howto-release-django.txt

=====================
How is Django Formed?
=====================

.. highlight:: console

This document explains how to release Django.

**Please, keep these instructions up-to-date if you make changes!** The point
here is to be descriptive, not prescriptive, so feel free to streamline or
otherwise make changes, but **update this document accordingly!**

Overview
========

There are three types of releases that you might need to make:

* Security releases: disclosing and fixing a vulnerability. This'll
  generally involve two or three simultaneous releases -- e.g.
  1.5.x, 1.6.x, and, depending on timing, perhaps a 1.7 alpha/beta/rc.

* Regular version releases: either a final release (e.g. 1.5) or a
  bugfix update (e.g. 1.5.1).

* Pre-releases: e.g. 1.6 alpha, beta, or rc.

The short version of the steps involved is:

#. If this is a security release, pre-notify the security distribution list
   one week before the actual release.

#. Proofread the release notes, looking for organization and writing errors.
   Draft a blog post and email announcement.

#. Update version numbers and create the release package(s).

#. Upload the package(s) to the ``djangoproject.com`` server.

#. Upload the new version(s) to PyPI.

#. Declare the new version in the admin on ``djangoproject.com``.

#. Post the blog entry and send out the email announcements.

#. Update version numbers post-release.

There are a lot of details, so please read on.

Prerequisites
=============

You'll need a few things before getting started:

* A GPG key. If the key you want to use is not your default signing key, you'll
  need to add ``-u you@example.com`` to every GPG signing command below, where
  ``you@example.com`` is the email address associated with the key you want to
  use.

* An install of some required Python packages::

      $ python -m pip install wheel twine

* Access to Django's record on PyPI. Create a file with your credentials:

  .. code-block:: ini
    :caption: ~/.pypirc

    [pypi]
    username:YourUsername
    password:YourPassword

* Access to the ``djangoproject.com`` server to upload files.

* Access to the admin on ``djangoproject.com`` as a "Site maintainer".

* Access to post to ``django-announce``.

* If this is a security release, access to the pre-notification distribution
  list.

If this is your first release, you'll need to coordinate with another releaser
to get all these things lined up.

Pre-release tasks
=================

A few items need to be taken care of before even beginning the release process.
This stuff starts about a week before the release; most of it can be done
any time leading up to the actual release:

#. If this is a security release, send out pre-notification **one week** before
   the release. The template for that email and a list of the recipients are in
   the private ``django-security`` GitHub wiki. BCC the pre-notification
   recipients. Sign the email with the key you'll use for the release and
   include `CVE IDs <https://cveform.mitre.org/>`_ (requested with Vendor:
   djangoproject, Product: django) and patches for each issue being fixed.
   Also, :ref:`notify django-announce <security-disclosure>` of the upcoming
   security release.

#. As the release approaches, watch Trac to make sure no release blockers
   are left for the upcoming release.

#. Check with the other committers to make sure they don't have any
   uncommitted changes for the release.

#. Proofread the release notes, including looking at the online
   version to catch any broken links or reST errors, and make sure the
   release notes contain the correct date. (Use the `linkcheck builder
   <documentation-link-check>`_ to assist with checking for broken links.)

#. Double-check that the release notes mention deprecation timelines
   for any APIs noted as deprecated, and that they mention any changes
   in Python version support.

#. Double-check that the release notes index has a link to the notes
   for the new release; this will be in ``docs/releases/index.txt``.

#. If this is a feature release, ensure translations from Transifex have been
   integrated. This is typically done by a separate translation's manager
   rather than the releaser, but here are the steps. Provided you have an
   account on Transifex::

        $ python scripts/manage_translations.py fetch

   and then commit the changed/added files (both .po and .mo). Sometimes there
   are validation errors which need to be debugged, so avoid doing this task
   immediately before a release is needed.

#. :ref:`Update the django-admin manual page <django-admin-manpage>`::

        $ cd docs
        $ make man
        $ man _build/man/django-admin.1  # do a quick sanity check
        $ cp _build/man/django-admin.1 man/django-admin.1

   and then commit the changed man page.

#. If this is the alpha release of a new series, create a new stable branch
   from main. For example, when releasing Django 3.1::

    $ git checkout -b stable/3.1.x origin/main
    $ git push origin -u stable/3.1.x:stable/3.1.x

   At the same time, update the ``django_next_version`` variable in
   ``docs/conf.py`` on the stable release branch to point to the new
   development version. For example, when creating ``stable/4.2.x``, set
   ``django_next_version`` to ``'5.0'`` on the new branch.

#. If this is the "dot zero" release of a new series, create a new branch from
   the current stable branch in the `django-docs-translations
   <https://github.com/django/django-docs-translations>`_ repository. For
   example, when releasing Django 2.2::

    $ git checkout -b stable/2.2.x origin/stable/2.1.x
    $ git push origin stable/2.2.x:stable/2.2.x

Preparing for release
=====================

Write the announcement blog post for the release. You can enter it into the
admin at any time and mark it as inactive. Here are a few examples: `example
security release announcement`__, `example regular release announcement`__,
`example pre-release announcement`__.

__ https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2013/feb/19/security/
__ https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2012/mar/23/14/
__ https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2012/nov/27/15-beta-1/

Actually rolling the release
============================

OK, this is the fun part, where we actually push out a release!

#. Check `Jenkins`__ is green for the version(s) you're putting out. You
   probably shouldn't issue a release until it's green.

   __ https://djangoci.com

#. A release always begins from a release branch, so you should make sure
   you're on a stable branch and up-to-date. For example::

        $ git checkout stable/1.5.x
        $ git pull

#. If this is a security release, merge the appropriate patches from
   ``django-security``. Rebase these patches as necessary to make each one a
   plain commit on the release branch rather than a merge commit. To ensure
   this, merge them with the ``--ff-only`` flag; for example::

        $ git checkout stable/1.5.x
        $ git merge --ff-only security/1.5.x

   (This assumes ``security/1.5.x`` is a branch in the ``django-security`` repo
   containing the necessary security patches for the next release in the 1.5
   series.)

   If git refuses to merge with ``--ff-only``, switch to the security-patch
   branch and rebase it on the branch you are about to merge it into (``git
   checkout security/1.5.x; git rebase stable/1.5.x``) and then switch back and
   do the merge. Make sure the commit message for each security fix explains
   that the commit is a security fix and that an announcement will follow
   (:commit:`example security commit <bf39978a53f117ca02e9a0c78b76664a41a54745>`).

#. For a feature release, remove the ``UNDER DEVELOPMENT`` header at the
   top of the release notes and add the release date on the next line. For a
   patch release, replace ``*Under Development*`` with the release date. Make
   this change on all branches where the release notes for a particular version
   are located.

#. Update the version number in ``django/__init__.py`` for the release.
   Please see `notes on setting the VERSION tuple`_ below for details
   on ``VERSION``.

#. If this is a pre-release package, update the "Development Status" trove
   classifier in ``setup.cfg`` to reflect this. Otherwise, make sure the
   classifier is set to ``Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable``.

#. Tag the release using ``git tag``. For example::

        $ git tag --sign --message="Tag 1.5.1" 1.5.1

   You can check your work by running ``git tag --verify <tag>``.

#. Push your work, including the tag: ``git push --tags``.

#. Make sure you have an absolutely clean tree by running ``git clean -dfx``.

#. Run ``make -f extras/Makefile`` to generate the release packages. This will
   create the release packages in a ``dist/`` directory.

#. Generate the hashes of the release packages::

        $ cd dist
        $ md5sum *
        $ sha1sum *
        $ sha256sum *

#. Create a "checksums" file, ``Django-<<VERSION>>.checksum.txt`` containing
   the hashes and release information. Start with this template and insert the
   correct version, date, GPG key ID (from
   ``gpg --list-keys --keyid-format LONG``), release manager's GitHub username,
   release URL, and checksums:

   .. code-block:: text

    This file contains MD5, SHA1, and SHA256 checksums for the source-code
    tarball and wheel files of Django <<VERSION>>, released <<DATE>>.

    To use this file, you will need a working install of PGP or other
    compatible public-key encryption software. You will also need to have
    the Django release manager's public key in your keyring. This key has
    the ID ``XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX`` and can be imported from the MIT
    keyserver, for example, if using the open-source GNU Privacy Guard
    implementation of PGP:

        gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-key XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    or via the GitHub API:

        curl https://github.com/<<RELEASE MANAGER GITHUB USERNAME>>.gpg | gpg --import -

    Once the key is imported, verify this file:

        gpg --verify <<THIS FILENAME>>

    Once you have verified this file, you can use normal MD5, SHA1, or SHA256
    checksumming applications to generate the checksums of the Django
    package and compare them to the checksums listed below.

    Release packages:
    =================

    https://www.djangoproject.com/m/releases/<<RELEASE TAR.GZ FILENAME>>
    https://www.djangoproject.com/m/releases/<<RELEASE WHL FILENAME>>

    MD5 checksums:
    ==============

    <<MD5SUM>>  <<RELEASE TAR.GZ FILENAME>>
    <<MD5SUM>>  <<RELEASE WHL FILENAME>>

    SHA1 checksums:
    ===============

    <<SHA1SUM>>  <<RELEASE TAR.GZ FILENAME>>
    <<SHA1SUM>>  <<RELEASE WHL FILENAME>>

    SHA256 checksums:
    =================

    <<SHA256SUM>>  <<RELEASE TAR.GZ FILENAME>>
    <<SHA256SUM>>  <<RELEASE WHL FILENAME>>

#. Sign the checksum file (``gpg --clearsign --digest-algo SHA256
   Django-<version>.checksum.txt``). This generates a signed document,
   ``Django-<version>.checksum.txt.asc`` which you can then verify using ``gpg
   --verify Django-<version>.checksum.txt.asc``.

If you're issuing multiple releases, repeat these steps for each release.

Making the release(s) available to the public
=============================================

Now you're ready to actually put the release out there. To do this:

#. Upload the release package(s) to the djangoproject server, replacing
   A.B. with the appropriate version number, e.g. 1.5 for a 1.5.x release::

        $ scp Django-* djangoproject.com:/home/www/www/media/releases/A.B

   If this is the alpha release of a new series, you will need to create the
   directory A.B.

#. Upload the checksum file(s)::

        $ scp Django-A.B.C.checksum.txt.asc djangoproject.com:/home/www/www/media/pgp/Django-A.B.C.checksum.txt

#. Test that the release packages install correctly using ``easy_install``
   and ``pip``. Here's one method::

        $ RELEASE_VERSION='1.7.2'
        $ MAJOR_VERSION=`echo $RELEASE_VERSION| cut -c 1-3`

        $ python -m venv django-easy-install
        $ . django-easy-install/bin/activate
        $ easy_install https://www.djangoproject.com/m/releases/$MAJOR_VERSION/Django-$RELEASE_VERSION.tar.gz
        $ deactivate
        $ python -m venv django-pip
        $ . django-pip/bin/activate
        $ python -m pip install https://www.djangoproject.com/m/releases/$MAJOR_VERSION/Django-$RELEASE_VERSION.tar.gz
        $ deactivate
        $ python -m venv django-pip-wheel
        $ . django-pip-wheel/bin/activate
        $ python -m pip install https://www.djangoproject.com/m/releases/$MAJOR_VERSION/Django-$RELEASE_VERSION-py3-none-any.whl
        $ deactivate

   This just tests that the tarballs are available (i.e. redirects are up) and
   that they install correctly, but it'll catch silly mistakes.

#. Ask a few people on IRC to verify the checksums by visiting the checksums
   file (e.g. https://media.djangoproject.com/pgp/Django-1.5b1.checksum.txt)
   and following the instructions in it. For bonus points, they can also unpack
   the downloaded release tarball and verify that its contents appear to be
   correct (proper version numbers, no stray ``.pyc`` or other undesirable
   files).

#. Upload the release packages to PyPI (for pre-releases, only upload the wheel
   file)::

       $ twine upload -s dist/*

#. Go to the `Add release page in the admin`__, enter the new release number
   exactly as it appears in the name of the tarball (Django-<version>.tar.gz).
   So for example enter "1.5.1" or "1.4c2", etc. If the release is part of
   an LTS branch, mark it so.

   __ https://www.djangoproject.com/admin/releases/release/add/

   If this is the alpha release of a new series, also create a Release object
   for the *final* release, ensuring that the *Release date* field is blank,
   thus marking it as *unreleased*. For example, when creating the Release
   object for ``3.1a1``, also create ``3.1`` with the Release date field blank.

#. Make the blog post announcing the release live.

#. For a new version release (e.g. 1.5, 1.6), update the default stable version
   of the docs by flipping the ``is_default`` flag to ``True`` on the
   appropriate ``DocumentRelease`` object in the ``docs.djangoproject.com``
   database (this will automatically flip it to ``False`` for all
   others); you can do this using the site's admin.

   Create new ``DocumentRelease`` objects for each language that has an entry
   for the previous release. Update djangoproject.com's `robots.docs.txt`__
   file by copying entries from ``manage_translations.py robots_txt`` from the
   current stable branch in the ``django-docs-translations`` repository. For
   example, when releasing Django 2.2::

        $ git checkout stable/2.2.x
        $ git pull
        $ python manage_translations.py robots_txt

   __ https://github.com/django/djangoproject.com/blob/main/djangoproject/static/robots.docs.txt

#. Post the release announcement to the |django-announce|, |django-developers|,
   and |django-users| mailing lists. This should include a link to the
   announcement blog post.

#. If this is a security release, send a separate email to
   oss-security@lists.openwall.com. Provide a descriptive subject, for example,
   "Django" plus the issue title from the release notes (including CVE ID). The
   message body should include the vulnerability details, for example, the
   announcement blog post text. Include a link to the announcement blog post.

#. Add a link to the blog post in the topic of the ``#django`` IRC channel:
   ``/msg chanserv TOPIC #django new topic goes here``.

Post-release
============

You're almost done! All that's left to do now is:

#. Update the ``VERSION`` tuple in ``django/__init__.py`` again,
   incrementing to whatever the next expected release will be. For
   example, after releasing 1.5.1, update ``VERSION`` to
   ``VERSION = (1, 5, 2, 'alpha', 0)``.

#. Add the release in `Trac's versions list`_ if necessary (and make it the
   default by changing the ``default_version`` setting in the
   code.djangoproject.com's `trac.ini`__, if it's a final release). The new X.Y
   version should be added after the alpha release and the default version
   should be updated after "dot zero" release.

   __ https://github.com/django/code.djangoproject.com/blob/main/trac-env/conf/trac.ini

#. If this was a security release, update :doc:`/releases/security` with
   details of the issues addressed.

.. _Trac's versions list: https://code.djangoproject.com/admin/ticket/versions

New stable branch tasks
=======================

There are several items to do in the time following the creation of a new
stable branch (often following an alpha release). Some of these tasks don't
need to be done by the releaser.

#. Create a new ``DocumentRelease`` object in the ``docs.djangoproject.com``
   database for the new version's docs, and update the
   ``docs/fixtures/doc_releases.json`` JSON fixture, so people without access
   to the production DB can still run an up-to-date copy of the docs site.

#. Create a stub release note for the new feature version. Use the stub from
   the previous feature release version or copy the contents from the previous
   feature version and delete most of the contents leaving only the headings.

#. Increase the default PBKDF2 iterations in
   ``django.contrib.auth.hashers.PBKDF2PasswordHasher`` by about 20%
   (pick a round number). Run the tests, and update the 3 failing
   hasher tests with the new values. Make sure this gets noted in the
   release notes (see the 1.8 release notes for an example).

#. Remove features that have reached the end of their deprecation cycle. Each
   removal should be done in a separate commit for clarity. In the commit
   message, add a "refs #XXXX" to the original ticket where the deprecation
   began if possible.

#. Remove ``.. versionadded::``, ``.. versionadded::``, and ``.. deprecated::``
   annotations in the documentation from two releases ago. For example, in
   Django 1.9, notes for 1.7 will be removed.

#. Add the new branch to `Read the Docs
   <https://readthedocs.org/projects/django/>`_. Since the automatically
   generated version names ("stable-A.B.x") differ from the version names
   used in Read the Docs ("A.B.x"), `create a ticket
   <https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/issues/5537>`_ requesting
   the new version.

#. `Request the new classifier on PyPI
   <https://github.com/pypa/trove-classifiers/issues/29>`_. For example
   ``Framework :: Django :: 3.1``.

Notes on setting the VERSION tuple
==================================

Django's version reporting is controlled by the ``VERSION`` tuple in
``django/__init__.py``. This is a five-element tuple, whose elements
are:

#. Major version.
#. Minor version.
#. Micro version.
#. Status -- can be one of "alpha", "beta", "rc" or "final".
#. Series number, for alpha/beta/RC packages which run in sequence
   (allowing, for example, "beta 1", "beta 2", etc.).

For a final release, the status is always "final" and the series
number is always 0. A series number of 0 with an "alpha" status will
be reported as "pre-alpha".

Some examples:

* ``(1, 2, 1, 'final', 0)`` → "1.2.1"

* ``(1, 3, 0, 'alpha', 0)`` → "1.3 pre-alpha"

* ``(1, 3, 0, 'beta', 2)`` → "1.3 beta 2"