Release process guidance

Pre-reqs #

  1. Make sure you have a signing key configured

Release version and Docker images #

  1. Make sure all changes since the previous release are listed under ## tip in CHANGELOG.md . Ideally, a change is documented in the same commit that makes it. If not, document it right after that commit. Along with user-visible changes, document API breaks too.
  2. Make sure the release branch has no open security issues. Check the Security tab .
  3. Prepare the release commit:
    1. Set the default VM_OPERATOR_VERSION in internal/config/config.go to the new version, for example getVersion("vX.Y.Z"). The operator uses this value to build the default config-reloader image tag (config-reloader-vX.Y.Z).
    2. Run make docs to regenerate docs/env.md and docs/api.md.
    3. Cut the new version in CHANGELOG.md . Add these lines right below ## tip:
            ## [vX.Y.Z](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/operator/releases/tag/vX.Y.Z)
**Release date:** DD Month YYYY
    4. Open a PR like cut release vX.Y.Z with these changes and merge it.
  4. Tag the merged commit and push both tags to the origin:
          git tag vX.Y.Z        # operator
git tag api/vX.Y.Z    # operator's api Go module (api/go.mod)
git push origin vX.Y.Z api/vX.Y.Z
  5. Go to the GitHub Releases page and click Draft a new release for the vX.Y.Z tag.
  6. Paste this release’s section from CHANGELOG.md into the release description, then publish the release. Publishing starts the Release workflow. It builds, pushes and signs the operator and config-reloader images, builds the OLM bundle, and attaches install-no-webhook.yaml, install-with-webhook.yaml, crd.yaml and olm-bundle.tar.gz to the release.

Release follow-up #

Wait until github CI job Release finishes.

Bump the version of images #

The helm chart repository https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/helm-charts/

Merge PR with the following name pattern - Automatic update operator crds from VictoriaMetrics/operator@* if there is any. Bump tag field in values.yaml with new release version. Bump appVersion field in Chart.yaml with new release version. Add new line to “Next release” section in CHANGELOG.md about version update (the line must always start with “-”). Do NOT change headers in CHANGELOG.md. Bump version field in Chart.yaml with incremental semver version (based on the CHANGELOG.md analysis).

Do these updates to the following charts:

  1. Update operator chart version in values.yaml and Chart.yaml

  2. Update crds chart version in values.yaml

  3. Push changes to the origin and release operator and crds charts by triggering Release Charts CI action.

  4. Wait for CI finish

  5. Bump appVersion field in k8s-stack Chart.yaml with new release version.

  6. bump dependencies with name: victoria-metrics-operator to follow version of recently release operator chart

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