Release

Release

A release is only a git tag. It does NOT involve merging feature branches.

Version rules

• Stable releases (e.g. 0.2.2, 1.0.0) MUST be tagged on main.
• Release candidates and pre-releases (any version containing -rc, -alpha, -beta, -pre) MAY be tagged on any branch — useful for cutting an RC off a feature branch before it merges.

A version is a pre-release if it contains a hyphen followed by rc, alpha, beta, or pre (e.g. 0.5.3-rc0, 1.0.0-beta.2).

Prerequisites

• For a stable release: you MUST be on main, and main must be up to date with origin/main.
• For a pre-release: any branch is fine, but it must be clean (no uncommitted changes) and pushed to its remote.

Steps

Stable release:

git checkout main
git pull origin main
git tag v<VERSION>
git push origin v<VERSION>

Pre-release (RC/alpha/beta) from current branch:

# Verify branch is clean and pushed
git status
git push            # ensure remote is up to date

git tag v<VERSION>
git push origin v<VERSION>

Rules

• NEVER merge a feature branch into main as part of a release. Feature branches go through PRs.
• The version argument should be prefixed with v in the tag (e.g. v0.2.2, v0.5.3-rc0).
• If the user provides the version with a v prefix already, don't double it.
• If the tag already exists, ask the user before overwriting.
• Before tagging a pre-release on a feature branch, confirm the branch name back to the user so they can catch mistakes.