Release Process

Guide for creating and publishing releases.

Release Checklist

Pre-Release

• [ ] All tests pass
• [ ] Documentation updated
• [ ] Changelog updated
• [ ] Version number updated
• [ ] Dependencies updated
• [ ] Security audit passed
• [ ] Performance tested
• [ ] Browser compatibility verified

Version Numbering

Semantic Versioning

Follow Semantic Versioning:

• MAJOR: Breaking changes
• MINOR: New features (backward compatible)
• PATCH: Bug fixes (backward compatible)

Examples

• 1.0.0 → 1.0.1 (Patch: bug fix)
• 1.0.1 → 1.1.0 (Minor: new feature)
• 1.1.0 → 2.0.0 (Major: breaking change)

Release Steps

1. Update Version

# Update package.json
npm version patch  # or minor, major

2. Update Changelog

## [1.0.1] - 2024-01-15

### Added
- New feature X

### Fixed
- Bug fix Y

### Changed
- Improvement Z

3. Create Release Branch

git checkout -b release/v1.0.1
git push origin release/v1.0.1

4. Run Tests

npm test
npm run build
npm run lint

5. Create Release

# Create tag
git tag -a v1.0.1 -m "Release v1.0.1"
git push origin v1.0.1

6. Publish

# Publish to npm (if applicable)
npm publish

Release Notes Template

# Release v1.0.1

## What's New
- Feature 1
- Feature 2

## Improvements
- Improvement 1
- Improvement 2

## Bug Fixes
- Fixed issue 1
- Fixed issue 2

## Breaking Changes
- None

## Migration Guide
[Link to migration guide if needed]

## Full Changelog
[Link to full changelog]

Hotfix Process

For Critical Bugs

1. Create hotfix branch from main
2. Fix the issue
3. Test thoroughly
4. Merge to main
5. Create patch release
6. Deploy immediately

git checkout -b hotfix/critical-bug
# Fix bug
git commit -m "fix: critical bug fix"
git checkout main
git merge hotfix/critical-bug
npm version patch
git push origin main --tags

Release Channels

Stable

• Production releases
• Fully tested
• Recommended for all users

Beta

• Pre-release testing
• New features
• May have bugs

Alpha

• Early development
• Experimental features
• Unstable

Deployment

Staging

1. Deploy to staging environment
2. Run smoke tests
3. Verify functionality
4. Get approval

Production

1. Deploy to production
2. Monitor for issues
3. Verify deployment
4. Announce release

Rollback Plan

If Issues Occur

1. Identify the issue
2. Assess severity
3. Rollback if critical
4. Fix in hotfix branch
5. Re-deploy

# Rollback to previous version
git checkout v1.0.0
npm run build
# Deploy previous version

Post-Release

Monitor

• Error rates
• Performance metrics
• User feedback
• Support tickets

Documentation

• Update documentation if needed
• Update examples
• Update migration guides

Resources

• Semantic Versioning
• Keep a Changelog