2.2. METplus Bugfix Release

Create a new vX.Y.Z bugfix release from the main_vX.Y branch.

2.2.1. Open Release Issue

Define a new issue in the METplus repository to create the new release.
- “Create the METplus vX.Y.Z release” for an official or bugfix release.
- “Create the METplus vX.Y.Z-betaN (or -rcN) release” for a development release.
For an official or development release, assign the issue to the corresponding METplus development project.
For a bugfix release, assign the issue to the organization level support project.
Select the target milestone.

2.2.2. Clone the Project Repository

Create and work in a new directory to ensure a fresh environment:

mkdir release-X.Y.Z
cd release-X.Y.Z

Run the clone command to obtain the repository.

Using SSH:

git clone git@github.com:dtcenter/METplus

Using HTTP:

git clone https://github.com/dtcenter/METplus

Enter the project repository directory:

cd METplus

2.2.3. Checkout the Main Branch

Checkout the main branch for the X.Y release. If you are creating the METplus-X.Y.Z official or bugfix release, checkout main_vX.Y.

git checkout main_vX.Y

2.2.4. Create Release Feature Branch

Create a feature branch in which to update the version number and add release notes being sure to include the GitHub issue number for the new release.

git checkout -b feature_NNNN_vX.Y.Z       # for an official or bugfix release
git checkout -b feature_NNNN_vX.Y.Z-betaN # for a development release
git checkout -b feature_NNNN_vX.Y.Z-rcN   # for a development release

2.2.5. Update Version Number for Release

Update the version number for the bugfix release:

The VERSION file is located in the metplus subdirectory.
If the current release is listed as X.Y.Z, the bugfix version should be X.Y.Z+1, i.e. if on 3.1.0 change to 3.1.1

2.2.6. Update Release Notes

You can refer to the GitHub Project board to see what has changed for this release. Open the following URL in a browser:

https://github.com/orgs/dtcenter/projects

Click on the project that corresponds to support for the release, i.e. METplus Version X.Y Support
Navigate to the “Closed Issues” tab. If this tab does not exist, see GitHub Projects to Manage Support to create it.
Find the closed issues with dtcenter/METplus in the Repository column that have been added since the last bugfix release for METplus.
Open the following URL in a browser:

https://github.com/dtcenter/METplus/issues

Navigate to the METplus X.Y.Z Milestone to check for any issues that may not appear in the METplus Version X.Y Support project board.
Update the release-notes.rst file found in the User’s Guide directory.
Consider organizing release notes into logical groups (e.g. Enhancements, Bugfixes, Documentation, etc.) and modifying GitHub issue titles for consistency. The release notes should match the GitHub issue titles, when possible.
Use your best judgement to apply bold formatting for any major or important changes.
When creating a bugfix release, leave the “Version X.Y.0 release notes (YYYYMMDD)” in place, along with any other bugfix release notes and add a section above for the latest bugfix release (i.e. “Version X.Y.Z release notes (YYYYMMDD)”).
Commit changes and push to GitHub.

2.2.7. Update DockerHub Info in Existing Builds

In docs/Users_Guide/existing_builds.rst, update the information under the DockerHub dropdown menu.
- Review the version numbers for the MET, METplus, and METplus Analysis DockerHub items and update them as needed.
- Update the “Last Updated:” information to include the release date, e.g. November 14, 2024.
- If you are creating a beta1 release, remove the text that says “- Coming Soon!” in the dropdown menu label.
Commit changes and push to GitHub.

2.2.8. Merge Release Issue

After updating the release-specific content on a release feature branch, submit a pull request to merge those changes back into the source branch.

2.2.9. Create Release on GitHub

Ensure that any and all dependent releases for METplus have been created according to Release Dependencies.
Go to Releases on GitHub and click ‘Draft a new release’
For ‘Choose a tag’, create a new tag based on the version, starting with ‘v’ (i.e. vX.Y.Z-betaN, vX.Y.Z-rcN, or vX.Y.Z)
Define the ‘Target’ branch as:
- ‘develop’ for a beta development release
- ‘main_vX.Y’ for a release candidate, bugfix, or official release
Define the ‘Release title’ based on the repository name and version, without a leading ‘v’ (i.e. METplus-X.Y.Z-betaN, METplus-X.Y.Z-rcN, or METplus-X.Y.Z)
Add a link to the release notes from the METplus User’s Guide, i.e. https://METplus.readthedocs.io/en/vX.Y.Z-betaN/Users_Guide/release-notes.html (Note: the URL will not be active until the release is created) Refer to a previous release to easily copy and modify this information.
Add links to the HTML and PDF versions of the METplus User’s Guide on ReadTheDocs. https://METplus.readthedocs.io/_/downloads/en/vX.Y.Z-betaN/pdf/ (Note: the URL will not be active until the release is created) Refer to a previous release to easily copy and modify this information.

Add link to METplus_Data and add a note to instruct users to use sub-directory corresponding to this release, i.e. v4.0) Refer to a previous release to easily copy and modify this information.
If this is a development release, check the box that says “This is a pre-release” and uncheck “Set as latest release”.
Click on “Publish release”.

2.2.10. Update DTC Website

METplus software releases are announced on the DTC website. Add or update information about software releases on the website.

Instructions

Navigate to https://dtcenter.org and sign in to the Drupal interface.
Navigate to the downloads page for the METplus repository at https://dtcenter.org/community-code/metplus/download
Click on the Edit button to edit the Downloads page.
Create a new Software Release for the newly released version by clicking on Add New Release.
- For Full Title of Release type “METplus Version X.Y.Z”.
- For Related Community Code select both the “METplus” and the “METplus Wrappers” options (For Macs, hold the Command key to select both).
- For Version Label type “METplus X.Y.Z-betaN”.
- Select the Release Type (“Recommended” for official or bugfix releases or “Development” for development versions).
- Enter the Release Date.
- Click on Add Code Download then click Add Link to add links for each of the following:
  - Add Link: The URL should be the release page that was just created under the GitHub Releases tab and the link text should be the name of the release (i.e. METplus X.Y.Z-betaN).
  - Add Link: Link text should be “User’s Guide” and the URL should be the top level directory of the User’s Guide hosted on the web. Beta releases can use “develop” in the URL, but for official releases, please ensure the link uses the branch name (e.g. main_vX.Y) as opposed to the tag name (e.g. vX.Y.Z). For example, use “https://metplus.readthedocs.io/en/main_vX.Y/Users_Guide/” and NOT “https://metplus.readthedocs.io/en/vX.Y.Z/Users_Guide/”
  - Add Link: Link text should be “Existing Builds and Docker” and the URL should be the latest Existing Builds page. Beta releases can use “develop” in the URL, but for rcN and official releases, please ensure the link uses the branch name (e.g. main_vX.Y). For example, use https://metplus.readthedocs.io/en/main_vX.Y/Users_Guide/release-notes.html#existing-builds
- In the Release Notes text box provide a direct link to the release-notes.html file in the User’s Guide.
- Click on Create Release.
- Update the existing releases, as needed.
  - For a development release, ensure the “Release Type” is set to Development and change any previous Development versions to Other.
  - For a bugfix or official release, change any previous Recommended versions to Other.
  - For an official release, remove the corresponding development releases.
- Edit the “Coordinated METplus Version X.Y” software release.
  - For a bugfix release, update the existing link and text in the “Coordinated METplus-X.Y” release section with the X.Y.Z+1 information.
- Make any other necessary website updates. For example, adding the User’s Guide to https://dtcenter.org/community-code/metplus/documentation
- Click on Save at the bottom of the page.

2.2.11. Update Version Lookup Table

Modify the version lookup table in the METplus repository to include the correct version.

2.2.12. Finalize Release on GitHub

Return to GitHub to finalize the details of this release.