Git Tag Release Management

December 29, 2021

Introduction

A Git release is a GitHub object that helps show official program versions on your project page. The object allows showing a specific commit point, a Git tag, with a release status. Managing releases is an easy and straightforward process performed on the GitHub website.

This guide shows how to manage Git releases from tags on the GitHub website.

Git Release Tag Management

Prerequisites

Note: Our Bare Metal Cloud servers integrate seamlessly with GitHub actions.

Choose from a number of preconfigured server instances and easily create, delete or obtain information about servers.

View a Release

To view all the releases for a project, do the following:

1. Log into your GitHub account.

2. Access the repository from the main page.

git main page repositories

3. Click Releases, on the right side of the screen.

releases repository github

4. Search for the desired release in the search box and press Enter.

git search release

5. View the detailed information by clicking the release name.

git release information

The page contains all the information for the given release. The Assets section contains the source code for that release in zip and tar.gz format.

Create a Git Release

To create a release, follow the steps below:

1. From the Releases page, click Draft New Release.

git draft new release

Note: Follow the steps from the previous section to view the Releases page. Alternatively, use the following link format to access the page quickly:

https://github.com/<username>/<repository>/releases

2. Next, click Choose a tag to open a dropdown menu and select the Git tag release.

git draft release tag

Alternatively, create a new tag by typing the name and hitting Enter.

new tag release

3. Skip this step if you're using an existing tag. Otherwise, select the Target dropdown menu and choose the branch for the new tag.

new tag target

4. Then, add a title and a description for the release. Optionally, upload files and images for the description.

release title and description

Alternatively, select the Auto-generate release notes option.

Note: To add contributors, @mention the GitHub users in the description.

5. Attach any additional files and binaries in the next section.

6. If the release is not production-ready and may contains bugs, tick the This is a pre-release checkbox.

pre-release and publish button

7. Once ready, click the Publish release button at the bottom of the page. After publishing, the interface shows the detailed information for the release, which is publicly visible.

Get Notified About New Releases

To keep track of the newest releases for a repository, follow the steps below:

1. Open the repository's main page.

2. Click the Watch dropdown menu.

git repository watch button

3. Select Custom from the list.

git repository watch custom events

4. Check the Releases box and click Apply to receive notifications for new releases.

git repository watch custom releases

Edit a Release

Make changes to existing releases to update release information.

To edit an existing release:

1. Navigate to the Releases page:

https://github.com/<username>/<repository>/releases

2. Search for the release you want to edit in the search bar. If you don't know the release name, scroll down, and locate the desired release.

3. Click the pencil icon to edit the release.

git edit release

4. Edit the required information. Editing allows making following changes to the existing release:

  • Editing Git tag to an existing or new tag.
  • Modifying the release name.
  • Changing the release description notes.
  • Adding any additional files.
  • Changing the release status (from pre-release to release or vice versa).

Once finished click Update release to apply the changes.

update git release

The new information is immediately visible.

Delete a Release

To delete a release, follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Releases page by navigating through the interface, or following the provided link format:

https://github.com/<username>/<repository>/releases

2. Locate the release you want to delete by using the search bar or scrolling through the releases list.

3. Delete a release by pressing the trashcan icon.

git delete release button

As a result, a prompt appears, asking to confirm deletion.

git delete release confirmation

Press Delete this release to confirm removal. This makes the release unavailable.

Conclusion

After following this tutorial, you know how to manage and work with Git releases. The releases are publicly visible and inform users about the release history for a repository.

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Milica Dancuk
Milica Dancuk is a technical writer at phoenixNAP who is passionate about programming. Her background in Electrical Engineering and Computing combined with her teaching experience give her the ability to easily explain complex technical concepts through her content.
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