Bump the AirStack VERSION in .env (semver) before merging a PR that changes Docker image content, and update CHANGELOG. Required to pass the check-version-increment gate and to trigger the docker-build release workflow.
Installation
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Bump the AirStack VERSION in .env (semver) before merging a PR that changes Docker image content, and update CHANGELOG. Required to pass the check-version-increment gate and to trigger the docker-build release workflow.
license
Apache-2.0
metadata
{"author":"AirLab CMU","repository":"AirStack"}
Skill: Bump VERSION and Cut a Release
When to Use
Bump the VERSION= line in /.env whenever a pull request materially changes the contents of any Docker image that AirStack publishes. Skipping the bump will fail the check-version-increment workflow on every PR — this is the single most common preventable CI failure for new contributors.
Bump VERSION when the PR touches:
Any Dockerfile under robot/, simulation/isaac-sim/, simulation/ms-airsim/, gcs/, common/, or tests/docker/
docker-compose.yaml or any included sub-compose file (when the change affects what is built or installed into images)
Code that is baked into an image (i.e., copied during build, not bind-mounted at runtime). For DOCKER_IMAGE_BUILD_MODE="prebuilt" this includes robot/ros_ws/src/**. For DOCKER_IMAGE_BUILD_MODE="dev" (the current default in .env) the workspace is bind-mounted, so source-only changes there do not strictly require a rebuild — but bumping is still safer if you are unsure.
Apt packages, pip requirements, ROS package manifests installed during the build
Entry-point scripts, tmux configs, or .bashrc snippets copied into images
Submodule pointer updates that affect image contents
If in doubt, bump. The CI gate enforces a strict increment vs. the base branch — you cannot land a PR with the same VERSION as the base.
When NOT to Bump
The version-increment check still runs on every PR, but the only thing it requires is that VERSION be valid semver and strictly greater than the base. For documentation-only PRs you have two options:
Preferred: still bump the patch (or pre-release counter) by one. It costs nothing, keeps the gate happy, and the docker-build only fires on push to main/developand a VERSION change, so an extra alpha bump on a docs PR is cheap.
If you really want to avoid a rebuild: the docker-build workflow only triggers when .env is in the changed paths AND VERSION= differs from HEAD~1. So a docs-only PR that does not touch .env will not rebuild — but the PR will still fail the increment check unless you bump. There is no clean way to "opt out" of the check; the simplest path is to bump the pre-release counter.
Do not bump for:
Comment-only changes to .env
CI workflow tweaks that do not affect what goes in the images
Test-only edits under tests/ (unless you also touched tests/docker/)
If you change only docs but the gate still fails because base advanced past you, rebase and bump again.
How VERSION Drives the Build Pipeline
Three workflows in .github/workflows/ interact with VERSION:
1. check-version-increment.yml — the PR gate
Trigger: every pull_request.
Logic: runs a Python script that reads VERSION= from the PR's .env, reads the same line from origin/<base_ref>:.env, and validates:
PR version matches the regex ^(\d+)\.(\d+)\.(\d+)(?:-(alpha|beta|rc)\.(\d+))?$
PR version is strictly greater than base version, with pre-release ordering alpha < beta < rc < (no suffix / release)
Accepted formats (from the workflow's own error message):
Rejected:1.2, 1.2.3-rc1 (no dot before N), 1.2.3-dev, 1.2.3+meta, v1.2.3, anything with build metadata.
Comparison tuple:(major, minor, patch, pre_rank, pre_num) where pre_rank = alpha:0, beta:1, rc:2, release:3. So 1.3.0-alpha.5 < 1.3.0-beta.1 < 1.3.0-rc.1 < 1.3.0. A release version always sorts above any pre-release of the same MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH.
2. docker-build.yml — the publish trigger
Trigger: push to main or develop whose changed paths include .env, and the VERSION= line in .env differs from the previous commit. Also runs on manual workflow_dispatch.
Behavior on tag change:
Runs on a self-hosted ephemeral GPU runner ([self-hosted, airstack-ephemeral]).
docker compose build for profiles desktop,isaac-sim,ms-airsim.
docker compose push to ${PROJECT_DOCKER_REGISTRY} (set in .env — currently airlab-docker.andrew.cmu.edu/airstack).
Keyless cosign sign of every pushed image digest via GitHub OIDC.
cosign verify against the workflow's certificate identity.
Skip behavior: if the merge commit on main/develop does not actually change VERSION=, the build job is skipped (the check-changes job sets tag-changed=false).
3. deploy_docs_from_release.yaml — versioned docs
Trigger: GitHub release event with types: [published].
Behavior: runs mike deploy --push --update-aliases <release.tag_name> latest, publishing the docs site under the release tag and pointing the latest alias at it.
Companion workflows publish unversioned docs from main (default alias main) and develop (alias develop).
So the full release path is: bump VERSION → PR → merge to main/develop (rebuild + push + sign) → cut a GitHub Release matching that VERSION (versioned docs go live).
Choosing the Bump Type
Use this decision tree on the current version (currently 0.18.0-alpha.7):
Is this a breaking API/topic/interface change?
├── yes → bump MAJOR, reset MINOR=0, PATCH=0 (e.g. 0.18.0-alpha.7 → 1.0.0-alpha.1 if pre-1.0)
└── no
├── New feature / new module / new Docker image content?
│ └── yes → bump MINOR, reset PATCH=0 (e.g. 0.18.0 → 0.19.0)
└── Bug fix / small tweak / dependency bump?
└── yes → bump PATCH (e.g. 0.18.0 → 0.18.1)
Are you mid-cycle on a pre-release line (suffix present)?
├── Same line, more iteration → increment N (0.18.0-alpha.7 → 0.18.0-alpha.8)
├── Promoting alpha → beta → reset N to 1 (0.18.0-alpha.7 → 0.18.0-beta.1)
├── Promoting beta → rc → reset N to 1 (0.18.0-beta.4 → 0.18.0-rc.1)
└── Promoting rc → release → drop suffix (0.18.0-rc.3 → 0.18.0)
Notes:
AirStack is pre-1.0; many "breaking" changes still bump MINOR rather than MAJOR. Use judgment, and prefer pre-release suffixes (-alpha.N) for the active development line so feature PRs do not have to fight over MINOR numbers.
The current pattern in git history is per-PR alpha bumps on the development line and a final un-suffixed bump at release time (e.g. 0.16.1-rc → 0.16.1, 0.17.0-rc1 → 0.17.0 — note the older -rc1 form predates the current validator and would be rejected today; use -rc.1).
Bumping Steps
1. Read the current VERSION
airstack version
# → AirStack Version: 0.18.0-alpha.7
(Equivalent: grep '^VERSION=' .env.)
2. Edit .env
Open /.env and change exactly the VERSION= line. Keep the surrounding comments and quoting intact:
The validator strips surrounding " or ', so either quoting style works, but match the existing style (double quotes).
3. Update CHANGELOG.md
Add an entry under ## [Unreleased] describing your change (see "CHANGELOG Conventions" below). For a true release (no pre-release suffix), promote [Unreleased] to a new dated version section.
4. Verify locally
airstack version # prints the new value
grep '^VERSION=' .env# sanity-check the literal line
git diff .env CHANGELOG.md # review the diff
Recent commits in this repo use exactly this phrasing (Bump version to 0.17.0, Bump version to 0.16.1).
CHANGELOG Conventions
CHANGELOG.md follows Keep a Changelog 1.1.0 and Semantic Versioning. The literal layout in the repo is:
# Changelog
All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
## [Unreleased]### Added-<bullet>### Changed-<bullet>### Fixed-<bullet>## [1.0.0] - 2024-12-19
First official public release.
### Added-<bullets>### Fixed-<bullets>### Changed-<bullets>### Removed-<bullets>
Rules:
Use the H2 sections Added, Changed, Fixed, Removed, Deprecated, Security as needed (Keep a Changelog standard set).
For pre-release bumps (-alpha.N, -beta.N, -rc.N), keep your bullets under ## [Unreleased]. Do not create a section per alpha.
For a release bump (no suffix), rename [Unreleased] to ## [<VERSION>] - <YYYY-MM-DD> and add a fresh empty ## [Unreleased] above it.
Use ISO date format YYYY-MM-DD.
Write user-facing prose, not commit log dumps. Mention new modules, breaking changes, and notable behavior shifts.
Common Pitfalls
Forgetting the bump. The check-version-increment job fails with ::error::VERSION must be strictly greater than the base branch version. Bump and force-push the branch.
Invalid semver. Forms like 1.2, 1.2.3-rc1, 1.2.3-dev, 1.2.3+sha.abc, v1.2.3, or empty strings fail with ::error::VERSION '<x>' does not match the required format. The only allowed pre-release tags are exactly alpha, beta, rc, each followed by a literal dot and an integer (e.g. -rc.1, never -rc1).
Going backwards.0.18.0 → 0.18.0-rc.1 looks like progress but is a regression: release > rc. Always move forward in the comparison tuple.
Two PRs racing for the same number. Whichever merges last wins; the loser's check-version-increment will start failing the moment the base advances past it. Rebase on the updated base branch and bump again.
Bumping but forgetting the CHANGELOG. No CI gate enforces this, but reviewers will (and the release docs workflow lists what shipped per version, so missing entries become invisible history).
Bumping for pure docs PRs. Wastes a registry tag. Prefer to keep docs-only changes off .env if possible — but if the gate is failing, an alpha bump is the path of least resistance.
Editing VERSION= quoting. The extractor regex ^VERSION\s*=\s*["\']?([^"\'#\s]+) handles double quotes, single quotes, or no quotes, and stops at #/whitespace. Don't add inline comments after the value (e.g. VERSION="0.18.1" # bumped) — the trailing # bumped will be stripped from the value but obscures intent; put comments on their own line above.
Touching only sub-compose .env files. The check looks at the repo-root.env only. robot/docker/.env and friends are container env files, not the version source of truth.
Force-pushing after merge to fix CHANGELOG. Don't. Land a follow-up PR with the CHANGELOG correction (and, by the rules above, another tiny VERSION bump).
Release Checklist
For a normal feature/fix PR:
Confirm the PR changes Docker image content or otherwise warrants a bump (see "When to Use").
Pick the bump type (see "Choosing the Bump Type").
Edit /.env — change only the VERSION= line.
Update CHANGELOG.md under ## [Unreleased].
airstack version and git diff .env CHANGELOG.md to verify.
Commit (Bump version to <new> is the established style).
Push and open the PR. Confirm Check VERSION Increment passes green.
After review, merge into develop (or main per branch policy).
Watch Auto Build on Docker Image Tag Change on the merged commit. It runs on the ephemeral GPU runner; expect ~10–60 min depending on profiles. It must succeed before downstream consumers can docker compose pull the new tag.
For a true release (dropping the pre-release suffix):
Land final fixes on develop with -rc.N bumps.
Open a PR that bumps VERSION="X.Y.Z-rc.N" → VERSION="X.Y.Z".
In the same PR, promote ## [Unreleased] to ## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD and add a fresh empty ## [Unreleased].
Merge to main.
Wait for docker-build.yml to push and sign all images.
Create a GitHub Release with tag X.Y.Z (matching VERSION exactly). Publishing the release fires deploy_docs_from_release.yaml, which runs mike deploy --push --update-aliases X.Y.Z latest and updates the versioned docs site.
Verify the docs site shows the new version under the version selector and that latest resolves to it.
