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rcourtman
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Give users a public account of beta, RC and stable expectations so they can choose an update channel and understand how releases earn promotion. Document fixed candidates, observation periods and rollback guidance, with links from the main documentation entry points and matching shipped docs.
88 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
88 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
# Releases and update channels
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Use **Stable** for production and **Preview** when you want to help test upcoming
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changes. Preview releases state what is ready to test, what remains uncertain,
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and how to return to the previous stable version.
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Pulse's earlier releases did not consistently give testers enough time between
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candidates. From September 2026, the release process uses explicit testing stages,
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fixed candidates, and observation periods. The aim is to make each release label
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dependable, while development continues at its own pace. These are the commitments
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for releases going forward, not a claim that earlier releases met them.
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## Choose your update channel
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| Channel | Who it is for | What to expect |
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| --- | --- | --- |
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| **Stable** | Normal use, including production | A release qualified for general use after release-candidate testing. This is the default and recommended channel. |
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| **Preview** | People willing to test and report problems | Opt-in prereleases. Read the version's maturity, known issues, test instructions, and rollback guidance before installing. |
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Preview contains different maturity stages, rather than a separate update channel
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for each stage:
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- **Alpha** is incomplete or experimental and intended for tightly controlled testing.
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- **Beta** is the normal public testing stage. Its scope should be useful to test,
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but known gaps and further product changes are expected.
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- **Release candidate (RC)** means the build is believed capable of becoming stable
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without further product changes. It is still a prerelease.
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A beta does not become stable directly. It must be followed by a qualified RC.
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Choosing Preview does not make a beta production-qualified. Pulse's unattended
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systemd updater remains Stable-only. See [Automatic updates](AUTO_UPDATE.md) for
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deployment-specific update behaviour.
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## How releases are prepared
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Each release has a defined scope, testing stage, and set of required checks.
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Development can continue while a candidate is being tested without changing
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what testers have installed.
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1. **Select a fixed candidate.** A release branch holds the selected changes while
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development continues on `main`. Unrelated newer work does not enter a candidate
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merely because it has landed elsewhere.
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2. **Qualify it for its testing stage.** Required checks include targeted tests,
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installation smoke checks, release-pipeline validation, and recorded rollback
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instructions. RCs also run the integration checks required for stable releases.
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3. **Publish a useful checkpoint.** Release notes explain the changes, known issues,
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what testers should exercise, and the rollback target. A tag or successful build
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alone is not a published release.
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4. **Assess the results.** Review covers reported problems, test installations,
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the demo, and available preview telemetry before advancing.
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A defect that invalidates the checkpoint holds it for repair and fresh qualification.
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## Cadence and stable promotion
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Releases follow readiness rather than a fixed calendar. Compatible fixes are
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batched into checkpoints so testers have time to use a build:
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- Successive public checkpoints at the same maturity on a version line are spaced
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at least **24 hours** apart. Work and testing continue during that interval.
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- A patch RC needs at least **72 hours** of clean observation before stable promotion.
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A minor RC needs at least **seven days**.
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- A product change to an RC starts a fresh observation period. Time spent on beta
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does not count towards the RC period.
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- Stable retains the qualified RC's product content. Release metadata may change,
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but unrelated product changes cannot be added during promotion.
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Elapsed time alone is insufficient. Promotion also requires no open high or
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critical candidate issues, clean operation on the project's test installation
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and demo throughout the observation period, and assessment of preview failure
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signals where available. Sparse telemetry or silence from testers does not prove
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that every changed feature was exercised.
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An urgent hotfix exception requires active customer harm and a justification
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recorded in the release notes. Narrow testing may instead use an immutable reporter
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test image. Such an image is a temporary diagnostic build and cannot be promoted
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directly to stable.
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## Taking part in Preview testing
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Start with the [published release notes](https://github.com/rcourtman/Pulse/releases).
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Back up your data, keep the documented rollback version available, and exercise
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the checks relevant to your installation. You do not need to install every preview.
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When [reporting a problem](https://github.com/rcourtman/Pulse/issues/new/choose),
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include the exact version, deployment method, expected and observed behaviour,
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and reproduction steps. Remove credentials and other private information from
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logs and screenshots. Confirmation that a named test worked is useful too.
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