---

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

CopyMAJOR.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)

Copy# 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

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

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

GitHub Actions Release

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

jobs:
  release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
      - run: pip install build && python -m build
      - uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
        with:
          files: dist/*
      - uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1

Deprecation Process

Copyimport 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

Copy# 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

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

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