Release Process

Document ID: IMPL-004
File Path: docs/19-implementation-guide/release-process.md
Version: 1.0.0
Status: Draft
Owner: Engineering Team
Last Updated: 2026-06-27

1. Purpose

This document defines how the Wovyr AI Platform is versioned and released — from a merged change to signed, deployable artifacts.

2. Versioning

The platform follows semantic versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH).
Public contracts have explicit compatibility rules: API, Workflow DSL, Plugin API.
Releases align to the roadmap milestones.

3. Branching

main (always releasable)
  ├─ feature branches → PR → merge to main
  └─ release/x.y → stabilization for a minor release

main stays green and releasable; release branches stabilize a version.

4. Release Steps

1. Cut release/x.y from main
2. Update CHANGELOG + version numbers
3. CI: build → test → package images + SDK
4. Sign artifacts (images, CLI, SDK) + generate provenance/SBOM
5. Publish to registries
6. Tag the release; publish release notes
7. Deploy via Helm/Terraform (staged: canary → full)

Artifact signing mirrors plugin signing (build system).

5. Quality Gates

A release must pass:

Unit + integration + contract tests (testing).
Performance regression check vs. baseline (performance).
Security scans + review for sensitive changes (security testing).

6. Deployment & Rollback

Staged rollout (canary → progressive) via Helm with health-gated steps.
DB migrations run as pre-deploy jobs; forward-compatible.
helm rollback reverts to a prior release if SLOs/alerts regress (alerting).

7. Changelog & Notes

Conventional commits feed an automated CHANGELOG.
Release notes call out features, fixes, deprecations, and migration steps.
Deprecations announce a window before removal (compatibility commitments).

8. Hotfixes

Critical fixes branch from the affected release tag, follow the same gates (expedited), and are signed/published like any release; revocation is available for compromised artifacts (distribution).

10. Revision History

Version	Date	Description
1.0.0	2026-06-27	Initial Release Process