--- /dev/null
+Here are the steps to follow to create a new notmuch release.
+
+These steps assume that a process (not described here) has already
+been followed to determine the features and bug fixes to be included
+in a release, and that adequate testing by the community has already
+been performed. The little bit of testing performed here is a safety
+check, and not a substitute for wider testing.
+
+OK, so the code to be released is present and committed to your git
+repository. From here, there are just a few steps to release:
+
+1) Verify that the NEWS file is up to date.
+
+ Read through the entry at the top of the NEWS file and see if
+ you are aware of any major features recently added that are
+ not mentioned there. If so, please add them, (and ask the
+ authors of the commits to update NEWS in the future).
+
+2) Verify that the library version in lib/Makefile.local is correct
+
+ See the instructions there for how to increment it.
+
+ The version should have been updated with any commits that
+ added API _in a non-upwardly compatible_ way, but do check
+ that that is the case. The command below can be useful for
+ inspecting header-file changes since the last release X.Y:
+
+ git diff X.Y..HEAD -- lib/notmuch.h
+
+ Commit this change, if any.
+
+3) Update the debian/libnotmuchX.symbols file
+
+ If the library version changed at all (step 2) it probably
+ means that symbols have changed/been added, in which case the
+ debian symbols file also needs to be updated:
+
+ dpkg-buildpackage -uc -us
+ dpkg-gensymbols -plibnotmuchX | patch -p0
+
+ Carefully review the changes to debian/libnotmuch1.symbols to
+ make sure there are no unexpected changes. Remove any debian
+ versions from symbols.
+
+ Commit this change, if any.
+
+4) Upgrade the version in the file "version"
+
+ The scheme for the release number is as follows:
+
+ A major milestone in usability causes an increase in the major
+ number, yielding a two-component version with a minor number
+ of 0, (such as "1.0" or "2.0").
+
+ Otherwise, releases with changes in features cause an increase
+ in the minor number, yielding a two-component version, (such
+ as "1.1" or "1.2").
+
+ Finally, releases that do not change "features" but are merely
+ bug fixes either increase the micro number or add it (starting
+ at ".1" if not present). So a bug-fix release from "1.0" would
+ be "1.0.1" and a subsequent bug-fix release would be "1.0.2"
+ etc.
+
+ When you are happy with the file 'version', run
+
+ make update-versions
+
+ to propagate the version to the other places needed.
+
+ Commit these changes.
+
+5) Create an entry for the new release in debian/changelog
+
+ The syntax of this file is tightly restricted, but the
+ available emacs mode (see the dpkg-dev-el package) helps.
+ The entries here will be the Debian-relevant single-line
+ description of changes from the NEWS entry. And the version
+ must match the version in the next step.
+
+ Commit this change.
+
+ XXX: It would be great if this step were automated as part of
+ release, (taking entries from NEWS and the version from the
+ version file, and creating a new commit, etc.)
+
+6) Run "make release" which will perform the following steps.
+
+ Note: in order to really upload anything, set the make variable
+ REALLY_UPLOAD=yes
+
+ * Ensure that the version consists only of digits and periods
+ * Ensure that version and debian/changelog have the same version
+ * Verify that the source tree is clean
+ * Compile the current notmuch code (aborting release if it fails)
+ * Run the notmuch test suite (aborting release if it fails)
+ * Check that no release exists with the current version
+ * Make a signed tag
+ * Generate a tar file from this tag
+ * Generate a .sha1 sum file for the tar file and GPG sign it.
+ * Commit a (delta for a) copy of the tar file using pristine-tar
+ * Tag for the debian version
+ * if REALLY_UPLOAD=yes
+ - push the signed tag to the origin
+ XXX FIXME push debian tag
+ - scp tarball to web site
+ * Provide some text for the release announcement (see below).
+
+7) Send a message to notmuch@notmuchmail.org to announce the release.
+
+ Use the text provided from "make release" above, (if for some
+ reason you lose this message, "make release-message" prints
+ it again for you.
projects / notmuch / blobdiff