:linkattrs:
= Making a Gerrit Release

[NOTE]
This document is meant primarily for Gerrit maintainers
who have been given approval and submit status to the Gerrit
projects.  Additionally, maintainers should be given owner
status to the Gerrit web site.

To make a Gerrit release involves a great deal of complex
tasks and it is easy to miss a step so this document should
hopefully serve as both a how to for those new to the process
and as a checklist for those already familiar with these
tasks.

== Gerrit Release Type

Here are some guidelines on release approaches depending on the
type of release you want to make (`stable-fix`, `stable`, `rc0`,
`rc1`...).

[[stable]]
=== Stable

A `stable` release is generally built from the `master` branch and may
need to undergo some stabilization before releasing the final release.

* Propose the release with any plans/objectives to the mailing list.

* Release plans usually become a
  link:https://www.gerritcodereview.com/news.html[news article]
  to be followed up with.

* Create a Gerrit `rc0`.

* If needed create Gerrit `rc1`, `rc2` and `rc3` (one per week, on Mondays
  or so; see link:https://www.gerritcodereview.com/news.html[past release plans]).

[NOTE]
You may let in a few features to these releases.

* If needed create a Gerrit `rc4`.

[NOTE]
There should be no new features in this release, only bug fixes.

* Finally create the `stable` release (no `rc`).

=== Stable-Fix

`stable-fix` releases should likely only contain bug fixes and doc
updates.

* Propose the release with any plans/objectives to the mailing list.

* This type of release does not need any RCs, release when the
objectives are met.

[[security]]
=== Security-Fix

`security-fix` releases should only contain bug fixes for security
issues.

For security issues it is important that they are only announced
*after* fixed versions for all relevant releases have been published.
Because of this, `security-fix` releases can't be prepared in the public
`gerrit` project.

`security-fix` releases are prepared in the `gerrit-security-fixes`
project which is only readable by the Gerrit Maintainers. Only after
a `security-fix` release has been published will the commits/tags made in
the `gerrit-security-fixes` project be taken over into the public
`gerrit` project.

[[upload-final-release-notes]]
== Upload the final Release Notes change

Upload a change on the homepage project to:

* Remove 'In Development' caveat from the relevant section.

* Add links to the released documentation and the .war file, and make the
latest version bold.

The uploaded change is not to be approved yet, but rather act as the
release content review thread until it can be finalized.

[[update-links]]
=== Update homepage links

Upload a change on the link:https://gerrit-review.googlesource.com/admin/repos/homepage[
homepage project,role=external,window=_blank] to change the version numbers
to the new version.

[[update-issues]]
[[link-fixed-issues]]
=== Link fixed issues in the Release Notes

Link the fixed issues by hand. There is no script for this.

All issues that are listed in commit messages since the previous version tag
have been fixed in the new release and should be linked in the release notes.

In addition the fixed issues should be added to the corresponding
`FixedIn-$version` hotlist. Ideally issues are already added to this hotlist at
the moment when a fix is submitted and the status of the issue is set to
`Fixed`, but people may forget about this. Hence check whether there are issues
that need to be added to this hotlist.

[NOTE]
If you link:https://issues.gerritcodereview.com/hotlists/new[create a new
hotlist] for a release add it to this
link:https://issues.gerritcodereview.com/bookmark-groups/763138/edit[bookmark
group] so that people can find it easily.

Mention each issue that has been fixed in the release in the uploaded change,
following the examples from the previous version notes. Optionally, add the
issue owners as reviewers to the uploaded change. More reviewers can be added or
cc'ed, to further coordinate the final release contents.

Similarly to issues, also mention every noteworthy change done after the
previous release. Again, previous notes should be used as template examples.

You may need to split note update changes from the final change that
updates the links. This allows non-final update changes to be reviewed and
submitted timely. The final (links) change may take more time to complete,
as this underlying release process unfolds.

[[gerrit-release-job]]
== Create the Actual Release

There are several steps involved in creating the actual release.
In order to minimise room for error, the release should be done by executing
a fully automated jenkins job.

The Jenkins job is defined
link:https://gerrit.googlesource.com/gerrit-ci-scripts/+/refs/heads/master/jenkins-internal/gerrit-release.groovy[here].

Ideally, for security reasons, it should be run from a node that is unreachable from the internet,
is not the local laptop normally used for other purposes and does not receive
any data from external sources, such as e-mails or other messages, unless the
data is explicitly downloaded as part of the release process.
The following credentials must be made available in the Jenkins vault, with the following credential ids.

* ossrh-staging-api.central.sonatype.com

The `userAndPassword` secret populated with the credentials you created following the instructions defined
link:dev-release-deploy-config.html#create-maven-central-credentials[here]
and should be created _ad-hoc_ for the release plan execution and *not reused*
from previous releases.

> **NOTE**: As soon as the full release plan is complete, the Maven credentials
> should be destroyed and removed from the Maven portal to minimize the risk
> of a [supply-chain attack](https://www.sonatype.com/blog/ongoing-npm-software-supply-chain-attack-exposes-new-risks).

* gerrit.googlesource.com

The `userAndPassword` secret populated with the user and password of the git identity that will be used
to read, push and sign tags during the gerrit release.
Note that this user has to match the identity associated to the GPG credentials used for signing.

> **NOTE**: Do not use the maintainer credentials to minimize the collateral
> damage if these are stolen.

* gpg-key

A `secret` text credentials containing the GPG private key obtained when
link:dev-release-deploy-config.html#generate-and-publish-gpg-key[generating the GPG key].

It requires the following parameters:

* GCLOUD_AUTH_TOKEN

the Gcloud authentication token used to upload the gerrit.war and its documentation to gcloud.
The Gcloud Auth token is obtained via 'gcloud auth login' and then 'gcloud auth print-access-token'.

* GPG_PASSPHRASE

The GPG passphrase obtained when link:dev-release-deploy-config.html#generate-and-publish-gpg-key[generating the GPG
key].

* VERSION
Gerrit semantic release number to upgrade to.
Example: `3.13.0-rc2`.

* BRANCH
Gerrit branch name where the release must be cut from
Example: `master` or `stable-3.12`.

* NEXT_VERSION:
Next SNAPSHOT version after release.
Example: 3.12.3-SNAPSHOT

* MIGRATION_VERSION:
The release job will run a test migration from an earlier Gerrit version performing some base smoke tests.
Example: 3.12.2

[[publish-to-maven-central]]

* To where the artifacts are uploaded depends on the `VERSION` provided as parameter.

** SNAPSHOT versions are directly uploaded into the Sonatype snapshots
repository and no further action is needed:
+
https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/snapshots/com/google/gerrit/[role=external,window=_blank]

** Release versions are uploaded into a staging repository in the
link:https://oss.sonatype.org/[Sonatype Nexus Server,role=external,window=_blank].

* Verify the staging repository

** Go to the link:https://central.sonatype.com/publishing[Maven Central Repository,role=external,window=_blank] and
sign in with your Sonatype credentials.

** In the `Deployment Info` section and you will find the `com.google.gerrit` staging repository.

** Verify its content
+
While the staging repository is open you can upload further content and
also replace uploaded artifacts. If something is wrong with the staging
repository you can drop it by selecting it and clicking on `Drop`.

** Run Maven Central validations on the staging repository
+
Select the staging repository and click on `Publish`. This runs the
Maven Central validations on the staging repository. The repository will
only be closed if everything is OK. A closed repository cannot be
modified anymore, but you may still drop it if you find any issues.

** Test closed staging repository
+
You can download any artifact from the `Component Summary` section for further
testing of the artifacts in this repository,
e.g. to try building a plugin against the plugin API in this repository
update the version in the `*_pom.xml` and configure the repository:
+
----
  <repositories>
    <repository>
      <id>gerrit-staging-repository</id>
      <url>https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/comgooglegerrit-1029</url>
    </repository>
  </repositories>
----

* Release the staging repository
+
How to release a staging repository is described in the
link:https://docs.sonatype.org/display/Repository/Sonatype+OSS+Maven+Repository+Usage+Guide#SonatypeOSSMavenRepositoryUsageGuide-8.a.2.ReleasingaStagingRepository[
Sonatype OSS Maven Repository Usage Guide,role=external,window=_blank].
+
[WARNING]
Releasing artifacts to Maven Central cannot be undone!

** Find the closed staging repository in the
link:https://oss.sonatype.org/[Sonatype Nexus Server,role=external,window=_blank],
select it and click on `Release`.

** The released artifacts are available in
https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/releases/com/google/gerrit/[role=external,window=_blank].

** It may take up to 2 hours until the artifacts appear on Maven
Central:
+
https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/com/google/gerrit/[role=external,window=_blank]

* [optional]: View download statistics

** Sign in to the
link:https://oss.sonatype.org/[Sonatype Nexus Server,role=external,window=_blank].

** Click on 'Views/Repositories' in the left navigation bar under
'Central Statistics'.

** Select `com.google.gerrit` as `Project`.

[[push-stable]]
==== Push the Stable Branch

* Create the stable branch `stable-$version` in the `gerrit` project via the
link:https://gerrit-review.googlesource.com/admin/repos/gerrit,branches[
Gerrit Web UI,role=external,window=_blank] or by push.

* Push the commits done on `stable-$version` to `refs/for/stable-$version` and
get them merged.

* Create a change updating the `defaultbranch` field in the `.gitreview`
to match the branch name created.

[[publish-typescript-plugin-api]]
==== Publish TypeScript Plugin API

Only applies to major and minor releases! Not required for patch releases.

* Publish a new version of the npm package `@gerritcodereview/typescript-api`.
See link:https://gerrit.googlesource.com/gerrit/+/master/polygerrit-ui/app/api/README.md[api/README.md,role=external,window=_blank]
for details.

* The plugins in the stable branch of the minor release and the master branch
be changed to use the new API version, see
link:https://gerrit-review.googlesource.com/c/gerrit/+/340069[
example change,role=external,window=_blank]

[[finalize-release-notes]]
=== Finalize the Release Notes

Submit any previously uploaded notes change on the homepage project.

[[update-supported-releases]]
=== Update list of supported releases

If you created a new stable release update the list of supported releases
in the link:https://www.gerritcodereview.com/support.html[support page].

Gerrit releases are also listed on the
link:https://endoflife.date/gerrit[endoflife website].
Push a PR to
link:https://github.com/endoflife-date/endoflife.date.git[endoflife.date repository]
to update supported releases in `products/gerrit.md`. New release tags
should be updated automatically by the site's automation job which uses
Dependabot to
link:https://github.com/endoflife-date/endoflife.date/wiki/Automation[auto-create PRs]
for new release tags.

[[announce]]
==== Announce on Mailing List

Send an email to the mailing list to announce the release. The content of the
announcement email is generated with the `release-announcement.py` script from
the gerrit-release-tools repository, which automatically includes all the
necessary links, hash values, and wraps the text in a PGP signature.

For details refer to the documentation in the script's header, and/or the
help text:

----
  ~/gerrit-release-tools/release-announcement.py --help
----

[[merge-stable]]
=== Merge `stable` into `master`

After every release, stable should be merged to master to ensure that
none of the changes/fixes ever get lost.

----
  git config merge.summary true
  git checkout master
  git reset --hard origin/master
  git branch -f stable origin/stable
  git merge stable
----

[[update-api-version-in-bazlets-repository]]

Bazlets is used by gerrit plugins to simplify build process. To allow the
new released version to be used by gerrit plugins,
link:https://gerrit.googlesource.com/bazlets/+/master/gerrit_api.bzl#8[gerrit_api.bzl,role=external,window=_blank]
must reference the new version. Upload a change to bazlets repository with
api version upgrade.

[[clean-up-on-master]]
=== Clean up on master

Once you are done with the release, check if there are any code changes in the
master branch that were gated on the next release. Mostly, these are
feature-deprecations that we were holding off on to have a stable release where
the feature is still contained, but marked as deprecated.

See link:dev-processes.html#deprecating-features[Deprecating features] for
details.

GERRIT
------
Part of link:index.html[Gerrit Code Review]

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