release-checklist

name	release-checklist
description	Prepare a CRAN release of the circumplex package — checks, versioning, NEWS, cran-comments, submission steps. Use when the user says to prepare a release, submit to CRAN, or cut a version.

release-checklist

Walk the package to CRAN-ready state. Do the steps in order; report each outcome. Never submit to CRAN yourself — prepare everything and hand the final devtools::submit_cran() / web-form step to the user.

1. Pre-flight

• Working tree clean apart from release changes; on master or a release branch.
• MILESTONES.md: active milestone complete (or explicitly descoped items moved back to ROADMAP.md with a note).
• devtools::document() produces no diff (docs in sync).

2. Verification (all must pass locally)

• devtools::test() — no failures, no new skips.
• devtools::check(args = "--no-manual") — 0 errors, 0 warnings; NOTEs individually justified in cran-comments.md.
• Run /statistical-validation if any estimation code changed since the last release.
• Suggest to the user a deep review of the release diff: /code-review high by default, or /code-review max for a large or statistically risky release (e.g. the M4 CircE work). Both run locally. Only mention the billed cloud /code-review ultra if the user asks for the deepest possible pass on a flagship release — it is expensive; do not default to it. Also suggest win-builder / R-devel via devtools::check_win_devel() (results arrive by email to the maintainer address).
• Reverse dependencies: check CRAN for revdeps (tools::package_dependencies("circumplex", reverse = TRUE)); if any, run revdepcheck or justify skipping.

3. Version & metadata

• DESCRIPTION: bump to release version (drop .9000 tail; patch/minor/major per ROADMAP milestone scope).
• NEWS.md: development heading renamed to the release version; entries complete, user-facing wording, breaking changes flagged prominently.
• cran-comments.md: updated with test environments, check results, NOTE justifications, revdep summary.
• If URLs changed anywhere, run urlchecker::url_check().

4. Submission (user-driven)

• Present the release summary and stop for the user to submit (devtools::submit_cran() confirms via maintainer email).

5. Post-acceptance (run when the user reports acceptance)

• Git tag vX.Y.Z; delete CRAN-SUBMISSION if present.
• Bump DESCRIPTION to X.Y.Z.9000; add new development heading to NEWS.md.
• Move the finished milestone (its task list + full log) from MILESTONES.md to the top of MILESTONES-ARCHIVE.md (newest first). Update that milestone's ROADMAP.md Status: line to "shipped in vX.Y.Z". Then promote the next ROADMAP milestone into MILESTONES.md's active slot (copy its scope, expand into tasks with acceptance criteria, start a fresh log) so MILESTONES.md again holds exactly one active milestone.
• Rebuild pkgdown site if not automated (pkgdown GitHub Action handles it on push).