## Create a tag

<Steps>

<Step>Create an annotated tag</Step>

- `git switch main`
- `git pull`
- Have a look at the current (old) version: [Github Releases](https://github.com/syself/cluster-api-provider-hetzner/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}`

<Step>Push the tag to the GitHub repository</Step>

> [!NOTE]
> `origin` should be the name of the remote pointing to `github.com/syself/cluster-api-provider-hetzner`

- `git push origin ${RELEASE_TAG}`
- This will automatically trigger a [Github Action](https://github.com/syself/cluster-api-provider-hetzner/actions) to create a draft release (this will take roughly 6 minutes).

</Steps>

## Release in GitHub

<Steps>

<Step>Review the draft release</Step>

Review the draft release on GitHub: [Releases](https://github.com/syself/cluster-api-provider-hetzner/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.

<Step>Check the generated assets</Step>

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

<Step>Mark as pre-release if applicable</Step>

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.

<Step>Verify the container image</Step>

Before publishing you can check the [Recent tagged image versions](https://github.com/syself/cluster-api-provider-hetzner/pkgs/container/caph): "latest" should be some seconds old and the new version number.

<Step>Publish the release</Step>

<Step>Announce the release</Step>

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

</Steps>

Done 🥳

## Manual creation of images

This is only needed if you want to manually release images.

<Steps>

<Step>Login to ghcr</Step>

<Step>Execute `make release-image`</Step>

</Steps>

## Versioning

See the [versioning documentation](https://github.com/syself/cluster-api-provider-hetzner/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#versioning) for more information.

## Permissions

Releasing requires a particular set of permissions.

- Tag push access to the GitHub repository
- GitHub Release creation access