# Release Process ## Pre-Release Update go.mod for submodules to depend on the new release which will happen in the next step. 1. Run the pre-release script. It creates a branch `pre_release_<new tag>` that will contain all release changes. ``` ./pre_release.sh -t <new tag> ``` 2. Verify the changes. ``` git diff main ``` This should have changed the version for all modules to be `<new tag>`. 3. Update the [Changelog](./CHANGELOG.md). - Make sure all relevant changes for this release are included and are in language that non-contributors to the project can understand. To verify this, you can look directly at the commits since the `<last tag>`. ``` git --no-pager log --pretty=oneline "<last tag>..HEAD" ``` - Move all the `Unreleased` changes into a new section following the title scheme (`[<new tag>] - <date of release>`). - Update all the appropriate links at the bottom. 4. Push the changes to upstream and create a Pull Request on GitHub. Be sure to include the curated changes from the [Changelog](./CHANGELOG.md) in the description. ## Tag Once the Pull Request with all the version changes has been approved and merged it is time to tag the merged commit. ***IMPORTANT***: It is critical you use the same tag that you used in the Pre-Release step! Failure to do so will leave things in a broken state. ***IMPORTANT***: [There is currently no way to remove an incorrectly tagged version of a Go module](https://github.com/golang/go/issues/34189). It is critical you make sure the version you push upstream is correct. [Failure to do so will lead to minor emergencies and tough to work around](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/issues/331). 1. Run the tag.sh script using the `<commit-hash>` of the commit on the main branch for the merged Pull Request. ``` ./tag.sh <new tag> <commit-hash> ``` 2. Push tags to the upstream remote (not your fork: `github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go.git`). Make sure you push all sub-modules as well. ``` git push upstream <new tag> git push upstream <submodules-path/new tag> ... ``` ## Release Finally create a Release for the new `<new tag>` on GitHub. The release body should include all the release notes from the Changelog for this release. Additionally, the `tag.sh` script generates commit logs since last release which can be used to supplement the release notes. ## Verify Examples After releasing verify that examples build outside of the repository. ``` ./verify_examples.sh ``` The script copies examples into a different directory removes any `replace` declarations in `go.mod` and builds them. This ensures they build with the published release, not the local copy. ## Contrib Repository Once verified be sure to [make a release for the `contrib` repository](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go-contrib/blob/main/RELEASING.md) that uses this release.