Some exploration around what would be needed to simplify (through code) the process of releasing python package versions

explore-automating-releasing-python-packages.md

• Make sure CHANGELOG.md has all new functionality you want in the release

  • Summarize changes since last release that are missing from Unreleased

• Pick new version based on semver rules

• Run unit tests / tox

• Run flake8

• Check CHANGELOG.md to ensure

  • There are contents in unreleased
  • The new version number isn't present

• Verify version is newer than newest version in pypi.org

  curl https://pypi.org/project/${PACKAGE_NAME}/${NEW_VERSION}/
  pip install ${PACKAGE_NAME}== 2>&1 | grep "Could not find a version" 
  

• Increment version in setup.py

• Update CHANGELOG.md

  • Create new section with the new version number
  • Update links at the bottom to accomodate the new version number

• Ensure there is no distribution in CWD already

• Build the distribution

  python3 setup.py sdist bdist_wheel --universal
  

• Install the newest version of twine (and maybe setuptools?)

• twine check distribution

  twine check dist/*
  

• Upload the distribution to test.pypi.org with twine

  echo test | gpg --clearsign --armor # sign something to cache the gpg passphrase
  twine upload -r pypitest -s dist/*
  

• Provision virtualenv

  virtualenv --python=python3 /tmp/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${NEW_VERSION}
  

• Install -r requirements.txt

  /tmp/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${NEW_VERSION}/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt
  

• Install the package from test.pypi.org

  /tmp/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${NEW_VERSION}/bin/pip install -i https://testpypi.python.org/pypi ${PACKAGE_NAME}==${NEW_VERSION}
  

• Test

  . "/tmp/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${NEW_VERSION}/bin/activate"
  

• Clean up the virtualenv

  deactivate
  rm -rf /tmp/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${NEW_VERSION}/
  

• Either

  • Commit the updated setup.py and CHANGELOG.md directly to upstream
    • Tag the commit
    • Push the commit and the tag
    • Create a GitHub release for the tag
  • PR the updated setup.py and CHANGELOG.md
    • Merge the PR
    • Create a GitHub release which creates a tag

• Upload distribution to pypi.org with twine

  twine upload -s dist/*
  

• Provision and activate virtualenv

  virtualenv --python=python3 /tmp/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${NEW_VERSION}
  

• Install the package

  /tmp/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${NEW_VERSION}/bin/pip install --upgrade ${PACKAGE_NAME}==${NEW_VERSION}
  

• Verify the version number is correct

• Test

  . "/tmp/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${NEW_VERSION}/bin/activate"
  

• Delete dist build etc

• Clean up the virtualenv

  deactivate
  rm -rf /tmp/${PACKAGE_NAME}-${NEW_VERSION}/
  

• Parseing and dealing with CHANGELOG.md

• Some of this in GitHub Actions