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📦engineering

Software Release Checklist

Ship a release safely: freeze, test, stage, deploy, and monitor.

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How it works

A release goes wrong when steps are done from memory and one gets skipped under pressure. This template makes the release repeatable: freeze the branch, run the full test suite, update the changelog and version, stage and smoke-test the build, prepare rollback steps, deploy, then monitor. Apply it for every release so shipping is a calm checklist instead of a tense scramble.

What you get (7 tasks)

  • Freeze the release branchhigh~15m

    Cut and freeze the release branch so no unreviewed changes slip into this version while it is being prepared.

    #prep
  • Run the full test suitehigh~45m

    Run all automated tests against the release branch and fix anything that fails before going further.

    #testing
  • Update the changelog and versionmedium~30m

    Write the changelog for this release and bump the version number so the release is clearly identified.

    #prep
  • Stage and smoke-test the buildhigh~45m

    Deploy the build to staging and run a smoke test of the critical paths to catch obvious breakage early.

    #testing
  • Prepare rollback stepshigh~20m

    Write down exactly how to roll back this release. Having the steps ready before deploy turns an incident into a quick recovery.

    #prep
  • Deploy to productionhigh~30m

    Push the release to production following the deploy process, and confirm the critical paths work live.

    #deploy
  • Post-release: monitor errors and metricsmedium~45m

    Watch error rates, logs, and key metrics for a while after the deploy. The release is not done until it is confirmed healthy.

    #monitoring

When to use this

  • Make every release follow the same reliable steps
  • Catch regressions before they reach production
  • Have rollback steps ready before deploying, not during an incident
  • Confirm a release is healthy with real post-deploy monitoring

Frequently asked

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