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Garrett Delfosse
48bc215f20
RC tags are now created directly on `main`. The `release/X.Y` branch is
only cut when the actual release is ready. This eliminates the need to
cherry-pick hundreds of commits from main onto the release branch
between the first RC and the release.
## Workflow
```
main: ──●──●──●──●──●──●──●──●──●──
↑ ↑ ↑
rc.0 rc.1 cut release/2.34, tag v2.34.0
\
release/2.34: ──●── v2.34.1 (patch)
```
1. **RC:** On `main`, run `./scripts/release.sh`. The tool detects main
(or a detached HEAD reachable from main), prompts for the commit SHA to
tag, suggests the next RC version, and tags it.
2. **Release:** When the RC is blessed, create `release/X.Y` from `main`
(or the specific RC commit). Switch to that branch and run
`./scripts/release.sh`, which suggests `vX.Y.0`.
3. **Patch:** Cherry-pick fixes onto `release/X.Y` and run
`./scripts/release.sh` from that branch.
## Changes
### `scripts/releaser/release.go`
- Two modes based on branch:
- **`main` (or detached HEAD from main)** — RC tagging. Prompts for the
commit SHA to tag (defaults to HEAD). Always checks out the target
commit so the flow operates in detached HEAD. Suggests the next RC based
on existing RC tags.
- **`release/X.Y`** — Release/patch mode. Suggests `vX.Y.0` if the
latest tag is an RC, or the next patch otherwise.
- Detached HEAD support: if `git branch --show-current` is empty, checks
whether HEAD is an ancestor of `origin/main` and enters RC mode
automatically.
- Commit selection prompt in RC mode: shows current commit, lets the
user confirm or provide a different SHA.
- Warns if you try to tag a non-RC on main, or an RC on a release
branch.
- Skips open-PR check and branch sync check in RC mode (not useful on
main).
### `scripts/releaser/main.go`
- Updated help text.
### `.github/workflows/release.yaml`
- RC tags (`*-rc.*`): skip the release-branch validation (they live on
main).
- Non-RC tags: still require the corresponding `release/X.Y` branch.
### `docs/about/contributing/CONTRIBUTING.md`
- Rewrote the Releases section with the new workflow, release types
table, and ASCII diagram.
- Replaced the old "Creating a release" / "Creating a release (via
workflow dispatch)" subsections.
<details><summary>Decision log</summary>
### Why this approach?
Previously, cutting a release branch early for an RC meant
cherry-picking all of main's progress onto that branch before the actual
release — often hundreds of commits. This approach avoids that entirely:
RCs are just tagged snapshots of main, and the release branch only
exists once you need it for stabilization and backports.
### Files NOT changed
- **`scripts/release/publish.sh`** — `--rc` flag controls GitHub
prerelease marking (tag-level, not branch-level). `target_commitish`
already defaults to `main` when the tag isn't on a release branch.
- **`scripts/release/tag_version.sh`** — No RC-specific branch logic.
- **`scripts/releaser/version.go`** — Version parsing/comparison
unchanged.
- **`docs/install/releases/index.md`** — Public-facing docs describe RC
as a release channel with no branch-level detail.
</details>
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