kserve/release/RELEASE_PROCESS_v3.md

KServe Release Process v3

Simplified and automated KServe release process (5~7 weeks) using scripts and GitHub Actions.

Quick Reference

Week	Event
1-4	Development
4	Announce feature freeze
5	RC0 Released
6	RC1+ Released (if needed)
7	Final Release

Prerequisites for executing GitHub Actions

• Listed in OWNERS file (reviewer+)
• Push access to kserve/kserve

Note: If the person executing the release process is not a reviewer, once the prepare release PR is merged, they must ask a reviewer to trigger the required GitHub Actions.

Release Types

Version	Branch Created	Use Case
v0.17.0-rc0	✅ Yes	First release candidate
v0.17.0-rc1	❌ No	Bug fixes after RC0
v0.17.0	❌ No	Final official release

---

RC0: Initial Release Candidate

0. Set Release Variables

# Set these variables for your release (example: 0.17.0)
export NEW_VERSION=0.17.0
export PRIOR_VERSION=0.16.0

1. Prepare and Merge

git clone [email protected]:YOUR_ORG/kserve.git
cd kserve

git checkout -b release/${NEW_VERSION}-rc0

# Prepare release (uses variables from step 0)
make bump-version NEW_VERSION=${NEW_VERSION}-rc0 PRIOR_VERSION=${PRIOR_VERSION}

# Push release branch to your repository
git add .
git commit -S -s -m "release: prepare release v${NEW_VERSION}-rc0"
git push -u origin release/${NEW_VERSION}-rc0

# Create PR to master in upstream kserve via GitHub UI

2. Prepare Release (Branch & Tag)

GitHub Actions:

1. Go to Actions → Prepare Release (Branch & Tag) → Run workflow
2. Set version: v${NEW_VERSION}-rc0, dry_run: true
3. Review output, then run with dry_run: false

Local Script (only for testing):

./hack/release/create-release.sh v${NEW_VERSION}-rc0 --dry-run

This creates:

• Branch: release-${NEW_VERSION%.*} (e.g., release-0.17)
• Tag: v${NEW_VERSION}-rc0

3. Review and Publish Draft Release

The workflow automatically creates a Draft Release with:

• ✅ Release notes (auto-generated from commits)
• ✅ Install files (from install/v${NEW_VERSION}-rc0/)
• ✅ Pre-release flag (for RC versions)

Note: Approvers or above (listed in OWNERS) can publish GitHub Releases.

To publish the release:

1. Review the Draft Release:

   • Go to: https://github.com/kserve/kserve/releases
   • Find the draft release for v${NEW_VERSION}-rc0

2. Edit if needed:

   • Update release notes
   • Add breaking changes
   • Highlight important features

3. Publish the Release:

   • Verify "Set as a pre-release" is checked
   • Click "Publish release" button

Publishing automatically triggers:

• ✅ PyPI Publishing: python-publish workflow uploads packages
  • KServe: https://pypi.org/project/kserve/
  • Storage: https://pypi.org/project/kserve-storage/
• ✅ Helm Publishing: helm-publish workflow pushes charts to GHCR
  • GHCR: https://github.com/orgs/kserve/packages

Verify workflows:

• Actions → Upload Python Package
• Actions → helm-publish

4. Announce

echo "📢 KServe v${NEW_VERSION}-rc0 is now available!"
echo "Release: https://github.com/kserve/kserve/releases/tag/v${NEW_VERSION}-rc0"
echo "Please test and report bugs. Feature freeze is now in effect."

---

RC1+: Bug Fix Release Candidates

0. Set Release Variables

# Update these variables for RC1
export NEW_VERSION=0.17.0
export PRIOR_VERSION=0.17.0-rc0  # Previous RC version

1. Fix Bugs

• Fix bugs in master
• Label PR with cherrypick-approved
• Merge to master

2. Cherry-pick

# In merged PR, comment:
/cherry-pick release-${NEW_VERSION%.*}

3. Prepare and Merge

make bump-version NEW_VERSION=${NEW_VERSION}-rc1 PRIOR_VERSION=${PRIOR_VERSION}
# Create PR with cherrypick-approved label, merge to master
# Cherry-pick: /cherry-pick release-${NEW_VERSION%.*}  ex. /cherry-pick release-0.17

4. Prepare Release (Tag Only)

GitHub Actions (Recommended):

1. Go to Actions → Prepare Release (Branch & Tag) → Run workflow
2. Set version: v${NEW_VERSION}-rc1, dry_run: true
3. Review output, then run with dry_run: false

Local Script (only for testing):

./hack/release/create-release.sh v${NEW_VERSION}-rc1 --dry-run

5. Review and Publish Draft Release

Note: Approvers or above (listed in OWNERS) can publish GitHub Releases.

The workflow automatically creates a Draft Release. Follow the same review and publish process as RC0:

1. Review draft at: https://github.com/kserve/kserve/releases
2. Edit release notes if needed
3. Verify "Set as a pre-release" is checked
4. Click "Publish release"

Publishing automatically triggers python-publish and helm-publish workflows.

---

Final Release

0. Set Release Variables

# Update these variables for final release
export NEW_VERSION=0.17.0
export PRIOR_VERSION=0.17.0-rc1  # Last RC version (or rc0 if no RC1)

1. Prepare and Merge

make bump-version NEW_VERSION=${NEW_VERSION} PRIOR_VERSION=${PRIOR_VERSION}
# Create PR with cherrypick-approved label, merge to master
# Cherry-pick: /cherry-pick release-${NEW_VERSION%.*}  ex. /cherry-pick release-0.17

2. Prepare Release (Tag Only)

GitHub Actions (Recommended):

1. Go to Actions → Prepare Release (Branch & Tag) → Run workflow
2. Set version: v${NEW_VERSION}, dry_run: true
3. Review output, then run with dry_run: false

Local Script (only for testing):

./hack/release/create-release.sh v${NEW_VERSION} --dry-run

3. Review and Publish Final Release

Note: Approvers or above (listed in OWNERS) can publish GitHub Releases.

The workflow automatically creates a Draft Release (without pre-release flag). Follow the review process:

1. Review draft at: https://github.com/kserve/kserve/releases
2. Edit release notes if needed
3. Ensure "Set as a pre-release" is unchecked (should already be unchecked)
4. Click "Publish release"

Publishing automatically triggers python-publish and helm-publish workflows.

---

Resources

• Scripts: prepare-for-release.sh, create-release.sh
• Workflows: prepare-release.yml, python-publish.yml
• Help: ./hack/release/create-release.sh --help