Release cycle

When the code in the master branch is considered to be stable, a release can be made. This is the procedure:

  1. Tag the last commit with a version number (in the format vx, where x is the extension's version number for that release) by running bash tagRelease.bash --version vx. Note that the tag must be pushed to Gerrit after being created.
  2. Build the extension for both the stable and beta channels. This will output a ZIP file for each release channel and each supported browser.

Afterwards, the release should be published in GitHub along with a changelog, a notice should be published in the private extension Google Group, and the release/build files must be submitted to the Chrome Web Store and addons.mozilla.org.

Create release at GitHub

  1. Go to https://github.com/avm99963/infinitegforums/releases.
  2. Click the newly created tag and click Edit tag.
  3. Fill in the description with the changelog. You can use this as a template:
## Changes

**Complete git changelog:**
https://gerrit.avm99963.com/plugins/gitiles/infinitegforums/+log/refs/tags/{previous_version}..refs/tags/{new_version}?pretty=full

### Summary of changes:

- abcdef0 Commit example 1

  This is a description of the commit, which explains more about what it does.

  Fixes: #42

- 41d1aff Convert dark mode to green mode
- 52dbca8 Introduce lollipops

  **Note:** This feature is not yet ready for launch and not available yet
  inside the options section.
  1. Upload the Chromium stable and Gecko stable release files (alternatively upload the Chromium beta and Gecko stable packages and mark the release as a pre-release if there is no intention of promoting this release to stable in the future).

Submitting to the Chrome Web Store

  1. Upload both release files to the Chrome Web Store, one for each release channel.

    You can use the following links: [stable], [beta] (internal-only).

  2. Submit both releases to be reviewed by the Chrome Web Store team, but in the case of the stable channel uncheck the "Publish automatically after it has passed review" option.

Submitting to addons.mozilla.org

The procedure is similar to the one with the Chrome Web Store, except for the fact that the stable version is directly uploaded to the store.

You can upload the new version using the following link: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/developers/addon/tw-power-tools/versions/submit/.

In the "notes to reviewer", add the following message:

For instructions on how to build the extension:

- Set up your environment: https://gerrit.avm99963.com/plugins/gitiles/infinitegforums/+/HEAD/docs/developers/set_up.md
- Build the extension: https://gerrit.avm99963.com/plugins/gitiles/infinitegforums/+/HEAD/docs/developers/build.md

(These files are also included inside the source code ZIP)

Promoting the beta release to stable

After the beta release is reviewed and approved by Google, the following should be done:

  1. Test again the extension by using the beta channel. Check if the options have been transfered correctly from version to version, and wait some days (for instance between 3 and 5 days) to see if other people report issues with the updated version.
  2. If everything goes well, publish the update in the stable channel. The updated version should have already been reviewed by the Chrome Web Store team at this time.

If during this process the release wasn't approved by Google or an issue was found during beta testing, a new release which fixes this should be created and the previous stable update should be canceled and superseded by the new release.