RELEASING.md

Releasing CubeDynamics

This checklist is the shortest reliable path from a green main branch to a publishable release.

Before tagging

1. Update the version in pyproject.toml and src/cubedynamics/version.py.

2. Sanity-check install and packaging metadata:

   python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"
   pytest -m "not integration and not online" -q
   mkdocs build --strict
   python -m build
   python -m twine check dist/*

3. Smoke-test the built wheel in a clean environment:

   python -m venv .release-venv
   .release-venv/bin/pip install --upgrade pip
   .release-venv/bin/pip install dist/*.whl
   .release-venv/bin/python -c "import cubedynamics; import cubedynamics.verbs"

Tag and publish

1. Commit the release metadata updates.

2. Create and push a tag such as v0.1.0.

3. Publish to PyPI with trusted publishing or:

   python -m twine upload dist/*

4. Draft a GitHub Release for the tag.

5. Update CITATION.cff, .zenodo.json, and paper/paper.md with the minted DOI once Zenodo finishes archiving the release.

After release

1. Verify pip install cubedynamics works from a fresh environment.
2. Confirm the docs site matches the released version.
3. Announce any breaking changes or deprecations in the changelog and release notes.