curl/docs/RELEASE-PROCEDURE.md

curl release procedure - how to do a release

in the source code repo

• run ./scripts/copyright.pl and correct possible omissions

• edit RELEASE-NOTES to be accurate

• update docs/THANKS

• make sure all relevant changes are committed on the master branch

• tag the git repo in this style: git tag -a curl-7_34_0. -a annotates the tag and we use underscores instead of dots in the version number. Make sure the tag is GPG signed (using -s).

• run ./maketgz 7.34.0 to build the release tarballs. It is important that you run this on a machine with the correct set of autotools etc installed as this is what then will be shipped and used by most users on *nix like systems.

• push the git commits and the new tag

• GPG sign the 4 tarballs as maketgz suggests

• upload the 8 resulting files to the primary download directory

in the curl-www repo

• edit Makefile (version number and date),

• edit _newslog.html (announce the new release) and

• edit _changes.html (insert changes+bugfixes from RELEASE-NOTES)

• commit all local changes

• tag the repo with the same name as used for the source repo.

• make sure all relevant changes are committed and pushed on the master branch

  (the website then updates its contents automatically)

on GitHub

• edit the newly made release tag so that it is listed as the latest release

inform

• send an email to curl-users, curl-announce and curl-library. Insert the RELEASE-NOTES into the mail.

celebrate

• suitable beverage intake is encouraged for the festivities

curl release scheduling

Release Cycle

We do releases every 8 weeks on Wednesdays. If critical problems arise, we can insert releases outside of the schedule or we can move the release date - but this is rare.

Each 8 week release cycle is split in two 4-week periods.

• During the first 4 weeks after a release, we allow new features and changes to curl and libcurl. If we accept any such changes, we bump the minor number used for the next release.

• During the second 4-week period we do not merge any features or changes, we then only focus on fixing bugs and polishing things to make a solid coming release.

• After a regular procedure-following release (made on Wednesdays), the feature window remains closed until the following Monday in case of special actions or patch releases etc.

If a future release date happens to end up on a "bad date", like in the middle of common public holidays or when the lead release manager is away traveling, the release date can be moved forwards or backwards a full week. This is then advertised well in advance.

Critical problems

We can break the release cycle and do a patch release at any point if a critical enough problem is reported. There is no exact definition of how to assess such criticality, but if an issue is highly disturbing or has a security impact on a large enough share of the user population it might qualify.

If you think an issue qualifies, bring it to the curl-library mailing list and push for it.

Coming dates

Based on the description above, here are some planned release dates (at the time of this writing):

• October 26, 2022 (7.86.0)
• December 21, 2022
• February 15, 2023 (last version 7 release, no feature window after)
• March 20, 2023 (8.0.0 - curl 25 years)
• April 17, 2023
• July 12, 2023
• September 6, 2023
• November 1, 2023
• December 27, 2023