Releases

Raster releases are Git tags that Swift Package Manager consumes directly. The tagged commit is both the source and the package-layout artifact. It contains every generated file, compiles its built-in Metal library from a clean consumer, and leaves no required setup outside the repository.

Version policy

MetalPetal 1.26.x is frozen compatibility maintenance. Raster begins at 2.0.0 because the package, product, and module identity change even though MTI* type names remain. From that point Raster follows semantic versioning. Source-breaking public changes require a new major version. Additive features and compatible fixes belong in minor and patch releases.

Changelog

CHANGELOG.md is the source of truth for a release. It is updated with issue or pull-request references where they explain provenance. The GitHub Release body is derived from that version's changelog section. You can add installation or migration context that is appropriate for the audience.

The committed RELEASE_NOTES_1.26.0.md is a capstone artifact for the MetalPetal handoff. Raster does not need one committed release-notes file per version, because duplicating the changelog and GitHub Release creates three texts that drift. A dedicated migration document is useful only when the guidance has a lifetime beyond one release announcement.

Verification

A release verifier refuses a dirty tree, records the exact commit and toolchain, runs generators twice, builds and tests SwiftPM, executes the platform matrix and consumer fixtures, scans package boundaries, and finishes with a clean-tree assertion. Evidence belongs outside tracked product source or in the release's attached artifacts.

Publishing

1. Merge or otherwise select the exact verified commit.
2. Run hosted CI on that commit, including strict simulator and generic device jobs.
3. Create an annotated semantic-version tag at the same commit.
4. Push the tag and confirm GitHub resolves it to the intended object.
5. Publish the GitHub Release using the reviewed changelog material.
6. Resolve the package from a fresh consumer using the tag.

Moving a tag after publishing a release makes the release page retain its original publication time while serving different source, which breaks provenance. If a published tag is wrong, a new patch version is the usual fix unless the release never escaped a controlled private test.

Distribution

Raster is SwiftPM-only. CocoaPods manifests and automation are not restored as part of a release fix.