Releases

Feature releases

To release a new feature (i.e., minor) version of Hexatomic, run the following commands in the repository root directory.

  1. git checkout develop - Checks out the develop branch (feature releases are always based on develop).
  2. git pull origin develop - Updates the local develop branch.
  3. mvn clean install - Builds the project, runs tests, and may update the file headers in Java files.
  4. git add . - Adds the updated files - if any - to the Git index. Make sure you only add intended changes.
  5. git commit -m "Update file headers" - Commits the updates to version control.
  6. git push - Updates the remote develop branch.
  7. mvn gitflow:release-start - Starts the release process.
  8. The Maven GitFlow plugin will then prompt you to enter a version number for the release. Make sure you enter a version identifier according to semantic versioning, in the format MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH. Do not use a -SNAPSHOT suffix!
  9. Check if the [Unreleased] changelog section in CHANGELOG.md is complete and up-to-date. Make changes, commit and push if necessary.
  10. mvn keepachangelog:release -N - Updates the changelog in the release branch.
  11. git add CHANGELOG.md - Adds the updated changelog to the Git index.
  12. git commit -m "Update changelog" - Commits the updated changelog to version control.
  13. git push - Updates the remote release branch.
  14. mvn gitflow:release-finish - Finalizes the release process.

Hotfix releases

Hotfixes come into the project via pull requests of a hotfix branch against master. Important: Do not merge pull requests from hotfix branches into master!

Instead, checkout the hotfix branch locally, and start the merge and release process with the Maven GitFlow plugin:

  1. git checkout hotfix/{hotfix version} - Checks out the respective hotfix branch.
  2. git pull origin hotfix/{hotfix version} - Checks for any remote changes to the branch.
  3. mvn clean install - Builds the project, runs tests, and may update the file headers in Java files.
  4. git add . - Adds the updated files - if any - to the Git index. Make sure you only add intended changes.
  5. git commit -m "Update file headers" - Commits the updates to version control.
  6. git push - Updates the remote hotfix branch.
  7. Check if the [Unreleased] changelog section in CHANGELOG.md is complete and up-to-date. Make changes, commit and push if necessary.
  8. mvn keepachangelog:release -N - Updates the changelog in the release branch.
  9. git add CHANGELOG.md - Adds the updated changelog to the Git index.
  10. git commit -m "Update changelog" - Commits the updated changelog to version control.
  11. git push - Updates the remote release branch.
  12. mvn gitflow:hotfix-finish - Finalizes the hotfix and finishes the merge and release procedure.

What to do when releases go wrong?

When a feature release doesn't work as expected, simply

  1. Checkout the develop branch (git checkout develop).
  2. Delete the release branch for the version you wanted to release (git branch -d release/{version}).
  3. Delete the same branch on GitHub (via the web interface).
  4. Restart the release process from the top.

When a hotfix release doesn't work as expected, simply

  1. Make the necessary changes in the hotfix branch, then continue with the merge and release process.