See the release schedule.

Requirements

Packages

To release Tails you'll need some packages installed:

• docker.io gitlab-cli jq tidy mktorrent python3-bs4 python3-debian python3-gitlab python3-jinja2 python3-voluptuous transmission-cli
• squashfs-tools 1:4.4-1+0.tails1 from our custom iukbuilder-stretch APT suite.
• perl5lib dependencies
• iuk dependencies
• po4a 0.55: different versions extract Markdown headings in a different way, which makes tons of strings fuzzy.
• i18nspector 0.26 or newer
• packages to build a local version of the website

Configuration files

To release Tails you need:

• ~/.python-gitlab.cfg

  You need at least this content:

    [global]
    ssl_verify = true
  
    [TailsRM]
    url = https://gitlab.tails.boum.org
    per_page = 100
    private_token = XXX
  
    [Tails]
    url = https://gitlab.tails.boum.org
    per_page = 100
    private_token = XXX
  

  Then:

  • In the TailsRM section, set the value of the private_token option to the role-release-automation GitLab user's API token, which you'll find in rm.git's keyringer.

  • In the Tails section, set the value of the private_token option to a GitLab API token for your own user.

• ~/.config/tails/release_management/local.yml

  If you have no such file yet, copy config/release_management/examples/local.yml there and adjust to your local environment.

Environment

To be able to copy'n'paste the code snippets found on this page, you need to set a bunch of environment variables.

Generate the base environment

1. To generate the ~/.config/tails/release_management/current.yml template, run:

    ./bin/rm-config generate-boilerplate
   

2. Edit ~/.config/tails/release_management/current.yml and replace FIXME:s:

     "${EDITOR:?}" ~/.config/tails/release_management/current.yml
   

3. Generate the resulting environment variables and export them into your environment:

    . $(./bin/rm-config generate-environment)
   

Notes

• Unless the release process explicitly instructs you to change the value of one such variable, treat it as a constant: else, inconsistency will surely arise, which can cause trouble later on.
• Regarding version numbers, what follows supports just fine the case when we do something else than alternating bugfix and major releases consistently. For example, if the next two releases are bugfix ones, do not set $NEXT_PLANNED_MAJOR_VERSION to one of these bugfix releases. Instead, set it to the version number of the next major release.
• The $NEXT*VERSION constants are used only for two types of operations: preparing upgrade-description files and adding changelog entries. This two types of operations have to be consistent with each other: for example, if one adds a dummy entry for version X in a changelog, an UDF must exist for version X as well… hence the use of shared constants to encode the values that must be the same on both sides :)

Pre-freeze

Check the Release Manager role

Check the release manager role documentation: it has more tasks that should be done early enough.

Coordinate with Debian security updates

Look at the list of upcoming Debian Security Advisories (DSA) found in the Debian security tracker's Git repository.

Rationale: we don't want to release Tails ISO's and learn 2 days later about important security issues fixed by Debian security updates. In some cases, it may be worth delaying a Tails release a bit, while waiting for a DSA to happen.

Sanity check

Visit the Jenkins RM view and check that the jobs for the release branch have good enough results:

• the last build and reproducibility testing builds have succeeded;
• look at the last build of the relevant test_Tails_ISO_* job; if anything looks unusual or fishy, check the few previous builds to see if it's a one-off robustness issue, a serious regression, or what not.

Freeze

Major release

Skip this if you're preparing the images for a final (non-RC) major release.

If we are at freeze time for a major release (i.e. preparing its release candidate):

1. Merge the master Git branch into devel:

    git checkout devel && git fetch origin && git merge origin/devel && git merge --no-ff origin/master
   

2. Merge each APT overlay suite listed in the devel branch's config/APT_overlays.d/ into the devel APT suite:

    ./bin/merge-APT-overlays devel
   

3. Merge the devel Git branch into the testing one:

    git checkout testing && git merge origin/testing && git merge devel
   

   ... and check that the resulting config/APT_overlays.d/ in the testing branch is empty.

4. Hard reset the testing custom APT suite to the current state of the devel one:

    ./bin/reset-custom-APT-suite testing devel
   

5. Freeze the time-based APT repository snapshots that shall be used during the code freeze, and those used by our builder VM:

    ./bin/freeze-all-APT-snapshots
   

6. Make it so the time-based APT repository snapshots are kept around long enough, by bumping their Valid-Until half a year from now:

    git checkout "$RELEASE_BRANCH" && \
    ./bin/bump-APT-snapshots-expiration-date 183
   

Bugfix release

If we are at freeze time for a bugfix release:

1. Merge the master Git branch into stable:

    git checkout stable && git fetch && git merge origin/stable && git merge --no-ff origin/master
   

2. Merge each APT overlay suite listed in the stable branch's config/APT_overlays.d/ into the stable APT suite:

    ./bin/merge-APT-overlays stable
   

Common steps for bugfix and major releases

Reset the release branch's config/base_branch:

    echo "${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}" > config/base_branch && \
       git commit config/base_branch \
           -m "Restore ${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}'s base branch."

Bootstrap manual testing coordination:

1. Create a pad.
2. Set the PAD environment variable to the URL of this pad.
3. Copy the manual test suite into this pad.

4. Generate boilerplate for the call for manual testing:

    ./bin/generate-call-for-manual-testers \
       --pad "${PAD:?}" \
       --version "${VERSION:?}"
   

5. Send the call for manual testing:

   • encrypt and sign your email
   • use the headers and body generated above

Update included files

Upgrade Tor Browser

If you did not import the new Tor Browser yet, do so now.

Update PO files

Pull updated translations for languages translated in Transifex, refresh the code PO files, and commit the result, including new PO files:

cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
./import-translations  && \
./refresh-translations && \
./submodules/jenkins-tools/slaves/lint_po && \
git add po && git commit -m 'Update PO files.'

If lint_po complains:

• rollback the offending PO files and retry; worst case, delete it
• send a note to tails-l10n@boum.org [public] so that they get in touch with whoever can fix them.

When preparing an actual release

If we're about to prepare the images for a final (non-RC) release, then follow these instructions:

Major release

Merge each APT overlay suite listed in the testing branch's config/APT_overlays.d/ into the testing custom APT suite:

    ./bin/merge-APT-overlays testing

Bugfix release

Merge each APT overlay suite listed in the stable branch's config/APT_overlays.d/ into the stable custom APT suite:

    ./bin/merge-APT-overlays stable

Update other base branches

1. Merge the release branch into devel:

    ./bin/merge-main-branch "${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}" devel
   

2. Thaw, on the devel branch, the time-based APT repository snapshots being used during the freeze:

    git checkout devel && \
    ./auto/scripts/apt-snapshots-serials thaw && \
    git commit \
        -m "Thaw APT snapshots." \
        config/APT_snapshots.d/*/serial || :
   

   It's fine if that results in a no-op (it depends on how exactly previous operations were performed).

3. Try to merge the devel Git branch into feature/bullseye (if it exists), without merging the corresponding APT suite (for now feature/bullseye is handled as any other topic branch forked off devel: its base branch is set to devel):

    if git describe feature/bullseye >/dev/null 2>&1; then
       git checkout feature/bullseye && \
       git pull && \
       git merge devel
    fi
   

   If the merge conflicts don't look like something you feel confident resolving properly, abort this merge and let the Foundations Team know.

4. Ensure that the release, devel and feature/bullseye (if it exists) branches have the expected content in config/APT_overlays.d/: e.g. it must not list any overlay APT suite that has been merged already.

5. Push the modified branches to Git:

    git push origin                          \
       "${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}:${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}" \
       $(if git describe feature/bullseye >/dev/null 2>&1; then echo feature/bullseye:feature/bullseye ; fi) \
       devel:devel
   

Update more included files

Changelog

If debian/changelog on $RELEASE_BRANCH has an UNRELEASED entry for a version lower than $VERSION, remove it.

Update the Changelog entry for the release you're preparing:

git checkout "${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}" && \
./bin/update-changelog --version "${MILESTONE:?}"

Then, gather other useful information from the diff between the previous version's .packages file and the one from the to-be-released images; look for:

• new upstream releases of applications mentioned in features
• new upstream releases of other important components such as the Linux kernel

Finally, sanity check the version, commit, and push:

if [ "$(dpkg-parsechangelog -SVersion)" = "${VERSION:?}" ]; then
    git commit debian/changelog -m "Update changelog for ${VERSION:?}."
else
    echo 'Error: version mismatch: please compare ${VERSION:?} with the last entry in debian/changelog'
fi && \
git push origin "${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}"

Notify technical writers on the GitLab issue about the release notes that the changelog is ready.

Included website

./bin/prepare-included-website-for-release

While the website is building, if this is not a good time for taking a break, you can follow the "Enable OpenPGP signing" instructions.

Enable OpenPGP signing

If you have an OpenPGP smart card

If you have an OpenPGP smart card with a Tails signing subkey, go fetch it.

Only plug it when gpg asks you to.

Otherwise: importing the signing key

This is only relevant when the master key has been reassembled, e.g. for signing a Tails emergency release where none of the usual release managers are available.

You should never import the Tails signing key into your own keyring, and a good practice is to import it to a tmpfs to limit the risks that the private key material is written to disk:

export GNUPGHOME=$(mktemp -d)
sudo mount -t ramfs ramfs "${GNUPGHOME:?}"
sudo chown $(id -u):$(id -g) "${GNUPGHOME:?}"
sudo chmod 0700 "${GNUPGHOME:?}"
gpg --homedir ${HOME:?}/.gnupg --export ${TAILS_SIGNATURE_KEY:?} | gpg --import
gpg --import path/to/private-key

Let's also ensure that strong digest algorithms are used for our signatures, like the defaults we set in Tails:

cp config/chroot_local-includes/etc/skel/.gnupg/gpg.conf "${GNUPGHOME:?}"

Build the almost-final images

1. Build ISO and USB images from the release branch, with $TAILS_BUILD_OPTIONS set like this:

   • Set defaultcomp, so we can more accurately optimize our SquashFS file ordering.
   • Do not set keeprunning nor rescue.

2. Keep the resulting build artifacts until the end of this release process.

3. Record where the manifest of needed packages is stored:

   1. To update the ~/.config/tails/release_management/current.yml template with newly required variables, run:

      ./bin/rm-config generate-boilerplate --stage built-almost-final

   2. Edit ~/.config/tails/release_management/current.yml and replace FIXME:s:

      "${EDITOR:?}" ~/.config/tails/release_management/current.yml

   3. Generate the resulting environment variables and export them into your environment:

      . $(./bin/rm-config generate-environment --stage built-almost-final)

Tag the release in Git

git tag -u "${TAILS_SIGNATURE_KEY:?}" \
  -m "tagging version ${VERSION:?}" "${TAG:?}" && \
git push origin "${TAG:?}" "${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}"

Known limitations:

• Pushing the tag is needed so that the APT repository is updated, and the Tails APT configuration works at build and boot time. It might be premature, as testing might reveal critical issues, but this is a signed tag, so it can be overridden later.

• From this push of a tag, the release branch will fail to build because the last changelog entry is unreleased but corresponds to an existing tag. Don't worry about it, this will be fixed shortly.

Prepare the versioned APT suites

Versioned APT suite in our custom APT repository

Within a few minutes after pushing the new release's Git tag, a cronjob creates a new APT suite in our custom APT repository. This new APT suite is called $TAG and is initially empty.

Wait for this APT suite to be created and initialize it with the packages currently found in the APT suite corresponding to the branch used to prepare the release:

  while ! ssh reprepro@incoming.deb.tails.boum.org reprepro list "${TAG:?}" >/dev/null 2>&1; do
     sleep 5
  done && \
  ssh reprepro@incoming.deb.tails.boum.org \
     tails-merge-suite "$RELEASE_BRANCH" "$TAG"

Tagged snapshots of upstream APT repositories

Create tagged snapshots of upstream APT repositories:

  ./bin/tag-apt-snapshots "${ALMOST_FINAL_BUILD_MANIFEST:?}" "${TAG:?}"

Note:

• This command takes a while (about a dozen minutes). While it's running, if you don't feel the need to take a break, you can proceed with the "SquashFS file order" section below.
• It's expected that the packages that were pulled from our custom APT repository are listed under "some packages were not found anywhere" (because we are currently not using time-based snapshots for our custom APT repository). However, no other package should be on that list. Now, we have a "safety" net, in case you don't notice such a problem: if other packages are missing, the next build (that will use the newly created partial, tagged APT repository) will fail.

Build images

Sanity check

Verify that the Tor Browser release used in Tails still is the most recent. Also look if there's a new -buildX tag (e.g. tor-browser-60.3.0esr-8.0-1-build1) for the Firefox version the Tor Browser we want to ship is based on in these Git repositories:

• https://gitweb.torproject.org/builders/tor-browser-build.git (maint-X.Y-desktop branch)
• https://gitweb.torproject.org/tor-browser.git

A new tag may indicate that a new Tor Browser release or rebuild is imminent.

Better catch this before people spend time doing manual tests.

SquashFS file order

1. Install the almost-final USB image to a USB stick.
2. Boot this USB stick a first time to trigger re-partitioning.
3. Shut down this Tails.
4. If possible, set up a wired connection to avoid having to deal with wireless settings.
5. Boot this USB stick on bare metal again.
6. Add profile to the kernel command-line.
7. Login with the default settings in the Welcome Screen (e.g. do not configure an Administration Password).
8. Unless you've set up a wired connection, connect to Wi-Fi.
9. Wait for the "Tor is ready" notification.
10. Start Tor Browser.
11. A few minutes later, once the boot-profile process has been killed, retrieve the new sort file from /var/log/boot-profile.
12. Backup the old sort file: cp config/binary_rootfs/squashfs.sort{,.old}
13. Copy the new sort file to config/binary_rootfs/squashfs.sort.

14. To remove:

    • runtime-generated files that don't exist in the rootfs, in order to avoid confusing noise in the build output
    • the bits about kill-boot-profile at the end: they're only useful when profiling the boot
    • some hardware-dependent files

    Run this command:

        ./bin/clean-squashfs-sort-file config/binary_rootfs/squashfs.sort
    

15. Inspect the Git diff (including diff stat), apply common sense:

     diff -NaurB \
         <( cut -d' ' -f1 config/binary_rootfs/squashfs.sort.old | sort ) \
         <( cut -d' ' -f1 config/binary_rootfs/squashfs.sort     | sort ) \
         | less
    

16. git commit -m 'Updating SquashFS sort file' config/binary_rootfs/squashfs.sort

17. Clean up: rm -f config/binary_rootfs/squashfs.sort.old

Build the final images

Then all included files should be up-to-date and the versioned APT suite should be ready, so it is time to:

1. Mark the version as "released" in the changelog:

    dch --release --no-force-save-on-release --maintmaint && \
    git commit -m "Mark Tails ${VERSION:?} as released." debian/changelog
   

2. Export SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH:

    export SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH=$(date --utc --date="$(dpkg-parsechangelog --show-field=Date)" '+%s')
   

3. tag the release again, with all included files in:

    git tag -f -u "${TAILS_SIGNATURE_KEY:?}" \
            -m "tagging version ${VERSION:?}" "${TAG:?}" && \
    git push --force origin "${TAG:?}" && \
    git push origin "${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}"
   

4. build the final images! Do not set keeprunning nor rescue in $TAILS_BUILD_OPTIONS. Our build system will apply the correct compression settings automatically so don't bother setting it yourself.

5. Make sure the Jenkins build starts.

6. Compare the new build manifest with the one from the previous, almost-final build:

    diff -Naur \
       "${ALMOST_FINAL_BUILD_MANIFEST:?}" \
       "${ARTIFACTS:?}/tails-amd64-${VERSION:?}.build-manifest"
   

   They should be identical, except that the debian-security serial might be higher.

Verify that Jenkins reproduced your images

To verify that Jenkins reproduced your images:

1. Visit the URL printed by this command:

   echo "https://jenkins.tails.boum.org/job/build_Tails_ISO_${RELEASE_BRANCH}/"
   

2. Find the relevant build (probably the last one) and compare the SHA512 hashes of the ISO and USB images built by Jenkins (in the tails-build-artifacts.shasum build artifact) with the ones of the images you built.

3. Then:

   • If the ISO and USB images hashes match: yay, we're good to go! The .build-manifest may differ — that's OK. Then:

     1. To update the ~/.config/tails/release_management/current.yml template with newly required variables, run:

        ./bin/rm-config generate-boilerplate --stage reproduced-images
        

     2. Edit ~/.config/tails/release_management/current.yml and set the matching_jenkins_images_build_id value to the ID of this job (an integer):

        "${EDITOR:?}" ~/.config/tails/release_management/current.yml
        

     3. Generate the resulting environment variables and export them into your environment:

        . $(./bin/rm-config generate-environment --stage reproduced-images)
        

   • If there is a hash mismatch for one of the images: ouch! Now we are in a tricky situation: on the one hand it seems like a poor idea to block users from benefiting from this release's security updates, but on the other hand the failure might imply that something nefarious is going on. At this stage, no matter what, immediately fetch Jenkins' image, compare it with your, and try to rule out build system compromise:

      sudo diffoscope \
          --text diffoscope.txt \
          --html diffoscope.html \
          --max-report-size 262144000 \
          --max-diff-block-lines 10000 \
          --max-diff-input-lines 10000000 \
              path/to/your/tails-amd64-${VERSION:?}.iso \
              path/to/jenkins/tails-amd64-${VERSION:?}.iso
     

     Do the same for the USB image as well.

     Then carefully investigate the diffoscope report:

     • If you cannot rule out that the difference is harmful: let's take a step back; we might be compromised, so we are in no position to release. Halt the release, involve the rest of tails@boum.org, and then try to re-establish trust in all build machines and infra involved, etc. Have fun!

     • Otherwise, if the change is definitely harmless:

       • If the source of non-determinism is identified quickly and is easy and fast to fix, and the QA of the current images has not gone very far (so at least that time is not wasted), then you should consider abandoning the current version, and immediately start preparing an emergency release with:

         • the reproducibility fix,
         • a new changelog entry,
         • adjustments to the release notes so they are re-purposed for this emergency release (the abandoned release gets none, since it effectively never will be released publicly).

       • Otherwise, if the fix looks time-consuming or difficult, let's release anyway. But let's add a known issue about "This Tails release does not build reproducibility" to the release notes, linking to the issue where the nature of the reproducibility failure is clearly described.

Initialize the website release branch

From now on, we don't want to push new commits on $RELEASE_BRANCH until the new release is out. Otherwise, this would break its build and the build of every branch based on it, which would effectively block other development work. So the final steps towards publishing the release will be done in a new, dedicated branch.

If preparing anything but a final release (e.g. an alpha, beta or RC):

    git checkout -b "${WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH:?}" origin/master && \
    git push -u origin "${WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH:?}"

Else, if preparing a final release:

    git checkout -b "${WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH:?}" "${TAG:?}" && \
    git push -u origin "${WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH:?}"

Generate the OpenPGP signatures and Torrents

Create a directory with a suitable name, go there, move the built images to this brand new directory, generate detached OpenPGP signatures for the images to be published (in the same directory as the images and with a .sig extension), then go up to the parent directory, create a .torrent file and check the generated .torrent files metadata:

./bin/generate-images-signatures-and-torrents

Prepare incremental upgrades

Since Tails 4.2, we use a new upgrade scheme, which fundamentally changes what the source version number of an upgrade means: it's now the version that was initially installed and not the currently running version. For details, see the corresponding design documentation.

Sanity checks

Check that you have the correct version of squashfs-tools installed:

[ "$(dpkg-query --showformat '${Version}\n' --show squashfs-tools)" \
  = '1:4.4-1+0.tails1' \
] || echo 'ERROR! Your squashfs-tools is not the required version, so any generated IUKs will *not* be reproducible!'

Check that you have the password for https://iso-history.tails.boum.org (it will be used by wrap_tails_create_iuks below, in order to download any ISO that is not present locally yet):

if ! grep -F --line-regexp -qs 'machine iso-history.tails.boum.org' ~/.netrc; then
    echo "ERROR! Add a section for iso-history.tails.boum.org' to your ~/.netrc"
    echo "The corresponding login and password are in the RMs' keyringer."
fi

Build the Incremental Upgrade Kits locally

Verify there's enough free disk space in $IUKS_DIR:

MIN_DISK_SPACE=15000
FREE_DISK_SPACE=$(/bin/df --block-size=M --output=avail "${IUKS_DIR:?}" \
   | tail -n1 | sed --regexp-extended 's,M$,,')
if [ "$FREE_DISK_SPACE" -lt "$MIN_DISK_SPACE" ]; then
   echo "ERROR! Not enough free space in ${IUKS_DIR:?}"
fi

If you can build the IUKs on your host system, run this command:

(
   set -eu
   WORK_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
   TAILS_REMOTE="$(git -C "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT?:}" remote get-url origin)"
   PUPPET_TAILS_REMOTE=$(echo -n "${TAILS_REMOTE?:}" | perl -p -E 's,:tails/tails(?:[.]git)?\z,:tails/puppet-tails,')
   cd "${WORK_DIR?:}"
   git clone "$PUPPET_TAILS_REMOTE"
   time                                                                   \
   sudo                                                                   \
   ./puppet-tails/files/jenkins/slaves/isobuilders/wrap_tails_create_iuks \
       --tails-git-remote "file://${RELEASE_CHECKOUT?:}/.git"             \
       --tails-git-commit "${TAG?:}"                                      \
       --source-date-epoch "${SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH?:}"                       \
       --local-isos-dir "${ISOS?:}"                                       \
       --tmp-dir "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"                                        \
       --output-dir "${IUKS_DIR?:}"                                       \
       --source-versions "${IUK_SOURCE_VERSIONS?:}"                       \
       --new-version "${VERSION?:}"                                       \
       --verbose                                                          \
       --jobs "$(grep '^core id' /proc/cpuinfo | sort -u | wc -l)"
)

Else, if you need to build them in a VM (assuming you can SSH into it, as a user with passwordless sudo access, with ssh buster-rm; and tails/puppet-tails is cloned in the $HOME of that user in the VM), run:

(
   set -eu
   WORK_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
   ssh buster-rm <<EOF
   mkdir -p "${WORK_DIR:?}" && \
   cd "${WORK_DIR?:}" && \
   time \
   sudo \
   ~/puppet-tails/files/jenkins/slaves/isobuilders/wrap_tails_create_iuks \
       --tails-git-remote "file://${RELEASE_CHECKOUT?:}/.git"             \
       --tails-git-commit "${TAG?:}"                                      \
       --source-date-epoch "${SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH?:}"                       \
       --local-isos-dir "${ISOS?:}"                                       \
       --tmp-dir "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"                                        \
       --output-dir "${IUKS_DIR?:}"                                       \
       --source-versions "${IUK_SOURCE_VERSIONS?:}"                       \
       --new-version "${VERSION?:}"                                       \
       --verbose                                                          \
       --jobs "$(grep '^core id' /proc/cpuinfo | sort -u | wc -l)"
   EOF
)

In any case, run:

 cd "${IUKS_DIR?:}" && \
 sha256sum Tails_amd64_*_to_${VERSION?:}.iuk > "${IUKS_HASHES?:}"

Take note of the time output above and add it to the table in #17750.

This command takes a long time. In parallel, while it is running, you can follow the next steps:

• ISO history
• Build the Incremental Upgrade Kits on Jenkins

ISO history

Push the released ISO and USB images and their artifacts (.buildlog, .build-manifest, and .packages files) to our Tails ISO history git-annex repo, so that:

• The Jenkins build_IUKs job can fetch them.
• Our isotesters can fetch them from there for their testing.

Make sure that Jenkins has finished building so you have set MATCHING_JENKINS_IMAGES_BUILD_ID (see above), then run:

cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
./bin/add-release-to-iso-history \
    --version "${VERSION:?}" \
    --isos "${ISOS:?}" \
    --release-branch "${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}" \
    --matching-jenkins-images-build-id "${MATCHING_JENKINS_IMAGES_BUILD_ID:?}"

Then, wait (a few minutes, */15 crontab) until the images appear on https://iso-history.tails.boum.org/?C=M&O=D.

While waiting, you can prepare the build_IUKs job and build in the next section. But do not click Build until the images have appeared in the ISO history.

Build the Incremental Upgrade Kits on Jenkins

1. Make sure the push to ISO history (started in the previous section) has finished, and that images have appeared on the web server: https://iso-history.tails.boum.org/

2. On https://jenkins.tails.boum.org/job/build_IUKs/configure, adjust the SOURCE_VERSION axis to list all versions in $IUK_SOURCE_VERSIONS, and save the updated configuration.

3. On https://jenkins.tails.boum.org/job/build_IUKs/build?delay=0sec, fill the form with these values:

   • TAILS_GIT_COMMIT: the value of $TAG in your release environment
   • SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH: the value of $SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH in your release environment
   • NEW_VERSION: the value of $VERSION in your release environment
   • EXTRA_ARGS: leave it blank

4. Click the Build button

5. After a few seconds, a new build appears on top of the Build History sidebar. Click on the progress bar of this new build.

6. Record the ID of the candidate Jenkins build_IUKs build:

   1. To update the ~/.config/tails/release_management/current.yml template with newly required variables, run:

      ./bin/rm-config generate-boilerplate --stage built-iuks
      

   2. Edit ~/.config/tails/release_management/current.yml and set the candidate_jenkins_iuks_build_id value to the ID of that build_IUKs build (an integer):

      "${EDITOR:?}" ~/.config/tails/release_management/current.yml
      

   3. Generate the resulting environment variables and export them into your environment:

      . $(./bin/rm-config generate-environment --stage built-iuks)
      

7. Wait until the build_IUKs build completes successfully. It should take about 10-15 minutes for each member of the $IUK_SOURCE_VERSIONS list, distributed across isobuilderN workers.

8. Add the time it took for build_IUKs to the table of #17750.

Verify that Jenkins reproduced your IUKs

"${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}"/bin/copy-iuks-to-rsync-server-and-verify \
   --hashes-file "${IUKS_HASHES:?}" \
   --work-dir /srv/tmp \
   --jenkins-build-id "${CANDIDATE_JENKINS_IUKS_BUILD_ID:?}"

If this verification succeeds, move on to the next section.

Else, if this verification fails, then:

1. Visit this page: https://jenkins.tails.boum.org/job/build_IUKs/lastBuild/parameters/

   It tells you which parameters you've passed to the upstream Jenkins job, which spawned the many workers. Make sure to use the build history browser to find the right build_IUKs job in case there were several attempts; the URL above assumes the last build is what you're interested in (see lastBuild part).

2. Double-check that you've passed the correct parameters.

   If you notice you made a mistake, build the IUKs on Jenkins again, and do the verification again.

   Else, if the parameters where correct, then follow the next steps.

3. Leave the IUKs built by Jenkins in rsync.lizard:/srv/tmp: at least in some cases, this will speed up uploading your own IUKs later by a 500+ factor, thanks to rsync --partial --inplace.

4. File an issue about this problem.

   Specify:

   • Which set of parameters you've passed to the build_IUKs job, so that the person who'll investigate the problem can reproduce it.
   • The ID of the build that failed to reproduce your locally-built IUKs.

5. Later on, after you're done with OpenPGP signing, you will upload the IUKs you've built locally.

Prepare upgrade-description files

1. Prepare upgrade-description files (see the upgrade-description files specification for details).

   In most cases the example command below is exactly the one you should run. But in order to tell whether you're in one of the exceptional cases when you have to adjust that command, it's important that you understand what follows.

   At this step, we use the tails-iuk-generate-upgrade-description-files tool in order to:

   1. Create a new upgrade-description for the version being released and for the next one, that expresses that no upgrade is available for these ones yet.

      This is what the --version and --next_version arguments in the example command below do. You do not need to modify them.

   2. For every recent previous release that's not listed in $IUK_SOURCE_VERSIONS (i.e. those based on an older Debian release): tell the users of that old version they need to manually upgrade to the version being released.

      To do so, pass this previous version to --previous_version. You need to do this manually as the example command below won't do it automatically.

   Run this command, after adjusting it if needed as explained above:

    ${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}/config/chroot_local-includes/usr/src/iuk/bin/tails-iuk-generate-upgrade-description-files \
        --version "${VERSION:?}" \
        $( \
            if [ "${DIST:?}" = stable ]; then
                echo \
                    --next_version "${NEXT_PLANNED_MAJOR_VERSION:?}" \
                    --next_version "${NEXT_PLANNED_MAJOR_VERSION:?}~rc1" \
                    --next_version "${NEXT_PLANNED_BUGFIX_VERSION:?}" \
                    --next_version "${NEXT_POTENTIAL_EMERGENCY_VERSION:?}"
            else
                echo \
                    --next_version "${NEXT_PLANNED_MAJOR_VERSION:?}" \
                    --next_version "${SECOND_NEXT_PLANNED_MAJOR_VERSION:?}"
            fi
        ) \
        $( \
            for version in $(echo ${IUK_SOURCE_VERSIONS:?}); do
               echo "--previous_version ${version:?}"
            done \
        ) \
        --iso "${ISO_PATH:?}" \
        --iuks "${IUKS_DIR:?}" \
        --release_checkout "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}" \
        --major_release "${MAJOR_RELEASE:?}" \
        --channel "${DIST:?}"
   

2. Create an armoured detached signature for each created or modified upgrade-description file.

    ./bin/sign-updated-udfs
   

3. Add and commit the upgrade-description files and their detached signatures to the Git branch used to prepare the release ($WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH):

    cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
    git add wiki/src/upgrade && \
    git commit -m "Update upgrade-description files." && \
    git push origin ${WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH:?}
   

4. Copy the generated UDF for the previous stable release to the test channel in $MASTER_CHECKOUT, modify their content accordingly, sign them, commit and push:

    ./bin/publish-test-udfs
   

Prepare the image description file for the download verification

If preparing a RC, skip this part.

Update the image description file (IDF) used by the verification JavaScript:

cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT?:}" && \
./bin/idf-content \
   --version "${VERSION:?}" \
   --iso "${ISO_PATH:?}" \
   --img "${IMG_PATH:?}" \
   > wiki/src/install/v2/Tails/amd64/stable/latest.json && \
git add wiki/src/install/v2/Tails/amd64/stable/latest.json && \
git commit -m "Update IDF for download verification" && \
git push origin "${WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH:?}"

Done with OpenPGP signing

Unplug your OpenPGP smartcard and store it away, so you don't plug it back semi-mechanically later on.

Beware! If your have to plug your OpenPGP smart card or reassemble the key again after this point it invalidates everything done for the reproduction of this release so it has to be started from the beginning:

• the original text is restored on the pad, and
• some tester follows it from scratch, and
• the Trusted Reproducer follows awaits the new input from said tester and then starts from scratch.

So please try to avoid this!

Upload images

Sanity check

Verify once more that the Tor Browser we ship is still the most recent (see above).

Delete obsolete IUKs

Skip this section if you're preparing a non-final release (beta, RC).

Delete the IUKs that upgrade to any beta or RC corresponding to the version you are preparing:

• first check that it's not going to remove anything we want to keep:

   ssh rsync.lizard /bin/sh -c \
       \"find /srv/rsync/tails/tails/alpha/iuk/v2  \
              /srv/rsync/tails/tails/stable/iuk/v2 \
              -type f \
              -name "*_to_${VERSION:?}~*.iuk" \
              -not -name '*~test_*~test.iuk' \
              -not -name '*~testoverlayfs_*~testoverlayfs.iuk' \
              -ls \
       \"
  

• then actually delete the files:

   ssh rsync.lizard /bin/sh -c \
       \"find /srv/rsync/tails/tails/alpha/iuk/v2  \
              /srv/rsync/tails/tails/stable/iuk/v2 \
              -type f \
              -name "*_to_${VERSION:?}~*.iuk" \
              -not -name '*~test_*~test.iuk' \
              -not -name '*~testoverlayfs_*~testoverlayfs.iuk' \
              -print -delete \
       \"
  

Rationale: avoid the need for mirrors to store 3 concurrent sets of IUKs (#17944). It's OK to delete them now, because we're past the deadline we've announced in the call for testing.

Publish the ISO, IMG, and IUKs over HTTP

If the IUKs reproducibility check you did earlier has failed, then upload the IUKs you've built to our rsync server (we trust your machine more than our Jenkins):

for source_version in $(echo ${IUK_SOURCE_VERSIONS:?}); do
   rsync --partial --inplace --progress -v \
      "${IUKS_DIR:?}/Tails_amd64_${source_version:?}_to_${VERSION:?}.iuk" \
      rsync.lizard:/srv/tmp/
done

While waiting for the IUKs to be uploaded, you can proceed with the next steps.

Upload the ISO and USB image signatures to our rsync server:

scp "${ISO_PATH:?}.sig" "${IMG_PATH:?}.sig" rsync.lizard:

Copy the ISO and USB images to our rsync server, verify their signature, move them in place with proper ownership and permissions:

cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
./bin/copy-images-to-rsync-server-and-verify \
    --version "${VERSION:?}" \
    --dist "${DIST:?}" \
    --release-branch "${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}" \
    --matching-jenkins-images-build-id "${MATCHING_JENKINS_IMAGES_BUILD_ID:?}"

Update the time in project/trace file on our rsync server and on the live website (even for a release candidate):

./bin/update-trace-time \
   "Updating trace file after uploading the ISO and USB images for ${VERSION:?}."

At this stage, either IUKs were reproduced by Jenkins and left on the rsync server in a temporary location, or you must wait until the upload of the locally built IUKs (started in the first part of this section) is completed.

Finally, move the IUKs in place with proper ownership and permissions and update the time in project/trace file on our rsync server and on the live website (even for a release candidate):

./bin/publish-iuks

Announce, seed and test the Torrents

Check if there's enough space on our Bittorrent seed to import the new ISO and USB images:

ssh bittorrent.lizard df -h /var/lib/transmission-daemon/downloads

If not, list already running Torrents:

ssh bittorrent.lizard transmission-remote --list

… set $ID to the oldest one and delete it (do this both for the ISO and USB images):

ssh bittorrent.lizard transmission-remote -t "${ID:?}" --remove-and-delete

… and finally check disk space again:

ssh bittorrent.lizard df -h /var/lib/transmission-daemon/downloads

Now you can announce and seed the Torrents for the release you're preparing:

./bin/announce-and-seed-torrents

Test that you can start downloading the ISO and USB images with a BitTorrent client. It can take a few dozen minutes before this works.

Testing

1. Using check-mirrors, choose a fast mirror that already has the tentative ISO and USB images. E.g. https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/tails/ or https://mirrors.wikimedia.org/tails/ are reliable and have plenty of bandwidth:

    ./check-mirrors.rb --allow-multiple --fast --channel ${DIST:?} \
        --url-prefix https://mirrors.wikimedia.org/tails/ \
        tails-amd64-${VERSION:?} \
    || ./check-mirrors.rb --allow-multiple --fast --channel ${DIST:?} \
        --url-prefix https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/tails/ \
        tails-amd64-${VERSION:?}
   

   If there's none, you may point tails-manual-testers@boum.org to the images that Jenkins has built:

    echo "https://nightly.tails.boum.org/build_Tails_ISO_${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}/builds/${MATCHING_JENKINS_IMAGES_BUILD_ID:?}/archive/build-artifacts/"
   

2. Email tails-testers@boum.org to ask them to test the tentative ISO and USB images, pointing them to the up-to-date mirror you've found previously. This is a public list, don't point to the pad.

3. Email tails@boum.org and tails-manual-testers@boum.org that tests may start:

   • reply to the email you've sent them earlier
   • point them to the up-to-date mirror you've found previously
   • if any of the expectations set in your initial email are outdated, update them now
   • attach the Torrents
   • attach the .packages file

4. Make sure someone is committed to run the automated test suite.

5. Make sure that enough people are here to run the tests, that they report their results in due time, and that they make it clear when they're leaving for good.

6. Fill the holes and make sure that the automated and manual test suites are done in due time. Clock and report this work along with the rest of your RM'ing work.

7. Triage test results, reproduce bugs as needed, decide what the next step is and make sure it happens: add to known issues? file an issue? release blocker? improve the test description (steps, expected outcome)?

Prepare announcements and blog posts

What follows in this section happens on the $WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH branch in ${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}, making sure we catch up with the technical writers who have likely prepared release notes:

cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
   git checkout "${WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH:?}" && \
   git fetch && \
   git merge "origin/${WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH?:}"

If no release notes where prepared, we add one with placeholders that the technical writes can update post-release:

cp wiki/src/news/version_${PREVIOUS_STABLE_VERSION:?}.mdwn \
   wiki/src/news/version_${VERSION:?}.mdwn &&
${EDITOR:?} wiki/src/news/version_${VERSION:?}.mdwn

Make sure to:

1. adjust the !meta date at the top.
2. adjust all version numbers everywhere appropriately.
3. add placeholders to the "Changes and updates" and "Fixed problems", e.g. "This section will be updated soon. Sorry for the inconvenience!".
4. add any known issues to the "Known issues" section.

If preparing a final release

Skip this part if preparing a RC.

Rename, copy, garbage collect and update various files:

./bin/add-release-files-to-website

Then, build the website and commit this last set of changes:

./build-website && \
git add wiki/src/{inc,torrents} && \
git commit -m "Update various website source files for ${VERSION:?}"

Ensure our technical writer has written the announcement for the release in wiki/src/news/version_${TAG:?}.mdwn.

Generate an announcement listing the security bugs affecting the previous version in wiki/src/security/known_security_vulnerabilities_in_${PREVIOUS_STABLE_VERSION:?}.mdwn, in order to let the users of the old versions know that they have to upgrade:

    ./bin/generate-security-advisory \
       --previous-version "${PREVIOUS_STABLE_VERSION:?}" \
       --version "${VERSION:?}" \
       --tag "${TAG:?}" \
    > "wiki/src/security/known_security_vulnerabilities_in_${PREVIOUS_STABLE_VERSION:?}.mdwn"

Remove obsolete bits from wiki/src/home/testing.html. For example, remove any text that's specific to a release candidate we may have published for the version you are preparing.

If preparing a release candidate

Skip this part if preparing a final release.

Copy the signatures and the Torrents into the website repository:

cp "${ISO_PATH:?}.sig" \
   "${IMG_PATH:?}.sig" \
   "${ISOS:?}/tails-amd64-${VERSION:?}".{iso,img}.torrent \
   "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}/wiki/src/torrents/files/"

Write the announcement for the release:

1. Set this environment variable, in the format YYYY-MM-DD:

   • FINAL_RELEASE_DATE: the date when we plan to publish the final release you're preparing a RC for

2. Generate the boilerplate contents from the template:

    ./bin/generate-call-for-testing \
       --version "${VERSION:?}" \
       --tag "${TAG:?}" \
       --date "${RELEASE_DATE:?}" \
       --final-version "${NEXT_PLANNED_MAJOR_VERSION:?}" \
       --final-date "${FINAL_RELEASE_DATE:?}" \
    > ${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}/wiki/src/news/test_${TAG:?}.mdwn
   

3. Edit ${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}/wiki/src/news/test_${TAG:?}.mdwn:

   • Mention major user-visible improvements.

   • Document important config changes that users of the Persistent Storage have to do themselves (e.g. the Pidgin proxy settings change in 9925321 breaks all existing persistent profiles).

   • Document known issues.

   • Look for FIXME.

In wiki/src/home/testing.html, add a bullet point with a pointer to the call for testing for this release candidate (https://tails.boum.org/news/test_$TAG/, that you just wrote).

In any case

Generate PO files for the pages added or updated earlier in this section, and publish them on the $WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH branch:

./build-website && \
git add wiki/src && \
git commit -m "Releasing version ${VERSION:?}" && \
git push origin "${WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH:?}"

Draft the Tor blog post

Skip this if you are preparing anything but a final, major release.

• Generate the draft blog post:

    ./bin/generate-Tor-blog-post "${VERSION:?}"
  

• Proof-read the draft blog post

• login to the Tor blog
• click Content → Add content → Blog Post
• add these tags, each in a separate text entry field (use Add another item):
  • tails
  • anonymous operating system
  • tails releases
• set Title to "New Release: Tails $VERSION"
• set URL alias to "/new-release-tails-XYZ" (without dots)
• choose Filtered HTML as the Text format in the blog post editor
• copy the text you have prepared into the Post Body textarea of the blog post editor
• open Comment Settings and verify that comments are Closed
• open Promotion Options and check Promoted to front page
• click Preview and ensure everything is OK
• click Back to content editing
• ensure the Publish checkbox is not checked
• click Save to save the draft

Go wild!

Wait for the HTTP mirrors to catch up

Test downloading the ISO, USB image, and one of the new IUKs over HTTP.

Make sure every active mirror in the pool has the new version:

./check-mirrors.rb --channel ${DIST:?} --allow-multiple --fast \
    tails-amd64-${VERSION:?}

Ask the mirrors team to disable mirrors that are lagging behind:

• either over email: tails-mirrors@boum.org
• or by creating a merge request that modifies the mirrors pool

Sanity checks

• Check the outcome of the "Testing" section above.
• Verify once more that the Tor Browser we ship is still the most recent (see above).

Push

Push the last commits to our Git repository and put master in the following state:

( cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
  git push origin \
      "${WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH:?}:${WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH:?}" \
      devel:devel \
) && \
( cd "${MASTER_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
  git fetch && \
  git merge origin/master && \
  git merge --edit "origin/${WEBSITE_RELEASE_BRANCH:?}" && \
  echo "stable" > config/base_branch && \
  git commit config/base_branch \
      -m "Restore master's base branch." \
)

Close the "Write release notes" ticket manually since Closes: statements are not sufficient when updating master.

Finally, push the master branch to make the changes go live on our website:

( cd "${MASTER_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
  git push origin master:master \
)

Once the Recent changes page has been refreshed, the website is up-to-date, and the release is now public! Woo!

Bug tracker

Skip this part if preparing a release candidate.

1. Verify there's a missed:$VERSION label on groups/tails/-/labels; if there's none, submit a MR against tails/gitlab-config to create one.

2. Ensure you have an up-to-date tails:gitlab-triage-stable Docker image:

    cd "${MASTER_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
    git checkout master && \
    sudo ./config/gitlab-triage/bin/ensure-up-to-date-Docker-image
   

3. Postpone to the next scheduled release any remaining open issue and merge request for the version you've just released:

    cd "${MASTER_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
    git checkout master && \
    sudo \
        VERSION="${VERSION:?}" \
        NEXT_PLANNED_VERSION="${NEXT_PLANNED_VERSION:?}" \
        ./bin/gitlab-triage-post-release \
            --host-url "$(bin/gitlab-url TailsRM)" \
            --token "$(bin/gitlab-api-token TailsRM)"
   

4. Finally, submit a MR against tails/gitlab-config to:

   • close the just-released milestone
   • set the Due date for the Hole in the Roof milestone to a date between the next 2 releases

Issues linked from the website

1. Go through the issues linked from the documentation and support sections of the website to identify the issues that might be resolved in this release.

   cd "${MASTER_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
   find wiki/src/{doc,support} ! -path wiki/src/support/known_issues/graphics.mdwn -name "*.mdwn" -o -name "*.html" | xargs cat | \
       ruby -e 'puts STDIN.read.scan(/\[\[!tails_ticket\s+(\d+)[^\]]*\]\]/)' | \
       while read ticket; do
           ticket_status="$(python-gitlab --gitlab TailsRM -o json --fields state project-issue get --project-id 2 --iid "$ticket" | jq --raw-output .state)"
           if [ -z "${ticket_status:-}" ]; then
               echo "Failed to find the status of #${ticket:?}" >&2
               continue
           fi
           if [ "${ticket_status:?}" = "closed" ]; then
               echo "It seems issue #${ticket:?} has been fixed. Please find all instances on the website and adjust them as needed. Ticket URL: https://gitlab.tails.boum.org/tails/tails/-/issues/${ticket:?}"
           fi
       done
   

2. Create a GitLab issue to list them.

   Title: Issues linked from the website for Tails $VERSION Labels: Core Work:Technical writing and To Do

Twitter

Check in the comments of the issue for the release notes if the technical writers have prepared a tweet. Otherwise tweet a simple link to the release notes:

Tails x.y is out: https://tails.boum.org/news/version_x.y/

Publish the Tor blog post

1. Open the draft Tor blog post you have prepared earlier
2. Adjust Authoring Information → Authored on to make the publication date correct
3. Click Save and publish

Amnesia news

Log in and accept the release announcement (it's been automatically sent to amnesia-news@ on an hourly basis and is stuck in the moderation queue).

The password is in keyringer in rm.git.

Prepare for the next development cycle

If you just released a final release

1. If you just released a new stable release, remove the previous stable release from:

   • our rsync server: ssh rsync.lizard sudo rm -rf /srv/rsync/tails/tails/stable/tails-amd64-${PREVIOUS_STABLE_VERSION:?}/

   • our Bittorrent seed: get the previous release's Transmission IDs (ISO and USB image, use comma-separated values) with:

     ssh bittorrent.lizard transmission-remote --list
     

     Then delete them with:

     ssh bittorrent.lizard transmission-remote \
         -t "${PREVIOUS_VERSION_TRANSMISSION_ID:?}" --remove-and-delete
     

     Finally, check that everything looks good:

     ssh bittorrent.lizard transmission-remote --list
     

2. Remove any remaining RC for the just-published release from rsync.lizard:/srv/rsync/tails/tails/alpha/

3. If you've published a final release, remove IUKs that upgrade to an older version as they were superseded by this release:

   • first check that it's not going to remove anything we want to keep:

     ssh rsync.lizard /bin/sh -c \
         \"find /srv/rsync/tails/tails/alpha/iuk/v2  \
                /srv/rsync/tails/tails/stable/iuk/v2 \
                -type f -name '*.iuk' \
                -not -name "*_to_${VERSION:?}.iuk" \
                -not -name '*~test_*~test.iuk' \
                -not -name '*~testoverlayfs_*~testoverlayfs.iuk' \
                -ls \
         \"
     

   • then actually delete the files:

     ssh rsync.lizard /bin/sh -c \
         \"find /srv/rsync/tails/tails/alpha/iuk/v2  \
                /srv/rsync/tails/tails/stable/iuk/v2 \
                -type f -name '*.iuk' \
                -not -name "*_to_${VERSION:?}.iuk" \
                -not -name '*~test_*~test.iuk' \
                -not -name '*~testoverlayfs_*~testoverlayfs.iuk' \
                -print -delete \
         \"
     

4. Check how much space our mirrors need:

    ssh rsync.lizard du -sh /srv/rsync/tails
   

   Compare it to the minimum disk space we ask of our mirror operators (80 GiB) and determine if any further action is needed to either reduce our usage by deleting stuff, or asking them to give us more space.

5. Delete Git branches that were merged:

    cd "${MASTER_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
    git checkout master && \
    git fetch && \
    git merge origin/master && \
    git submodule update --init && \
    bare_repo=$(mktemp -d) && \
    git clone --bare --reference "${MASTER_CHECKOUT:?}" \
       git@gitlab-ssh.tails.boum.org:tails/tails \
       "${bare_repo:?}" && \
    PYTHONPATH=lib/python3 ./bin/delete-merged-git-branches \
       --repo "${bare_repo:?}" && \
    rm -rf "${bare_repo:?}"
   

6. On the stable branch, remove all old versions that were never released from wiki/src/upgrade/v2/Tails:

    cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
    git checkout stable && \
    ./bin/remove-unused-udfs --before-version "${VERSION:?}"
   

   Explanation: the post-release APT repository steps from the previous stable release will usually have had us prepare for an emergency release that was never made.

7. Pull master back and merge it into stable:

    cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
    git fetch origin && \
    git checkout stable && \
    git merge origin/master
   

   Note: After a final major release is published, it's normal to leave the testing branch alone: it will only become relevant again when the next freeze starts.

8. Put the stable Git branch and the corresponding APT suite in the desired shape:

    if <span class="createlink"><a href="/ikiwiki.cgi?do=create&amp;from=contribute%2Frelease_process&amp;page=___34____36____123__MAJOR_RELEASE__58____63____125____34___-eq_1_" rel="nofollow">?</a> &#34;&#36;&#123;MAJOR RELEASE&#58;&#63;&#125;&#34; -eq 1 </span>; then
       ./bin/reset-custom-APT-suite stable testing && \
       git checkout stable && \
       if [ $(find config/APT_overlays.d -maxdepth 1 -type f | wc -l) -gt 1 ]; then
          git rm config/APT_overlays.d/* && \
          git commit config/APT_overlays.d/ \
             -m "Empty the list of APT overlays: they were merged"
       fi
    fi
   

9. Merge the release branch and its APT suite into devel:

    ./bin/merge-main-branch "${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}" devel
   

   When there's a merge conflict, the script aborts to let you resolve the conflict. Then:

   1. Resolve the conflict, git add and git merge --continue).
   2. Re-run the exact same merge-main-branch command.

10. Check if the version number of the last entry in devel's debian/changelog matches the next major release, so that next builds from the devel branch do not use the APT suite meant for the last release; if this is not the case yet, run:

     cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT}" && \
     git checkout devel && \
     dch --newversion "${NEXT_PLANNED_MAJOR_VERSION:?}" \
        "Dummy entry for next release." && \
     git commit debian/changelog \
        -m "Add dummy changelog entry for ${NEXT_PLANNED_MAJOR_VERSION:?}."
    

11. If this command outputs anything:

      git show devel:config/chroot_apt/preferences \
         | grep -E '^Explanation: freeze exception'
    

    Then checkout the devel branch, and there thaw the packages that were granted freeze exceptions.

12. Increment the version number in stable's debian/changelog, so that next builds from the stable branch do not use the APT suite meant for the last release:

     cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT}" && \
     git checkout stable && \
     dch --newversion "${NEXT_STABLE_CHANGELOG_VERSION:?}" \
        "Dummy entry for next release." && \
     git commit debian/changelog \
        -m "Add dummy changelog entry for ${NEXT_STABLE_CHANGELOG_VERSION:?}."
    

13. Verify that the snapshots used in the release branch are ok, e.g. they use the correct snapshots, and they were bumped appropriately (they should expire after the next planned major release date). Look carefully at the output of this command:

     cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
     git checkout "${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}" && \
     ./bin/apt-snapshots-expiry
    

14. Push the resulting branches:

     git push origin stable testing devel
    

15. In calendar, remove the entries about the version that you've just released.

16. Check the Mozilla release calendars:

    • Google calendar
    • Release schedule

    If the upcoming release date in the Mozilla calendar does not match what we have in calendar, then alert tails-dev@boum.org, tails-rm@boum.org, and explicitly Cc the designated RM for that upcoming release.

17. Announce the date of the next release on tails-dev@boum.org and tails-l10n@boum.org.

    • Cc tails-manual-testers@boum.org, asking them to privately tell the RM for that release whether they can do manual testing on release day.

18. If you are the release manager for the next release too, look at the tasks that must be done at the beginning of your shift in the release manager role page. Otherwise, kindly remind the next release manager about this :)

19. Put aside the configuration file used for this release:

     mkdir -p ~/.config/tails/release_management/old && \
     mv ~/.config/tails/release_management/current.yml \
        ~/.config/tails/release_management/old/${VERSION:?}.yml.disabled
    

20. You're done for today! Suggestion: enjoy some time AFK :)

21. Tomorrow, make sure Jenkins manages to build all updated major branches: https://jenkins.tails.boum.org/view/RM/.

If you just released an RC

1. If this command outputs anything:

    git show devel:config/chroot_apt/preferences \
       | grep -E '^Explanation: freeze exception'
   

   Then checkout the devel branch, and there thaw all packages (if any) that were granted freeze exceptions.

2. On the devel branch, thaw the time-based APT repository snapshots:

    git checkout devel && \
    ./auto/scripts/apt-snapshots-serials thaw && \
    git commit \
        -m "Thaw APT snapshots." \
        config/APT_snapshots.d/*/serial || :
   

   This should generally be a no-op but if there was some hiccup earlier it could be needed.

3. Increment the version number in debian/changelog on the branch used for the release, to match the upcoming non-RC release, so that the next builds from it do not use the APT suite meant for the RC:

    cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT}" && \
    git checkout "${RELEASE_BRANCH:?}" && \
    dch --newversion "${NEXT_PLANNED_MAJOR_VERSION:?}" \
       "Dummy entry for next release." && \
    git commit debian/changelog \
       -m "Add dummy changelog entry for ${NEXT_PLANNED_MAJOR_VERSION:?}."
   

4. Increment the version number in devel's debian/changelog to match the second next major release, so that images built from there have the right version number:

    cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT}" && \
    git checkout devel && \
    dch --newversion "${SECOND_NEXT_PLANNED_MAJOR_VERSION:?}" \
       "Dummy entry for next release." && \
    git commit debian/changelog \
       -m "Add dummy changelog entry for ${SECOND_NEXT_PLANNED_MAJOR_VERSION:?}."
   

5. Merge testing into devel (keeping a single changelog entry, for the second next major release), and push them:

    cd "${RELEASE_CHECKOUT:?}" && \
    git checkout devel && \
    git merge testing && \
    git push origin testing devel
   

6. Make sure you pushed all changes in every of our Git repo (including our Debian packages ones).

7. Follow the "Verify that the snapshots used in the release branch are ok" step for final releases, above.

8. In calendar, remove the entries about the version that you've just released.

9. Put aside the configuration file used for this release:

    mkdir -p ~/.config/tails/release_management/old && \
    mv ~/.config/tails/release_management/current.yml \
       ~/.config/tails/release_management/old/${VERSION:?}.yml.disabled
   

10. Delete your local copy of the IUKs [XXX:automate]

11. You're done for today! Suggestion: enjoy some time AFK :)

12. Tomorrow, make sure Jenkins manages to build all updated major branches: https://jenkins.tails.boum.org/view/RM/.

Related pages