release-agent

name	release-agent
description	Release a new version of the Observe Agent. Use when the user asks to release, tag, publish, or cut a new version of the observe-agent, or mentions the release process.

Release Observe Agent

Step 1: Review changelog and determine version bump

Run the Generate Release Changelog action if not already done. Then determine the latest released version and review changes:

git tag --sort=-v:refname | head -10
git log <last-tag>..HEAD --oneline
git log <last-tag>..HEAD --oneline --grep="!"  # breaking changes

Present the changes to the user and recommend a version bump:

• Major: Breaking changes — removed metrics/logs/traces, removed components, removed CLI commands/flags, removed OS/arch support, major OTel Collector upgrade
• Minor: Non-breaking features — new metrics/logs/traces, new components, new CLI commands/flags, OTel minor/patch upgrades, sampling/filtering changes
• Patch: Security fixes, smaller bugfixes

Confirm the new version number with the user before proceeding.

Step 2: Check for CVEs

First, do a quick local check by building the Docker image and running Docker Scout:

goreleaser build --snapshot --id=linux_build --skip=validate --single-target
cp dist/linux_amd64/linux_build_linux_amd64_v1/observe-agent .
docker build --build-arg TARGETPLATFORM=. -f packaging/docker/Dockerfile -t observeinc/observe-agent:test .
docker scout cves --only-fixed --only-severity medium,critical,high observeinc/observe-agent:test

If the local scout check is clean, proceed to the next step. If CVEs are found (or to get full recommendations), also run the Docker Image Vulnerability Check against main. If critical or high vulnerabilities are found:

1. Identify the import chain for the vulnerable package:

go mod why -m $PACKAGE_NAME

2. If the package comes from otel-collector-contrib, check if the latest upstream version resolves the CVE. If so, bump versions in builder-config.yaml — note that all OTel versions (base collector + components) usually need to be bumped together.

3. If the package is imported directly, run:

go mod tidy

Repeat until no critical/high CVEs remain.

Step 3: Test with a nightly release

Trigger the Release Nightly Version action. This verifies:

• The goreleaser build process succeeds
• The built Docker image works correctly

The nightly image is automatically deployed to the eng cluster. You can also test locally using the agent dev-tools repo:

./start_k8s_demo.sh -f helm/values/nightly-image.yaml

Verify via the Observe MCP that all expected data from the eng cluster is flowing:

• k8s explorer: OTel demo pods should appear as running pods
• APM / traces: OTel demo services should appear with traces and logs (if APM transform is running slowly, check traces directly)

Do not proceed to tagging until nightly testing passes.

Step 4: Create and push the tag

Ensure you're on main with a clean working tree, then:

git tag v<new-version>
git push origin tag v<new-version>

Step 5: Monitor the Release Version action

The tag push triggers the Release Version workflow.

You MUST actively monitor the workflow until it reaches a terminal state (success or failure). Do not leave this step to the user — poll the run status in the background and report the outcome.

1. Find the triggered run:

gh run list --repo observeinc/observe-agent --workflow release.yaml --limit 1 --json databaseId,status,conclusion

2. Watch it until completion (past successful releases take ~30-37 minutes):

gh run watch <run-id> --repo observeinc/observe-agent

3. On failure, fetch logs and surface them:

gh run view <run-id> --repo observeinc/observe-agent --log-failed | tail -100

Do not proceed to Step 6 until the workflow succeeds.

Step 6: Draft release announcement

Once the action succeeds, draft a message for the #observe-agent slack channel with this structure:

Observe Agent v<version> Released :rocket:

We've just released v<version>! Here's what's new:

**Features**
- <list of feat: commits with PR numbers>

**Fixes**
- <list of fix: commits with PR numbers>

**Infrastructure** (if applicable)
- <list of chore: commits summarized>

Include a link to the GitHub release page.