## Summary The release process of https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cloud-native/gitlab-operator should be fully automated, ultimately included into the https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/release-tools project. _This does not mean that the Operator should be directly version locked to the https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab codebase._ ## Details Once the release process for the GitLab Operator project has been fleshed out entirely, we need to ensure that this process is fully automated, and can be included into the monthly release process as with all Distribution projects. It is our intent that this project be "as seamless" to release as our official Helm charts & cloud-native images which the Operator consumes. ## Acceptance Criteria 1. [x] The methodology, process, and automation are clearly documented. (https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cloud-native/gitlab-operator/-/issues/222) 1. [x] Dependencies are updated automatically, ensuring the latest Operator has the latest Helm chart (and thus, component images) (https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cloud-native/gitlab-operator/-/issues/206) 1. [x] Complete release artifacts are generated in a predictable, CI driven fashion. (https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cloud-native/gitlab-operator/-/issues/203) 1. [x] The CI processes are triggered by Tags of stable branches. (https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cloud-native/gitlab-operator/-/issues/223) 1. [x] Operator pipelines in dev can fetch charts from dev internal registry (https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cloud-native/gitlab-operator/-/issues/366) 1. [x] Publishing process(es) are separately trigger-able, so that full product releases can be performed in a synchronous manner. (https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cloud-native/gitlab-operator/-/issues/225) 1. [x] The release of this project is included within the [Release Tools project](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/release-tools/), equipping [Release Managers](https://about.gitlab.com/community/release-managers/) with a reliable process. (https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cloud-native/gitlab-operator/-/issues/224)