Release guide

Release branches/channels

• Alpha - git branch: dev
• Beta - git branch: beta
• Stable - git branch: master

Alpha

The alpha channel is automatically released for every successful push to dev.

Beta

• If there is a pending Native Extension server change, publish the stage server, which updates https://build-stage.defold.com.

1. Merge dev into beta

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    $ git checkout beta
    $ git pull
    $ git merge dev
    $ git push
   

   Beta channel is automatically released for every successful push to beta.

2. Collect release notes using python scripts/releasenotes_github_projectv2.py and post on forum.defold.com and add the "BETA" tag to the headline

• Note: The release notes script requires a github access token to work correctly (https://github.com/settings/tokens). If the token is incorrect, you will likely get an error saying 'Unable to find GitHub project for version x.x.x'. Create a "classic" github token and add permissions to read projects. If the script still fails, you might need more permissions.

1. Bump version on dev:

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    $ git checkout dev
    $ ./scripts/build.py bump
    $ git diff
    $ git add VERSION
    $ git commit -m "Bumped version to X.Y.Z"
    $ git push
   

Update private repos

1. Also update the beta for the console platforms

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    $ cd defold-platform
    $ git checkout dev
    $ git pull
   
    $ git checkout beta
    $ git pull
    $ git merge dev
    $ git fetch upstream
    $ git merge upstream/beta
    $ git push
   

Stable

1. If there is a pending Native Extension server change, publish the production server, which updates https://build.defold.com

2. Switch to master branch, merge from beta:

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    $ git checkout master
    $ git pull
    $ git merge beta
   

3. Push master!

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    $ git push
   

   This will trigger a build of the engines and editors for stable. Make a note of the release sha1 (the latest commit to the master branch on GitHub)

   • The build will be tagged and published to S3 and to GitHub Releases

   • The refdoc will be updated in the defold.github.io repo

4. Merge master into dev:

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    $ git checkout dev
    $ git pull
    $ git merge master -m "Merged master into dev"
    $ git push
   

   After a successful build, the editors are published under the stable engine tag in GitHub Releases

5. Repost the releasenotes on the forum and remove the "BETA" part from the headline

6. Announce the Stable release in other channels:

• Twitter (https://x.com/defold)
• LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/53400322/admin/page-posts/published/?share=true)
• Discord (usually done by Amel)
• Telegram (usually done by Alexey)
• WebGameDev Discord Native Engines channel (https://discord.com/channels/1032873609280106566/1052862658954670120)
• Poki Discord (https://discord.com/channels/466173880751357963/940949540012433488)

Update private repos

1. Update the master branch for the console platforms

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    $ cd defold-platform
    $ git checkout beta
    $ git pull
    $ git checkout master
    $ git pull
    $ git merge beta
   
    $ git fetch upstream
    $ git merge upstream/master
    $ git push
   

2. Update the dev branch for the console platforms

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    $ cd defold-platform
    $ git checkout master
    $ git pull
    $ git checkout dev
    $ git pull
    $ git merge master
    $ git fetch upstream
    $ git merge upstream/dev
    $ git push
   

Release stable to other stores

• Steam - Follow instructions here.
• Epic Game Store - Follow instructions here.
• itch.io - Configured with an external link to the latest stable releases on GitHub