managing-python-releases

name	managing-python-releases
description	Manages Python library releases including semantic versioning, changelog maintenance (Keep a Changelog format), release automation with GitHub Actions, and deprecation workflows. Use when planning releases, writing changelogs, automating release pipelines, or communicating breaking changes.

Python Release Management

Semantic Versioning

MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH (e.g., 1.2.3)

PATCH: Bug fixes, no API changes
MINOR: New features, backward compatible
MAJOR: Breaking changes

Changelog Format (Keep a Changelog)

# Changelog

## [Unreleased]
### Added
- New `batch_encode()` function

## [1.2.0] - 2024-03-15
### Added
- Support for custom formats (#123)

### Fixed
- Edge case at -180 longitude (#145)

### Deprecated
- `old_function()` - use `new_function()` instead

[Unreleased]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.2.0...HEAD
[1.2.0]: https://github.com/user/repo/releases/tag/v1.2.0

Categories: Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, Security

Version in Code

# src/package/__init__.py
__version__ = "1.2.3"

# Or use importlib.metadata
from importlib.metadata import version
__version__ = version("my-package")

GitHub Actions Release

A tag-triggered workflow builds with uv and publishes to PyPI via trusted publishing (no stored token). The full canonical pipeline — TestPyPI dry run, GitHub release, and the release runbook — is in AUTOMATION.md.

# .github/workflows/release.yml
on:
  push:
    tags: ['v*']

jobs:
  release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write      # create the GitHub release
      id-token: write      # trusted publishing (no token)
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v5
      - run: uv build
      - uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
        with:
          files: dist/*
      - uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1

Deprecation Process

Warn with stacklevel=2 so the message points at the caller. Deprecating parameters, classes, or whole modules — and the migration-guide template — is covered in MIGRATION.md.

import warnings

def old_function():
    """Deprecated: Use new_function() instead."""
    warnings.warn(
        "old_function() deprecated, will be removed in 2.0.0",
        DeprecationWarning,
        stacklevel=2,
    )
    return new_function()

Release Process

# 1. Update CHANGELOG.md (move Unreleased to version)
# 2. Bump version in pyproject.toml and __init__.py
# 3. Commit and tag
git commit -am "Release v1.2.0"
git tag -a v1.2.0 -m "Release v1.2.0"
git push origin main --tags
# 4. CI publishes automatically

For detailed workflows, see:

• AUTOMATION.md - Version bump scripts
• MIGRATION.md - Migration guide template

Checklist

Before Release:
- [ ] All tests pass
- [ ] CHANGELOG updated
- [ ] Version bumped
- [ ] Documentation current

After Release:
- [ ] PyPI shows new version
- [ ] pip install works
- [ ] GitHub release created
- [ ] Docs updated

Learn More

This skill is based on the Maintenance section of the Guide to Developing High-Quality Python Libraries by Will McGinnis. See these posts for deeper coverage:

• Semantic Versioning