docs/source/coredev/release_process.rst

.. _release_process:

=======================
IPython release process
=======================

This document contains the process that is used to create an IPython release.

Conveniently, the `release` script in the `tools` directory of the `IPython`
repository automates most of the release process. This document serves as a
handy reminder and checklist for the release manager.

1. Set Environment variables
----------------------------

Set environment variables to document previous release tag, current
release milestone, current release version, and git tag::

    PREV_RELEASE=4.0.0
    MILESTONE=4.1
    VERSION=4.1.0
    BRANCH=master

These variables may be used later to copy/paste as answers to the script
questions instead of typing the appropriate command when the time comes. These
variables are not used by the scripts directly; therefore, there is no need to
`export` the variables.

2. Create GitHub stats and finish release note
----------------------------------------------

.. note::

    Before generating the GitHub stats, verify that all closed issues and
    pull requests have `appropriate milestones <https://github.com/ipython/ipython/wiki/Dev%3A-GitHub-workflow#milestones>`_.
    `This search <https://github.com/ipython/ipython/issues?q=is%3Aclosed+no%3Amilestone+is%3Aissue>`_
    should return no results before creating the GitHub stats.

If a major release:

    - merge any pull request notes into what's new::

          python tools/update_whatsnew.py

    - update `docs/source/whatsnew/development.rst`, to ensure it covers
      the major release features
    - move the contents of `development.rst` to `versionX.rst` where `X` is
      the numerical release version
    - generate summary of GitHub contributions, which can be done with::

          python tools/github_stats.py --milestone $MILESTONE > stats.rst

      which may need some manual cleanup of `stats.rst`. Add the cleaned
      `stats.rst` results to `docs/source/whatsnew/github-stats-X.rst` where
      `X` is the numerical release version. If creating a major release, make
      a new `github-stats-X.rst` file; if creating a minor release, the
      content from `stats.rst` may simply be added to the top of an existing
      `github-stats-X.rst` file.

To find duplicates and update `.mailmap`, use::

    git log --format="%aN <%aE>" $PREV_RELEASE... | sort -u -f

3. Make sure the repository is clean
------------------------------------

of any file that could be problematic.
   Remove all non-tracked files with:

   .. code::

       git clean -xfdi

   This will ask for confirmation before removing all untracked files. Make
   sure the ``dist/`` folder is clean to avoid any stale builds from
   previous build attempts.


4. Update the release version number
------------------------------------

Edit `IPython/core/release.py` to have the current version.

in particular, update version number and ``_version_extra`` content in
``IPython/core/release.py``.

Make sure the version number matches pep440, in particular, `rc` and `beta` are
not separated by `.` or the `sdist` and `bdist` will appear as different
releases. For example, a valid version number for a release candidate (rc)
release is: ``1.3rc1``. Notice that there is no separator between the '3' and
the 'r'. Check the environment variable `$VERSION` as well. 


Comment remove the `development` entry in `whatsnew/index.rst`. TODO, figure
out how to make that automatic. 

5. Run the `tools/build_release` script
---------------------------------------

Running `tools/build_release` does all the file checking and building that
the real release script will do. This makes test installations, checks that
the build procedure runs OK, and tests other steps in the release process.

The `build_release` script will in particular verify that the version number
match PEP 440, in order to avoid surprise at the time of build upload.

We encourage creating a test build of the docs as well.

6. Create and push the new tag
------------------------------

Commit the changes to release.py::

    git commit -am "release $VERSION"
    git push origin $BRANCH

Create and push the tag::

    git tag -am "release $VERSION" "$VERSION"
    git push origin --tags

Update release.py back to `x.y-dev` or `x.y-maint`, and re-add the
`development` entry in `docs/source/whatsnew/index.rst` and push::

    git commit -am "back to development"
    git push origin $BRANCH

7. Get a fresh clone
--------------------

Get a fresh clone of the tag for building the release::

    cd /tmp
    git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/ipython/ipython.git -b "$VERSION"

8. Run the release script
-------------------------

Run the `release` script, this step requires having a current wheel, Python >=3.4 and Python 2.7.::

    cd tools && ./release

This makes the tarballs, zipfiles, and wheels, and put them under the `dist/`
folder. Be sure to test the ``wheel`` and the ``sdist`` locally before uploading
them to PyPI. 

Use the following to actually upload the result of the build:

    ./release upload

It should posts them to ``archive.ipython.org`` and registers the release
with PyPI if you have the various authorisations. 

You might need to use `twine <https://github.com/pypa/twine>`_ (`twine upload
dist/*`) manually to actually upload on PyPI. Unlike setuptools, twine is able
to upload packages over SSL.


9. Draft a short release announcement
-------------------------------------

The announcement should include:

- release highlights
- a link to the html version of the *What's new* section of the documentation
- a link to upgrade or installation tips (if necessary)

Post the announcement to the mailing list and or blog, and link from Twitter.

10. Update milestones on GitHub
-------------------------------

These steps will bring milestones up to date:

- close the just released milestone
- open a new milestone for the next release (x, y+1), if the milestone doesn't
  exist already

11. Update the IPython website
------------------------------

The IPython website should document the new release:

- add release announcement (news, announcements)
- update current version and download links
- update links on the documentation page (especially if a major release)

12. Celebrate!
--------------

Celebrate the release and please thank the contributors for their work. Great
job!