Open source release-process document (#377)

Author: AndrewJakubowicz

release-process.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+# playground-elements Release Process
+
+This document outlines the process for publishing playground-elements to [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/playground-elements).
+
+Prerequisites:
+
+- Must have npm publish permissions for playground-elements. Note: it can take a few hours for the permissions to propagate and allow publishing.
+
+> **Warning**
+> This release process has manual steps. At the ⚠️ emoji, proceed with caution.
+
+## Steps
+
+1. Manually create a release PR. Prior examples [#264](https://github.com/google/playground-elements/pull/376) [#245](https://github.com/google/playground-elements/pull/245)
+   1. Create a branch from `main`. E.g., `git checkout -b release-vX-XX-X`
+   1. Modify the CHANGELOG.md to reflect the release version
+   1. Run `npm version --no-git-tag-version [patch|minor|major]` to update `package.json` and `package-lock.json` with the correct version bump. This will also automatically run `npm run update-version-module` and stage the `src/shared/version.ts` file.
+   1. Commit and create PR with name “Release <VERSION_NUMBER>”
+1. Get code review & tests passing on PR. Squash and merge once approved.
+1. Checkout the `main` branch and `git pull`. `git status` and `git log` to ensure on `main` and last commit was the release commit.
+
+> **Warning**
+> Manual Publish to NPM - proceed with caution
+
+1. ⚠️ Running `npm publish` will always replace the `latest` tag with the version just published. The `latest` tag is what users get from `npm install playground-elements`. If publishing a pre-release, use `npm publish --no-tag`. Otherwise for a normal release, use `npm publish`.
+1. Check https://www.npmjs.com/package/playground-elements to validate that the publish succeeded, or run `npm info playground-elements`
+1. Add a [Github Release via this dashboard.](https://github.com/google/playground-elements/releases)
+   1. Press “Draft a new release”
+   1. Click “Choose a tag” and type in the version that was released. You will create this new tag when publishing the release notes. It will be associated with the latest commit on `main` which is your release.
+   1. Release title should be identical to the tag.
+   1. In the “describe this release” textbox, copy paste the `CHANGELOG.md` for the release.
+   1. Press “Publish release”.
+
+Great job! You've successfully released playground-elements to npm and tagged the release.
+
+Verification links:
+
+- NPM: https://www.npmjs.com/package/playground-elements
+- Tagged release: https://github.com/google/playground-elements/releases