ci(release): automate signed release tags and release notes (#39544)

Automate release tagging as proposed in
https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/39544#issuecomment-5955939142,
part of https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/issues/39550.

A maintainer selects a release branch and version in the
`release-create-tag` workflow. After approval through the
`release-signing` environment, it pushes a GPG-signed tag. The tag
starts the existing release build, which generates GitHub release notes
with git-cliff from commits since the previous release, skipping `chore`
and `ci` commits.

`CHANGELOG.md` and release-candidate releases are removed. The workflow
reuses the existing `GPGSIGN_KEY`, `GPGSIGN_PASSPHRASE`, and
`RELEASE_TOKEN` repository secrets.


Closes https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/issues/39550

---------

Co-authored-by: bircni <bircni@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: silverwind <me@silverwind.io>

.changelog.yml

@@ -1,59 +0,0 @@
-# The full repository name
-repo: go-gitea/gitea
-
-# Service type (gitea or github)
-service: github
-
-# Base URL for Gitea instance if using gitea service type (optional)
-# Default: https://gitea.com
-base-url:
-
-# Changelog groups and which labeled PRs to add to each group
-groups:
-  -
-    name: BREAKING
-    labels:
-      - pr/breaking
-  -
-    name: SECURITY
-    labels:
-      - topic/security
-  -
-    name: FEATURES
-    labels:
-      - type/feature
-  -
-    name: ENHANCEMENTS
-    labels:
-      - type/enhancement
-  -
-    name: PERFORMANCE
-    labels:
-      - performance/memory
-      - performance/speed
-      - performance/bigrepo
-      - performance/cpu
-  -
-    name: BUGFIXES
-    labels:
-      - type/bug
-
-  -
-    name: TESTING
-    labels:
-      - type/testing
-  -
-    name: BUILD
-    labels:
-      - topic/build
-      - topic/code-linting
-  -
-    name: DOCS
-    labels:
-      - type/docs
-  -
-    name: MISC
-    default: true
-
-# regex indicating which labels to skip for the changelog
-skip-labels: skip-changelog|backport\/.+

.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+name: Release
+description: Track a Gitea release (for release managers).
+title: "Release Gitea "
+body:
+  - type: markdown
+    attributes:
+      value: |
+        Follow the [release management guide](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/main/docs/release-management.md).
+        Set the issue title and milestone to the version being released. Replace the examples below and mark inapplicable tasks as such.
+        CI signs the tag, generates release notes, and publishes binaries and containers. Track verification here; no manual changelog PR or release upload is needed.
+  - type: input
+    id: version
+    attributes:
+      label: Version
+      placeholder: "28.0.1"
+    validations:
+      required: true
+  - type: input
+    id: branch
+    attributes:
+      label: Release branch
+      placeholder: "release/v28"
+    validations:
+      required: true
+  - type: textarea
+    id: checklist
+    attributes:
+      label: Release checklist
+      description: Keep workflow runs, release URLs, and follow-up PRs alongside the relevant tasks.
+      value: |
+        ### Preparation
+
+        - [ ] Resolve release blockers and confirm milestone issues and PRs are resolved or deferred.
+        - [ ] Confirm required backports are merged and release branch CI passes.
+        - [ ] For a new release line, create the release branch and tag its fork point on main with the next version's -dev tag.
+
+        ### Release
+
+        - [ ] Run https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/actions/workflows/release-create-tag.yml on the release branch with the selected version and obtain maintainer approval.
+        - [ ] Confirm https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/actions/workflows/release-tag-version.yml succeeds for the new tag (binaries and containers).
+        - [ ] Verify the public GitHub release, generated notes, binary attachments, and signatures at https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases.
+        - [ ] Verify binaries and signatures at https://dl.gitea.com/gitea/ for this version.
+        - [ ] Verify versioned regular and rootless images on Docker Hub and GHCR, and smoke-test the release.
+
+        ### Follow-up
+
+        - [ ] Verify the automated https://dl.gitea.com/gitea/version.json update, where applicable to this release line.
+        - [ ] Verify automated Helm chart and Terraform provider update PRs and follow up if needed.
+        - [ ] Check Homebrew and Snap availability; record any outstanding packaging follow-up.
+        - [ ] Confirm documentation reflects the release, where applicable.
+        - [ ] Confirm and merge the release blog post, if planned: https://gitea.com/gitea/blog.
+        - [ ] Announce the release in Discord #announcements.
+    validations:
+      required: true
+  - type: textarea
+    id: notes
+    attributes:
+      label: Blockers and notes
+      description: Link outstanding work or release-specific checks using full URLs. Do not include undisclosed security details.

.github/workflows/release-create-tag.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+name: release-create-tag
+run-name: Release v${{ inputs.version }} from ${{ github.ref_name }}
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        description: Version to release, for example 28.0.1
+        required: true
+
+permissions: {}
+
+jobs:
+  tag:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    environment: release-signing
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7
+        with:
+          token: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_TOKEN }}
+      - uses: crazy-max/ghaction-import-gpg@2dc316deee8e90f13e1a351ab510b4d5bc0c82cd # v7.0.0
+        with:
+          gpg_private_key: ${{ secrets.GPGSIGN_KEY }}
+          passphrase: ${{ secrets.GPGSIGN_PASSPHRASE }}
+          git_user_signingkey: true
+          git_committer_email: teabot@gitea.io
+      - env:
+          VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}
+        run: |
+          [[ $VERSION =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]
+          git tag -s -m "v$VERSION" "v$VERSION"
+          git push origin tag "v$VERSION"

.github/workflows/release-tag-rc.yml

@@ -1,149 +0,0 @@
-name: release-tag-rc
-
-on:
-  push:
-    tags:
-      - "v[0-9]*-rc*"
-
-concurrency:
-  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
-  cancel-in-progress: false
-
-permissions: {}
-
-jobs:
-  binary:
-    runs-on: namespace-profile-gitea-release-binary
-    permissions:
-      contents: read
-      id-token: write
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7
-      # fetch all commits instead of only the last as some branches are long lived and could have many between versions
-      # fetch all tags to ensure that "git describe" reports expected Gitea version, eg. v1.21.0-dev-1-g1234567
-      - run: git fetch --unshallow --quiet --tags --force
-      - uses: actions/setup-go@b7ad1dad31e06c5925ef5d2fc7ad053ef454303e # v7
-        with:
-          go-version-file: go.mod
-          check-latest: true
-          cache: false
-      - uses: ./.github/actions/node-setup
-      - run: make deps-frontend deps-backend
-      - run: make release
-      - name: Install Cosign
-        uses: sigstore/cosign-installer@6f9f17788090df1f26f669e9d70d6ae9567deba6 # v4.1.2
-      - name: import gpg key
-        id: import_gpg
-        uses: crazy-max/ghaction-import-gpg@2dc316deee8e90f13e1a351ab510b4d5bc0c82cd # v7.0.0
-        with:
-          gpg_private_key: ${{ secrets.GPGSIGN_KEY }}
-          passphrase: ${{ secrets.GPGSIGN_PASSPHRASE }}
-      - name: sign binaries
-        env:
-          GPG_FINGERPRINT: ${{ steps.import_gpg.outputs.fingerprint }}
-          GPG_PASSPHRASE: ${{ secrets.GPGSIGN_PASSPHRASE }}
-        run: |
-          for f in dist/release/*; do
-            cosign sign-blob "$f" --bundle "$f.sigstore.json" --yes
-            echo "$GPG_PASSPHRASE" | gpg --pinentry-mode loopback --passphrase-fd 0 --batch --yes --detach-sign -u "$GPG_FINGERPRINT" --output "$f.asc" "$f"
-          done
-      # clean branch name to get the folder name in the object storage
-      - name: Get cleaned branch name
-        id: clean_name
-        env:
-          REF: ${{ github.ref }}
-        run: |
-          REF_NAME=$(echo "$REF" | sed -e 's/refs\/heads\///' -e 's/refs\/tags\/v//' -e 's/release\/v//')
-          echo "Cleaned name is ${REF_NAME}"
-          echo "branch=${REF_NAME}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-      - name: upload binaries to cloudflare r2
-        env:
-          AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.CLOUDFLARE_R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
-          AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.CLOUDFLARE_R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
-          AWS_DEFAULT_REGION: auto
-          CLOUDFLARE_R2_ACCOUNT_ID: ${{ secrets.CLOUDFLARE_R2_ACCOUNT_ID }}
-          CLOUDFLARE_R2_BUCKET: ${{ secrets.CLOUDFLARE_R2_BUCKET }}
-          BRANCH: ${{ steps.clean_name.outputs.branch }}
-        run: |
-          aws s3 sync dist/release "s3://$CLOUDFLARE_R2_BUCKET/gitea/$BRANCH" --endpoint-url "https://$CLOUDFLARE_R2_ACCOUNT_ID.r2.cloudflarestorage.com" --no-progress
-      - name: Install GH CLI
-        uses: dev-hanz-ops/install-gh-cli-action@6089bdde54118ad7ca3d22053eb2d69387fd2779 # v0.3.0
-        with:
-          gh-cli-version: 2.39.1
-      - name: create github release
-        env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_TOKEN }}
-          TAG: ${{ github.ref_name }}
-        run: |
-          gh release create "$TAG" --title "$TAG" --draft --notes-from-tag dist/release/*
-
-  container:
-    runs-on: namespace-profile-gitea-release-docker
-    permissions:
-      contents: read
-      packages: write # to publish to ghcr.io
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7
-      # fetch all commits instead of only the last as some branches are long lived and could have many between versions
-      # fetch all tags to ensure that "git describe" reports expected Gitea version, eg. v1.21.0-dev-1-g1234567
-      - run: git fetch --unshallow --quiet --tags --force
-      - uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@99012661954931238ded8c8b007157a8430204e1 # v4.4.0
-        with:
-          cache-image: false
-      - uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@f87e5991a6d7451dcb8d9637bfbc97413f497069 # v4.4.1
-      - uses: docker/metadata-action@dc802804100637a589fabce1cb79ff13a1411302 # v6.2.0
-        id: meta
-        with:
-          images: |-
-            gitea/gitea
-            ghcr.io/go-gitea/gitea
-          flavor: |
-            latest=false
-          # 1.2.3-rc0
-          tags: |
-            type=semver,pattern={{version}}
-          annotations: |
-            org.opencontainers.image.authors="maintainers@gitea.io"
-      - uses: docker/metadata-action@dc802804100637a589fabce1cb79ff13a1411302 # v6.2.0
-        id: meta_rootless
-        with:
-          images: |-
-            gitea/gitea
-            ghcr.io/go-gitea/gitea
-          # each tag below will have the suffix of -rootless
-          flavor: |
-            latest=false
-            suffix=-rootless
-          # 1.2.3-rc0
-          tags: |
-            type=semver,pattern={{version}}
-          annotations: |
-            org.opencontainers.image.authors="maintainers@gitea.io"
-      - name: Login to Docker Hub
-        uses: docker/login-action@dbcb813823bdd20940b903addbd779551569679f # v4.6.0
-        with:
-          username: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_USERNAME }}
-          password: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_TOKEN }}
-      - name: Login to GHCR using PAT
-        uses: docker/login-action@dbcb813823bdd20940b903addbd779551569679f # v4.6.0
-        with:
-          registry: ghcr.io
-          username: ${{ github.repository_owner }}
-          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-      - name: build regular container image
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@c3c9e263c25d99ce0380d002d59b67737d91b0dc # v7.4.0
-        with:
-          context: .
-          platforms: linux/amd64,linux/arm64,linux/riscv64
-          push: true
-          tags: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tags }}
-          annotations: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.annotations }}
-      - name: build rootless container image
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@c3c9e263c25d99ce0380d002d59b67737d91b0dc # v7.4.0
-        with:
-          context: .
-          platforms: linux/amd64,linux/arm64,linux/riscv64
-          push: true
-          file: Dockerfile.rootless
-          tags: ${{ steps.meta_rootless.outputs.tags }}
-          annotations: ${{ steps.meta_rootless.outputs.annotations }}

.github/workflows/release-tag-version.yml

@@ -4,8 +4,7 @@ on:
   push:
     tags:
       - "v[0-9]*"
-      - "!v[0-9]*-rc*"
-      - "!v[0-9]*-dev"
+      - "!v[0-9]*-*"
 
 concurrency:
   group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
@@ -73,12 +72,19 @@ jobs:
         uses: dev-hanz-ops/install-gh-cli-action@6089bdde54118ad7ca3d22053eb2d69387fd2779 # v0.3.0
         with:
           gh-cli-version: 2.39.1
+      - id: range
+        run: |
+          previous=$(git tag --list --sort=-v:refname | grep -xE 'v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' | grep -A1 -xF "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" | tail -1) # highest stable version below this one
+          echo "range=$previous..$GITHUB_SHA" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+      - uses: orhun/git-cliff-action@a9a95522b26fe6403f7bb24031f21fb573d0f5ff # v4.9.1
+        with:
+          args: --tag ${{ github.ref_name }} ${{ steps.range.outputs.range }}
       - name: create github release
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_TOKEN }}
           TAG: ${{ github.ref_name }}
         run: |
-          gh release create "$TAG" --title "$TAG" --notes-from-tag dist/release/*
+          gh release create "$TAG" --title "$TAG" --notes-file git-cliff/CHANGELOG.md dist/release/*
 
   container:
     runs-on: namespace-profile-gitea-release-docker

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ In the PR title, describe the problem you are fixing, not how you are fixing it.
 Use the first comment as a summary of your PR. \
 In the PR summary, you can describe exactly how you are fixing this problem.
 
-PR titles must follow the [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/) format, because PRs are squash-merged and the PR title becomes the resulting commit message:
+PR titles must follow the [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/) format, because PRs are squash-merged and the PR title becomes the resulting commit message and release notes entry:
 
 ```text
 type(scope)!: subject

Makefile

@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ WEB_DIRS := web_src/js web_src/css
 
 ESLINT_FILES := web_src/js tools *.ts tests/e2e
 STYLELINT_FILES := web_src/css web_src/js/components/*.vue
-SPELLCHECK_FILES := $(GO_DIRS) $(WEB_DIRS) templates options/locale/locale_en-US.json .github $(filter-out CHANGELOG.md, $(wildcard *.go *.md *.yml *.yaml *.toml))
+SPELLCHECK_FILES := $(GO_DIRS) $(WEB_DIRS) templates options/locale/locale_en-US.json .github $(wildcard *.go *.md *.yml *.yaml *.toml)
 EDITORCONFIG_FILES := templates .github/workflows options/locale/locale_en-US.json
 
 GO_SOURCES := $(wildcard *.go)

README.md

@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ See [app.example.ini](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/main/custom/conf/ap
 
 **Where can I find the security patches?**
 
-In the [release log](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases) or the [change log](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md), search for the keyword `SECURITY` to find the security patches.
+Check the [release notes](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases) and [security advisories](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/security/advisories) for security patches.
 
 (more FAQs are listed in [FAQ documentation](https://docs.gitea.com/help/faq))
 

README.zh-cn.md

@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ Gitea 的发音是 [/ɡɪ’ti:/](https://youtu.be/EM71-2uDAoY)，就像 "gi-tea
 
 **在哪里可以找到安全补丁？**
 
-在 [发布日志](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases) 或 [变更日志](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md) 中，搜索关键词 `SECURITY` 以找到安全补丁。
+在 [发布日志](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases) 中，搜索关键词 `SECURITY` 以找到安全补丁。
 
 ## 许可证
 

README.zh-tw.md

@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ Gitea 的發音是 [/ɡɪ’ti:/](https://youtu.be/EM71-2uDAoY)，就像 "gi-tea
 
 **在哪裡可以找到安全補丁？**
 
-在 [發佈日誌](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases) 或 [變更日誌](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md) 中，搜索關鍵詞 `SECURITY` 以找到安全補丁。
+在 [發佈日誌](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases) 中，搜索關鍵詞 `SECURITY` 以找到安全補丁。
 
 ## 許可證
 

cliff.toml

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+[git]
+commit_parsers = [
+  { message = "^(chore|ci)(\\([\\w/.-]+\\))?!?: ", skip = true },
+  { message = "^feat", group = "Features" },
+  { message = "^enhance", group = "Enhancements" },
+  { message = "^perf", group = "Performance" },
+  { message = "^fix", group = "Bug Fixes" },
+  { message = "^docs", group = "Documentation" },
+  { message = ".*", group = "Miscellaneous" },
+]

contrib/upgrade.sh

@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ echo "Checking currently installed version..."
 current=$(giteacmd --version | cut -d ' ' -f 3)
 [[ "$current" == "$giteaversion" ]] && echo "$current is already installed, stopping." && exit 0
 if [[ -z "${no_confirm:-}"  ]]; then
-  echo "Make sure to read the changelog first: https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md"
+  echo "Make sure to read the changelog first: https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases"
   echo "Are you ready to update Gitea from ${current} to ${giteaversion}? (y/N)"
   read -r confirm
   [[ "$confirm" == "y" ]] || [[ "$confirm" == "Y" ]] || exit 1

docs/release-management.md

@@ -8,10 +8,9 @@ This document describes the release cycle, backports, versioning, and the releas
 
 We backport PRs given the following circumstances:
 
-1. Feature freeze is active, but `<version>-rc0` has not been released yet. Here, we backport as much as possible. <!-- TODO: Is that our definition with the new backport bot? -->
-2. `rc0` has been released. Here, we only backport bug- and security-fixes, and small enhancements. Large PRs such as refactors are not backported anymore. <!-- TODO: Is that our definition with the new backport bot? -->
-3. We never backport new features.
-4. We never backport breaking changes except when
+1. We backport bug- and security-fixes and small enhancements. Large changes such as refactors are not backported.
+2. We never backport new features.
+3. We never backport breaking changes except when
     1. The breaking change has no effect on the vast majority of users
     2. The component triggering the breaking change is marked as experimental
 
@@ -53,7 +52,6 @@ We use a release schedule so work, stabilization, and releases stay predictable.
 ### Cadence
 
 - Aim for a major release about every three or four months.
-- Roughly two or three months of general development, then about one month of testing and polish called the **release freeze**.
 - *Starting with v1.26 the release cycle will be more predictable and follow a more regular schedule.*
 
 ### Release schedule
@@ -65,16 +63,6 @@ We will try to publish a new major version every three months:
 - v1.28.0 in September 2026
 - v1.29.0 in December 2026
 
-#### How is the release handled?
-- The release manager will tag the release candidate (e.g. `v1.26.0-rc0`) and publish it for testing in the **first week of the release month**.
-- If there are no major issues, the release manager will check with the other maintainers and then tag the final release (e.g. `v1.26.0`) in the **one or two weeks following the release candidate**.
-
-### Feature freeze
-
-- Merge feature PRs before the freeze when you can.
-- Feature PRs still open at the freeze move to the next milestone. Watch Discord for the freeze announcement.
-- During the freeze, a **release branch** takes fixes backported from `main`. Release candidates ship for testing; the final release for that line is maintained from that branch.
-
 ### Patch releases
 
 During a cycle we may ship patch releases for an older line. For example, if the latest release is v1.2, we can still publish v1.1.1 after v1.1.0.
@@ -99,17 +87,13 @@ be reviewed by two maintainers and must pass the automatic tests.
 
 ## Releasing Gitea
 
-- Let MAJOR, MINOR and PATCH be Major, Minor and Patch version numbers, PATCH should be rc1, rc2, 0, 1, ...... MAJOR.MINOR will be kept the same as milestones on github or gitea in future.
-- Before releasing, confirm all the version's milestone issues or PRs has been resolved. Then discuss the release on Discord channel #maintainers and get agreed with almost all the owners and mergers. Or you can declare the version and if nobody is against it in about several hours.
-- If this is a big version first you have to create PR for changelog on branch `main` with PRs with label `changelog` and after it has been merged do following steps:
-  - Create `-dev` tag as `git tag -s -F release.notes vMAJOR.MINOR.0-dev` and push the tag as `git push origin vMAJOR.MINOR.0-dev`.
-  - When CI has finished building tag then you have to create a new branch named `release/vMAJOR.MINOR`
-- If it is bugfix version create PR for changelog on branch `release/vMAJOR.MINOR` and wait till it is reviewed and merged.
-- Add a tag as `git tag -s -F release.notes vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH`, release.notes file could be a temporary file to only include the changelog this version which you added to `CHANGELOG.md`.
-- And then push the tag as `git push origin vMAJOR.MINOR.$`. CI will automatically create a release and upload all the compiled binary. (But currently it doesn't add the release notes automatically. Maybe we should fix that.)
-- If needed send a frontport PR for the changelog to branch `main` and update the version in `docs/config.yaml` to refer to the new version.
-- Send PR to [blog repository](https://gitea.com/gitea/blog) announcing the release.
+Track each release using the [release issue template](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/issues/new?template=release.yaml).
+
+- Before releasing, confirm all the version's milestone issues or PRs have been resolved. Then discuss the release on Discord channel #maintainers and get agreed with almost all the owners and mergers. Or you can declare the version and if nobody is against it in about several hours.
+- When creating a release branch, tag its fork point on `main` as the next version's `-dev` tag, e.g. `v30.0.0-dev` for `release/v29`.
+- In the GitHub Actions tab, open the `release-create-tag` workflow, click "Run workflow", select the release branch and enter a version such as `28.0.1`. After maintainer approval, it pushes a signed tag and CI publishes the release with generated notes.
+- Optionally send a PR to the [blog repository](https://gitea.com/gitea/blog) announcing the release.
 - Verify all release assets were correctly published through CI on dl.gitea.com and GitHub releases. Once ACKed:
-  - bump the version of https://dl.gitea.com/gitea/version.json
+  - verify the automated update of https://dl.gitea.com/gitea/version.json, where applicable to the release line
   - merge the blog post PR
   - announce the release in discord `#announcements`