Making a hotfix release

This list outlines the manual steps needed to make a hotfix release of the benefits app.

If main contains in-progress work that is not yet ready for a release but a simple code fix is needed in production, a separate process to test the changes before deploying to production must be undertaken. This is called a hotfix release. Typically, a hotfix release involves a simple code change that can be quickly implemented, in contrast to a rollback release, which generally requires more complex code changes which take more time to implement.

Start a new Release on Github

0. Create a temporary hotfix branch from the latest release tag

git checkout -b <hotfix-branch> <release-tag>

Replace <hotfix-branch> with the hotfix branch name and <release-tag> with the latest release tag.

1. Fix whatever issue is wrong using the hotfix branch

Commit the code changes that fix the issue that prompted the hotfix.

2. Tag the HEAD of the hotfix branch with a release tag

git tag -a YYYY.0M.R

Git will open your default text editor and prompt you for the tag annotation. For the tag annotation, use the release tag version and close the text editor.

3. Push the tag to GitHub to kick off the hotfix

git push origin YYYY.0M.R

4. Generate release notes

Edit release notes with additional context, images, animations, etc. as-needed and link to the Release process issue.

5. Merge into main for the next release

Create a PR to merge the changes from the hotfix branch into main for the next release.