RELEASE.md

Release steps

1. Create a release branch

1. Before merging a feature, create a release branch for the next target version, e.g.

   git checkout trunk
   git checkout -b planned-release/0.2.1

2. In GitHub, select the base branch as the planned-release/... branch.

3. Merge feature branches into the planned-release/... branch.

2. Bump plugin version

1. When the version is ready for release, inside the planned-release/... branch, bump the version number in vip-block-data-api.php. Change plugin header and WPCOMVIP__BLOCK_DATA_API__PLUGIN_VERSION to match new version.
2. Push the planned-release/... branch to GitHub.
3. PR version changes with feature changes and merge to trunk.

3. Tag branch for release

1. In trunk, add a tag for the release:

   git checkout trunk
   git pull
   git tag -a <version> -m "Release <version>"
   
   # e.g. git tag -a 1.0.2 -m "Release 1.0.2"

2. Run git push --tags.

4. Create a release

1. In the vip-block-data-api folder, run this command to create a plugin ZIP:

   git archive --prefix "vip-block-data-api/" <version> -o vip-block-data-api-<version>.zip
   
   # e.g. git archive --prefix "vip-block-data-api/" 1.0.2 -o vip-block-data-api-1.0.2.zip
   #
   # Creates a ZIP archive with the prefix folder "vip-block-data-api/" containing files from tag 1.0.2

2. Visit the vip-block-data-api create release page.

3. Select the newly created version tag in the dropdown.

4. For the title, enter the release version name (e.g. 1.0.2)

5. Add a description of release changes.

6. Attach the plugin ZIP.

7. Click "Publish release."