~bzr-pqm/bzr/bzr.dev

Releasing Bazaar
================

This document describes the processes for making and announcing a Bazaar
release, and managing the release process.

See also: `Bazaar Developer Document Catalog <index.html>`_.


.. contents::


Starting a Release
------------------

To start a new release cycle:

#. Send mail to the list with the key dates, who will be the release
   manager, and the main themes or targetted bugs.  Ask people to nominate
   objectives, or point out any high-risk things that are best done early,
   or that interact with other changes.

#. Add a new "series" in Launchpad at <https://launchpad.net/bzr/+addseries>.  There is one 
   series for every *x.y* release.


Weekly Status Updates
---------------------

TODO: Things to cover:

* Early communication to downstream teams (e.g. Launchpad) about changes in dependencies.
* Reminder re lifecycle and where we're up to right now
* Summary of recent successes and pending work
* Reminder re release objectives
* Reminder re things needing attention, e.g. bug triage, reviews, testing of certain things, etc.


Feature Freeze
--------------

TODO: Get material from http://bazaar-vcs.org/FeatureFreeze.



Preparing the tree for release
------------------------------

.. Was previously at http://bazaar-vcs.org/ReleaseChecklist

.. TODO: Still needs more clarity on what's in a RC versus a final
.. release?

This is the procedure for making a new bzr release:

#. If the release is the first candidate, make a new branch in PQM. 
   (Contact Robert Collins for this step).

   Register the branch at https://launchpad.net/products/bzr/+addbranch

#. Run the automatic test suite and any non-automated tests.  (For example, try a download over http; these should eventually be scripted though not automatically run.). Try to have all optional dependencies installed so that there are no tests skipped. Also make sure that you have the c extensions compiled (``make`` or ``python setup.py build_ext -i``).

#. In the release branch, update  ``version_info`` in ``./bzrlib/__init__.py``

#. Add the date and release number to ``./NEWS``, and a one-paragraph
   summary of changes in this release.

#. Commit these changes to the release branch, using a command like::
    
     bzr commit -m "(jam) Release 0.12rc1." 
   
   The diff before you commit will be something like::

       === modified file 'NEWS'
       --- NEWS        2006-10-23 13:11:17 +0000
       +++ NEWS        2006-10-23 22:50:50 +0000
       @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
       -IN DEVELOPMENT
       +bzr 0.12rc1  2006-10-23

          IMPROVEMENTS:


       === modified file 'bzrlib/__init__.py'
       --- bzrlib/__init__.py  2006-10-16 01:47:43 +0000
       +++ bzrlib/__init__.py  2006-10-23 22:49:46 +0000
       @@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
        # Python version 2.0 is (2, 0, 0, 'final', 0)."  Additionally we use a
        # releaselevel of 'dev' for unreleased under-development code.

       -version_info = (0, 12, 0, 'dev', 0)
       +version_info = (0, 12, 0, 'candidate', 1)

        if version_info[3] == 'final':
            version_string = '%d.%d.%d' % version_info[:3]

#. Submit those changes to PQM for merge into the appropriate release
   branch.

#. When PQM succeeds, pull down the master release branch.

Making the source tarball
-------------------------

#. Change into the source directory and run ::
  
     make dist

#. Now we'll try expanding this tarball and running the test suite
   to check for packaging problems::
 
     make check-dist-tarball


Publishing the release
----------------------

Now you have the releasable product.  The next step is making it
available to the world.

#. In <https://launchpad.net/bzr/> click the "Release series" for this
   series, to take you to e.g. <https://launchpad.net/bzr/1.1>.  Then
   click "Register a release", and add information about this release.

#. Within that release, upload the source tarball and the GPG signature.

#. Link from http://bazaar-vcs.org/Download to the tarball and signature.

#. Update http://doc.bazaar-vcs.org/ to have a directory of documentation
   for this release.  (Controlled by the ``update-bzr-docs`` script on
   escudero, and also update the ``latest`` symlink in
   ``/srv/bazaar.canonical.com/doc/``.)

#. Announce on the `Bazaar home page`__
   
 __ http://bazaar-vcs.org/


Announcing the release
----------------------

Now that the release is publicly available, tell people about it.

#. Announce to ``bazaar-announce`` and ``bazaar`` mailing lists. 
   The announce mail will look something like this:
   
    | Subject: bzr 0.11 release candidate 1
    | 
    | INTRO HERE. Mention the release number and date, and why the release. (i.e. release candidate for testing, final release of a version, backport/bugfix etc).
    | 
    | Tarballs:
    | http://bazaar-vcs.org/releases/src/bzr-VERSION.tar.gz
    | and GPG signature:
    | http://bazaar-vcs.org/releases/src/bzr-VERSION.tar.gz.sig
    | 
    | DESCRIBE-CHANGES-IN-OVERVIEW-HERE
    | 
    | DESCRIBE-when the next release will be (if there is another - i.e. this is a release candidate)
    | 
    | Many thanks to all the contributors to this release! I've included the
    | contents of NEWS for VERSION below:

   To generate the data from NEWS, just copy and paste the relevant news section and clean it up as appropriate. The main clean-up task is to confirm that all major changes are indeed covered. This can be done by running ``bzr log`` back to the point when the branch was opened and cross checking the changes against the NEWS entries.

   (RC announcements should remind plugin maintainers to update their plugins.)

     * For point releases (i.e. a release candidate, or an incremental fix
       to a released version) take everything in the relevant NEWS section.  For
       example, for 0.11rc2 take everything in NEWS from the bzr 0.11rc2 line to the bzr 0.11rc1 line further down.

     * For major releases (i.e. 0.11, 0.12 etc), take all the combined NEWS sections from within that version: for 0.11 take all of the 0.11 specific section, plus 0.11rc2, plus 0.11rc1 etc.

#. Update the IRC channel topic. Use the ``/topic`` command to do this, ensuring the new topic text keeps the project name, web site link, etc.

#. Announce on http://freshmeat.net/projects/bzr/
   
   This should be done for both release candidates and final releases. If you do not have a Freshmeat account yet, ask one of the existing admins.

#. Update http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bzr -- this should be done for final releases but not Release Candidates.

#. Package maintainers should update packages when they see the
   announcement.

#. Blog about it.

#. Post to http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-announce-list for major releases

#. Update the python package index: <http://pypi.python.org/pypi/bzr> - best
   done by running ::

       python setup.py register

   Remember to check the results afterwards.

   To be able to register the release you must create an account on
   <http://pypi.python.org/pypi> and have one of the existing owners of
   the project add you to the group.


Merging the released code back to trunk
---------------------------------------

Merge the release branch back into the trunk.  Check that changes in NEWS
were merged into the right sections.  If it's not already done, advance
the version number in ``bzr`` and ``bzrlib/__init__.py``.  Submit this
back into pqm for bzr.dev.


Updating the PPA for a new release
----------------------------------

We build Ubuntu ``.deb`` packages for Bazaar as an important part of the release
process.  These packages are hosted in a `Personal Package Archive (PPA)`__ on
Launchpad, at <https://launchpad.net/~bzr/+archive>.

  __ https://help.launchpad.net/PPAQuickStart

We build packages for every supported Ubuntu release
<https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases>.  Packages need no longer be updated
when the release passes end-of-life because all users should
updated by then.

The ``debian/`` directory containing the packaging information is kept in
branches on Launchpad, named like 
<https://code.launchpad.net/~bzr/bzr/packaging-hardy>.

Preconditions for building these packages:
  
* You must have a Launchpad account and be a member of the `~bzr`__ team
  
__ https://edge.launchpad.net/~bzr/+members>

* You must have a GPG key registered to your Launchpad account.

* Configure ``dput`` to upload to our PPA with this section in your
  ``~/.dput.cf``::

    [bzr-ppa]
    fqdn = ppa.launchpad.net
    method = ftp
    incoming = ~bzr/ubuntu
    login = anonymous
    allow_unsigned_uploads = 0

* You need a Ubuntu (or probably Debian) machine, and ::

    sudo apt-get install build-essential devscripts dput quilt patch

Here is the process; there are some steps which should be automated in
future:

#. You will need a working directory for each supported release, such as
   ``~/bzr/Packaging/hardy``

#. Download the official tarball of the release to e.g. ``~/bzr/Releases``

#. Copy the original tarball into your per-disto directory, then untar it 
   and if necessary rename it::

     cp -l ~/bzr/Releases/bzr-1.3.tar.gz bzr_1.3.orig.tar.gz
     tar xfvz bzr_1.3.orig.tar.gz
     mv bzr bzr-1.3

#. Change into that directory and check out the packaging branch::

     cd bzr
     bzr checkout \
       bzr+ssh://bazaar.launchpad.net/~bzr/bzr/packaging-hardy \
       debian

#. For Bazaar plugins, change the ``debian/control`` file to express a
   dependency on the correct version of ``bzr``.

   For bzrtools this is typically::

      Build-Depends-Indep: bzr (>= 1.3~), rsync
      Depends: ${python:Depends}, bzr (>= 1.3~), bzr (<< 1.4~), patch

#. Make a new ``debian/changelog`` entry for the new release,
   either by using ``dch`` or just editing the file::

     dch -v '1.3-1~bazaar1' -D hardy

   dch will default to the distro you're working in and this isn't checked
   against the version number (which is just our conversion), so make sure 
   to specify it.

   **Caution:** Release candidates must insert a tilde to make them sort 
   before the final release, like this: ``bzr-1.4~rc2-1~bazaar1``.

   Make sure you have the correct email address for yourself, version
   number, and distribution.  It should look something like this::

       bzr (1.3-1~bazaar1) hardy; urgency=low
     
        * New upstream release.
     
       -- John Sample <sample@example.com>  Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:36:27 +1100

   If you need to upload the package again to fix a problem, normally you
   should increment the last number in the version number, following the
   distro name.  Make sure not to omit the initial ``-1``, and make sure
   that the distro name in the version is consistent with the target name
   outside the parenthesis.

#. Commit these changes into the packaging branch::

     bzr ci -m '1.3-1~bazaar1: New upstream release.' debian

#. Build a source package::

     debuild -S -sa -i -D

   This will create a ``.changes`` file in the per-distro directory,
   and should invoke gpg to sign it with your key.
   Check that file is reasonable: it should be uploading to the intended
   distribution, have a .orig file included, and the right version number.

#. Upload into the PPA::

     dput bzr-ppa ../bzr__1.3-1\~bazaar1\_source.changes

   Don't forget the ``bzr-ppa`` component or dput will try to upload into
   the main archive by default.  You can disable this by adding this
   section to your ``.dput.cf``::

     [ubuntu]
     fqdn = SPECIFY.A.PPA.NAME

#. Copy the uploaded package over to other Ubuntu releases, taking advantage 
   of Launchpad's Copy Package feature <https://launchpad.net/~bzr/+archive/+copy-packages>

   **Caution:** Make sure the dependencies are the same between Ubuntu releases,
   Dapper has different dependencies, but others might change in time.
   If you upload a release-specific version, you should add a ~release1 to
   the package version, for example:: bzr.1.3-1~bazaar1~dapper1

#. You should soon get an "upload accepted" mail from Launchpad, which
   means that your package is waiting to be built.  You can then track its
   progress in <https://launchpad.net/~bzr/+archive> and
   <https://launchpad.net/~bzr/+archive/+builds>.

If you add all the bzr PPAs to your ``sources.list`` then you can see a
summary of current package versions with::

  apt-cache madison bzr