CINXE.COM

<!doctype html> <html class="no-js" lang="en" data-content_root=""> <head><meta charset="utf-8"/> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1"/> <meta name="color-scheme" content="light dark"><meta name="generator" content="Docutils 0.19: https://docutils.sourceforge.io/" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Making a Release" /> <meta property="og:type" content="website" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://handbook.gnome.org/maintainers/making-a-release.html" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="GNOME Project Handbook" /> <meta property="og:description" content="Releases are how maintainers tell the world鈥攐r, more accurately, downstream developers鈥攖hat it鈥檚 time to update their dependencies. These guidelines explain how maintainers can generate these relea..." /> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1146" /> <meta property="og:image:height" content="600" /> <meta property="og:image" content="https://handbook.gnome.org/_images/social_previews/summary_maintainers_making-a-release_c0d546a9.png" /> <meta property="og:image:alt" content="Releases are how maintainers tell the world鈥攐r, more accurately, downstream developers鈥攖hat it鈥檚 time to update their dependencies. These guidelines explain..." /> <meta name="description" content="Releases are how maintainers tell the world鈥攐r, more accurately, downstream developers鈥攖hat it鈥檚 time to update their dependencies. These guidelines explain how maintainers can generate these relea..." /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /> <link rel="index" title="Index" href="../genindex.html" /><link rel="search" title="Search" href="../search.html" /><link rel="next" title="Release Signing" href="signing-releases.html" /><link rel="prev" title="Maintainers" href="../maintainers.html" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../_static/handbook.ico"/> <title>Making a Release - GNOME Project Handbook</title> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../_static/pygments.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../_static/styles/furo.css?digest=369552022d0b975c8e74270ce6eabe0fb7978f24" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../_static/styles/furo-extensions.css?digest=30d1aed668e5c3a91c3e3bf6a60b675221979f0e" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../_static/gnome.css" /> <style> body { --color-code-background: #f8f8f8; --color-code-foreground: black; --color-brand-primary: #4a86cf; --color-brand-content: #4a86cf; } @media not print { body[data-theme="dark"] { --color-code-background: #202020; --color-code-foreground: #d0d0d0; } @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) { body:not([data-theme="light"]) { --color-code-background: #202020; --color-code-foreground: #d0d0d0; } } } </style>  <script> var _paq = window._paq = window._paq || []; /* tracker methods like "setCustomDimension" should be called before "trackPageView" */ _paq.push(['trackPageView']); _paq.push(['enableLinkTracking']); (function() { var u="//webstats.gnome.org/"; _paq.push(['setTrackerUrl', u+'matomo.php']); _paq.push(['setSiteId', '46']); var d=document, g=d.createElement('script'), s=d.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; g.async=true; g.src=u+'matomo.js'; s.parentNode.insertBefore(g,s); })(); </script>  </head> <body> <script> document.body.dataset.theme = localStorage.getItem("theme") || "auto"; </script> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" style="display: none;"> <symbol id="svg-toc" viewBox="0 0 24 24"> <title>Contents</title> <svg stroke="currentColor" fill="currentColor" stroke-width="0" viewBox="0 0 1024 1024"> <path d="M408 442h480c4.4 0 8-3.6 8-8v-56c0-4.4-3.6-8-8-8H408c-4.4 0-8 3.6-8 8v56c0 4.4 3.6 8 8 8zm-8 204c0 4.4 3.6 8 8 8h480c4.4 0 8-3.6 8-8v-56c0-4.4-3.6-8-8-8H408c-4.4 0-8 3.6-8 8v56zm504-486H120c-4.4 0-8 3.6-8 8v56c0 4.4 3.6 8 8 8h784c4.4 0 8-3.6 8-8v-56c0-4.4-3.6-8-8-8zm0 632H120c-4.4 0-8 3.6-8 8v56c0 4.4 3.6 8 8 8h784c4.4 0 8-3.6 8-8v-56c0-4.4-3.6-8-8-8zM115.4 518.9L271.7 642c5.8 4.6 14.4.5 14.4-6.9V388.9c0-7.4-8.5-11.5-14.4-6.9L115.4 505.1a8.74 8.74 0 0 0 0 13.8z"/> </svg> </symbol> <symbol id="svg-menu" viewBox="0 0 24 24"> <title>Menu</title> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="feather-menu"> <line x1="3" y1="12" x2="21" y2="12"></line> <line x1="3" y1="6" x2="21" y2="6"></line> <line x1="3" y1="18" x2="21" y2="18"></line> </svg> </symbol> <symbol id="svg-arrow-right" viewBox="0 0 24 24"> <title>Expand</title> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="feather-chevron-right"> <polyline points="9 18 15 12 9 6"></polyline> </svg> </symbol> <symbol id="svg-sun" viewBox="0 0 24 24"> <title>Light mode</title> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.5" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="feather-sun"> <circle cx="12" cy="12" r="5"></circle> <line x1="12" y1="1" x2="12" y2="3"></line> <line x1="12" y1="21" x2="12" y2="23"></line> <line x1="4.22" y1="4.22" x2="5.64" y2="5.64"></line> <line x1="18.36" y1="18.36" x2="19.78" y2="19.78"></line> <line x1="1" y1="12" x2="3" y2="12"></line> <line x1="21" y1="12" x2="23" y2="12"></line> <line x1="4.22" y1="19.78" x2="5.64" y2="18.36"></line> <line x1="18.36" y1="5.64" x2="19.78" y2="4.22"></line> </svg> </symbol> <symbol id="svg-moon" viewBox="0 0 24 24"> <title>Dark mode</title> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.5" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="icon-tabler-moon"> <path stroke="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none" /> <path d="M12 3c.132 0 .263 0 .393 0a7.5 7.5 0 0 0 7.92 12.446a9 9 0 1 1 -8.313 -12.454z" /> </svg> </symbol> <symbol id="svg-sun-half" viewBox="0 0 24 24"> <title>Auto light/dark mode</title> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.5" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="icon-tabler-shadow"> <path stroke="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none"/> <circle cx="12" cy="12" r="9" /> <path d="M13 12h5" /> <path d="M13 15h4" /> <path d="M13 18h1" /> <path d="M13 9h4" /> <path d="M13 6h1" /> </svg> </symbol> </svg> <input type="checkbox" class="sidebar-toggle" name="__navigation" id="__navigation"> <input type="checkbox" class="sidebar-toggle" name="__toc" id="__toc"> <label class="overlay sidebar-overlay" for="__navigation"></label> <label class="overlay toc-overlay" for="__toc"></label> <div class="page"> <header class="mobile-header"> <div class="header-left"> <label class="nav-overlay-icon" for="__navigation"> <i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-menu"></use></svg></i> </label> </div> <div class="header-center"> <a href="../index.html"><div class="brand">GNOME Project Handbook</div></a> </div> <div class="header-right"> <div class="theme-toggle-container theme-toggle-header"> <button class="theme-toggle"> <div class="visually-hidden">Toggle Light / Dark / Auto color theme</div> <svg class="theme-icon-when-auto"><use href="#svg-sun-half"></use></svg> <svg class="theme-icon-when-dark"><use href="#svg-moon"></use></svg> <svg class="theme-icon-when-light"><use href="#svg-sun"></use></svg> </button> </div> <label class="toc-overlay-icon toc-header-icon" for="__toc"> <div class="visually-hidden">Toggle table of contents sidebar</div> <i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-toc"></use></svg></i> </label> </div> </header> <aside class="sidebar-drawer"> <div class="sidebar-container"> <div class="sidebar-sticky"><a class="sidebar-brand" href="../index.html"> <span class="sidebar-brand-text">GNOME Project Handbook</span> </a><form class="sidebar-search-container" method="get" action="../search.html" role="search"> <input class="sidebar-search" placeholder="Search" name="q" aria-label="Search"> <input type="hidden" name="check_keywords" value="yes"> <input type="hidden" name="area" value="default"> </form> <div id="searchbox"></div><div class="sidebar-scroll"><div class="sidebar-tree"> <ul class="current"> <li class="toctree-l1 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../get-in-touch.html">Get in Touch</a><input class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-1" name="toctree-checkbox-1" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-1"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of Get in Touch</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../get-in-touch/matrix.html">Matrix</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../get-in-touch/discourse.html">Discourse</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toctree-l1 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../news.html">Project News</a><input class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-2" name="toctree-checkbox-2" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-2"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of Project News</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../news/planet-gnome.html">Planet GNOME</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../teams.html">Teams</a></li> <li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../governance.html">Governance</a></li> <li class="toctree-l1 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation.html">Foundation</a><input class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-3" name="toctree-checkbox-3" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-3"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of Foundation</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul> <li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/board-of-directors.html">Board of Directors</a><input class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-4" name="toctree-checkbox-4" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-4"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of Board of Directors</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/board-of-directors/officers.html">Officers</a></li> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/board-of-directors/previous-boards.html">Previous Boards</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/committees.html">Committees</a><input class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-5" name="toctree-checkbox-5" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-5"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of Committees</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/committees/circle.html">Circle Committee</a></li> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/committees/coc.html">Code of Conduct Committee</a></li> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/committees/compensation.html">Compensation Committee</a></li> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/committees/executive.html">Executive Committee</a></li> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/committees/finance.html">Finance Committee</a></li> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/committees/governance.html">Governance Committee</a></li> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/committees/governance.html#committee-charter">Committee Charter</a></li> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/committees/internship.html">Internship Committee</a></li> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/committees/membership-and-elections.html">Membership & Elections Committee</a></li> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/committees/travel.html">Travel Committee</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../foundation/membership-benefits.html">Membership Benefits</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toctree-l1 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../infrastructure.html">Infrastructure</a><input class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-6" name="toctree-checkbox-6" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-6"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of Infrastructure</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../infrastructure/developer-access.html">Developer Access</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../infrastructure/accounts.html">Accounts</a><input class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-7" name="toctree-checkbox-7" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-7"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of Accounts</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../infrastructure/accounts/managing-accounts.html">Managing Accounts</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../infrastructure/email-aliases.html">Email Aliases</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../infrastructure/blog-hosting.html">Blog Hosting</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../infrastructure/gitlab.html">GitLab</a><input class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-8" name="toctree-checkbox-8" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-8"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of GitLab</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../infrastructure/gitlab/hosting-requirements.html">Hosting Requirements</a></li> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../infrastructure/gitlab/new-gnome-project.html">New GNOME Projects</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../infrastructure/ssh-keys.html">SSH Keys</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../infrastructure/contact.html">Contact</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toctree-l1 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../release-planning.html">Release Planning</a><input class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-9" name="toctree-checkbox-9" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-9"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of Release Planning</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../release-planning/freezes.html">Freezes</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../release-planning/release-team.html">Release Team</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toctree-l1 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../development.html">Development</a><input class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-10" name="toctree-checkbox-10" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-10"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of Development</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../development/change-submission.html">Change Submission</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../development/commit-messages.html">Commit Messages</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../development/building.html">Building</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../development/toolbx.html">Building With Toolbx</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../development/legal.html">Legal</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../testing.html">Testing</a></li> <li class="toctree-l1 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../issues.html">Issue Tracking</a><input class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-11" name="toctree-checkbox-11" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-11"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of Issue Tracking</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../issues/reporting.html">Issue Reporting</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../issues/stack-traces.html">Stack Traces</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../issues/management.html">Issue Management</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../issues/review.html">Issue Review</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../issues/stock-responses.html">Stock Responses</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../issues/template.html">New Issue Template</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toctree-l1 current has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../maintainers.html">Maintainers</a><input checked="" class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-12" name="toctree-checkbox-12" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-12"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of Maintainers</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul class="current"> <li class="toctree-l2 current current-page"><a class="current reference internal" href="#">Making a Release</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="signing-releases.html">Release Signing</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="release-pipeline.html">Release Pipeline</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="branches.html">Branches</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="issue-management.html">Issue Management</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toctree-l1 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../events.html">Events</a><input class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-13" name="toctree-checkbox-13" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-13"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of Events</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../events/guadec.html">GUADEC</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../events/gnome.asia.html">GNOME.Asia</a></li> <li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../events/hackfests.html">Hackfests</a><input class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-14" name="toctree-checkbox-14" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-14"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of Hackfests</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../events/hackfests/organizing.html">Organize a Hackfest</a></li> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../events/hackfests/template.html">Hackfest Template</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toctree-l2 has-children"><a class="reference internal" href="../events/travel.html">Travel</a><input class="toctree-checkbox" id="toctree-checkbox-15" name="toctree-checkbox-15" role="switch" type="checkbox"/><label for="toctree-checkbox-15"><div class="visually-hidden">Toggle navigation of Travel</div><i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg></i></label><ul> <li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../events/travel/sponsorship-policy.html">Travel Sponsorship Policy</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </aside> <div class="main"> <div class="content"> <div class="article-container"> <a href="#" class="back-to-top muted-link"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"> <path d="M13 20h-2V8l-5.5 5.5-1.42-1.42L12 4.16l7.92 7.92-1.42 1.42L13 8v12z"></path> </svg> <span>Back to top</span> </a> <div class="content-icon-container"> <div class="edit-this-page"> <a class="muted-link" href="https://gitlab.gnome.org/Teams/Websites/handbook.gnome.org/-/edit/main/source/maintainers/making-a-release.rst" title="Edit this page"> <svg aria-hidden="true" viewBox="0 0 24 24" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="currentColor" fill="none" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"> <path stroke="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none"/> <path d="M4 20h4l10.5 -10.5a1.5 1.5 0 0 0 -4 -4l-10.5 10.5v4" /> <line x1="13.5" y1="6.5" x2="17.5" y2="10.5" /> </svg> <span class="visually-hidden">Edit this page</span> </a> </div><div class="theme-toggle-container theme-toggle-content"> <button class="theme-toggle"> <div class="visually-hidden">Toggle Light / Dark / Auto color theme</div> <svg class="theme-icon-when-auto"><use href="#svg-sun-half"></use></svg> <svg class="theme-icon-when-dark"><use href="#svg-moon"></use></svg> <svg class="theme-icon-when-light"><use href="#svg-sun"></use></svg> </button> </div> <label class="toc-overlay-icon toc-content-icon" for="__toc"> <div class="visually-hidden">Toggle table of contents sidebar</div> <i class="icon"><svg><use href="#svg-toc"></use></svg></i> </label> </div> <article role="main" id="furo-main-content"> <section id="making-a-release"> <h1>Making a Release<a class="headerlink" href="#making-a-release" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h1> <p>Releases are how maintainers tell the world鈥攐r, more accurately, downstream developers鈥攖hat it鈥檚 time to update their dependencies. These guidelines explain how maintainers can generate these releases.</p> <section id="setting-up-gitlab-ci-cd-pipeline-and-a-signing-key"> <h2>Setting up GitLab CI/CD pipeline and a signing key<a class="headerlink" href="#setting-up-gitlab-ci-cd-pipeline-and-a-signing-key" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h2> <p>If your project does not already have a release CI pipeline, you will need to <a class="reference internal" href="release-pipeline.html"><span class="doc">create one</span></a>.</p> <p>If you do not already have a GPG key set up for signing releases, you will need to <a class="reference internal" href="signing-releases.html"><span class="doc">set one up</span></a>.</p> </section> <section id="before-tagging-the-release"> <h2>Before tagging the release<a class="headerlink" href="#before-tagging-the-release" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h2> <p>The following steps are typically done on the branch that will be released. However, if your project is configured to disallow pushing to this branch, it will need to happen on a separate branch which is later merged.</p> <ul class="simple"> <li><p>Ensure that the project is building and passing tests.</p></li> <li><p>Update the version number if necessary (in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">meson.build</span></code> or equivalent).</p></li> <li><p>For a library, update the library versioning if it is not automatically computed from the project version. Library versioning is passed to the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">soversion</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">version</span></code> parameters of Meson鈥檚 <a class="reference external" href="https://mesonbuild.com/Reference-manual_functions.html#library">library method</a>. The library versioning represent鈥檚 the library鈥檚 API level, which is often separate from the project version.</p></li> <li><p>Update the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">README</span></code> if necessary.</p></li> <li><p>If the module is an application, add a <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre"><release></span></code> entry in the AppStream metadata file (refer to the <a class="reference external" href="https://www.freedesktop.org/software/appstream/docs/chap-Metadata.html">AppStream documentation</a>).</p> <ul> <li><p>Optionally, read through the Git commit log and come up with a bullet point for each significant change and credit the person(s) who did the work. Remember that the AppStream metadata is presented by GUI tools to the user. Some tips:</p> <ul> <li><p>Try to make the bullet points short and snappy but also understandable for a general user (not always easy).</p></li> <li><p>If several entries relate to the same change, only use a single bullet point.</p></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li><p>The AppStream specification does not deal with alphabetical components inside a version, so whenever releasing a development snapshot (<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">alpha</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">beta</span></code>, or <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">rc</span></code>) you will need to use tilde as a separator for the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">version</span></code> attribute in the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">release</span></code> element, e.g. <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">43.alpha</span></code> becomes <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">43~alpha</span></code>; <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">44.beta</span></code> becomes <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">44~beta</span></code>; and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">45.rc</span></code> becomes <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">45~rc</span></code>.</p> <ul> <li><p>You also have the option to not list development snapshots in the AppStream metadata, and instead make a full release description for the first stable release.</p></li> </ul> </li> <li><p>Update the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">NEWS</span></code> file:</p> <ul> <li><p>The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">NEWS</span></code> file is generally used by packagers and integrators, so you can be more verbose than in the AppStream metadata.</p></li> <li><p>Optionally, you can use <a class="reference external" href="https://gitlab.gnome.org/pwithnall/gitlab-changelog/">this script</a> for generating a <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">NEWS</span></code> file from your Git history.</p></li> <li><p>You might wish to mention updated dependencies, since it makes life easier for packagers.</p></li> <li><p>You might use a format similar to the following:</p></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <div class="highlight-default notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="n">Version</span> <span class="mf">43.0</span> <span class="o">------------</span> <span class="o">*</span> <span class="n">Dependency</span> <span class="n">update</span> <span class="o">*</span> <span class="n">Some</span> <span class="n">change</span> <span class="o">*</span> <span class="n">A</span> <span class="n">bug</span> <span class="n">fix</span> <span class="o">*</span> <span class="n">Small</span> <span class="n">maintenance</span> <span class="n">tasks</span> <span class="o">*</span> <span class="n">Translation</span> <span class="n">updates</span> </pre></div> </div> <ul class="simple"> <li><p>Commit these changes using <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">git</span> <span class="pre">commit</span> <span class="pre">--gpg-sign</span></code>.</p> <ul> <li><p>Signing the commit for each version allows that release to be verified. See <a class="reference internal" href="signing-releases.html"><span class="doc">signing releases</span></a> for information on how to set up commit signing.</p></li> </ul> </li> <li><p>Push your changes. Or, if you if you are working on a development branch, merge it into the branch which will be released.</p></li> </ul> </section> <section id="tagging-as-the-signal-for-the-release"> <h2>Tagging as the signal for the release<a class="headerlink" href="#tagging-as-the-signal-for-the-release" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h2> <p>The release automation is triggered by pushing an annotated tag to the GitLab repository. The tag should be named according to the version number of the release.</p> <p>The following is typically done on the branch that will be released. Create an annotated tag:</p> <ol class="arabic simple"> <li><p>The best way to do this is <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">git</span> <span class="pre">evtag</span> <span class="pre">sign</span> <span class="pre"><tag></span></code>, using <a class="reference external" href="https://github.com/cgwalters/git-evtag">git-evtag</a>. This provides strong signing guarantees.</p></li> <li><p>If you can鈥檛 do that, do it the basic way: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">git</span> <span class="pre">tag</span> <span class="pre">-s</span> <span class="pre"><tag></span></code>.</p></li> <li><p>Or, worse: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">git</span> <span class="pre">tag</span> <span class="pre">-a</span> <span class="pre"><tag></span></code>.</p></li> </ol> <p>This will launch an editor for you to enter the message to use for the tag. Write the name and version of the project:</p> <div class="highlight-default notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="n">GNOME</span> <span class="n">Foo</span> <span class="mf">43.0</span> </pre></div> </div> <p>Once the tag is created, push it to the GitLab repository with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">git</span> <span class="pre">push</span> <span class="pre">origin</span> <span class="pre"><tag></span></code>. The pipeline will be triggered and the release process will start.</p> </section> <section id="monitoring-the-release"> <h2>Monitoring the release<a class="headerlink" href="#monitoring-the-release" title="Permalink to this heading">#</a></h2> <p>When the tag is created in the GitLab repository, the release process will automatically start. The jobs will generate the tarball and upload it to the GNOME server. You can monitor the release from the GitLab interface.</p> <p>Once the job has finished, verify that the release was successful by checking that it is listed in <a class="reference external" href="https://download.gnome.org/sources/">download.gnome.org/sources</a> and in the module鈥檚 GitLab project under releases.</p> </section> </section> </article> </div> <footer> <div class="related-pages"> <a class="next-page" href="signing-releases.html"> <div class="page-info"> <div class="context"> <span>Next</span> </div> <div class="title">Release Signing</div> </div> <svg class="furo-related-icon"><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg> </a> <a class="prev-page" href="../maintainers.html"> <svg class="furo-related-icon"><use href="#svg-arrow-right"></use></svg> <div class="page-info"> <div class="context"> <span>Previous</span> </div> <div class="title">Maintainers</div> </div> </a> </div> </footer> </div> <aside class="toc-drawer"> <div class="toc-sticky toc-scroll"> <div class="toc-title-container"> <span class="toc-title"> On this page </span> </div> <div class="toc-tree-container"> <div class="toc-tree"> <ul> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#">Making a Release</a><ul> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#setting-up-gitlab-ci-cd-pipeline-and-a-signing-key">Setting up GitLab CI/CD pipeline and a signing key</a></li> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#before-tagging-the-release">Before tagging the release</a></li> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#tagging-as-the-signal-for-the-release">Tagging as the signal for the release</a></li> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#monitoring-the-release">Monitoring the release</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </aside> </div> </div><script data-url_root="../" id="documentation_options" src="../_static/documentation_options.js"></script> <script src="../_static/doctools.js"></script> <script src="../_static/sphinx_highlight.js"></script> <script src="../_static/scripts/furo.js"></script> </body> </html>