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Release Process for tux2lab

This document guides the automated release process. When the user says "release", follow these steps in order.

Step 0: Check If There's Anything to Release

CRITICAL FIRST STEP - Before doing anything else:

  1. Get commits since last release:
git log $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)..HEAD --oneline

  1. Analyze if commits are user-facing changes:

    • ✅ Release these: Bug fixes, new features, enhancements, performance improvements, UI/UX changes
    • ❌ DO NOT release these:
      • Changes to RELEASE_PROCESS.md or .github/ directory
      • Changes to create-release-tarball.sh or CI/CD scripts
      • Documentation about the release process itself
      • Internal tooling or meta changes

  2. If no user-facing changes exist:

    • Respond: "Nothing to release. No user-facing changes since [last version]."
    • STOP - do not proceed with release steps

  3. Only if user-facing changes exist:

    • Proceed to Pre-Release Checklist

Pre-Release Checklist

  1. Ensure all changes are committed
  2. Run syntax checks on modified shell scripts
  3. Verify no uncommitted changes remain

Release Steps

1. Determine Version Bump

  • Read current version from project_version.json
  • Analyze git commits since last release to determine version bump type
  • Follow Semantic Versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH):

MAJOR version (vX.0.0) - Increment when:

  • Breaking changes that require user action
  • Incompatible API changes
  • Major architectural changes
  • Removal of deprecated features
  • Changes that break existing workflows

MINOR version (v2.X.0) - Increment when:

  • New features added in backwards compatible manner
  • New commands or subcommands added
  • New configuration options added
  • Significant enhancements that don't break existing functionality
  • New OS distribution support

PATCH version (v2.0.X) - Increment when:

  • Bug fixes only
  • Small enhancements to existing features
  • Documentation updates
  • Performance improvements
  • Code refactoring without behavior changes
  • UI/UX improvements (like menu display fixes)

Analysis Method:

# Review commits since last release
git log $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)..HEAD --oneline

# Look for keywords:
# - "breaking", "incompatible", "removed" → MAJOR
# - "add", "new feature", "enhancement" → MINOR (if significant)
# - "fix", "bug", "improve" → PATCH

2. Update Version File

# Update project_version.json with new version
# Format: v2.0.X

3. Commit Version Bump

git add project_version.json
git commit -m "Bump version to vX.Y.Z"

4. Create Release Tarball

bash create-release-tarball.sh

5. Commit Tarball

git add latest-release/tux2lab.tar.gz
git commit -m "Release vX.Y.Z tarball"

6. Push to GitHub

git push
# Note: Do NOT push tags - user creates GitHub release manually

7. Generate Release Notes

Fetch previous release from GitHub to match format:

https://github.com/Muthukumar-Subramaniam/tux2lab/releases

Format (strictly follow this structure):

## 📢 Release Notes - vX.Y.Z

Released: [Date in format: Month DD, YYYY]

### 🐛 Bug Fixes

• [Description of bug fix]
• [Another bug fix]

### ✨ Enhancements

• [Description of enhancement]
• [Another enhancement]

### 🔧 Technical Details

• [Technical implementation details]
• [Code changes explanation]
• [Configuration updates]

8. Present Release Notes

  • Display the release notes in markdown format in chat
  • User will manually create GitHub release with these notes
  • User handles git tag creation via GitHub release UI
  • GitHub will automatically generate Full Changelog link

Notes

  • Never push git tags - user creates them via GitHub release
  • Always check GitHub for previous release format before generating notes
  • Keep technical details section comprehensive
  • Use bullet points consistently (• not -)
  • GitHub automatically generates Full Changelog link, don't include it in notes