2.4 KiB
Release Process
The following process is used when publishing new releases to NuGet.org.
1. Ensure the CI workflow is fully green
- Some integration tests are flaky and may require re-running
- Once the state of the branch is known to be good, a release can proceed
- The release workflow does not run tests — CI must be green before starting
2. Prepare the release
From a local clone of the repository, use Copilot CLI to invoke the prepare-release skill. The skill assesses the semantic version, bumps the version in src/Directory.Build.props, runs API compatibility checks, reviews documentation, drafts release notes, and creates a pull request with all release artifacts.
Review the PR, request changes if needed, and merge when ready.
3. Publish the release
After the prepare-release PR is merged, invoke the publish-release skill. The skill checks for any late-arriving PRs that could affect the release, refreshes the release notes, and creates a draft GitHub release.
Review the draft release on GitHub, check 'Set as a pre-release' if appropriate, and click 'Publish release'.
Branching
The main branch is the next-MAJOR preview and development line; currently, it produces the 2.0.0-preview.* series. Nightly cron CI on main publishes CI-suffixed packages to GitHub Packages.
Long-lived release/{MAJOR}.x branches are created on demand when a shipped MAJOR needs servicing releases. Every push to a release/* branch publishes a CI-suffixed package to GitHub Packages, so servicing CI packages are commit-driven rather than clock-driven.
Short-lived release-{version} branches are local prepare-release work branches that become pull requests, such as release-2.0.0-preview.1 or release-1.3.1.
Official NuGet.org publishes occur only when a GitHub Release is created from a branch's tag.
The prepare-release skill asks for the source/base branch first so the release PR targets the same line it assessed.
For the agent-facing, structured version of these rules, see release-branches.md.
4. Monitor the Release workflow
- After publishing, a workflow will produce build artifacts and publish the NuGet packages to NuGet.org
- If the job fails, troubleshoot and re-run the workflow as needed
- Verify the package version becomes listed at nuget.org/packages/ModelContextProtocol