Iris/docs/86 - Maintainer - Release Checklist.md

86 - Maintainer — Release Checklist

Manual release procedure. There is no release automation by design: every step below is run by a person and verified by eye. Work top to bottom; do not skip the verify gates.

Before starting this publication procedure, complete 87 - Maintainer - Release Readiness.md. It contains the engineering remediation, determinism, performance, CI, and full platform-acceptance gates. This checklist starts only after those gates produce GO or an explicitly accepted GO-WARN decision.

Reference values below assume the current gradle.properties: irisVersion=4.0.0-26.2, minecraftVersion=26.2, fabricLoaderVersion=0.19.3, forgeVersion=26.2-65.0.4, neoForgeVersion=26.2.0.12-beta. For a Minecraft version bump, do 85 - Maintainer - MC Version Bump.md first, then start this checklist.

a. Preflight

• Working tree clean on the exact commit you intend to tag (git status shows nothing to commit).
• CI is green on that commit. The verify job (.github/workflows/ci.yml) runs core checks, Bukkit and shared modded tests, the SPI build, the deserialization probe, the modded artifact-verifier tests, and guarded Fabric, Forge, and NeoForge artifact builds on JDK 25. Do not release on a red or stale run.
• MasterChangelog.MD Iris section is coherent: one consolidated entry set, deduplicated, no date-sliced headers, and it describes the current shipped state (not superseded intermediate work).
• Version fields correct in gradle.properties: irisVersion is the release version and its trailing -<mc> suffix matches minecraftVersion. For a Minecraft bump, confirm every step in 85 - Maintainer - MC Version Bump.md is done (loader ranges, DataVersion, NMS binding).
• JDK 25 is the active toolchain locally (java -version reports 25).

b. Build

• From the Iris project root: ./build-all.sh. This disables local VolmLib substitution, uses the immutable coordinate from gradle.properties, and serializes the all-platform build.
• dist/ contains the four platform jars (exact names for this release):
  • Iris v4.0.0-26.2 [CraftBukkit] 26.2.jar (Bukkit/Paper/Purpur/Spigot/Folia plugin)
  • Iris v4.0.0-26.2 [Fabric] 26.2+0.19.3.jar
  • Iris v4.0.0-26.2 [Forge] 26.2+65.0.4.jar
  • Iris v4.0.0-26.2 [NeoForge] 26.2+26.2.0.12-beta.jar
  • Naming pattern: Iris v<irisVersion> [<Platform>] <mc>[+<loaderDisplay>].jar.
• The SPI jar is built by the same run at spi/build/libs/iris-spi-4.0.0-26.2.jar. It is the adapter/platform contract, not the stable downstream plugin API; it is not copied into dist/ or uploaded to mod portals.
• Each mod jar bundles Iris core, SPI, and Iris-owned shaded libraries. LZ4, OSHI, JNA, and JNA Platform are supplied by the Minecraft 26.2 runtime and must not be bundled or relocated.

c. Verify (release gates)

• :core:check and :probe:deserializationProbe passed in CI on the tag commit (a. covers this).
• Golden-hash determinism VERIFY passes on all four platforms and matches the same hash (see 32 - Determinism & Goldenhash.md):
  • Bukkit plugin: /iris developer goldenhash world=<world> radius=<radius> threads=<threads> (automatically verifies when the matching capture already exists)
  • Fabric mod: /iris goldenhash verify <radius> <threads>
  • Forge mod: /iris goldenhash verify <radius> <threads>
  • NeoForge mod: /iris goldenhash verify <radius> <threads>
  • The hash is interchangeable across platforms: all four MUST report identical output for the same pack and seed. Any mismatch blocks the release.
• Live modded content-mod gate: on each loader, boot the mod jar alongside a real content mod (e.g. Create) and generate an Iris world. Confirm no load-time rejection, no class-loader crash, and that modded blocks/items/entities author and generate.
  • Fabric + content mod
  • Forge + content mod
  • NeoForge + content mod
• Client-mod matrix: install the mod on the client (keybind H toggles the pregen HUD) and confirm:
  • Modded server + modded client: HUD receives pregen progress over irisworldgen:main.
  • Modded server + vanilla client: server generates normally; vanilla client is unaffected.
  • Paper (Bukkit) server + modded client: HUD receives pregen progress over vanilla plugin messaging.
  • Folia smoke: plugin loads and an Iris world generates on Folia.
  • Non-Iris server + modded client: client is inert, no errors.

Operator-oriented sequences that support these gates: 31 - Operator Runbooks & Smoke Tests.md. Client channel details: 29 - Client HUD & Protocol.md.

d. Publish (all manual, no automation)

• Modrinth: upload the three mod jars and the plugin jar. Tag loaders fabric / forge / neoforge on the mod files; mark the environment server + client; set game version 26.2.
• CurseForge: upload the three mod jars with the matching loader tags and game version 26.2.
• Existing plugin distribution channels: publish the plugin jar (Iris v4.0.0-26.2 [CraftBukkit] 26.2.jar) where the plugin already ships.
• Sentry: add a release note / mark the release so incoming reports map to this version (the mod version string is the Sentry release tag).
• Storepage / listing.json staleness review: check the listing copy for pre-4.0 content (Bukkit-only framing, old feature lists, screenshots). Flag anything stale for update before or right after launch. (Review only; this checklist does not change store copy.)

e. Post

• Tag the release commit (v<irisVersion>) and push the tag. Archive the already verified dist/ bundle with the release record; no tag-triggered bundle automation is configured.
• Announce the release on the community channels once the portals show the new files live.