Release Process

This is the release checklist for SeaORM release candidates.

1. Choose Version

Check the latest published SeaORM version:

cargo search sea-orm --limit 5
git tag --list '2.0.0-rc*' --sort=-v:refname | head

For a new release candidate, bump to the next 2.0.0-rc.N.

2. Start Clean

Release from master after the release PR has been merged and CI has passed.

git switch master
git pull --ff-only
git status --short

The worktree should be clean before starting.

3. Bump Versions

Run the bump script:

bash build-tools/bump.sh 2.0.0-rc.N

This creates two commits:

2.0.0-rc.N
update examples

The first commit bumps the publishable crate manifests:

• sea-orm
• sea-orm-codegen
• sea-orm-cli
• sea-orm-macros
• sea-orm-migration
• sea-orm-sync

The second commit bumps example sea-orm / sea-orm-migration dependency comments.

bump.sh detects GNU vs BSD sed, so it runs on both Linux and macOS.

4. Write Changelog

Create a release note file:

changelog/2.0.0-rc.N.md

Then link it from CHANGELOG.md under 2.0.0 - pending > Release Candidates.

The changelog should call out:

• user-facing features and fixes
• dependency upgrades
• MSRV changes
• compatibility notes
• expected behavior changes
• example or migration updates

Commit it separately:

git add CHANGELOG.md changelog/2.0.0-rc.N.md
git commit -m "Add changelog for 2.0.0-rc.N"

5. Validate Locally

Run the main workspace and the separate workspaces:

cargo check --workspace
cargo check --manifest-path sea-orm-cli/Cargo.toml
cargo check --manifest-path sea-orm-migration/Cargo.toml
cargo check --manifest-path sea-orm-sync/Cargo.toml

Known warnings are acceptable only if they already exist and are unrelated to the release.

6. Push and Wait for CI

Push master:

git push origin master

Wait for GitHub Actions to pass before publishing. Do not publish while CI is still running or red.

7. Publish Crates

After CI passes, run:

bash build-tools/publish.sh

The publish order is:

1. sea-orm-codegen
2. sea-orm-cli
3. sea-orm-macros
4. sea-orm
5. sea-orm-migration
6. sea-orm-sync

If crates.io indexing causes a dependent publish to fail, wait briefly and retry the failed crate.

8. Tag and GitHub Release

After publishing succeeds:

git tag 2.0.0-rc.N
git push origin 2.0.0-rc.N

Create a GitHub Release using changelog/2.0.0-rc.N.md as the release body.

8b. Release prebuilt sea-orm-cli binaries

The .github/workflows/sea-orm-cli-release.yml workflow builds prebuilt sea-orm-cli binaries and powers cargo binstall sea-orm-cli. It triggers on a separate tag namespace, sea-orm-cli@<version>, not the 2.0.0-rc.N release tag — so it does nothing unless that tag is pushed.

Create the tag as annotated, because the workflow's gh release create --notes-from-tag reads the tag's message (a lightweight tag yields empty notes):

git tag -a "[email protected]" -m "sea-orm-cli 2.0.0-rc.N"
git push origin "[email protected]"

The workflow then builds the 5 targets, attaches the archives to a draft release, and publishes it. Confirm the assets appear on the [email protected] release and that cargo binstall sea-orm-cli resolves.

9. Verify

Confirm crates.io shows the new versions:

cargo search sea-orm --limit 5
cargo search sea-orm-cli --limit 5
cargo search sea-orm-migration --limit 5
cargo search sea-orm-sync --limit 5

Also check that docs.rs builds have started or completed.