Make general release checklist

source/core-devs/release-process.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+Release process
+===============
+
+Red's release process involves a bit of work. This document attempts to collect,
+in one place, all the steps needed to make a release of Red.
+
+Making a release
+----------------
+
+#. Ensure there are no release blockers.
+
+   Look at the milestone for the next release and check if there are any Release Blockers
+   (labelled as "Release Blocker" on the issue tracker) that need to be handled before the release.
+
+#. Check state of all open pull requests for this milestone.
+
+   Decide which should be kept for the release, cooperate with another org member(s) on this.
+   Move any pull requests not targeted for release to a new milestone with name of the release
+   that should come after current one.
+
+#. Review changelog PR.
+
+   Add (or ask PR author to add) any missing entries based on the release's milestone.
+   Verify that contributors list is complete and in alphabetical order.
+   Merge the PR once it's ready.
+
+#. Run "Prepare Release" workflow.
+
+   Go to https://github.com/Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot/actions/workflows/prepare_release.yml
+
+   .. tip::
+
+      This step only takes care of automatically creating some PRs,
+      it won't release anything, don't worry!
+
+   - Click on the "Run workflow" button
+   - Choose the branch you're making the release from
+   - Click on the "Run workflow" button in the popover
+
+   .. figure:: /images/prepare-release-workflow.png
+
+#. Make a new release through GitHub Releases.
+
+   .. attention::
+
+      If the currently developed version on ``V3/develop`` branch is breaking (e.g. ``3.5.0``)
+      and you're making a release with backports (e.g. ``3.4.13``),
+      double-check that the target branch isn't set to ``V3/develop``.
+
+   - Put the version number as tag name (i.e. ``3.4.0``)
+   - Put the version number prepended with "v" as release title (i.e. ``v3.4.0``)
+   - Ensure that the target branch is selected correctly
+   - Write a short release description
+
+     The description can be informal, the changelog has all the important information already.
+     Be sure to put a link to full changelog from our docs in release description.
+
+     The changelog link should point to the section for the specific release
+     (the part after ``#`` in the URL), e.g.:
+
+     .. code:: markdown
+
+         Full changelog: https://docs.discord.red/en/latest/changelog_3_4_0.html#redbot-3-4-12-2021-06-17
+
+   .. figure:: /images/drafting-new-release.png
+
+   .. _write-announcement:
+
+#. Write (not send!) an announcement for the new release.
+
+   This is the announcement that you will later `post to Discord <publish-announcement>`.
+
+   Remember to:
+
+   - Mention that the changelog contains "Read before updating" section (if applicable):
+
+     .. code:: markdown
+
+         __**Before you update**: please ensure that you read the “Read before updating” section in the changelogs first.__
+
+   - Include the link to changelog.
+
+     .. note::
+
+         - Use link to ``stable`` or tagged (i.e. ``3.4.0``) version of docs,
+           DO NOT USE link to ``latest``.
+         - The changelog link should point to the section for the specific release
+           (the part after ``#`` in the URL)
+
+         For example:
+
+         .. code:: markdown
+
+            Full changelogs here: <https://docs.discord.red/en/stable/changelog_3_4_0.html#redbot-3-4-12-2021-06-17>
+
+#. Check the correctness of Release information and approve or reject the environment run.
+
+   .. danger::
+
+      This is the step when the new version will get published.
+
+      At this point you should already have `written the announcement <write-announcement>`
+      that you will be sending after this is done.
+
+   Go to https://github.com/Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot/actions/workflows/publish_release.yml
+
+   - Click on the first workflow run on the list.
+   - Click on the "GO HERE BEFORE APPROVING" job.
+   - Expand the "REVIEW OUTPUT OF THIS STEP BEFORE APPROVING" step.
+   - Verify the correctness of the release information printed in the step.
+   - Go back to Summary, click on "Review deployments" and approve or reject the environment run.
+
+#. Wait for the CI to finish its job.
+
+   "Publish Release" workflow needs to finish before you can continue.
+
+   .. _publish-announcement:
+
+#. Send and publish an announcement in Discord.
+
+   This is the announcement that you wrote in `the earlier step <write-announcement>`.
+
+#. Merge the PR bumping to dev version.
+
+   It should have been automatically created during "Publish release" workflow
+   that you approved earlier.
+
+#. Close release milestone and create a new one.
+
+   Close the milestone for the release that was just made
+   and create an appropriately named milestone for the next release.
+
+After all this is done, you can enjoy the new release
+(or make a hotfix if there's a critical issue, let's hope there's not though :))

source/index.rst

@@ -9,3 +9,5 @@ Full Table of Contents
 
 .. toctree::
    :maxdepth: 2
+
+   core-devs/release-process