nix/RELEASE_PROCEDURE.md

This document lists the steps that lead to a successful release of the Nix library.

Before Release

Based on changes since the last release, pick a new version number following semver conventions. For nix, a change that drops support for some Rust versions counts as a breaking change, and requires a major bump.

The release is prepared as follows:

• Ask for a new libc version if, necessary. It usually is.
• Make a commit with a message like "Release v0.8.3" with the following changes:
  • In CHANGELOG.md, rename the Unreleased section to the new version followed by the date of the release.
  • In Cargo.toml, update the version to the new version.
  • In Cargo.toml, change the libc dependency to the latest version.
  • In README.md, update the version in the Usage section to the new version.
• Make a pull request.
• Once the PR is merged, tag the merge commit, e.g. git tag v0.8.3 $MERGE_COMMIT_SHA1.
• Push the tag, e.g. git push origin v0.8.3.

Create Release

• Checkout the tag.
• Publish to crates.io with cargo publish.

After Release

After the release a commit with the following changes is added to the master branch.

• Add a new Unreleased section header to CHANGELOG.md.
• In Cargo.toml, update the version to the next -dev version, e.g. v0.8.4-dev.
• In Cargo.tml, revert the libc dependency to its git master branch.
• Commit with a message like "Bump to v0.8.4-dev"
• Make a pull request.