Releases

Releases are managed using ZenHub release (refer to releases documentation).

Step	Task	Role
1.	Generate changelog via automation script.	`Lead Engineer`
2.	Paste changelog into changelog section of `readme.txt`.	`Lead Engineer`
3.	Bump plugin version across plugin files: `google-site-kit.php` header as well as the `GOOGLESITEKIT_VERSION` constant `readme.txt` header	`Lead Engineer`
4.	Replace all instances of `n.e.x.t` and `n_e_x_t` in the codebase with the new version number in the applicable format.	`Lead Engineer`
5.	Run `composer install && npm install` to update composer and npm lock files.	`Lead Engineer`
6.	Commit against the `develop` branch.	`Lead Engineer`
7.	Merge `develop` into `main` branch.	`Lead Engineer`

Step	Task	Role
1.	Ensure that the "Plugin Zip Files" GitHub action completed successfully for the latest `main` commit.	`Engineer`
2.	Download the packaged ZIP.	`Engineer`
3.	Ensure that the zip file is not broken by extracting it and double checking for all the plugin files.	`Engineer`
4.	Smoke test the release on any live site, and run through plugin setup and a few common tasks in the UI to ensure functionality.	`Engineer`

Step	Task	Role
1.	Prepare release in wordpress.org SVN repository: Change the "Stable tag" in `trunk/readme.txt` to the previous version to not update it right away Run `svn ci -m "updated to version v.e.r.s.i.o.n (without stable tag)"` Run `svn copy https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/google-site-kit/trunk https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/google-site-kit/tags/v.e.r.s.i.o.n -m "tagged version v.e.r.s.i.o.n (without stable tag)"` Run `svn up` to get the new tag directory Update the "Stable tag" in `/tags/v.e.r.s.i.o.n/readme.txt` to that (new) version's stable tag Run `svn ci -m "updated tags/v.e.r.s.i.o.n stable tag"`	`Lead Engineer`
2.	At this point the tag is published, but it will not provided as an available update yet. Wait until wordpress.org language packs for the new tag have been generated. This may take up to a few hours.	`Lead Engineer`
3.	Publish release in GitHub repository and include the changelog copied from `readme.txt` in the description.	`Lead Engineer`
4.	Publish release in wordpress.org SVN repository: Change the "Stable tag" in `trunk/readme.txt` to the new version Run `svn ci -m "updated stable tag to version v.e.r.s.i.o.n"`	`Lead Engineer`
5.	Close the release on ZenHub.	`Lead Engineer`

Changelog

Release changelogs are created by an automation script that accumulates changelog messages from issues associated with a given milestone.

Changelog messages are added in the PR-related issue, within its reserved section, which is pre-populated from the issue template.
Changelog messages start with a verb in its imperative form (e.g. “Fix bug xyz”), preferably one of the following words:
- Add (for features)
- Introduce (for features)
- Enhance (for enhancements)
- Improve (for enhancements)
- Change (for misc changes)
- Update (for misc changes)
- Modify (for misc changes)
- Remove (for removal)
- Fix (for bug fixes)
- N/A (skip changelog message)

The changelog messages are categorized as follows:
- Added
- Enhanced
- Changed
- Fixed
Changelog messages are automatically assigned to one of the defined categories based on the first word the message starts with. Default: “Changed”.
Changelogs with the message “N/A” are skipped.

Maintainers must ensure that changelog messages are clear and follow the formatting guidelines.