Release Management Guide¶
This guide covers the complete release management system for the Open Host Factory Plugin.
Release Process Overview¶
Automated Release Flow¶
The system creates releases automatically based on a scheduled progression:
What Happens During Development¶
Pull Request Creation: - Automated tests execute - No releases are created
Merge to Main Branch: - Code is integrated - No immediate release occurs - Changes await scheduled release cycles
Scheduled Release Automation¶
Daily Alpha Releases (5 AM UTC):
- System checks for commits since last alpha release
- If changes exist: creates alpha version (e.g., 1.0.1-alpha.1)
- Publishes to TestPyPI for testing
- If no changes: no action taken
Weekly Beta Releases (Monday 6 AM UTC):
- System checks for alpha releases to promote
- If new alphas exist: creates beta version (e.g., 1.0.1-beta.1)
- Publishes to TestPyPI for broader testing
- If no new alphas: no action taken
Bi-weekly RC Releases (Wednesday 11 AM UTC):
- System checks for beta releases to promote
- If new betas exist: creates release candidate (e.g., 1.0.1-rc.1)
- Publishes to TestPyPI for final testing
- If no new betas: no action taken
Manual Stable Releases:
- Developer executes: make release
- Creates stable version (e.g., 1.0.1)
- Publishes to production PyPI
Manual Release Commands¶
Local Testing Commands¶
make release-alpha-if-needed # Check if alpha release needed
make release-beta-if-needed # Check if beta release needed
make release-rc-if-needed # Check if RC release needed
Force Release Creation¶
make release-patch-alpha # Create alpha release
make release-patch-beta # Create beta release
make release-patch-rc # Create RC release
make release # Create stable release
Version Increment Options¶
make release-patch # 1.0.0 → 1.0.1
make release-minor # 1.0.0 → 1.1.0
make release-major # 1.0.0 → 2.0.0
Publication Targets¶
TestPyPI (Testing Environment)¶
- Alpha releases:
1.0.1-alpha.1 - Beta releases:
1.0.1-beta.1 - RC releases:
1.0.1-rc.1 - Installation:
pip install --index-url https://test.pypi.org/simple/ open-hostfactory-plugin
PyPI (Production Environment)¶
- Stable releases:
1.0.1 - Installation:
pip install open-hostfactory-plugin
Release Schedule¶
| Frequency | Release Type | Version Format | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily 5 AM UTC | Alpha | 1.0.1-alpha.1 |
TestPyPI |
| Monday 6 AM UTC | Beta | 1.0.1-beta.1 |
TestPyPI |
| Wednesday 11 AM UTC | RC | 1.0.1-rc.1 |
TestPyPI |
| Manual | Stable | 1.0.1 |
PyPI |
Version Format Specification¶
All versions follow PEP440 compliance:
- Stable:
1.0.1 - Alpha:
1.0.1-alpha.1 - Beta:
1.0.1-beta.1 - RC:
1.0.1-rc.1 - Development:
1.0.1.dev123456
Release Type Definitions¶
- Alpha: Initial development releases with potential instability
- Beta: More stable releases suitable for broader testing
- RC: Release candidates approaching production readiness
- Stable: Production-ready releases
Commit Message Requirements¶
Version increments are determined by commit message format:
feat: add new feature # Minor version increment (1.0.0 → 1.1.0)
fix: resolve bug # Patch version increment (1.0.0 → 1.0.1)
BREAKING CHANGE: ... # Major version increment (1.0.0 → 2.0.0)
Emergency Release Process¶
For critical production issues:
git checkout -b hotfix/issue-description
# Implement fix
git commit -m "fix: critical issue description"
# Merge to main
make release
Troubleshooting¶
Check Current Status¶
make version-show # Display current version
git tag -l "v*" --sort=-version:refname | head -5 # Show recent tags
Manual Package Build¶
Release Validation¶
Scheduled releases automatically skip execution when no changes are detected since the last release of that type.
Technical Implementation¶
The release system uses: - Semantic-release for version calculation and tagging - GitHub Actions for automation - PyPI trusted publishing for secure package distribution - Makefile targets for local execution and testing
All release commands can be executed locally for testing and validation before automated execution.