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release-process.md

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Release Process

This document outlines the process for creating new releases of the WordPress ActivityPub plugin. The process differs slightly between major/minor releases and patch releases.

Major and Minor Releases

Major and minor releases follow the same release process. These releases are created from the trunk branch.

Steps

  1. Generate Version Bump PR

    • Use the release script to automatically generate a version bump pull request: 
      # From the plugin root directory
npm run release
    • The script will:
      • Prompt for the new version number
      • Update version numbers in relevant files
      • Update the changelog
      • Create a new branch
      • Commit changes
      • Push to GitHub
      • Create a pull request

  2. Review and Merge

    • Review the generated PR to ensure all version numbers and changelog entries are correct.
    • Once approved, merge the PR into trunk.

  3. Create Release

    • On GitHub, navigate to the main page of the repository.
    • To the right of the list of files, click Releases.
    • At the top of the page, click Draft a new release.
    • To choose a tag for the release, select the Choose a tag dropdown menu.
      • Type the version number for your release, then click Create new tag.
    • Select the Target dropdown menu, then click trunk.
    • Select the Previous tag dropdown menu, then click the tag that identifies the previous release.
    • Above the description field, click Generate release notes.
    • If you're ready to publicize your release, click Publish release. Major/minor release UI

Patch Releases

Patch releases require a more manual process as they need to be created from the previous release branch.

Steps

  1. Restore Release Branch

    • Locate the most recent release branch (for 5.3.0 it was #1371).
    • If needed, recreate the branch from the last release tag.

  2. Create Version PR

    • Base the version PR on PR #1192.
    • The release script doesn't support releasing patch versions, so you'll need to manually update version numbers and changelog entries.
    • Manually update version numbers in relevant files.
    • Manually update changelog and readme.txt with the patch version number above the entries that will be part of the release.

  3. Cherry-pick Changes

    • Identify merge commits from trunk that need to be included.
    • Cherry-pick each merge commit into the release branch: 
      # Checkout the release branch.
git checkout release/5.3.0

# Cherry-pick a merge commit.
git cherry-pick -m 1 <commit-hash>

      Note: The -m 1 flag is required when cherry-picking merge commits. Merge commits have two parent commits - the first parent (-m 1) is the target branch of the original merge (usually the main branch), and the second parent (-m 2) is the source branch that was being merged. We use -m 1 to tell Git to use the changes as they appeared in the main branch.

  4. Resolve Conflicts

    • Common conflict areas:
      • CHANGELOG.md
      • readme.txt
    • Resolve conflicts maintaining chronological order in changelog.
    • Ensure version numbers are correct.

  5. Create Release

    • On GitHub, navigate to the main page of the repository.
    • To the right of the list of files, click Releases.
    • At the top of the page, click Draft a new release.
    • To choose a tag for the release, select the Choose a tag dropdown menu.
      • Type the version number for your release, then click Create new tag.
    • Select the Target dropdown menu, then click the branch that contains the patches you want to release.
    • Select the Previous tag dropdown menu, then click the tag that identifies the previous release.
    • Above the description field, click Generate release notes.
    • If you're ready to publicize your release, click Publish release. Patch release UI