Add release template file to releases/ directory. The template is defined by containerd's release tool. Name the file using the version, for rc add an -rc suffix. See https://github.com/containerd/containerd/tree/master/cmd/containerd-release
Update the .mailmap files.
Update the version file: https://github.com/docker/distribution/blob/master/version/version.go
Create a signed tag.
Choose a tag for the next release, distribution uses semantic versioning and expects tags to be formatted as vx.y.z[-rc.n]. Run the release tool using the release template file and tag to generate the release notes for the tag and Github release. To create the tag, you will need PGP installed and a PGP key which has been added to your Github account. The comment for the tag will be the generate release notes, always compare with previous tags to ensure the output is expected and consistent. Run git tag --cleanup=whitespace -s vx.y.z[-rc.n] -F release-notes to create tag and git -v vx.y.z[-rc.n] to verify tag, check comment and correct commit hash.
Push the signed tag
Create a new release. In the case of a release candidate, tick the pre-release checkbox. Use the generate release notes from the release tool
Update the registry binary in the distribution library image repo by running the update script and opening a pull request.
Update the official image. Add the new version in the official images repo by appending a new version to the registry/registry file with the git hash pointed to by the signed tag. Update the major version to point to the latest version and the minor version to point to new patch release if necessary. e.g. to release 2.3.1
2.3.1 (new)
2.3.0 -> 2.3.0 can be removed
2 -> 2.3.1
2.3 -> 2.3.1