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Release Runbook (Agent-First) ​

This guide is optimized for automated/AI-assisted releases.

Use this document when cutting a new production release tag (vX.Y.Z).

Current next planned version after this update: v1.18.5 (update when cutting a release).

Core rules ​

  • Release source branch is dev.
  • Release target branch is main.
  • Always create an annotated tag on main.
  • Git tags and GitHub Releases are separate objects. Pushing a tag does not create a GitHub Release entry.
  • Never run git push --tags (it may publish local rollback-* tags).
  • Version source of truth is backend/config/version.php (API_VERSION env can override at runtime).
  • CI/CD starts automatically after push.

Preflight ​

Run from repo root:

bash
git fetch --all --tags --prune
git status --short
git tag -l 'v*' --sort=version:refname | tail -n 10
git branch --show-current

Checklist:

  • Worktree is clean.
  • You are on dev.
  • dev contains all intended changes.
  • You identified current release tag (for example v1.13.1).

Build release notes from git history ​

Before bumping version, collect the delta from the previous release tag:

bash
# Replace OLD with the latest release tag
OLD=v1.13.1

git log --oneline --no-merges ${OLD}..HEAD
git log --oneline --merges ${OLD}..HEAD
git diff --stat ${OLD}..HEAD

Then draft a concise annotated tag message:

  • 1 title line.
  • 1 short summary paragraph.
  • Flat bullet list of meaningful user-facing changes.
  • Optional final thank-you line in parentheses.

Release procedure ​

1) Choose next version ​

Pick the next semantic version (vX.Y.Z) and export it:

bash
NEW=v1.13.2

2) Bump version on dev ​

Edit backend/config/version.php:

php
'api' => env('API_VERSION', 'v1.13.2'),

Commit:

bash
git add backend/config/version.php
git commit -m "chore(release): bump version to ${NEW}"

3) Merge dev into main ​

bash
git checkout main
git pull --ff-only origin main
git merge --no-ff dev -m "Merge dev into main for ${NEW} release"

4) Create annotated release tag ​

bash
git tag -a ${NEW} -m "${NEW} - <short title>" -m "<release notes body>"

Tag should be on the merge commit from step 3.

5) Push main and release tag ​

bash
git push origin main
git push origin ${NEW}

6) Create GitHub Release entry ​

Create a published GitHub Release so the version appears on: https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/releases

bash
# Run in the repo root (without -R) so notes can be read from local annotated tag
gh release create ${NEW} \
  --verify-tag \
  --notes-from-tag \
  --title "${NEW} - <short title>" \
  --latest

If you do not create this, the tag exists but the Releases page may still show only older entries.

7) Sync dev with main ​

bash
git checkout dev
git merge main --ff-only
git push origin dev

Post-release verification ​

bash
# Confirm tag exists and points to expected commit
git show -s --oneline ${NEW}

# Confirm GitHub Release exists for the tag
gh release view ${NEW}

# Confirm branch pointers (optional quick check)
git log --oneline --decorate -n 5 --graph

If local app is running, verify API version wiring:

bash
curl -f http://localhost:8000/api/version
# Expect: {"success":true,"data":{"version":"vX.Y.Z"}}

curl -sI http://localhost:8000/api/version | grep X-App-Version
# Expect: X-App-Version: vX.Y.Z

Failure handling ​

  • If merge conflicts happen in step 3, stop and resolve on dev first; do not continue from a partial merge.
  • If git push origin main succeeds but tag push fails, retry only tag push.
  • If tag push succeeds with wrong message, create a new version tag (preferred) instead of force-moving an existing published tag.
  • If dev push fails after successful main + tag push, fix and push dev as soon as possible to keep branches aligned.

Copy/paste release note template ​

text
vX.Y.Z - <short title>

<One paragraph summary of intent and impact.>

- <Change 1>
- <Change 2>
- <Change 3>

(Optional thanks line in parentheses.)

Useful commands ​

bash
# Latest release tag
git tag -l 'v*' --sort=-creatordate | head -n 1

# Commits in upcoming release
git log --oneline <old-tag>..HEAD

# Files changed in upcoming release
git diff --name-only <old-tag>..HEAD