info:To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
...
...
@@ -9,26 +8,33 @@ info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated w
> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/issues/41766) in GitLab 11.7.
To introduce a checkpoint in your source code history, you can assign a
[Git tag](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Basics-Tagging) at the moment of release.
However, in most cases, your users need more than just the raw source code.
They need compiled objects or other assets output by your CI/CD system.
In GitLab, a release enables you to create a snapshot of your project for your users, including
installation packages and release notes. You can create a GitLab release on any branch. Creating a
release also creates a [Git tag](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Basics-Tagging) to mark the
release point in the source code.
A GitLab Release can be:
WARNING:
Deleting a Git tag associated with a release also deletes the release.
A release can include:
- A snapshot of the source code of your repository.
-[Generic packages](../../packages/generic_packages/index.md) created from job artifacts.
- Other metadata associated with a released version of your code.
- Release notes.
You can create a GitLab release on any branch. When you create a release:
When you [create a release](#create-a-release):
- GitLab automatically archives source code and associates it with the release.
- GitLab automatically creates a JSON file that lists everything in the release,
so you can compare and audit releases. This file is called [release evidence](#release-evidence).
- You can add release notes and a message for the tag associated with the release.
After you create a release, you can [associate milestones with it](#associate-milestones-with-a-release),
and attach [release assets](#release-assets), like runbooks or packages.
When you create a release, or after, you can:
- Add release notes.
- Add a message for the Git tag associated with the release.
-[Associate milestones with it](#associate-milestones-with-a-release).
- Attach [release assets](#release-assets), like runbooks or packages.
