Release Process

Create an annotated tag 

• git switch main
• git pull
• Have a look at the current (old) version: Github Releases⁠
• export RELEASE_TAG=<the tag of the release to be cut> (eg. export RELEASE_TAG=v1.0.1)
• git tag -a ${RELEASE_TAG} -m ${RELEASE_TAG}

Push the tag to the GitHub repository 

• git push origin ${RELEASE_TAG}
• This will automatically trigger a Github Action⁠ to create a draft release (this will take roughly 6 minutes).

Review the draft release 

Review the draft release on GitHub: Releases⁠. Use the pencil-icon to edit the draft release. Then use the button "Generate release notes". Pay close attention to the ## :question: Sort these by hand section, as it contains items that need to be manually sorted. Feel free to move less important PRs, like version upgrades (from renovate bot), to the bottom.

Check the generated assets 

Double check that the assets got created. There should be one zip file, one tgz file, and 12 yaml files.

Mark as pre-release if applicable 

If it is pre-release, activate the corresponding check at the bottom of the page. And add :rotating_light: This is a RELEASE CANDIDATE. If you find any bugs, file an [issue](https://github.com/syself/cluster-api-provider-hetzner/issues/new). at the top of the release notes.

Verify the container image 

Before publishing you can check the Recent tagged image versions⁠: "latest" should be some seconds old and the new version number.

Publish the release 

Announce the release 

Write to the corresponding channels: "FYI: .... was released, (add hyperlink). A big "thank you" to all contributors!"

Login to ghcr 

Execute make release-image