Creating Apache Otava Release

[!TIP] This document is based on the release guide of Apache Flink project.

Introduction

The Otava community treats releases with great importance. They are a public face of the project and most users interact with the project only through the releases. Releases are signed off by the entire Otava community in a public vote. Each release is executed by a Release Manager, who is selected/proposed by the Otava PMC members. This document describes the process that the Release Manager follows to perform a release. Any changes to this process should be discussed and adopted on the dev@otava.apache.org mailing list.

Please remember, that the act of publishing software has both legal and policy significance. This guide complements the foundation-wide Product Release Policy and Release Distribution Policy.

Overview

What is in Apache Otava Release

Apache Otava release consists of:

Phases of the release

The release process consists of several steps:

  1. Decide to release
  2. Prepare for the release
  3. Build a release candidate
  4. Vote on the release candidate:
  • While we are in the ASF incubator program, voting has 2 phases: On the Otava project mailing list, then formally on the Incubator project list.
  1. If necessary, fix any issues and go back to step 3.
  2. Finalize the release
  3. Promote the release

Decide to release

Deciding to release and selecting a Release Manager is the first step of the release process. This is a consensus-based decision of the entire community. Anybody can propose a release on the dev@ mailing list, giving a solid argument and nominating a committer as the Release Manager (including themselves). There’s no formal process, no vote requirements, and no timing requirements. Any objections should be resolved by consensus before starting the release. In general, the community prefers to have a rotating set of 3-5 Release Managers. Keeping a small core set of managers allows enough people to build expertise in this area and improve processes over time, without Release Managers needing to re-learn the processes for each release. That said, if you are a committer interested in serving the community in this way, please reach out to the community on the dev@ mailing list.

Checklist to proceed to the next step

  1. Community agrees to release
  2. Community selects a Release Manager

Prepare for the release

Before your first release, you should perform one-time configuration steps. This will set up your security keys for signing the release and access to various release repositories.

One-time configuration

GPG Key

You need to have a GPG key to sign the release artifacts. Please be aware of the ASF-wide release signing guidelines. If you don’t have a GPG key associated with your Apache account, please create one according to the guidelines. Determine your Apache GPG Key and Key ID, as follows:

gpg --list-keys

This will list your GPG keys. One of these should reflect your Apache account, for example:

--------------------------------------------------
pub   2048R/845E6689 2016-02-23
uid                  Nomen Nescio <anonymous@apache.org>
sub   2048R/BA4D50BE 2016-02-23

Here, the key ID is the 8-digit hex string in the pub line: 845E6689. Now, add your Apache GPG key to the Otava's KEYS file in the release repository at dist.apache.org. Follow the instructions listed at the top of these files. (Note: Only PMC members have write access to the release repository. If you end up getting 403 errors ask on the mailing list for assistance.) PMC members can refer to the following scripts to add your Apache GPG key to the KEYS in the release repository.

svn co https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/release/incubator/otava otava-dist-release-repo
cd otava-dist-release-repo
(gpg --list-sigs <YOUR_KEY_ID> && gpg --armor --export <YOUR_KEY_ID>) >> KEYS
svn ci -m "[otava] Add <YOUR_NAME>'s public key"

Configure git to use this key when signing code by giving it your key ID, as follows:

git config --global user.signingkey 845E6689

You may drop the --global option if you’d prefer to use this key for the current repository only. You may wish to start gpg-agent to unlock your GPG key only once using your passphrase. Otherwise, you may need to enter this passphrase hundreds of times. The setup for gpg-agent varies based on operating system, but may be something like this:

eval $(gpg-agent --daemon --no-grab --write-env-file $HOME/.gpg-agent-info)
export GPG_TTY=$(tty)
export GPG_AGENT_INFO

PyPI

Create both PyPI and TestPyPI accounts. Then, ask PMC members to get added to Otava organization on both platforms.

Install twine if you don't have it already:

$ pip install twine

Dockerhub

Make sure you have a Dockerhub account. Create ASF INFRA issue to add your Dockerhub account to apache organization, otava team.

Checklist to proceed to the next step

  1. Release Manager’s GPG key is published to dist.apache.org
  2. Release Manager’s GPG key is configured in git configuration
  3. Release Manager's GPG key is configured as the default gpg key.
  4. Release Manager's PyPI and TestPyPI accounts are created and have access to apache-otava organizations on both platforms.
  5. Release Manager's Dockerhub account is created and has write access to apache/otava repository.

Build a release candidate

The core of the release process is the build-vote-fix cycle. Each cycle produces one release candidate. The Release Manager repeats this cycle until the community approves one release candidate, which is then finalized.

Set up ENV variables for convenience

export RELEASE_VERSION=...
export RELEASE_CANDIDATE=rc...

For example,

export RELEASE_VERSION=0.7.0
export RELEASE_CANDIDATE=rc1

Create new Github tag

git tag -a $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE -m "$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE"
git push origin $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE

Download sources from Github

mkdir -p release
wget -O release/apache-otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE-src.tar.gz https://github.com/apache/otava/archive/refs/tags/$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE.tar.gz

Build PyPI artifacts

uv build --no-create-gitignore
mv dist release/pypi

Create and verify signatures

Sign and verify signatures for source release candidate:

cd release
gpg --armor --output apache-otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE-src.tar.gz.asc --detach-sig apache-otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE-src.tar.gz
gpg --verify apache-otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE-src.tar.gz.asc apache-otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE-src.tar.gz

Sign and verify signatures for PyPI artifacts:

cd pypi
gpg --armor --output apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-py3-none-any.whl.asc --detach-sig apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-py3-none-any.whl
gpg --armor --output apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION.tar.gz.asc --detach-sig apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION.tar.gz

gpg --verify apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-py3-none-any.whl.asc apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-py3-none-any.whl
gpg --verify apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION.tar.gz.asc apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION.tar.gz

Create and verify checksums

Create and verify checksum for source release candidate:

cd release
sha512sum apache-otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE-src.tar.gz > apache-otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE-src.tar.gz.sha512

sha512sum --check apache-otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE-src.tar.gz.sha512

Create and verify checksums for PyPI artifacts:

cd pypi
sha512sum apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-py3-none-any.whl > apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-py3-none-any.whl.sha512
sha512sum apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION.tar.gz > apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION.tar.gz.sha512

sha512sum --check apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION.tar.gz.sha512
sha512sum --check apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-py3-none-any.whl.sha512

Publish Release Candidate

cp -r release ../otava-dist-release-repo/$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE
cd ../otava-dist-release-repo
svn add $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE/
svn ci -m "[otava] Add $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE"

Vote on the release candidate

Once you have built and individually reviewed the release candidate, please share it for the community-wide review. Please review foundation-wide voting guidelines for more information.

Start a vote on the project mailing list

Mailing list: dev@otava.apache.org Subject: [VOTE] Release Apache Otava (incubating) $RELEASE_VERSION-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE Here is a text template, please adjust as you see fit:

Hello everyone,

Please review and vote for the releasing Apache Otava (incubating) $RELEASE_VERSION-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE.

Changelog for this release candidate <>.
The official Apache source release has been deployed to https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/incubator/otava/$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE/.
GH tag for release https://github.com/apache/otava/releases/tag/$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE.
The release has been signed with a key <your-signature> available here https://downloads.apache.org/incubator/otava/KEYS.

Please download, verify, and test.

Please vote on releasing this candidate by replying with:
[ ] +1 Release this package
[ ] 0 No opinion
[ ] -1 Do not release (please provide reason)

To learn more about Apache Otava, please see https://otava.apache.org.

This vote will be open for at least 72 hours.

Checklist for reference:
[ ] Download links are valid.
[ ] Checksums and signatures.
[ ] LICENSE/NOTICE files exist.
[ ] No unexpected binary files.
[ ] All source files have ASF headers.
[ ] Can install from source.
[ ] Can run examples using all supported Python versions.

If there are any issues found in the release candidate, reply on the vote thread to cancel the vote. There’s no need to wait 72 hours. Proceed to the In case project or Incubator vote fails... section below and address the problem. However, some issues don’t require cancellation. For example, if an issue is found in the website pull request, just correct it on the spot and the vote can continue as-is.

For cancelling a release, the release manager needs to send an email to the release candidate thread, stating that the release candidate is officially cancelled. Next, all artifacts created specifically for the RC in the previous steps need to be removed:

  • Delete the staging repository in Nexus
  • Remove the source / binary RC files from dist.apache.org
  • Delete the source code tag in git

If there are no issues, reply on the vote thread to close the voting. Then, tally the votes in a separate email. Here’s an email template; please adjust as you see fit:

Mailing list: dev@otava.apache.org Subject: [RESULT][VOTE] Release Apache Otava (incubating) $RELEASE_VERSION-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE Text:

Hey everyone,

The vote to release Apache Otava (incubating) $RELEASE_VERSION-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE has passed with X +1 binding votes, Y +1 non-binding votes and 0 -1 votes.
Vote thread: <link-to-vote-thread-archive>.

In case project or Incubator vote fails...

  1. Create a result thread on the corresponding mailing list.

Subject: [RESULT][VOTE] Release Apache Otava (incubating) $RELEASE_VERSION-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE Sample text:

Hey everyone,

The vote to release Apache Otava (incubating) $RELEASE_VERSION-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE has failed with X -1 binding votes.

Vote thread: <link-to-vote-thread-archive>.
  1. Fix the issue.
  2. Increment RELEASE_CANDIDATE env variable.
  3. Repeat the steps above.

Start a vote on the Incubator mailing list

After the project vote passes, start a vote on the Incubator mailing list.

Mailing list: general@incubator.apache.org Subject: [VOTE] Release Apache Otava (incubating) $RELEASE_VERSION-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE Text template, please adjust as you see fit:

Hello,

This is a call for a vote to release Apache Otava (incubating) $RELEASE_VERSION-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE.

The vote thread: <link-to-the-project-vote-thread>
Vote result: <link-to-the-project-vote-result-thread>
Release candidate: https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/incubator/otava/$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE/
GH tag for release https://github.com/apache/otava/releases/tag/$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE.

The release has been signed with Key <your-signature>, corresponding to <your-apache-email> available here https://downloads.apache.org/incubator/otava/KEYS.

This vote will be open for at least 72 hours.

Checklist for reference:

[ ] Download links are valid.
[ ] Checksums and signatures.
[ ] LICENSE/NOTICE files exist
[ ] No unexpected binary files
[ ] All source files have ASF headers
[ ] Can install from source 
[ ] Can run examples using all supported Python versions

To learn more about Apache Otava, please see https://otava.apache.org.

Create Incubator vote result thread

Proceed only after Incubator vote succeeds. If the vote failed, see section In case project or Incubator vote fails... above.

Mailing list: general@incubator.apache.org Subject: [RESULT][VOTE] Release Apache Otava (incubating) $RELEASE_VERSION-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE Sample text:

Hello everyone,

The vote to release Apache Otava (incubating) $RELEASE_VERSION-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE has passed with X +1
binding and Y +1 non-binding votes, no -1 votes.

Binding +1 votes:
- ...
- ...

Non-Binding +1 votes:
- ...

Vote thread: <link-to-vote-thread>

We will proceed with publishing the approved artifacts and sending out the announcement soon.

Finalize the release

Once the release candidate has been reviewed and approved by the project and Incubator community, the release should be finalized. This involves the final deployment of the release candidate to the release repositories, merging of the website changes, etc.

Publish Source Release

In otava-dist-release-repo:

cp -r $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating
svn add $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating
svn ci -m "[otava] Add $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating"

Publish release tag on Github

git checkout $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE
git tag -a $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating -m "$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating"
git push origin $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating

Go to Github releases page and create a new release for the tag $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating.

Update the website download page

Update the list of releases on the website at https://otava.apache.org/docs/download to include the new release.

Publish PyPI artifacts

In svn release directory:

# Go to release pypi directory
cd  $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating/pypi

# Publish to Test PyPI
twine upload --verbose --repository testpypi apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-py3-none-any.whl apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION.tar.gz
# verify that test PyPI page looks good, then publish to real PyPi
twine upload --verbose  apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION-py3-none-any.whl apache_otava-$RELEASE_VERSION.tar.gz

Publish Docker Image

Ensure you have a multi-platform builder set up:

docker buildx create --name multiplatform --use || docker buildx use multiplatform

Log in to Dockerhub and build and push the multi-platform image:

docker login
RELEASE_VERSION=$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating uv run tox -e docker-push

Remove old release candidates from dist.apache.org

In otava-dist-release-repo:

svn rm $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE
svn ci -m "[otava] Remove $RELEASE_VERSION-incubating-$RELEASE_CANDIDATE"

Promote the release

Once the release has been finalized, the last step of the process is to promote the release within the project and beyond. Please wait for 1 hour after finalizing the release in accordance with the ASF release policy.

Send announcement email to project and incubator mailing lists

Mailing lists:

Subject: [ANNOUNCE] Apache Otava (incubating) version $RELEASE_VERSION released Text template:

Apache Otava (incubating) version $RELEASE_VERSION has been released.

Apache Otava is a command-line tool that detects and alerts about statistically significant changes in performance test results (more generally, time-series data) stored in CSV files or a number of supported databases.

A typical use-case of Otava is as follows:
1. A set of performance tests is scheduled repeatedly, such as after each commit is pushed.
2. The resulting metrics of the test runs are stored in a time series database (Graphite) or appended to CSV files.
3. Otava is launched by a Jenkins/Cron job (or an operator) to analyze the recorded metrics regularly.
4. Otava notifies about significant changes in recorded metrics by outputting text reports or sending Slack notifications.
5. Otava is capable of finding even small, but persistent shifts in metric values, despite noise in data. It adapts automatically to the level of noise in data and tries to notify only about persistent, statistically significant changes, be it in the system under test or in the environment.

Highlights of $RELEASE_VERSION release are:
- ...
- ...

$RELEASE_VERSION is available as:
- Source release https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/incubator/otava/$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating/
- Github release https://github.com/apache/otava/releases/tag/$RELEASE_VERSION-incubating
- PyPI https://pypi.org/project/apache-otava/
- Docker image https://hub.docker.com/r/apache/otava

Otava resources:
- Website: https://otava.apache.org/
- Issues: https://github.com/apache/otava/issues
- Mailing list: dev@otava.apache.org

<Your name>
On behalf of Apache Otava (incubating) Team

Social Media

Tweet, post on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other platforms. Ask other contributors to do the same.

Improve the process

It is important that we improve the release processes over time. Once you’ve finished the release, please take a step back and look what areas of this process and be improved. Perhaps some part of the process can be simplified. Perhaps parts of this guide can be clarified.

If we have specific ideas, please start a discussion on the dev@ mailing list and/or propose a pull request to update this guide.