RELEASE.md

Release Process

Use this sequence when cutting a new release.

Prerequisites

• Work from a clean branch tip you intend to release.
• Pick the release tag in advance, for example v0.7.0.

Steps

1. Run release prep.

   make release-prep TAG=v0.7.0

   This target:

   • requires a clean working tree
   • runs go test ./...
   • generates the changelog entry from the latest existing tag through HEAD
   • stages CHANGELOG.md
   • creates the release prep commit

2. Review the generated changelog commit.

   If you need to edit the release notes, update CHANGELOG.md and amend or replace the prep commit before tagging.

3. Create the annotated tag on the release commit.

   git tag -a v0.7.0 -m "v0.7.0"

4. Build release artifacts.

   make release

5. Push the release commit and tag.

   git push origin main
   git push origin v0.7.0

Notes

• make changefile prepends a new section to CHANGELOG.md.

• If the target tag already exists in CHANGELOG.md, make changefile TAG=... exits without modifying the file.

• make release-prep TAG=... fails if the working tree is dirty.

• If you want a custom prep commit message, override RELEASE_COMMIT_MSG, for example:

  make release-prep TAG=v0.7.0 RELEASE_COMMIT_MSG="Cut v0.7.0 release"

• The old make tag helper was removed because tagging is now a deliberate manual step after the changelog commit.