Draft: refactor: update release Makefile, do not create tag, use release branch

Background

This MR updates the release makefile and semantic-release:

• uses a new branch semantic-release-candidate to avoid pushing to main
• does not create tags

The end result is still more manual than I want, but it's a step in the right direction of automating a part of the release process.

The PROCESS.md file was also updated with instructions on what to do

How to test

I tested this by running a few things locally

Testing the new makefile

make release-prep

Testing the semantic release piece:

Run in semantic-release in dry run mode. Running the makefile doesn't quite work because these changes don't exist in the main or semantic-release-candidate branch.

 npx semantic-release --no-ci --dry-run

output

➜ npx semantic-release --no-ci --dry-run

[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ℹ  Running semantic-release version 24.1.2
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "verifyConditions" from "@semantic-release/changelog"
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "verifyConditions" from "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "verifyConditions" from "@semantic-release/git"
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "analyzeCommits" from "@semantic-release/commit-analyzer"
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "analyzeCommits" from "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "verifyRelease" from "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "generateNotes" from "@semantic-release/release-notes-generator"
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "generateNotes" from "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "prepare" from "@semantic-release/changelog"
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "prepare" from "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "prepare" from "@semantic-release/git"
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "publish" from "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "addChannel" from "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "success" from "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:34 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Loaded plugin "fail" from "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:37 PM] [semantic-release] › ⚠  Run automated release from branch tchu-update-release on repository git@gitlab.com:gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer.git in dry-run mode
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Allowed to push to the Git repository
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ℹ  Start step "verifyConditions" of plugin "@semantic-release/changelog"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Completed step "verifyConditions" of plugin "@semantic-release/changelog"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ℹ  Start step "verifyConditions" of plugin "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Completed step "verifyConditions" of plugin "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ℹ  Start step "verifyConditions" of plugin "@semantic-release/git"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Completed step "verifyConditions" of plugin "@semantic-release/git"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ℹ  Found git tag v5.4.0 associated with version 5.4.0 on branch tchu-update-release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ℹ  Found 28 commits since last release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ℹ  Start step "analyzeCommits" of plugin "@semantic-release/commit-analyzer"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: refactor: update release Makefile, do not create tag, use release branch
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is patch
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: Merge branch 'renovate/github.com-go-enry-go-enry-v2-2.x' into 'main'

chore(deps): update module github.com/go-enry/go-enry/v2 to v2.9.2

See merge request https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer/-/merge_requests/567

Merged-by: Terri Chu <tchu@gitlab.com>
Approved-by: Terri Chu <tchu@gitlab.com>
Co-authored-by: GitLab Renovate Bot <gitlab-bot@gitlab.com>
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The commit should not trigger a release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: chore(deps): update module github.com/go-enry/go-enry/v2 to v2.9.2
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is minor
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: Merge branch 'renovate/golang.org-x-net-0.x' into 'main'

chore(deps): update module golang.org/x/net to v0.34.0

See merge request https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer/-/merge_requests/563

Merged-by: John Mason <9717668-johnmason@users.noreply.gitlab.com>
Approved-by: John Mason <9717668-johnmason@users.noreply.gitlab.com>
Co-authored-by: GitLab Renovate Bot <gitlab-bot@gitlab.com>
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The commit should not trigger a release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: chore(deps): update module golang.org/x/net to v0.34.0
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is minor
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: Merge branch 'renovate/golang.org-x-net-0.x' into 'main'

chore(deps): update module golang.org/x/net to v0.31.0

See merge request https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer/-/merge_requests/544

Merged-by: John Mason <9717668-johnmason@users.noreply.gitlab.com>
Approved-by: John Mason <9717668-johnmason@users.noreply.gitlab.com>
Co-authored-by: GitLab Renovate Bot <gitlab-bot@gitlab.com>
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The commit should not trigger a release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: Merge branch 'renovate/github.com-aws-aws-sdk-go-1.x' into 'main'

chore(deps): update module github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go to v1.55.6

See merge request https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer/-/merge_requests/560

Merged-by: John Mason <9717668-johnmason@users.noreply.gitlab.com>
Approved-by: John Mason <9717668-johnmason@users.noreply.gitlab.com>
Co-authored-by: GitLab Renovate Bot <gitlab-bot@gitlab.com>
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The commit should not trigger a release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: Merge branch 'renovate/node-22.x' into 'main'

chore(deps): update dependency node to v22.13.1

See merge request https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer/-/merge_requests/562

Merged-by: John Mason <9717668-johnmason@users.noreply.gitlab.com>
Approved-by: John Mason <9717668-johnmason@users.noreply.gitlab.com>
Co-authored-by: GitLab Renovate Bot <gitlab-bot@gitlab.com>
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The commit should not trigger a release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: chore(deps): update dependency node to v22.13.1
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is minor
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: chore(deps): update module github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go to v1.55.6
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is minor
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: Merge branch 'renovate/node-22.x' into 'main'

chore(deps): update dependency node to v22.13.0

See merge request https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer/-/merge_requests/558

Merged-by: Terri Chu <tchu@gitlab.com>
Approved-by: Terri Chu <tchu@gitlab.com>
Co-authored-by: GitLab Renovate Bot <gitlab-bot@gitlab.com>
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The commit should not trigger a release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: chore(deps): update dependency node to v22.13.0
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is minor
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: Merge branch 'renovate/golang-1.x' into 'main'

chore(deps): update dependency golang to v1.23.4

See merge request https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer/-/merge_requests/550

Merged-by: John Mason <9717668-johnmason@users.noreply.gitlab.com>
Approved-by: John Mason <9717668-johnmason@users.noreply.gitlab.com>
Co-authored-by: GitLab Renovate Bot <gitlab-bot@gitlab.com>
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The commit should not trigger a release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: Merge branch 'renovate/danger-review-2.x' into 'main'

chore(deps): update dependency danger-review to v2

See merge request https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer/-/merge_requests/552

Merged-by: Dylan Griffith <dyl.griffith@gmail.com>
Approved-by: Peter Leitzen <pleitzen@gitlab.com>
Approved-by: Dylan Griffith <dyl.griffith@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: GitLab Renovate Bot <gitlab-bot@gitlab.com>
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The commit should not trigger a release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: chore(deps): update dependency danger-review to v2
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is minor
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: chore(deps): update dependency golang to v1.23.4
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is minor
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: Merge branch 'renovate/node-22.x' into 'main'

chore(deps): update dependency node to v22.12.0

See merge request https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer/-/merge_requests/551

Merged-by: Dmitry Gruzd <dgruzd@gitlab.com>
Approved-by: Dmitry Gruzd <dgruzd@gitlab.com>
Co-authored-by: GitLab Renovate Bot <gitlab-bot@gitlab.com>
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The commit should not trigger a release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: chore(deps): update dependency node to v22.12.0
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is minor
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: Merge branch 'renovate/github.com-stretchr-testify-1.x' into 'main'

chore(deps): update module github.com/stretchr/testify to v1.10.0

See merge request https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer/-/merge_requests/547

Merged-by: Dylan Griffith <dyl.griffith@gmail.com>
Approved-by: Dylan Griffith <dyl.griffith@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: GitLab Renovate Bot <gitlab-bot@gitlab.com>
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The commit should not trigger a release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: chore(deps): update module github.com/stretchr/testify to v1.10.0
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is minor
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: Merge branch 'tchu-update-release-docs-tags-warning' into 'main'

Update release process tag warning

See merge request https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer/-/merge_requests/546

Merged-by: Dylan Griffith <dyl.griffith@gmail.com>
Approved-by: Dylan Griffith <dyl.griffith@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Terri Chu <tchu@gitlab.com>
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The commit should not trigger a release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: chore: update release process tag warning
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is minor
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: chore(deps): update module golang.org/x/net to v0.31.0
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is minor
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: Merge branch 'update-CONTRIBUTING.md-LICENSE.md' into 'main'

Update CONTRIBUTING.md and LICENSE.md

See merge request https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer/-/merge_requests/540

Merged-by: John Mason <9717668-johnmason@users.noreply.gitlab.com>
Approved-by: John Mason <9717668-johnmason@users.noreply.gitlab.com>
Co-authored-by: Lin Jen-Shin <jen-shin@gitlab.com>
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The commit should not trigger a release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: Merge branch 'move-package-to-its-own-stage' into 'main'

Move package job to its own stage

See merge request https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer/-/merge_requests/539

Merged-by: Terri Chu <tchu@gitlab.com>
Approved-by: Arturo Herrero <arturo.herrero@gmail.com>
Approved-by: Terri Chu <tchu@gitlab.com>
Co-authored-by: Dmitry Gruzd <dgruzd@gitlab.com>
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The commit should not trigger a release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: chore(license): update LICENSE.md to replace `GitLab B.V.` with `GitLab Inc.`
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is minor
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: chore(license): update CONTRIBUTING.md to replace `GitLab B.V.` with `GitLab Inc.`
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is minor
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analyzing commit: ci: move package job to its own stage
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  The release type for the commit is patch
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] [@semantic-release/commit-analyzer] › ℹ  Analysis of 28 commits complete: minor release
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Completed step "analyzeCommits" of plugin "@semantic-release/commit-analyzer"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ℹ  Start step "analyzeCommits" of plugin "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Completed step "analyzeCommits" of plugin "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ℹ  The next release version is 5.5.0
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ℹ  Start step "verifyRelease" of plugin "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Completed step "verifyRelease" of plugin "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ℹ  Start step "generateNotes" of plugin "@semantic-release/release-notes-generator"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Completed step "generateNotes" of plugin "@semantic-release/release-notes-generator"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ℹ  Start step "generateNotes" of plugin "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Completed step "generateNotes" of plugin "@semantic-release/exec"
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ⚠  Skip step "prepare" of plugin "@semantic-release/changelog" in dry-run mode
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ⚠  Skip step "prepare" of plugin "@semantic-release/exec" in dry-run mode
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ⚠  Skip step "prepare" of plugin "@semantic-release/git" in dry-run mode
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ⚠  Skip v5.5.0 tag creation in dry-run mode
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ⚠  Skip step "publish" of plugin "@semantic-release/exec" in dry-run mode
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ⚠  Skip step "success" of plugin "@semantic-release/exec" in dry-run mode
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ✔  Published release 5.5.0 on default channel
[3:44:38 PM] [semantic-release] › ℹ  Release note for version 5.5.0:
## 5.5.0 (2025-02-07)

### Chores

    * deps: update dependency danger-review to v2 (81fa478)
    * deps: update dependency golang to v1.23.4 (093c130)
    * deps: update dependency node to v22.12.0 (c3a4cac)
    * deps: update dependency node to v22.13.0 (e4fc5e5)
    * deps: update dependency node to v22.13.1 (18a3120)
    * deps: update module github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go to v1.55.6 (5a154bd)
    * deps: update module github.com/go-enry/go-enry/v2 to v2.9.2 (eb5d79c)
    * deps: update module github.com/stretchr/testify to v1.10.0 (31db711)
    * deps: update module golang.org/x/net to v0.31.0 (27f4cb1)
    * deps: update module golang.org/x/net to v0.34.0 (fee4b66)
    * license: update CONTRIBUTING.md to replace GitLab B.V. with GitLab Inc. (71b3ef2)
    * license: update LICENSE.md to replace GitLab B.V. with GitLab Inc. (700f2c6)
    * update release process tag warning (42ffb24)

### Code Refactoring

    * update release Makefile, do not create tag, use release branch (30847fe)

### Continuous Integration

    * move package job to its own stage (f32785b)

.releaserc.yml

 repositoryUrl: 'git@gitlab.com:gitlab-org/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer.git'
-tagFormat: 'v${version}'
+tag: false
 branches:
-  - main
+  - semantic-release-candidate
 plugins:
   - - '@semantic-release/commit-analyzer'
     - preset: 'conventionalcommits'