The app is published in twice, in different build formats.
- A [PyPI] distribution. This includes both a source distribution and built distribution (a wheel). Users install with `pip install invokeai`. The updater uses this build.
- An installer on the [InvokeAI Releases Page]. This is a zip file with install scripts and a wheel. This is only used for new installs.
## General Prep
Make a developer call-out for PRs to merge. Merge and test things out.
While the release workflow does not include end-to-end tests, it does pause before publishing so you can download and test the final build.
It is triggered on **tag push**, when the tag matches `v*`. It doesn't matter if you've prepped a release branch like `release/v3.5.0` or are releasing from `main` - it works the same.
> Because commits are reference-counted, it is safe to create a release branch, tag it, let the workflow run, then delete the branch. So long as the tag exists, that commit will exist.
This job checks that the git ref matches the app version. It matches the ref against the `__version__` variable in `invokeai/version/invokeai_version.py`.
When the workflow is triggered by tag push, the ref is the tag. If the workflow is run manually, the ref is the target selected from the **Use workflow from** dropdown.
> Any valid [version specifier] works, so long as the tag matches the version. The release workflow works exactly the same for `RC`, `post`, `dev`, etc.
This sets up both python and frontend dependencies and builds the python package. Internally, this runs `installer/create_installer.sh` and uploads two artifacts:
- **`dist`**: the python distribution, to be published on PyPI
- **`InvokeAI-installer-${VERSION}.zip`**: the installer to be included in the GitHub release
> The same wheel file is bundled in the installer and in the `dist` artifact, which is uploaded to PyPI. You should end up with the exactly the same installation of the `invokeai` package from any of these methods.
> **If the version already exists on PyPI, the publish jobs will fail.** PyPI only allows a given version to be published once - you cannot change it. If version published on PyPI has a problem, you'll need to "fail forward" by bumping the app version and publishing a followup release.
1. [Draft a new release] on GitHub, choosing the tag that triggered the release.
2. Write the release notes, describing important changes. The **Generate release notes** button automatically inserts the changelog and new contributors, and you can copy/paste the intro from previous releases.
3. Upload the zip file created in **`build`** job into the Assets section of the release notes. You can also upload the zip into the body of the release notes, since it can be hard for users to find the Assets section.
> **TODO** Workflows can create a GitHub release from a template and upload release assets. One popular action to handle this is [ncipollo/release-action]. A future enhancement to the release process could set this up.
