curl release procedure - how to do a release

in the source code repo

run ./scripts/copyright.pl and correct possible omissions
edit RELEASE-NOTES to be accurate
update docs/THANKS
make sure all relevant changes are committed on the master branch
tag the git repo in this style: git tag -a curl-7_34_0. -a annotates the tag and we use underscores instead of dots in the version number. Make sure the tag is GPG signed (using -s).
run ./maketgz 7.34.0 to build the release tarballs. It is important that you run this on a machine with the correct set of autotools etc installed as this is what then will be shipped and used by most users on *nix like systems.
push the git commits and the new tag
GPG sign the 4 tarballs as maketgz suggests
upload the 8 resulting files to the primary download directory

in the curl-www repo

edit Makefile (version number and date),
edit _newslog.html (announce the new release) and
edit _changes.html (insert changes+bugfixes from RELEASE-NOTES)
commit all local changes
tag the repo with the same name as used for the source repo.
make sure all relevant changes are committed and pushed on the master branch

(the website then updates its contents automatically)

on GitHub

edit the newly made release tag so that it is listed as the latest release

inform

send an email to curl-users, curl-announce and curl-library. Insert the RELEASE-NOTES into the mail.

celebrate

suitable beverage intake is encouraged for the festivities

curl release scheduling

Release Cycle

We normally do releases every 8 weeks on Wednesdays. If important problems arise, we can insert releases outside the schedule or we can move the release date.

Each 8 week (56 days) release cycle is divided into three distinct periods:

During the first 10 calendar days after a release, we are in "cool down". We do not merge features but only bug-fixes. If a regression is reported, we might do a follow-up patch release.
During the following 3 weeks (21 days) there is a feature window: we allow new features and changes to curl and libcurl. If we accept any such changes, we bump the minor number used for the next release.
During the next 25 days we are in feature freeze. We do not merge any features or changes, and we only focus on fixing bugs and polishing things to make the pending release a solid one.

If a future release date happens to end up on a "bad date", like in the middle of common public holidays or when the lead release manager is unavailable, the release date can be moved forwards or backwards a full week. This is then advertised well in advance.

Critical problems

We can break the release cycle and do a patch release at any point if a critical enough problem is reported. There is no exact definition of how to assess such criticality, but if an issue is highly disturbing or has a security impact on a large enough share of the user population it might qualify.

If you think an issue qualifies, bring it to the curl-library mailing list and push for it.

Coming dates

Based on the description above, here are some planned release dates (at the time of this writing):

October 11, 2023
December 6, 2023
January 31, 2024
March 27, 2024
May 22, 2024
July 17, 2024
September 11, 2024
November 6, 2024

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