branch-out-release

name	branch-out-release
description	Create a new RediSearch public release branch from master or prepare branch-out changes. Use when branching a version line such as 8.10 from master, setting initial version.h, copying GitHub branch protection, adapting release-branch CI gates, triggering validation, or documenting follow-up master-to-release sync policy.

Branch Out Release

Use this for RediSearch OSS release branch creation from master.

Workflow

1. Resolve current state.

   • Fetch origin/master and the latest release branch used as the template, usually the previous line such as 8.8.
   • Verify the target branch does not already exist: git ls-remote --heads origin <target-branch>.
   • Check current master validation before branch-out. Report the latest Nightly Flow status and distinguish infra failures from product/test failures.
   • Use a clean worktree instead of the user's dirty checkout.

2. Create the official branch.

   • Branch from the selected origin/master SHA.
   • Set src/version.h to the requested initial milestone. For 8.10, this was 8.9.80.
   • Commit with a clear message such as Initial 8.10 branch.
   • Push the new branch before applying branch protection.

3. Add branch protection.

   • Copy settings from the previous public release branch, not from memory.
   • Create a new exact-pattern rule for the new branch, for example 8.10.
   • Do not modify the source branch rule and do not use a wildcard rule.
   • Explicitly set every relevant value, including false/null-like settings, so GitHub does not fall back to new-rule defaults.
   • Preserve required status check bindings. In this repo, pr-validation is bound to the GitHub Actions app and license/cla is unbound.
   • Read back both source and target protection rules and compare. Only ids, URLs, pattern, and matching refs should differ.

4. Enable merge queue.

   • For parity with existing release branches, enable the classic branch protection checkbox: Settings -> Branches -> Branch protection rules -> edit the exact target branch rule -> Require merge queue.
   • Do not use repository rulesets as the normal copy path. A ruleset merge_queue rule can make repository.mergeQueue non-null, but it is a different surface and does not check the classic branch protection UI box.
   • Read the previous release branch queue with repository.mergeQueue(branch: "<source-branch>").
   • In the UI, copy every queue value that is exposed from the source branch to the target branch. For 8.8 to initial 8.10, the effective values were mergeMethod=SQUASH, mergingStrategy=ALLGREEN, maximumEntriesToBuild=5, maximumEntriesToMerge=5, minimumEntriesToMerge=1, minimumEntriesToMergeWaitTime=300, and checkResponseTimeout=21600.
   • Read back repository.mergeQueue(branch: "<target-branch>") and compare. Only ids, URLs, labels/names, target refs, and current queue entries should differ. If GitHub hides some queue fields in the UI, save the visible fields first, then use this readback to detect whether hidden defaults match the source branch.
   • Do not enqueue release CI PRs until the target branch reports isMergeQueueEnabled: true for that PR.

5. Adapt release-branch CI.

   • Do this as a normal PR after protection is enabled.
   • Compare the new branch against the previous release branch under .github/workflows/.
   • The important release-branch CI invariants are:
     • PR flow stays lightweight: Ubuntu quick tests by default. Coverage and sanitize are label-conditioned: they run only when a non-draft PR workflow event sees enforce:coverage or enforce:sanitize. Adding those labels alone may not start a run; add the label before a push/update or rerun the workflow.
     • Merge queue is the release gate: full supported platform/architecture matrix, full tests, coverage/sanitize, fail-fast, separate coordinator jobs.
     • Nightly is less critical than master: full matrix but QUICK=1, pinned Redis SHA, not Redis unstable.
   • Pin Redis to the current release-branch SHA until there is a better release/pre-release line. For 8.8 and the initial 8.10 branch-out, this SHA was 3cd464263b03b425ffae2e23db24df3dc9346871.
   • Check whether RedisJSON/RedisJSON has a matching release branch: git ls-remote --heads [e-mail]:RedisJSON/RedisJSON.git <target-branch>. Use the matching branch for PR/MQ only if it exists. Otherwise keep master and add a TODO in the workflow.
   • Preserve newer master CI infrastructure unless it conflicts with the release-branch gating policy.

6. Register the new line for backports.

   • Add the new branch to release_branches in .github/release-branches.json on master (oldest first; put a -rse variant immediately after its base line). This is what /backport-agent >= <version> expands over, so a line missing from the file is silently skipped by every "this version and newer" backport request.
   • Create the matching backport labels so the label-driven flows can target the line: backport <target-branch> (legacy task-backport_pr.yml flow) and backport-<target-branch>-agent (Codex agent flow). Copy the description/colour convention from the previous line's labels.
   • Retiring a line is the mirror image: remove it from the file. Leaving a dead branch listed is harmless — the backport agent's per-target git ls-remote pre-flight skips it — but keeping the list truthful avoids confusing expansion output.

7. Validate.

   • Inspect diffs for 8.8, master, and the new branch so release-only CI behavior is intentional.
   • Manually trigger Nightly Flow on the new branch if needed: gh workflow run event-nightly.yml --repo RediSearch/RediSearch --ref <target-branch>.
   • Remember that scheduled workflows run from the default branch; use manual dispatch for release branch nightlies unless a dedicated schedule exists.

8. Future sync policy.

   • Prefer normal merges from master into the release branch while the release branch is still tracking master closely.
   • Do not force-push or overwrite the official release branch.
   • During master-to-release merges, preserve release-only files such as src/version.h and release-branch CI differences.
   • Do not merge release branch version changes back into master.

PR Notes

When opening PRs, use .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md.

• Branch creation/version or release CI changes are user/release-facing enough to require release notes unless the release manager says otherwise.
• Skill-only documentation on master is internal-only and normally does not require release notes.