Making a new release

When making a new release of nc-time-axis, it is best to follow these steps. Note these are a trimmed-down version of the release steps for the Iris package.

  1. Create a release branch in the SciTools/nc-time-axis repository with the name v{major release number}.{minor release number}.x. This branch will be used to make any final changes prior to the release. It will be merged back into the main branch once the release is complete.

  2. Check that the Release notes have been fully updated for the new release. This includes adding a date for the new release where it currently says “unreleased.” This can also include formatting and other minor content updates.

  3. Create a new tag in the GitHub repository for the new release. This should have the same name as the release branch.

  4. Upload the release to PyPI. A nice set of instructions for this can be found in the Iris documentation.

  5. Uploading the release to PyPI should trigger an automatic pull request to the conda-forge/nc_time_axis-feedstock repository. Review this pull request, make changes if necessary, and then merge it.

  6. Ensure the documentation has been built properly on Read the Docs and that the new release is an “active version.”

  7. Update the Release notes page to include a blank section for the next release.

  8. Merge the release branch into main, but leave it available in case any point releases are needed.

  9. Only delete / archive this release branch once no more bug fixes are needed and the next minor release is being planned using a new branch.