Newfold Labs Releases and versioning
Release cadence, semantic versioning, and the tags each branch type may carry
This document covers what versions mean and how they are tagged. The step by step of actually running a release is the release runbook.
Cadence
- Scheduled releases are issued on Wednesdays, approximately every three weeks (refer to the release calendar for specific dates).
- Version semantics:
- A scheduled release is typically a minor version bump.
- An out-of-cycle release or hotfix is typically a patch version bump.
- A major initiative update is a major release.
Releases and pre-releases
All production releases for brand plugins should be tagged by the WordPress COE team. Module releases and brand plugin pre-releases can be tagged by anyone, but MUST be marked on GitHub as a pre-release.
Failure to properly name and mark a release as a pre-release can result in the release being automatically deployed to production.
Tagging
Release version tags should adhere to semantic versioning and only be tagged on the applicable branches:
| Tag | Branch | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| X.Y.Z | main, master, trunk |
1.2.0 |
| X.Y.Z-rc.N | hotfix/1.2.1 |
1.2.1-rc.1, 1.2.1-rc.2 |
| X.Y.Z-rc.N | release/1.2.0 |
1.2.0-rc.1, 1.2.0-rc.2 |
| X.Y.Z-alpha.N | develop |
1.2.2-alpha.1, 1.2.2-alpha.2 |
| X.Y.Z-beta.N | develop |
1.2.2-beta.1, 1.2.2-beta.2 |
Capital letters represent the numbers that are changeable. Lowercase letters represent the numbers that are fixed.
X = major version number
Y = minor version number
Z = patch version number
N = release candidate, alpha, or beta number
Notes on versioning
- An alpha release is open to adding new features
- A beta release is open to adding bugfixes
- A release candidate is a stable release that is not ready for production
Related
-
Git and branching
GitFlow, branch naming, and what CI runs at each stage
-
Release runbook
The step by step a release lead follows, from Jira planning to posting in Teams
-
Code review and release restrictions
Who reviews what, who is allowed to release, and the bar a PR must clear to merge