Releases

Versioning

Fides uses semantic versioning. Due to the rapid development of the project, some minor versions may also contain minor breaking changes. The best practice is to always pin versions, and carefully test before bumping to a new version.

Patch versions will never cause breaking changes, and are only used to hotfix critical bugs.

Release schedule

Fides does not follow a set release schedule, and instead ships versions based on the addition of features and functionality. Each release, with the exception of hotfixes, contains at least one substantial new feature.

Branching

Fides uses continuous delivery with a single main branch. All code changes are merged into this branch.

When it comes times to prepare for a new release, a release branch is created for stability and thoroughly tested.

When releasing, a new tag is created on the release branch and the release process proceeds automatically.

In the case of patches, a branch is created from the relevant tag. Commits are then cherry-picked into this branch, and a new patch version tag is created.

Release Steps

We use GitHub’s release feature to tag releases that then get automatically deployed to DockerHub and PyPi via GitHub Actions. We also use a CHANGELOG.md to mitigate surprises to our users and help them plan updates accordingly. The release steps are as follows:

Major and Minor

Open a PR that is titled the version of the release (i.e. 1.6.0)
- Rename the Unreleased section of CHANGELOG.md to the new version number and put a date next to it
- Update the compare links for both the new version and for the new Unreleased section
Once approved, merge the PR
Create a new release, ensuring that the last PR to get merged is the aforementioned CHANGELOG.md update PR
Add the new version as the tag (i.e. 1.6.0)
Make the title the version with a v in front of it (i.e. v1.6.0)
Add a link to the CHANGELOG.md
Auto-populate the release notes
Publish the release

Patch

It may be necessary for a patch release to contain only select commits to the main branch since the last major or minor release. To create a release with only the desired changes, follow the steps below:

Checkout the most recent release's tag

To fetch the most recent tag's name, run:

# fides on main
git describe --abbrev=0 --tags
 
#=> 1.2.3

To checkout the most recent tag, run:

#fides on main
git checkout 1.2.3
 
#=> Note: switching to '1.2.3'.
#
# You are in 'detached HEAD' state. You can look around, make experimental
# changes and commit them, and you can discard any commits you make in this
# state without impacting any branches by switching back to a branch.
#
# If you want to create a new branch to retain commits you create, you may
# do so (now or later) by using -c with the switch command. Example:
#
# git switch -c <new-branch-name>
#
# Or undo this operation with:
#
# git switch -
#
# Turn off this advice by setting config variable advice.detachedHead to false
#
# HEAD is now at 0123abcd Commit Message

!!! tip This can be combined into a single command:

# fides on main
git checkout $(git describe --abbrev=0 --tags)
 
#=> Note: switching to '1.2.3'.
#
# You are in 'detached HEAD' state. You can look around, make experimental
# changes and commit them, and you can discard any commits you make in this
# state without impacting any branches by switching back to a branch.
#
# If you want to create a new branch to retain commits you create, you may
# do so (now or later) by using -c with the switch command. Example:
#
# git switch -c <new-branch-name>
#
# Or undo this operation with:
#
# git switch -
#
# Turn off this advice by setting config variable advice.detachedHead to false
#
# HEAD is now at 0123abcd Commit Message

Create a new branch from the HEAD commit of the most recent release's tag, called release-v<tag>

# fides on tags/1.2.3
git checkout -b release-v1.2.4
 
#=> Switched to a new branch 'release-v1.2.4'

If the changes to be included in the patch release are contained in one or more unmerged pull requests, change the base branch of the pull request(s) to the release branch created in the previous step
Once approved, merge the pull request(s) into the release branch

Create a new branch off of the release branch by running:

# fides on release-v1.2.4
git checkout -b prepare-release-v1.2.4
 
#=> Switched to a new branch 'prepare-release-v1.2.4'

Optional: Incorporate any additional specific changes required for the patch release by running:
```
# fides on prepare-release-v1.2.4
git cherry-pick <commit>...
```
Copy the Unreleased section of CHANGELOG.md and paste above the release being patched
1. Rename Unreleased to the new version number and put a date next to it
2. Cut and paste the documented changes that are now included in the patch release to the correct section
3. Commit these changes
Open a pull request to incorporate any cherry-picked commits and the CHANGELOG.md changes into the release branch
1. Set the base branch of this pull request to the release branch
2. Once approved, merge the pull request into the release branch
Create a new release from the release branch
1. Add the new version as the tag (i.e. 1.2.4)
2. Title the release with the version number, prefixed with a v (i.e. v1.2.4)
3. Add a link to the CHANGELOG.md
4. Auto-populate the release notes
Publish the release
Merge the new release tag into main

!!! warning Pushing commits (including merge commits) to the main branch requires admin-level repository permissions.
1. Checkout the main branch, and update the local repository:
```
git checkout main
#=> Switched to branch 'main'...
 
git pull
```
2. Merge the new release tag into main:
```
git merge tags/1.2.4
```
3. Handle any merge conflicts, and push to the remote main branch

Release Checklist

The release checklist is a manual set of checks done before each release to ensure functionality of the most critical components of the application. Some of these steps are redundant with automated tests, while others are only tested here as part of this check.

This checklist should be copy/pasted into the final pre-release PR, and checked off as you complete each step.

Additionally, there is a robust Release Process (opens in a new tab) page available in Confluence (internal only).

Pre-Release Steps

General

From the release branch, confirm the following:

Quickstart works: nox -s quickstart (verify you can complete the interactive prompts from the command-line)
Test environment works: nox -s "fides_env(test)" (verify the admin UI on localhost:8080, privacy center on localhost:3001, CLI and webserver)
Have Roger run a QATouch automation run

Next, run the following checks via the test environment:

API

Verify that the generated API docs are correct @ http://localhost:8080/docs

CLI

Run these from within the test environment shell:

git reset --hard - Note: This is required for the pull command to work
fides user login
fides push src/fides/data/sample_project/sample_resources/
fides pull src/fides/data/sample_project/sample_resources/
fides evaluate src/fides/data/sample_project/sample_resources/
fides generate dataset db --credentials-id app_postgres test.yml - Note: Because the filesystem isn't mounted, the new file will only show up within the container
fides scan dataset db --credentials-id app_postgres

Privacy Center

Every navigation button works
DSR submission succeeds
Consent request submission succeeds

Admin UI

Every navigation button works
DSR approval succeeds
DSR execution succeeds

Documentation

Verify that the CHANGELOG is formatted correctly and clean up verbiage where needed
Verify that the CHANGELOG is representative of the actual changes

:warning: Note that any updates that need to be made to the CHANGELOG should not be commited directly to the release branch. Instead, they should be committed on a branch off of main and then PR'd and merged into main, before being cherry-picked over to the release branch. This ensures that the CHANGELOG stays consistent between the release branch and main.

Publishing the release

When publishing the release, be sure to include the following sections in the release description:

## Release Pull Request section that includes a link back to the release PR (i.e., this one!) for tracking purposes
## QA Touch Test Run section that includes a link to the QATouch test run (QA team should provide this)

Post-Release Steps

Pull Requests Release Checklist