How to release a new ruby_git gem

Releasing a new version of the ruby_git gem requires these steps:

These instructions use an example where the current release version is 1.0.0 and the new release version to be created is 1.1.0.pre1.

Prepare the release

On a branch (or fork) of ruby_git, create a PR containing changes to (1) bump the version number and (2) update the CHANGELOG.md, and (3) tag the release.

  • Bump the version number

    • Version number is in lib/ruby_git/version.rb
    • Follow Semantic Versioning guidelines
    • bundle exec bump --no-commit patch # backwards compatible bug fixes
    • bundle exec bump --no-commit minor # backwards compatible new functionality
    • bundle exec bump --no-commit major # incompatible API changes

  • Update CHANGELOG.md

    • bundle exec rake changelog

  • Stage the changes to be committed

    • git add lib/ruby_git/version.rb CHANGELOG.md

  • Commit, tag, and push changes to the repository

    • git release v`ruby -I lib -r ruby_git -e 'puts RubyGit::VERSION'`

  • Create a PR with these changes, have it reviewed and approved, and merged to main.

Create a GitHub release

On the ruby_git releases page, select Draft a new release

  • Select the tag corresponding to the version being released v1.1.0.pre1
  • The Target should be main
  • For the release description, copy the relevant section from the CHANGELOG.md
    • The release description can be edited later.
  • Select the appropriate value for This is a pre-release
    • Since v1.1.0.pre1 is a pre-release, check This is a pre-release

Build and release the gem

Clone main-branch/ruby_git directly (not a fork) and ensure your local working copy is on the main branch

  • Verify that you are not on a fork with the command git remote -v
  • Verify that the version number is correct by running rake -T and inspecting the output for the release[remote] task

Build the git gem and push it to rubygems.org with the command rake release

  • Ensure that your gem sources list includes https://rubygems.org (in my case, I usually have my work’s internal gem repository listed)