Release process (#661)

* chore: update RELEASING.md

* chore: update RELEASING.md

* chore: add known issue

Co-authored-by: Daniel Dyla <[email protected]>

Author: mayurkale22

RELEASING.md

@@ -2,14 +2,42 @@
 
 This document explains how to publish all OT modules at version x.y.z. Ensure that you’re following semver when choosing a version number.
 
+Release Process:
+
+* [Update to latest locally](#update-to-latest-locally)
+* [Create a new branch](#create-a-new-branch)
+* [Prepare each package for release](#prepare-each-package-for-release)
+* [Use the Changelog to create a GitHub Release](#use-the-changelog-to-create-a-github-release)
+* [Create a new PR](#create-a-new-pr)
+* [Merge and pull](#merge-and-pull)
+* [Publish all packages](#publish-all-packages)
+* [Publish the GitHub Release](#publish-the-github-release)
+* [Update CHANGELOG](#update-changelog)
+
+## Update to latest locally
+
+Use `git fetch` and `git checkout origin/master` to ensure you’re on the latest commit. Make sure you have no unstaged changes. Ideally, also use `git clean -dfx` to remove all ignored and untracked files.
+
+## Create a new branch
+
+Create a new branch called `x.y.z-proposal` from the current commit.
+
+## Prepare each package for release
+
+Decide on the next `major.minor.patch` release number based on [semver](http://semver.org/) guidelines.
+
+* Use `npm install` command to initialize all package directories
+* Use `lerna publish --skip-npm --no-git-tag-version --no-push` to bump the version in all `package.json`
+* Use `npm run bootstrap` to generate latest `version.ts` files
+
 ## Use the Changelog to create a GitHub Release
 
 ### Generate the changelog with lerna
 
 Since we use `lerna`, we can use [lerna-changelog](https://github.com/lerna/lerna-changelog#lerna-changelog)
 
 #### How to use
-Pass your [github token](https://help.github.com/en/articles/creating-a-personal-access-token-for-the-command-line) to generate the changelog automatically. 
+Pass your [github token](https://help.github.com/en/articles/creating-a-personal-access-token-for-the-command-line) to generate the changelog automatically.
 For security reasons, when you create a Github token, select the permissions: under **repo**, select **Access public repositories**, **commit status**.
 
 In your terminal, execute the following command:
@@ -41,3 +69,43 @@ GITHUB_AUTH=xxxxx lerna-changelog --from=v1.0.0 --to=v2.0.0
 #### Update Changelog file
 
 From what `lerna-changelog` has generated, starts new Unreleased label. Follow the example set by recent Released label.
+
+On [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-js/releases), follow the example set by recent releases to populate a summary of changes, as well as a list of commits that were applied since the last release. Save it as a draft, don’t publish it. Don’t forget the tag -- call it `vx.y.z` and leave it pointing at `master` for now (this can be changed as long as the GitHub release isn’t published).
+
+## Create a new PR
+
+Create a pull request titled `chore: x.y.z release proposal`. The commit body should just be a link to the draft notes. Someone who can access draft notes should approve it, looking in particular for test passing, and whether the draft notes are satisfactory.
+
+## Merge and pull
+
+Merge the PR, and pull the changes locally (using the commands in the first step). Ensure that `chore: x.y.z release proposal` is the most recent commit.
+
+## Publish all packages
+
+Go into each directory and use `npm publish` (requires permissions) to publish the package. You can use the following script to automate this.
+
+```bash
+#!/bin/bash
+
+for dir in $(ls packages); do
+ pushd packages/$dir
+ npm publish
+ popd
+done
+```
+
+Check your e-mail and make sure the number of “you’ve published this module” emails matches the number you expect.
+
+## Publish the GitHub Release
+Publish the GitHub release, ensuring that the tag points to the newly landed commit corresponding to release proposal `x.y.z`.
+
+## Update CHANGELOG
+
+* After releasing is done, update the [CHANGELOG.md](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-js/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md) and start new Unreleased label.
+* Create a new commit with the exact title: `Post Release: update CHANGELOG.md`.
+* Go through PR review and merge it to GitHub master branch.
+
+
+## Known Issues
+
+* The `examples/` and `getting-started/` folders are not part of lerna packages, we need to manually bump the version in `package.json`.