Pre Release Branch

Pre-Release Branch

What it does

Prepares docs/release-notes.md for a new release and opens a PR:

1. Creates a pre-release-X.Y.Z branch
2. Converts the "Upcoming" header to a dated release header
3. Adds a new "Upcoming" header for the next development cycle
4. Commits with the standard message format
5. Pushes the branch and opens a PR

Prerequisites

• git and gh CLI installed
• Push access to the repository
• Clean git working tree on main

Usage

# Prepare release 0.7.0
/pre-release-branch 0.7.0

# Specify the next upcoming version explicitly
/pre-release-branch 0.7.0 --next 0.8.0

Workflow

Step 1: Parse input and determine versions

The release version argument is required (e.g., 0.7.0).

RELEASE_VER = argument (e.g., "0.7.0")
RELEASE_MAJOR = 0
RELEASE_MINOR = 7
RELEASE_PATCH = 0

Determine the next upcoming version. If --next was provided, use that. Otherwise:

• If patch is 0: next minor version (e.g., 0.7.0 -> 0.8.0)
• If patch > 0: next minor version (e.g., 0.6.1 -> 0.7.0)

NEXT_VER = next version (e.g., "0.8.0")
TODAY = today's date in YYYY-MM-DD format

Step 2: Pre-flight checks

Verify:

• Working tree is clean: git status --porcelain produces no output
• On main branch: git branch --show-current returns main
• docs/release-notes.md exists
• The file contains an "Upcoming" header matching the release version. Read docs/release-notes.md and look for a heading like:

  ## Upcoming ignition-config {RELEASE_VER} (unreleased)
  

  If this heading does not exist, warn the user -- they may need to add it first, or the version may be wrong.

If any check fails, stop and report the issue.

Step 3: Create branch

git checkout -b pre-release-{RELEASE_VER}

Step 4: Update docs/release-notes.md

The file follows this structure. Find the "Upcoming" heading and make two changes:

4a. Replace the "Upcoming" heading with a dated release heading:

Find:

## Upcoming ignition-config {RELEASE_VER} (unreleased)

Replace with:

## Upcoming ignition-config {NEXT_VER} (unreleased)


## ignition-config {RELEASE_VER} ({TODAY})

This inserts the new "Upcoming" header above, with two blank lines separating it from the now-dated release header.

4b. Keep all existing bullet points under the release header. Do not move or modify them -- they stay under the now-dated heading where they were.

Step 5: Commit

git add docs/release-notes.md
git commit -m "docs/release-notes: update for release {RELEASE_VER}"

Step 6: Push and open PR

git push {UPSTREAM_REMOTE} pre-release-{RELEASE_VER}

Where {UPSTREAM_REMOTE} is typically origin. Verify with git remote -v if unsure.

Open a PR:

gh pr create \
  --title "docs/release-notes: update for release {RELEASE_VER}" \
  --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary

- Update release notes for {RELEASE_VER} release
- Add new "Upcoming {NEXT_VER}" section for next development cycle

Part of the release process for {RELEASE_VER}. See the [release checklist](https://github.com/coreos/ignition-config-rs/issues/new?labels=release&template=release-checklist.md).
EOF
)"

Step 7: Report results

Summarize what was done:

• The commit created
• The PR URL
• Remind the user of the next release checklist steps:
  • Get the PR reviewed and merged
  • Then proceed with cargo release on a release-{RELEASE_VER} branch

Checklist Coverage

From the release checklist, this skill covers:

• git checkout -b pre-release-${RELEASE_VER}
• Write release notes in docs/release-notes.md
• git add docs/release-notes.md && git commit -m "docs/release-notes: update for release ${RELEASE_VER}"
• PR the changes

What's NOT covered

• Writing the actual release note bullet points (those should already exist under the "Upcoming" heading)
• Checking Cargo.toml for unintended dependency bound changes
• The cargo release step (separate branch, requires GPG)
• Publishing to crates.io
• GitHub release creation
• Fedora packaging

References

• Release checklist: .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release-checklist.md
• CI enforcement: .github/workflows/require-release-note.yml (PRs must modify docs/release-notes.md)
• Example commits: f1244a5 (0.6.1), 40aea00 (0.6.0), f7ec268 (0.5.0), fdfff99 (0.4.1), 0693d30 (0.4.0)