3
-------------

Released on October 20, 2020.

...

Also, it's recommended to double-check if the changelog has any formatting errors or is well rendered in the web browser.

The commit that contains this change should have the message like Release 1.2.3:

git commit -m "Release 1.2.3" CHANGES.md

See also these commits for example:

The commit should not be pushed to the upstream repository, but be sent as a pull request instead.

See also the following pull requests for example:

Tagging

After the pull request (which fills up the release date on the changelog) is merged, you need to tag the pull request's merge commit. The tag name must be the version number without any prefix or suffix, e.g., 1.2.3; the tag message should be like Libplanet 1.2.3.

git tag -m "Libplanet 1.2.3" 1.2.3

If you have a GPG (PGP) key, it is recommended to sign the tag using your key:

git tag --sign -m "Libplanet 1.2.3" 1.2.3

Note that signed tags are visually distinct on GitHub:

Signed tags appearing distinct on GitHub.

The created tag should be directly pushed to the upstream repository. A tag push triggers GitHub Actions to release a new version. The script automates the below processes:

  • Listing a new version on GitHub Releases. The corresponding changelog section is extracted to fill up the description of the release. Each release contains:
    • NuGet packages (Libplanet*.nupkg)
    • Complete assemblies (Libplanet*-net*.tar.xz) for .NET Core and .NET Framework/Mono
    • Prebuilt binaries of Libplanet Tools for Linux (planet-*-linux-*.tar.xz), macOS (planet-*-osx-*.tar.xz), and Windows (planet-*-win-*.tar.xz)
  • Submitting NuGet packages of a new version. The packages are listed in the Contributing guide.
  • Building a new version of docs and uploading it on https://docs.libplanet.net/, which is hosted by GitHub Pages. See also the gh-pages branch.
  • Submitting Libplanet.Tools to npm @planetarium/cli.

In other words, you don't have to do them by yourself. However, you should check twice if all these packages and docs are successfully submitted. If something went wrong, start the debugging by reading the build logs on GitHub Actions.

Preparing next

After a new tag is merged and all automated processes are successful, you need to prepare the next release. This process is slightly tricky, because the process varies depending on whether the released version was a major/minor release, or just a patch release.

Patch release

If what you have just released is a patch release, there are two manual tasks to do:

  • Port the released code to the main branch, so that the next major/minor release does not miss bugfixes from the previous patch release.
  • Prepare the next patch release.

First of all, your last release should be ported to the main branch. Switch to the main branch and make sure it is up-to-date. Then, merge the tag (e.g., 1.2.3) you made above into the main branch:

git switch main  # Or on Git < 2.23: git checkout main
git fetch upstream && git reset --hard upstream/main
git merge 1.2.3

Trying to merge like above will most likely have conflicts on the CHANGES.md file, because both branches (main and X.Y-maintenance) have their own topmost section in the changelog. However, this can be simply resolved: leave both sections and place the main branch's section topmost.

After successful merging, send a pull request of it to the upstream's main branch. See also the below commits for example:

You also need to prepare the next patch release. Switch to the maintenance branch (e.g., 1.2-maintenance), and make sure it is up-to-date.

You need to bump the patch version of the <VersionPrefix> field in the Libplanet/Libplanet.csproj file. For example, if the version you have just released is 1.2.3, bump it to 1.2.4 (3 + 1 = 4).

Also the changelog section for the next patch release should be prepared; add a new section like this on the topmost next the to-level heading of the changelog document:

Version 1.2.4
-------------

To be released.

Note that the release date for this is not decided. A simple message like Version bump is enough for a commit for the above changes.

Lastly, send a pull request of the commit to the upstream's X.Y-maintenance branch (e.g., 1.2-maintenance).

See also the following commit for example:

https://github.com/planetarium/libplanet/commit/481b0e559b78bbc4027a88cc12698a1540bb4c5b

And a pull request:

planetarium#887

Major/minor release

If what you have just released is a major or minor release, there are two manual tasks:

  • Prepare the next patch release.
  • Prepare the next major or minor release.

To prepare for the next patch release, a new maintenance branch should be made. Create a new branch named X.Y-maintenance branch and switch it. The branch's HEAD should refer to the upstream's main branch. Suppose you have just released a minor version 1.2.0:

git fetch upstream
git switch --create=1.2-maintenance  # Or: git checkout -b 1.2-maintenance
git reset --hard upstream/main

Since this maintenance branch purposes to prepare the next patch release, e.g., 1.2.1, the <VersionPrefix> field of the Libplanet/Libplanet.csproj file also needs to be updated:

<VersionPrefix>1.2.1</VersionPrefix>

As there is no section for the next patch release (e.g., 1.2.1) in the changelog, you need to add an empty section for this at the top:

Libplanet changelog
===================

Version 1.2.1
-------------

To be released.

Note that the release date for this is not decided. A simple message like Version bump is enough for a commit for the above changes.

The new maintenance branch and the added commit should be pushed to the upstream.

See also the below commit for example:

https://github.com/planetarium/libplanet/commit/836949f72700cf49f56396be05b92d4d7c994abd

To prepare the next major or minor release, you need to do the similar task again. Whether to release a new major version or a new minor version next depends on the roadmap (it should be discussed in advance). Suppose we plan to release 1.3.0 next time here.

Switch to the main branch and make sure it is up-to-date:

git switch main  # Or on Git < 2.23: git checkout main
git fetch upstream && git reset --hard upstream/main

Then, in a similar manner, update Libplanet/Libplanet.csproj's <VersionPrefix> to 1.3.0, and add an empty section for 1.3.0 with the release date undecided to the changelog. Make a commit with a simple message like Version bump.

At this time, this change should be sent as a pull request on the upstream. The PR should target at the main branch of course.

See also the following commit for example:

https://github.com/planetarium/libplanet/commit/8866560199e2c53fc353181623a28b8f5c07f5a7

Plus a pull request:

planetarium#857

Quick summary

This summary is not for first-time readers. You should read the whole document at the very first time.

Note that X.Y.Z means a version to release.

The checklist to release a new version:

  1. Make sure that you are on the right branch (X.Y-maintenance for a patch release, and main for a major/minor release).
  2. Fill up the released date on the changelog.
  3. git commit -m Release X.Y.Z
  4. Send a pull request and wait until it is merged.
  5. git tag --sign -m "Libplanet X.Y.Z" X.Y.Z
  6. git push upstream X.Y.Z
  7. Check if the all automated processes are successful.

The checklist to prepare the next release:

  • If you have just released a patch version:

    1. Switch to the main branch and make sure it is up-to-date.
    2. git merge X.Y.Z
    3. Resolve conflicts on the CHANGES.md file. Leave all sections from both branches and place the main branch's section topmost.
    4. Send a pull request to the upstream's main branch.
    5. Switch to the X.Y-maintenance branch and make sure it is up-to-date.
    6. Bump <VersionPrefix>'s patch version on Libplanet/Libplanet.csproj. (For example, if you have just released 1.2.3, bump it to 1.2.4.)
    7. Add a new section for the next unreleased version to the changelog, with the sentence To be released (no release date).
    8. Commit the changes with a message Version bump.
    9. Send a pull request to the upstream's X.Y-maintenance branch.

  • If you have just released a major/minor version:

    1. Create a new branch named X.Y-maintenance and switch to it.
    2. Bump <VersionPrefix> on Libplanet/Libplanet.csproj to X.Y.1.
    3. Add a new section for the next unreleased version (X.Y.1) to the changelog, with the sentence To be released (no release date).
    4. Commit the changes with a message Version bump.
    5. git push upstream X.Y-maintenance
    6. Switch to the main branch.
    7. Bump <VersionPrefix>'s minor version on Libplanet/Libplanet.csproj. (For example, if you have just released 1.2.0, bump it to 1.3.0.)
    8. Add a new section for the next unreleased minor version to the changelog, with the sentence To be released (no release date).
    9. Commit the changes with a message Version bump.
    10. Send a pull request to the upstream's X.Y-maintenance branch.