Releases FAQ - firedrakeproject/firedrake GitHub Wiki

Should my change go into master or release?

Since release is supposed to be stable w.r.t. API, only fixes and documentation changes should be merged into it. Any new features or API changes should be merged into master.

If you want your code to be available in both release and master then you should merge your code first into release and then create a subsequent PR merging (a branch off of) release into master.

When should a new major version be released?

Major Firedrake releases are made roughly every 6 months. The releases are (ideally) timed to happen shortly after PETSc makes a minor release (e.g. 3.22.5 -> 3.23.0) such that any breaking API changes in the release may be fixed.

When should a patch release be made?

Patch releases are made in an ad hoc fashion when they are deemed necessary. In particular they should follow shortly after fixes are submitted to release.

How is a major release made?

To make a major version release the steps are:

1. Prepare a PR into release:
   1. Create a new branch off of release.
   2. Merge main into this new branch.
   3. Resolve and remove any # TODO RELEASE comments.
   4. Update the version attribute in the pyproject.toml.
2. Once this is merged create a GitHub release from the release branch with the new version number.
3. Check that the release workflow runs without error.

How is a patch release made?

To make a patch release follow the same steps as above for a major release but do not merge master.