doc: document release notes process and add guard check

This PR documents the release notes writing process in detail and adds a guard check to release_checklist.py to ensure release notes are created for -rc1 releases before proceeding with downstream repository updates. Changes: - doc/dev/release_checklist.md: Expanded "Writing the release notes" section with detailed steps for generating, reviewing, and formatting release notes in Verso format - script/release_checklist.py: Added check_release_notes_file_exists() to verify the release notes file exists in reference-manual repository - .claude/commands/release.md: Added "Release Notes" section explaining the process for creating release notes during -rc1 releases Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-03-17 18:34:06 +00:00 · 2026-01-26 18:07:59 +11:00
parent e18f78acfb
commit 7e01a1bf5c
3 changed files with 182 additions and 1 deletions
--- a/.claude/commands/release.md
+++ b/.claude/commands/release.md
@@ -13,12 +13,54 @@ These comments explain the scripts' behavior, which repositories get special han
 ## Arguments
 - `version`: The version to release (e.g., v4.24.0)

+## Release Notes (Required for -rc1 releases)
+
+For first release candidates (`-rc1`), you must create release notes BEFORE the reference-manual toolchain bump PR can be merged.
+
+**Steps to create release notes:**
+
+1. Generate the release notes:
+   ```bash
+   cd /path/to/lean4
+   python3 script/release_notes.py --since <previous_version> > /tmp/release-notes-<version>.md
+   ```
+   Replace `<previous_version>` with the last stable release (e.g., `v4.27.0` when releasing `v4.28.0-rc1`).
+
+2. Review `/tmp/release-notes-<version>.md` for common issues:
+   - **Unterminated code blocks**: Look for code fences that aren't closed. Fetch original PR with `gh pr view <number>` to repair.
+   - **Truncated descriptions**: Some may end mid-sentence. Complete them from the original PR.
+   - **Markdown issues**: Other syntax problems that could cause parsing errors.
+
+3. Create the release notes file in the reference-manual repository:
+   - File path: `Manual/Releases/v<version>.lean` (e.g., `v4_28_0.lean`)
+   - Use Verso format with proper imports and `#doc (Manual)` block
+   - **Use `#` for headers, not `##`** (Verso uses level 1 for subsections)
+   - **Use plain ` ``` ` not ` ```lean `** (the latter executes code)
+   - **Wrap underscore identifiers in backticks**: `` `bv_decide` `` not `bv_decide`
+
+4. Update `Manual/Releases.lean`:
+   - Add import: `import Manual.Releases.«v4_28_0»`
+   - Add include: `{include 0 Manual.Releases.«v4_28_0»}`
+
+5. Build to verify: `lake build Manual.Releases.v4_28_0`
+
+6. Create a **separate PR** for release notes (not bundled with toolchain bump):
+   ```bash
+   git checkout -b v<version>-release-notes
+   gh pr create --title "doc: add v<version> release notes"
+   ```
+
+For subsequent RCs (`-rc2`, etc.) and stable releases, just update the version number in the existing release notes file title.
+
+See `doc/dev/release_checklist.md` section "Writing the release notes" for full details.
+
 ## Process

 1. Run `script/release_checklist.py {version}` to check the current status
 2. **CRITICAL: If preliminary lean4 checks fail, STOP immediately and alert the user**
-   - Check for: release branch exists, CMake version correct, tag exists, release page exists, release notes exist
+   - Check for: release branch exists, CMake version correct, tag exists, release page exists, release notes file exists
   - **IMPORTANT**: The release page is created AUTOMATICALLY by CI after pushing the tag - DO NOT create it manually
+   - **IMPORTANT**: For -rc1 releases, release notes must be created before proceeding
   - Do NOT create any PRs or proceed with repository updates if these checks fail
 3. Create a todo list tracking all repositories that need updates
 4. **CRITICAL RULE: You can ONLY run `release_steps.py` for a repository if `release_checklist.py` explicitly says to do so**
--- a/doc/dev/release_checklist.md
+++ b/doc/dev/release_checklist.md
@@ -218,6 +218,11 @@ Please read https://leanprover-community.github.io/contribute/tags_and_branches.

 # Writing the release notes

+Release notes are only needed for the first release candidate (`-rc1`). For subsequent RCs and stable releases,
+just update the version number in the title of the existing release notes file.
+
+## Generating the release notes
+
 Release notes are automatically generated from the commit history, using `script/release_notes.py`.

 Run this as `script/release_notes.py --since v4.6.0`, where `v4.6.0` is the *previous* release version.
@@ -232,4 +237,93 @@ Some judgement is required here: ignore commits which look minor,
 but manually add items to the release notes for significant PRs that were rebase-merged.

 There can also be pre-written entries in `./releases_drafts`, which should be all incorporated in the release notes and then deleted from the branch.
+
+## Reviewing and fixing the generated markdown
+
+Before adding the release notes to the reference manual, carefully review the generated markdown for these common issues:
+
+1. **Unterminated code blocks**: PR descriptions sometimes have unclosed code fences. Look for code blocks
+   that don't have a closing ` ``` `. If found, fetch the original PR description with `gh pr view <number>`
+   and repair the code block with the complete content.
+
+2. **Truncated descriptions**: Some PR descriptions may end abruptly mid-sentence. Review these and complete
+   the descriptions based on the original PR.
+
+3. **Markdown syntax issues**: Check for other markdown problems that could cause parsing errors.
+
+## Creating the release notes file
+
+The release notes go in `Manual/Releases/v4_7_0.lean` in the reference-manual repository.
+
+The file structure must follow the Verso format:
+
+```lean
+/-
+Copyright (c) 2025 Lean FRO LLC. All rights reserved.
+Released under Apache 2.0 license as described in the file LICENSE.
+Author: <Your Name>
+-/
+
+import VersoManual
+import Manual.Meta
+import Manual.Meta.Markdown
+
+open Manual
+open Verso.Genre
+open Verso.Genre.Manual
+open Verso.Genre.Manual.InlineLean
+
+#doc (Manual) "Lean 4.7.0-rc1 (YYYY-MM-DD)" =>
+%%%
+tag := "release-v4.7.0"
+file := "v4.7.0"
+%%%
+
+<release notes content here>
+```
+
+**Important formatting rules for Verso:**
+- Use `#` for section headers inside the document, not `##` (Verso uses header level 1 for subsections)
+- Use plain ` ``` ` for code blocks, not ` ```lean ` (the latter will cause Lean to execute the code)
+- Identifiers with underscores like `bv_decide` should be wrapped in backticks: `` `bv_decide` ``
+  (otherwise the underscore may be interpreted as markdown emphasis)
+
+## Updating Manual/Releases.lean
+
+After creating the release notes file, update `Manual/Releases.lean` to include it:
+
+1. Add the import near the top with other version imports:
+   ```lean
+   import Manual.Releases.«v4_7_0»
+   ```
+
+2. Add the include statement after the other includes:
+   ```lean
+   {include 0 Manual.Releases.«v4_7_0»}
+   ```
+
+## Building and verifying
+
+Build the release notes to check for errors:
+```bash
+lake build Manual.Releases.v4_7_0
+```
+
+Common errors and fixes:
+- "Wrong header nesting - got ## but expected at most #": Change `##` to `#`
+- "Tactic 'X' failed" or similar: Code is being executed; change ` ```lean ` to ` ``` `
+- "'_'" errors: Underscore in identifier being parsed as emphasis; wrap in backticks
+
+## Creating the PR
+
+Create a separate PR for the release notes (don't bundle with the toolchain bump PR):
+```bash
+git checkout -b v4.7.0-release-notes
+git add Manual/Releases/v4_7_0.lean Manual/Releases.lean
+git commit -m "doc: add v4.7.0 release notes"
+git push -u origin v4.7.0-release-notes
+gh pr create --title "doc: add v4.7.0 release notes" --body "This PR adds the release notes for Lean v4.7.0."
+```
+
+See `./releases_drafts/README.md` for more information about pre-written release note entries.
 See `./releases_drafts/README.md` for more information.
--- a/script/release_checklist.py
+++ b/script/release_checklist.py
@@ -185,6 +185,30 @@ def get_release_notes(tag_name):
    except Exception:
        return None

+def check_release_notes_file_exists(toolchain, github_token):
+    """Check if the release notes file exists in the reference-manual repository.
+
+    For -rc1 releases, this checks that the release notes have been created.
+    For subsequent RCs and stable releases, release notes should already exist.
+
+    Returns tuple (exists: bool, is_rc1: bool) where is_rc1 indicates if this is
+    the first release candidate (when release notes need to be written).
+    """
+    # Determine the release notes file path
+    # e.g., v4.28.0-rc1 -> Manual/Releases/v4_28_0.lean
+    base_version = strip_rc_suffix(toolchain.lstrip('v'))  # "4.28.0"
+    file_name = f"v{base_version.replace('.', '_')}.lean"  # "v4_28_0.lean"
+    file_path = f"Manual/Releases/{file_name}"
+
+    is_rc1 = toolchain.endswith("-rc1")
+
+    repo_url = "https://github.com/leanprover/reference-manual"
+
+    # Check if the file exists on main branch
+    content = get_branch_content(repo_url, "main", file_path, github_token)
+
+    return (content is not None, is_rc1)
+
 def get_branch_content(repo_url, branch, file_path, github_token):
    api_url = repo_url.replace("https://github.com/", "https://api.github.com/repos/") + f"/contents/{file_path}?ref={branch}"
    headers = {'Authorization': f'token {github_token}'} if github_token else {}
@@ -714,6 +738,27 @@ def main():
    else:
        print(f"  ✅ Release notes page title looks good ('{actual_title}').")

+    # Check if release notes file exists in reference-manual repository
+    # For -rc1 releases, this is when release notes need to be written
+    # For subsequent RCs and stable releases, they should already exist
+    release_notes_exists, is_rc1 = check_release_notes_file_exists(toolchain, github_token)
+    base_version = strip_rc_suffix(toolchain.lstrip('v'))
+    release_notes_file = f"Manual/Releases/v{base_version.replace('.', '_')}.lean"
+
+    if not release_notes_exists:
+        if is_rc1:
+            print(f"  ❌ Release notes file not found: {release_notes_file}")
+            print(f"     This is an -rc1 release, so release notes need to be written.")
+            print(f"     Run `script/release_notes.py --since <previous_version>` to generate them.")
+            print(f"     See doc/dev/release_checklist.md section 'Writing the release notes' for details.")
+            lean4_success = False
+        else:
+            print(f"  ❌ Release notes file not found: {release_notes_file}")
+            print(f"     Release notes should have been created for -rc1. Check the reference-manual repository.")
+            lean4_success = False
+    else:
+        print(f"  ✅ Release notes file exists: {release_notes_file}")
+
    repo_status["lean4"] = lean4_success

    # If the release page doesn't exist, skip repository checks and master branch checks