forgejo-docs/docs/developer/RELEASE.md

---
title: Release management
license: 'CC-BY-SA-4.0'
---

## Release numbering

The Forgejo release numbers are composed of the Gitea release number followed by a dash and a serial number. For instance:

- Gitea **v1.21.0** will be Forgejo **v1.21.0-0**, **v1.21.0-1**, etc

The Gitea release candidates are suffixed with **-rcN** which is handled as a special case for packaging: although **X.Y.Z** is lexicographically lower than **X.Y.Z-rc1** is is considered greater. The Forgejo serial number must therefore be inserted before the **-rcN** suffix to preserve the expected version ordering.

- Gitea **v1.21.0-rc0** will be Forgejo **v1.21.0-0-rc0**, **v1.21.0-1-rc0**
- Gitea **v1.21.0-rc1** will be Forgejo **v1.21.0-2-rc1**, **v1.21.0-3-rc1**, **v1.21.0-4-rc1**
- Gitea **v1.21.0** will be Forgejo **v1.21.0-5**, **v1.21.0-6**, **v1.21.0-7**
- etc.

Because Forgejo depends on Gitea, it must retain the same release numbering scheme to be compatible with libraries and tools that depend on it. For instance, the tea CLI or the Gitea SDK will behave differently depending on the server version they connect to. If Forgejo had a different numbering scheme, it would no longer be compatible with the Gitea ecosystem.

From a [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/) standpoint, all Forgejo releases are [pre-releases](https://semver.org/#spec-item-9) because they are suffixed with a dash. They are syntactically correct but do not comply with the Semantic Versioning recommendations. Gitea is not compliant either and Forgejo inherits this problem.

## Stable release process

The TL;DR: to publish a vX.Y.Z-N release is to:

- Push the vX.Y.Z-N tag to https://codeberg.org/forgejo-integration/forgejo to trigger a workflow that will publish the release in https://codeberg.org/forgejo-experimental/forgejo
- Give it some time for people to try it out
- Push the vX.Y.Z-N tag to https://forgejo.octopuce.forgejo.org/forgejo-release/forgejo to trigger a workflow that will sign the release from https://codeberg.org/forgejo-experimental/forgejo and publish it in https://codeberg.org/forgejo-release/forgejo

### Semantic version

- Update the FORGEJO_VERSION variable in the Makefile

### Create a milestone and a check list

- Create a `Forgejo vX.X.Z-N` milestone set to the date of the release
- Create an issue named `[RELEASE] Forgejo vX.Y.Z-N` with a description that includes a list of what needs to be done for the release with links to follow the progress
- Set the milestone of this issue to `Forgejo vX.X.Z-N`
- Close the milestone when the release is complete

### Cherry pick the latest commits from Gitea

The vX.Y/forgejo branch is populated as part of the [rebase on top of Gitea](../workflow/). The release happens in between rebase and it is worth checking if the matching Gitea branch, release/vX.Y contains commits that should be included in the release.

- `cherry-pick -x` the commits
- push the vX.Y/forgejo branch including the commits
- verify that the tests pass

### Release Notes

- Add an entry in RELEASE-NOTES.md

The dependencies where user visible changes should be harvested when they are upgraded are:

- [Alpine](https://www.alpinelinux.org/)
- [git](https://pkgs.alpinelinux.org/packages?name=git)
- [gnupg](https://pkgs.alpinelinux.org/packages?name=gnupg)
- [sqlite](https://pkgs.alpinelinux.org/packages?name=sqlite)
- [openssh](https://pkgs.alpinelinux.org/packages?name=openssh)
- [Gitea](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea)
- [chroma](https://github.com/alecthomas/chroma/) - syntax highlight
- [go-enry](https://github.com/go-enry/go-enry) & [linguist](https://github.com/github-linguist/linguist) - language detection

### Forgejo release building and testing

When Forgejo is released, artefacts (packages, binaries, etc.) are first published by the CI/CD pipelines in the https://codeberg.org/forgejo-experimental organization, to be downloaded and verified to work.

- Locally set the vX.Y.Z-N tag to the tip of the https://codeberg.org/forgejo/forgejo/vX.Y/forgejo branch
- Push the vX.Y.Z-N tag to https://codeberg.org/forgejo-integration/forgejo

It will trigger a [build workflow](https://codeberg.org/forgejo/forgejo/src/branch/forgejo/.forgejo/workflows/build-release.yml) that:

- Builds binaries and uploaded them to https://codeberg.org/forgejo-integration/forgejo/releases
- Builds container images and uploaded them to https://codeberg.org/forgejo-integration/-/packages/container/forgejo/versions

If the build fails, the logs of the workflow can be found in https://codeberg.org/forgejo-integration/forgejo/actions for debugging.
Once the build is successful, it must be copied to https://codeberg.org/forgejo-experimental.

- Push the vX.Y.Z-N tag to https://codeberg.org/forgejo-experimental/forgejo

It will trigger a [publish workflow](https://codeberg.org/forgejo/forgejo/src/branch/forgejo/.forgejo/workflows/publish-release.yml) that:

- Copies the binaries from https://codeberg.org/forgejo-integration/forgejo/releases to https://codeberg.org/forgejo-experimental/forgejo/releases
- Copies the container images from https://codeberg.org/forgejo-integration/-/packages/container/forgejo/versions to https://codeberg.org/forgejo-experimental/-/packages/container/forgejo/versions

To verify the container images, the [end-to-end](https://code.forgejo.org/forgejo/end-to-end) integration tests can be used. Push a branch with [the location of the release under test](https://code.forgejo.org/forgejo/end-to-end/src/branch/main/.forgejo/workflows/actions.yml) to run a collection of test workflows.

Reach out to packagers and users to manually verify the release works as expected.

### Forgejo release publication

- Push the vX.Y.Z-N tag to https://forgejo.octopuce.forgejo.org/forgejo-release/forgejo

It will trigger a workflow to:

- Push the vX.Y.Z-N tag to https://codeberg.org/forgejo/forgejo
- Downoad Binaries from https://codeberg.org/forgejo-experimental, sign them and copy them to https://codeberg.org/forgejo
- Copy container images from https://codeberg.org/forgejo-experimental to https://codeberg.org/forgejo

### Forgejo release mirror

The https://code.forgejo.org/forgejo/forgejo repository is a read-only
mirror [updated daily](https://code.forgejo.org/forgejo/forgejo/src/branch/main/.forgejo/workflows) with the release assets
and the branches from https://codeberg.org/forgejo/forgejo.

### Forgejo runner publication

- Push the vX.Y.Z-N tag to https://code.forgejo.org/forgejo/runner

The release is built on https://code.forgejo.org/forgejo-integration/runner, which is a mirror of https://code.forgejo.org/forgejo/runner.

The release is published on
https://forgejo.octopuce.forgejo.org/forgejo/runner, which is a mirror
of https://code.forgejo.org/forgejo-integration/runner. It is behind a
VPN and its role is to copy and sign release artifacts.

- Binaries are downloaded from https://code.forgejo.org/forgejo-integration/runner, signed and copied to https://code.forgejo.org/forgejo/runner.
- Container images are copied from https://code.forgejo.org/forgejo-integration to https://code.forgejo.org/forgejo

If publishing the release needs debug, it can be done manually:

- https://forgejo.octopuce.forgejo.org/forgejo-release/runner-debug has the same secrets as https://forgejo.octopuce.forgejo.org/forgejo-release/runner
- Make the changes, commit them, tag the commit with vX.Y.Z-N and force push the tag to https://forgejo.octopuce.forgejo.org/forgejo-release/runner-debug. Note that it does not matter that the tag is not on a commit that matches the release because this action only cares about the tag: it does not build any content itself, it copies it from one organization to another. However it matters that it matches a SHA that is found in the destination repository of the release otherwise it won't be able to set the tag (setting a tag on a non-existing sha does not work).
- Watch the action run at https://forgejo.octopuce.forgejo.org/forgejo-release/runner-debug/actions
- To skip one of the publish phases (binaries or container images), delete it and commit in the repository before pushing the tag
- Reflect the changes in a PR at https://code.forgejo.org/forgejo/runner to make sure they are not lost

It can also be done from the CLI with `forgejo-runner exec` and
providing the secrets from the command line.

### Securing the release token and cryptographic keys

For both the Forgejo runner and Forgejo itself, copying and signing the release artifacts (container images and binaries) happen on a Forgejo isntance running [behind a VPN](../infrastructure/#octopuce) to safeguard the token that has write access to the Forgejo repository as well as the cryptographic key used to sign the releases.

### Website update

- Restart the last CI build at https://codeberg.org/forgejo/website/src/branch/main/
- Verify [https://forgejo.org/download/](/download/) points to the expected release
- Manually try the instructions to work

### DNS update

- Update the `release.forgejo.org` TXT record that starts with `forgejo_versions=` to be `forgejo_versions=vX.Y.Z-N`

### Standard toot

The following toot can be re-used to announce a minor release at `https://floss.social/@forgejo`. For more significant releases it is best to consider a dedicated and non-standard toot.

```
#Forgejo vX.Y.Z-N was just released! This is a minor patch. Check out the release notes and download it at https://forgejo.org/releases/. If you experience any issues with this release, please report to https://codeberg.org/forgejo/forgejo/issues.
```

## Experimental release process

An experimental release is published every time [an update of the Forgejo dependencies](https://codeberg.org/forgejo/forgejo/milestones?q=cleanup) is completed. This release is named after the next stable release, with the `-test` suffix. For instance `v1.22.0-test`.

When the stable release is in its final stages, it is replaced by the release candidates, which changes the suffix to be `-X-rcN`. For instance `v1.22.0-2-rc1`.

## Release signing keys management

A GPG master key with no expiration date is created and shared with members of the Owners team via encrypted email. A subkey with a one year expiration date is created and stored in the secrets repository (`openpgp/20??-release-team.gpg`), to be used by the release pipeline. The public master key is stored in the secrets repository and published where relevant (keys.openpgp.org for instance).

### Master key creation

- gpg --expert --full-generate-key
- key type: ECC and ECC option with Curve 25519 as curve
- no expiration
- id: Forgejo Releases <contact@forgejo.org>
- gpg --export-secret-keys --armor EB114F5E6C0DC2BCDD183550A4B61A2DC5923710 and send via encrypted email to Owners
- gpg --export --armor EB114F5E6C0DC2BCDD183550A4B61A2DC5923710 > release-team.gpg.pub
- gpg --keyserver keys.openpgp.org --send-keys EB114F5E6C0DC2BCDD183550A4B61A2DC5923710
- commit to the secrets repository

### Subkey creation and renewal

- gpg --expert --edit-key EB114F5E6C0DC2BCDD183550A4B61A2DC5923710
- addkey
- key type: ECC (signature only)
- elliptic curve Curve 25519
- key validity: 18 months
- update https://codeberg.org/forgejo/forgejo/issues/58 to schedule the renewal 12 months later
- gpg --export --armor EB114F5E6C0DC2BCDD183550A4B61A2DC5923710 > openpgp/release-team.gpg.pub
- commit to the secrets repository
- gpg --keyserver keys.openpgp.org --send-keys EB114F5E6C0DC2BCDD183550A4B61A2DC5923710

#### Local sanity check

From the root of the secrets directory, assuming the master key for
EB114F5E6C0DC2BCDD183550A4B61A2DC5923710 is already imported in the
keyring.

There are a lot of contradictory information regarding the management
of subkeys, with zillions ways of doing something that looks like it
could work but creates situations that are close to impossible to
figure out. Experimenting with the CLI, reading the gpg man page and
using common sense is the best way to understand how it works. Reading
the documentation or discussions on the net is highly confusing
because it is loaded with 20 years of history, most of which is no
longer relevant.

Here are a few notions that help understand how it works:

- `gpg --export-secret-subkeys --armor B3B1F60AC577F2A2!` exports the
  secret key for the subkey B3B1F60AC577F2A2, the exclamation mark
  meaning "nothing else".
- a `keygrip` is something that each private key has and that can be
  displayed with `gpg --with-keygrip --list-key`. It matters because each
  private key is associated with exactly one file in the `private-keys-v1.d`
  directory which is named after this keygrip. It is the best way to verify
  an unrelated private key was not accidentally included in the export of
  the subkey.
- when a subkey is created, the public key for the master key must be published
  again because it includes the public key of this new subkey.
- all the instructions that are published to instruct people to verify
  the signature of a release use the fingerprint of the master key. It will
  work although the release really is signed by the subkey and not the master
  key. This is the main benefit of using subkeys as it hides the rotation
  of the subkeys and does not require updating instructions everywhere every
  year.
- whenever gpg starts working with a new directory, it will launch a gpg-agent
  daemon that will persist. If this directory is removed manually or modified
  it will confuse the daemon and the gpg command will misbehave in ways
  that can be very difficult to understand. When experimenting
  create a new directory but do not modify the files manually, even though
  some instructions on the net recommend doing so, for instance to remove
  a private key.

```sh
NEWKEY=????
#
# brand new GNUPGHOME, situation similar to the release pipeline
#
export GNUPGHOME=/tmp/tmpgpg1 ; mkdir $GNUPGHOME ; chmod 700 $GNUPGHOME
gpg --import openpgp/$(date +%Y --date='next year')-release-team.gpg
find $GNUPGHOME/private-keys-v1.d # only has **one** file named after the keygrip
# sign something
echo bar > /tmp/foo
gpg --detach-sig --output /tmp/foo.asc --default-key $NEWKEY --sign /tmp/foo
#
# brand new GNUPGHOME: situation similar to someone verifying the release signature is good
#
export GNUPGHOME=/tmp/tmpgpg1 ; mkdir $GNUPGHOME ; chmod 700 $GNUPGHOME
gpg --import release-team.gpg.pub
gpg --verify /tmp/foo.asc /tmp/foo
```

#### 2024

- `gpg --export-secret-subkeys --armor B3B1F60AC577F2A2! > openpgp/2024-release-team.gpg`
- commit to the secrets repository

## Users, organizations and repositories

### Shared user: forgejo-cascading-pr

The [forgejo-cascading-pr](https://codeberg.org/forgejo-cascading-pr) user opens pull requests on behalf of other repositories by way of the [cascading-pr action](https://code.forgejo.org/actions/cascading-pr/). It is a regular user, not part of any team. It is only used for that purpose for security reasons.

### Shared user: release-team

The [release-team](https://codeberg.org/release-team) user publishes and signs all releases. The associated email is mailto:release@forgejo.org.

The public GPG key used to sign the releases is [EB114F5E6C0DC2BCDD183550A4B61A2DC5923710](https://codeberg.org/release-team.gpg) `Forgejo Releases <release@forgejo.org>`

### Shared user: forgejo-experimental-ci

The [forgejo-experimental-ci](https://codeberg.org/forgejo-experimental-ci) user is dedicated to provide the application tokens used by the CI to build releases and publish them to https://codeberg.org/forgejo-experimental. It does not (and must not) have permission to publish releases at https://codeberg.org/forgejo.

### Integration and experimental organization

The https://codeberg.org/forgejo-integration organization is dedicated to integration testing. Its purpose is to ensure all artefacts can effectively be published and retrieved by the CI/CD pipelines.

The https://codeberg.org/forgejo-experimental organization is dedicated to publishing experimental Forgejo releases. They are copied from the https://codeberg.org/forgejo-integration organization.

The `forgejo-experimental-ci` user as well as all Forgejo contributors working on the CI/CD pipeline should be owners of both organizations.