docs(release): update release docs

docs/faq.md

@@ -320,3 +320,19 @@ FATA[0060] failed to sync cache: timed out waiting for the condition
 
 You may not have the correct permissions required to query all the necessary resources in your kubernetes cluster. Specifically, you may be running in a `namespace` that you don't have these permissions in.
 By default, commands are run against the `default` namespace. Try changing this to your particular namespace to see if that fixes the issue.
+
+## When we plan to release a v1.0, our first `major` release?
+
+> We should really get away from 0.x only if we have APIs that we can declare stable.
+
+The jump to `1.0` isn’t just symbolic—it’s a promise. If the `External-DNS` maintainers can confidently say that config structures, CRDs, and flags won’t break unexpectedly, that’s the moment to move to `1.0`
+
+Before moving to 1.0, review and lock down:
+
+- CRD schemas (especially DNSEndpoint if applicable)
+- Annotations support
+- Command-line flags and configuration behavior
+- Environment variables and metrics
+- Provider interface stability
+- Helm chart values — these often break user setups more than code changes
+- Once these are considered stable and documented, then a `1.0` tag makes sense.

docs/release.md

@@ -28,6 +28,13 @@ These are the conventions that we will be using for releases following `0.7.6`:
 
 - **Major** version should be upgraded if we introduce breaking changes.
 
+### Semantic Versioning Discipline
+
+External-DNS follows semantic versioning principles:
+
+- `0.x` → pre-stable, APIs subject to change.
+- `1.x` → stable APIs and core functionality; breaking changes require a major bump.
+
 ## How to release a new image
 
 ### Prerequisite

docs/version-update-playbook.md

@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+# 🧭 External-DNS Version Upgrade Playbook
+
+## Overview
+
+This playbook describes the best practices and steps to safely upgrade **External-DNS** in Kubernetes clusters.
+
+Upgrading External-DNS involves validating configuration compatibility, testing changes, and ensuring no unintended DNS record modifications occur.
+
+> Note; We strongly encourage the community to help the maintainers validate changes before they are merged or released.
+> Early validation and feedback are key to ensuring stable upgrades for everyone.
+
+---
+
+## 1. Review Release Notes
+
+- Visit the official [External-DNS Releases](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/external-dns/releases).
+- Review all versions between your current and target release.
+- Pay attention to:
+  - **Breaking changes** (flags, CRD fields, provider behaviors). Not all changes could be captured as breaking changes.
+  - **Deprecations**
+  - **Provider-specific updates**
+  - **Bug fixes**
+
+> ⚠️ Breaking CLI flag or annotation changes are common in `0.x` releases.
+
+---
+
+## 2. Review Helm Chart and Configuration
+
+If using Helm:
+
+- Compare your Helm chart version to the version supporting the new app release.
+- Check for:
+  - `values.yaml` structural changes
+  - Default arguments under `extraArgs`
+  - Updates to RBAC, ServiceAccounts, or Deployment templates
+
+---
+
+## 3. Check Compatibility
+
+Before upgrading, confirm:
+
+- The new version supports your **Kubernetes version** (e.g., 1.25+).
+- The **DNS provider** integration you use is still supported.
+
+> 💡 Watch out for deprecated Kubernetes API versions (e.g., `v1/endpoints` → `discovery.k8s.io/v1/endpointslices`).
+
+---
+
+## 4. Test in Non-Production or with Dry Run flag
+
+Run the new External-DNS version in a **staging cluster**.
+
+- Use `--dry-run` mode to preview intended changes:
+  - Validate logs for any unexpected record changes.
+  - Ensure `external-dns` correctly identifies and plans updates without actually applying them.
+  - **submit a feature request if `dry-run` is not supported for a specific case
+
+  ```yaml
+  args:
+    - --dry-run
+  ```
+
+---
+
+5. Backup DNS State
+
+Before applying the upgrade, take a snapshot of your DNS zone(s).
+
+**Example (AWS Route53):**
+
+  ```sh
+  aws route53 list-resource-record-sets --hosted-zone-id ZONE_ID > backup.json
+  ```
+
+Use equivalent tooling for your DNS provider (Cloudflare, Google Cloud DNS, etc.).
+
+> Having a backup ensures you can restore records if External-DNS misconfigures entries and you have a solid DR solution.
+
+6. Perform a Controlled Rollout
+
+Instead of upgrading in-place, use a phased rollout across multiple environments or clusters.
+
+Recommended Approaches
+
+a. Multi-Cluster Rollout and Progression
+
+  1. Deploy the new `external-dns` version first in sandbox, then staging, and finally production.
+  2. Monitor each environment for correct record syncing and absence of unexpected deletions.
+  3. Promote the configuration only after validation in the lower environment.
+
+b. Read-Only Parallel Deployment
+
+  1. Run a second External-DNS instance (e.g., external-dns-readonly) with:
+
+  ```yaml
+  args:
+    - --dry-run
+    - ...other flags
+  ```
+
+  1. Observe logs and planned record updates to confirm behavior.
+  2. Observe logs and planned record updates to confirm behavior.
+
+  7. Monitor and Validate
+
+After deploying the new version, continuously observe both application logs and DNS synchronization metrics to ensure External-DNS behaves as expected.
+
+**Logging**
+
+Check logs for anomalies or unexpected record changes:
+
+```yaml
+kubectl logs -n external-dns deploy/external-dns --tail=100 -f
+```
+
+Look for:
+
+- Creating record or Deleting record entries — validate these match expected changes.
+- `WARN` or `ERROR` messages, particularly related to provider authentication or permissions.
+- `TXT` registry conflicts (ownership issues between multiple instances).
+
+If using a centralized logging stack (e.g., Loki, Elasticsearch, or CloudWatch Logs):
+
+- Create a temporary dashboard or saved query filtering for "Creating record" OR "Deleting record".
+- Correlate `external-dns` logs with DNS provider API logs to detect mismatches.
+
+**Metrics and Observability**
+
+Check metrics exposed by External-DNS (if Prometheus scraping is enabled):
+
+Focus on:
+
+- Error rate (*_errors_total)
+- Number of syncs per interval (*_sync_duration_seconds)
+- Provider API call spikes
+
+Example PromQL checks:
+
+```promql
+rate(external_dns_registry_errors_total[5m]) > 0
+rate(external_dns_provider_requests_total{operation="DELETE"}[5m])
+```
+
+## External Verification
+
+Ideally, you should have a set of automated tests
+
+Query key DNS records directly:
+
+  ```sh
+  dig +short myapp.example.com
+  nslookup api.staging.example.com
+  ```
+
+Ensure that A, CNAME, and TXT records remain correct and point to expected endpoints.
+
+Additional Tips
+
+- Automate upgrade testing with CI/CD pipelines.
+- Maintain clear CHANGELOGs and migration notes for internal users.
+- Tag known good versions in Git or Helm values for rollback.
+- Avoid skipping multiple minor versions when possible.

mkdocs.yml

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ nav:
       - Code of Conduct: code-of-conduct.md
       - License: LICENSE.md
       - Providers: docs/providers.md
+      - Version Update: docs/version-update-playbook.md
   - Tutorials: docs/tutorials/*
   - Annotations:
       - About: docs/annotations/annotations.md