=====================
How is Django Formed?
=====================
This document explains how to release Django. If you're unlucky enough to
be driving a release, you should follow these instructions to get the
package out.
**Please, keep these instructions up-to-date if you make changes!** The point
here is to be descriptive, not proscriptive, 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 beta or something.
In general the steps are about the same regardless, but there are a few
differences noted. The short version is:
#. If this is a security release, pre-notify the security distribution list
at least one week before the actual release.
#. Proofread (and create if needed) the release notes, looking for
organization, writing errors, deprecation timelines, etc. 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.
#. Unless this is a pre-release, add 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 hooked up to make this work:
* A GPG key recorded as an acceptable releaser in the `Django releasers`__
document. (If this key 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.)
* Access to Django's record on PyPI.
* Access to the ``djangoproject.com`` server to upload files and trigger a
deploy.
* 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 James and/or
Jacob to get all these things lined up.
__ https://www.djangoproject.com/m/pgp/django-releasers.txt
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. We maintain a list of who gets these pre-notification
emails at *FIXME WHERE?*. This email should be signed by the key you'll use
for the release, and should include patches for each issue being fixed.
#. If this is a major release, make sure the tests pass, then increase
the default PBKDF2 iterations in
``django.contrib.auth.hashers.PBKDF2PasswordHasher`` by about 10%
(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 release notes on 1.6 for an example).
#. 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
un-committed 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.
#. 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``.
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.
__ http://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-private``. Rebase these patches as necessary to make each one a
simple 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-private`` 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
(`example security commit`__)
__ https://github.com/django/django/commit/3ef4bbf495cc6c061789132e3d50a8231a89406b
#. Update version numbers for the release. This has to happen in three
places: ``django/__init__.py``, ``docs/conf.py``, and ``setup.py``.
Please see `notes on setting the VERSION tuple`_ below for details
on ``VERSION``. Here's `an example commit updating version numbers`__
__ https://github.com/django/django/commit/18d920ea4839fb54f9d2a5dcb555b6a5666ee469
#. If this is a pre-release package, update the "Development Status" trove
classifier in ``setup.py`` 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="Django 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::
$ md5sum dist/Django-*
$ sha1sum dist/Django-*
#. Create a "checksums" file containing the hashes and release information.
Start with this template and insert the correct version, date, release URL
and checksums::
This file contains MD5 and SHA1 checksums for the source-code tarball
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 ``0x3684C0C08C8B2AE1`` 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 0x3684C0C08C8B2AE1
Once the key is imported, verify this file::
gpg --verify <<THIS FILENAME>>
Once you have verified this file, you can use normal MD5 and SHA1
checksumming applications to generate the checksums of the Django
package and compare them to the checksums listed below.
Release package:
================
Django <<VERSION>>: https://www.djangoproject.com/m/releases/<<URL>>
MD5 checksum:
=============
MD5(<<RELEASE TAR.GZ FILENAME>>)= <<MD5SUM>>
SHA1 checksum:
==============
SHA1(<<RELEASE TAR.GZ FILENAME>>)= <<SHA1SUM>>
#. Sign the checksum file (``gpg --clearsign
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; releases go
in ``/home/www/djangoproject.com/src/media/releases``, under a
directory for the appropriate version number (e.g.
``/home/www/djangoproject.com/src/media/releases/1.5`` for a ``1.5.x``
release.).
#. Upload the checksum file(s); these go in
``/home/www/djangoproject.com/src/media/pgp``.
#. Test that the release packages install correctly using ``easy_install``
and ``pip``. Here's one method (which requires `virtualenvwrapper`__)::
$ mktmpenv
$ easy_install https://www.djangoproject.com/m/releases/1.5/Django-1.5.1.tar.gz
$ deactivate
$ mktmpenv
$ pip install https://www.djangoproject.com/m/releases/1.5/Django-1.5.1.tar.gz
$ deactivate
$ mktmpenv
$ pip install https://www.djangoproject.com/m/releases/1.5/Django-1.5.1-py2.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.
__ https://pypi.python.org/pypi/virtualenvwrapper
#. Ask a few people on IRC to verify the checksums by visiting the checksums
file (e.g. https://www.djangoproject.com/m/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).
#. If this is a release that should land on PyPI (i.e. anything except for
a pre-release), register the new package with PyPI by running
``python setup.py register``.
#. Upload the sdist you generated a few steps back through the PyPI web
interface. You'll log into PyPI, click "Django" in the right sidebar,
find the release you just registered, and click "files" to upload the
sdist.
.. note::
Why can't we just use ``setup.py sdist upload``? Well, if we do it above
that pushes the sdist to PyPI before we've had a chance to sign, review
and test it. And we can't just ``setup.py upload`` without ``sdist``
because ``setup.py`` prevents that. Nor can we ``sdist upload`` because
that would generate a *new* sdist that might not match the file we just
signed. Finally, uploading through the web interface is somewhat more
secure: it sends the file over HTTPS.
#. 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 "1.4-rc-2", etc.
__ https://www.djangoproject.com/admin/releases/release/add/
#. 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.
#. Post the release announcement to the |django-announce|,
|django-developers| and |django-users| mailing lists. This should
include links to the announcement blog post and the release notes.
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)``.
#. For the first alpha release of a new version (when we create the
``stable/1.?.x`` git branch), you'll want to 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.
#. Add the release in `Trac's versions list`_ if necessary. Not all versions
are declared; take example on previous releases.
.. _Trac's versions list: https://code.djangoproject.com/admin/ticket/versions
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"
