~bzr-pqm/bzr/bzr.dev

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

This document describes the processes for making and announcing a Bazaar
release, and managing the release process.  This is just one phase of the
`overall development cycle <http://doc.bazaar-vcs.org/developers/cycle.html>`_,
but it's the most complex part.
This document gives a checklist you can follow from start to end in one
go.

If you're helping the Release Manager (RM) for one reason or another, you
may notice that he didn't follow that document scrupulously. He may have
good reasons to do that but he may also have missed some parts.

Follow the document yourself and don't hesitate to create the missing
milestones for example (we tend to forget these ones a lot).

.. contents::


Preconditions
-------------

#. Download the pqm plugin and install it into your ``~/.bazaar/plugins``::

     bzr branch lp:bzr-pqm ~/.bazaar/plugins/pqm


Starting a cycle
----------------

To start a new release cycle:

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

#. Go to the series web page at <https://launchpad.net/bzr/x.y>

#. Create a new release at
   <https://launchpad.net/bzr/x.y/+addrelease> and add
   information about this release. We will not use it yet, but it
   will be available for targeting or nominating bugs.

#. We create a new pqm-controlled branch for this release series, by
   asking a Canonical sysadmin.
   This branch means that from the first release beta or candidate onwards,
   general development continues on the trunk, and only
   specifically-targeted fixes go into the release branch.

#. Add milestones at <https://edge.launchpad.net/bzr/x.y/+addmilestone> to
   that series for the beta release, release candidate and the final release,
   and their expected dates.

#. Update the version number in the ``bzr`` script, and the
   ``bzrlib/__init__.py`` file. Make sure there is always a corresponding
   milestone when you change that version number.

#. Add a new section at the top of ``NEWS`` about the new release,
   including its version number and the headings from
   ``NEWS-template.txt``.

#. Send mail to the list with the key dates, who will be the release
   manager, and the main themes or targeted bugs.  Ask people to nominate
   objectives, or point out any high-risk things that are best done early,
   or that interact with other changes. This is called the metronome mail
   and is described in `Development cycles <cycle.html>`_.

#. Make a local branch for preparing this release.  (Only for the first
   release in a series, otherwise you should already have a branch.) ::

     bzr branch trunk prepare-1.14

#. Configure pqm-submit for this branch, with a section like this (where
   x.y is the version to release).
   ``~/.bazaar/locations.conf``::

	[/home/mbp/bzr/prepare-x.y]
	pqm_email = Canonical PQM <pqm@bazaar-vcs.org>
	submit_branch = http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~bzr-pqm/bzr/x.y
	parent_branch = http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~bzr-pqm/bzr/x.y
	public_branch = http://bazaar.example.com/prepare-x.y
	submit_to = bazaar@lists.canonical.com
	smtp_server = mail.example.com:25

    Please see <http://doc.bazaar-vcs.org/developers/HACKING.html#an-overview-of-pqm>
    for more details on PQM

#. In the release branch, update  ``version_info`` in ``./bzrlib/__init__.py``.
   Make sure the corresponding milestone exists.
   Double check that ./bzr ``_script_version`` matches ``version_info``. Check
   the output of ``bzr --version``.

   For beta releases use::

       version_info = (2, 1, 0, 'beta', 1)


   For release candidates use::

       version_info = (2, 0, 1, 'candidate', 1)


Starting the release phase
--------------------------

#. Create a new milestone at <https://launchpad.net/bzr/x.y/+addmilestone>
   for the beta release or release candidate if you haven't already.

#. Add the date and release number to ``./NEWS``

   Depending on whether you're doing a beta or a bugfix release, you'll
   have to create a NEWS section for your release in the right
   place. Most of the time, the new section is at the top of the file
   (look what have been done for the various 2.0x and 2.1.0bx releases).
   The rule is to keep the sections sorted by date. You'll need to be
   cautious when merging back to trunk to respect that.

#. To check that all bugs mentioned in ``./NEWS`` are actually marked as
   closed in Launchpad, you can run ``tools/check-newsbugs.py``::

     ./tools/check-newsbugs.py NEWS

   (But note there can be some false positives, and this script may be
   flaky <https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/bzr/+bug/354985>.  Don't let
   this slow you down too much.)

#. Summarize into one or two paragraphs what's new in this release.

#. Commit these changes to the release branch, using a command like::

     bzr commit -m "Release 1.14."

   The diff before you commit will be something like::

     === modified file 'NEWS'
     --- NEWS        2008-09-17 23:09:18 +0000
     +++ NEWS        2008-09-23 16:14:54 +0000
     @@ -4,6 +4,23 @@

      .. contents::

     +bzr 1.7 2008-09-23
     +------------------
     +
     +This release includes many bug fixes and a few performance and feature
     +improvements.  ``bzr rm`` will now scan for missing files and remove them,
     +like how ``bzr add`` scans for unknown files and adds them. A bit more
     +polish has been applied to the stacking code. The b-tree indexing code has
     +been brought in, with an eye on using it in a future repository format.
     +There are only minor installer changes since bzr-1.7rc2.
     +
      bzr 1.7rc2 2008-09-17
      ---------------------


     === modified file 'bzrlib/__init__.py'
     --- bzrlib/__init__.py  2008-09-16 21:39:28 +0000
     +++ bzrlib/__init__.py  2008-09-23 16:14:54 +0000
     @@ -41,7 +41,7 @@
      # Python version 2.0 is (2, 0, 0, 'final', 0)."  Additionally we use a
      # releaselevel of 'dev' for unreleased under-development code.

     -version_info = (1, 7, 0, 'candidate', 2)
     +version_info = (1, 7, 0, 'final', 0)


      # API compatibility version: bzrlib is currently API compatible with 1.7.

#. Tag the new release::

     bzr tag bzr-1.14

#. Push those changes to a bzr reposistory that is public and accessible on
   the Internet. PQM will pull from this repository when it attempts to merge
   your changes. Then submit those changes to PQM for merge into the
   appropriate release branch::

     bzr push
     bzr pqm-submit -m "(mbp) prepare 1.14"

#. 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

   You may encounter failures while running the test suite caused
   by your locally installed plugins. Use your own judgment to
   decide if you can release with these failures. When in doubt,
   disable the faulty plugins one by one until you get no more
   failures.


Publishing the source tarball
-----------------------------

#. Go to the relevant milestone page in Launchpad.

#. Within that release, upload the source tarball and the GPG
   signature.  Or, if you prefer, use the
   ``tools/packaging/lp-upload-release`` script to do this.


Announcing the source freeze
----------------------------

#. Post to the ``bazaar`` list, saying that the source has been frozen.
   This is the cue for platform maintainers and plugin authors to update
   their code.  This is done before the general public announcement of the
   release.


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

There is normally a delay of a few days after the source freeze to allow
for binaries to be built on various platforms.  Once they have been built,
we have a releasable product.  The next step is to make it generally
available to the world.

go to the release

#. Within that release, upload the source tarball and zipfile and the GPG
   signature.  Or, if you prefer, use the
   ``tools/packaging/lp-upload-release`` script to do this.

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

#. Announce on the `Bazaar website <http://bazaar-vcs.org/>`_.
   This page is edited via the lp:bzr-website branch. (Changes
   pushed to this branch are refreshed by a cron job on escudero.)

#. Announce on the `Bazaar wiki <http://bazaar-vcs.org/Welcome>`_.

#. Check that the documentation for this release is available in
   <http://doc.bazaar-vcs.org>.  It should be automatically build when the
   branch is created, by a cron script ``update-bzr-docs`` on
   ``escudero``. As of today (2009-08-27) ``igc`` manually updates the
   pretty version of it.


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

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

#. Make an announcement mail.

   For release candidates or beta releases, this is sent to the ``bazaar``
   list only to inform plugin authors and package or installer managers.

   Once the installers are available, the mail can be sent to the
   ``bazaar-announce`` list too.

   For final releases, it should also be cc'd to ``info-gnu@gnu.org``,
   ``python-announce-list@python.org``, ``bug-directory@gnu.org``.

   In all cases, it is good to set ``Reply-To: bazaar@lists.canonical.com``,
   so that people who reply to the announcement don't spam other lists.

   The announce mail will look something like this::

      Subject: bzr x.yy released!

      <<Summary paragraph from news>>

      The Bazaar team is happy to announce availability of a new
      release of the bzr adaptive version control system.
      Bazaar is part of the GNU system <http://gnu.org/>.

      Thanks to everyone who contributed patches, suggestions, and
      feedback.

      Bazaar is now available for download from
      http://bazaar-vcs.org/Download as a source tarball; packages
      for various systems will be available soon.

      <<NEWS section from this release back to the last major release>>

   Feel free to tweak this to your taste.

#. Make an announcement through <https://launchpad.net/bzr/+announce>

#. 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 beta releases, 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/Bazaar_(software)>`_ -- this should
   be done for final releases but not for beta releases or Release Candidates.

#. 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.

As soon as you change the version number in trunk, make sure you have
created the corresponding milestone to ensure the continuity in bug
targeting or nominating. Depending on the change, you may even have to
create a new series (if your change the major or minor release number), in
that case go to `Starting a cycle` and follow the instructions from there.

You should also merge (not pull) the release branch into
``lp:~bzr/bzr/current``, so that branch contains the current released code
at any time.

Releases until the final one
----------------------------

Congratulations - you have made your first release.  Have a beer
or fruit juice - it's on the house! If it was a beta, or
candidate, you're not finished yet. Another beta or candidate or
hopefully a final release is still to come.

The process is the same as for the first release. Goto `Starting the
release phase`_ and follow the instructions again. Some details change
between beta, candidate and final releases, but they should be
documented. If the instructions aren't clear enough, please fix them.


See also
--------

* `Packaging into the bzr PPA <ppa.html>`_ to make and publish Ubuntu
  packages.
* `Bazaar Developer Document Catalog <index.html>`_
* `Development cycles <cycle.html>`_: things that happen during the cycle
  before the actual release.

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