RELEASE.md

Release guide

Release branches/channels

• Alpha - git branch: dev
• Beta - git branch: beta
• Stable - git branch: master

Alpha

The alpha channel is automatically released for every successful push to dev.

Beta

• If there is a pending Native Extension server change, publish the stage server, which updates https://build-stage.defold.com.

1. Merge editor-dev into dev

    $ git checkout editor-dev
    $ git pull
    $ git checkout dev
    $ git pull
    $ git merge editor-dev
    $ git push
   

2. Merge dev into beta

    $ git checkout beta
    $ git pull
    $ git merge dev
    $ git push
   

   Beta channel is automatically released for every successful push to beta.

3. Collect release notes using python scripts/releasenotes_github_projectv2.py and post on forum.defold.com and add the "BETA" tag to the headline

• Note: The release notes script requires a github access token to work correctly (https://github.com/settings/tokens). If the token is incorrect, you will likely get an error saying 'Unable to find GitHub project for version x.x.x'. Create a "classic" github token and add permissions to read projects. If the script still fails, you might need more permissions.

Update private repos

1. Also update the beta for the console platforms

    $ cd defold-platform
    $ git checkout dev
    $ git pull
   
    $ git checkout beta
    $ git pull
    $ git merge dev
    $ git fetch upstream
    $ git merge upstream/beta
    $ git push
   

Stable

1. If there is a pending Native Extension server change, publish the production server, which updates https://build.defold.com

2. Switch to master branch, merge from beta:

    $ git checkout master
    $ git pull
    $ git merge beta
   

3. Push master!

    $ git push
   

   This will trigger a build of the engines and editors for stable. Make a note of the release sha1 (the latest commit to the master branch on GitHub)

   • The build will be tagged and published to S3 and to GitHub Releases

   • The refdoc will be updated in the defold.github.io repo

4. Merge master into editor-dev:

    $ git checkout editor-dev
    $ git pull
    $ git merge master -m "Merged master into editor-dev"
    $ git push
   

   After a successful build, the editors are published under the stable engine tag in GitHub Releases

5. Merge editor-dev into dev:

    $ cd defold
    $ git checkout dev
    $ git pull
    $ git merge editor-dev -m "Merged editor-dev into dev"
   

6. Bump version:

    $ ./scripts/build.py bump
    $ git diff
    $ git add VERSION
    $ git commit -m "Bumped version to X.Y.Z"
    $ git push
   

7. Repost the releasenotes on the forum and remove the "BETA" part from the headline

8. Announce the Stable release in other channels:

• Twitter (https://x.com/defold)
• LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/53400322/admin/page-posts/published/?share=true)
• Discord (usually done by Amel)
• Telegram (usually done by Alexey)
• WebGameDev Discord Native Engines channel (https://discord.com/channels/1032873609280106566/1052862658954670120)
• Poki Discord (https://discord.com/channels/466173880751357963/940949540012433488)

Update private repos

1. Update the master branch for the console platforms

    $ cd defold-platform
    $ git checkout beta
    $ git pull
    $ git checkout master
    $ git pull
    $ git merge beta
   
    $ git fetch upstream
    $ git merge upstream/master
    $ git push
   

2. Update the dev branch for the console platforms

    $ cd defold-platform
    $ git checkout master
    $ git pull
    $ git checkout dev
    $ git pull
    $ git merge master
    $ git fetch upstream
    $ git merge upstream/dev
    $ git push
   

Release stable to other stores

• Steam - Follow instructions here.
• Epic Game Store - Follow instructions here.
• itch.io - Configured with an external link to the latest stable releases on GitHub