These are instructions for preparing a release branch for Firefox Android and starting the next Nightly development cycle.

[Release Management] Creating a new Beta release branch

This part is 100% covered by the Release Management team. The dev team should not perform these steps.

  1. Create a branch name with the format releases_v[beta_version] off of the main branch (for example, releases_v109) through the GitHub UI. [beta_version] should follow the Firefox Beta release number. See Firefox Release Calendar.
  2. Notify the dev team that they can start the new Nightly development cycle per the steps given in the next section ⬇️
  3. In version.txt:
    • Update the version from [beta_version].0a1 to [beta_version].0b1. For example:
     diff --git a/version.txt b/version.txt
 --- a/version.txt
 +++ b/version.txt
 @@ -1 +1 @@
 -109.0a1
 +109.0b1
  4. Create a commit named Set version to [beta_version].0b1 for this change. This change can either be directly committed to the releases_v[beta_version] branch or a pull request can be created against it and then merged.
  5. In Gecko.kt:
    • Set the channel to GeckoChannel.BETA.
     diff --git a/android-components/plugins/dependencies/src/main/java/Gecko.kt b/android-components/plugins/dependencies/src/main/java/Gecko.kt
 --- a/android-components/plugins/dependencies/src/main/java/Gecko.kt
 +++ b/android-components/plugins/dependencies/src/main/java/Gecko.kt
 @@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ object Gecko {
      /**
       * GeckoView channel
       */
 -    val channel = GeckoChannel.NIGHTLY
 +    val channel = GeckoChannel.BETA
  }
    
  /**
  6. Create a commit named Switch to GeckoView Beta for this change. This change can either be directly committed to the releases_v[beta_version] branch or a pull request can be created against it and then merged. Once landed, it is expected that this change will temporarily break builds on the branch. The next step will fix them.
  7. The Github Action will automatically bump the GeckoView version once the new Beta build is created and uploaded to Maven, as shown in #324 for example.
  8. Once both of the above commits have landed, create a new Firefox Android (Android-Components, Focus) release in Ship-It and continue with the release checklist per normal practice.

[Dev team] Starting the next Nightly development cycle

Please handle this part once Release Management gives you the go.

  1. Wait for greenlight coming from Release Management.
  2. Create a local development branch off of the main branch.

  3. Create a commit named Start v[nightly_version] development cycle. In version.txt, bump the major number by 1. [nightly_version] should follow the Firefox Nightly release number. See Firefox Release Calendar.

     diff --git a/version.txt b/version.txt
 --- a/version.txt
 +++ b/version.txt
 @@ -1 +1 @@
 -110.0a1
 +111.0a1
  4. Create a commit named Update changelog for v[nightly_version] release that will update the following in changelog.md:
    • Add a new v[nightly_version] (In Development) section for the next Nightly version with the next commit and milestone numbers.
    • Update the v[beta_version] section, change blob in the links to v[beta_version] and specifying the correct commit ranges.
     diff --git a/docs/changelog.md b/docs/changelog.md
 --- a/docs/changelog.md
 +++ b/docs/changelog.md
 @@ -4,20 +4,26 @@ title: Changelog
 permalink: /changelog/
 ---

 -# 98.0.0 (In Development)
 -* [Commits](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components/compare/v97.0.0...main)
 -* [Milestone](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components/milestone/145?closed=1)
 +# 99.0.0 (In Development)
 +* [Commits](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components/compare/v98.0.0...main)
 +* [Milestone](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components/milestone/146?closed=1)
 * [Dependencies](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components/blob/main/buildSrc/src/main/java/Dependencies.kt)
 * [Gecko](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components/blob/main/buildSrc/src/main/java/Gecko.kt)
 * [Configuration](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components/blob/main/.config.yml)

 +# 98.0.0
 +* [Commits](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components/compare/v97.0.0...v98.0.0)
 +* [Milestone](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components/milestone/145?closed=1)
 +* [Dependencies](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components/v98.0.0/main/buildSrc/src/main/java/Dependencies.kt)
 +* [Gecko](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components/v98.0.0/main/buildSrc/src/main/java/Gecko.kt)
 +* [Configuration](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components/v98.0.0/main/.config.yml)
 +
  5. Create a pull request with these 2 commits and land.
    • If this is landed after the scheduled cron task that will build and bump AC automatically, trigger a manual AC build through the hook. At time of writing, the morning cron task is schedule to run at 14:30 UTC (9:30AM EST).
    • When the manual AC build is complete, trigger the hook to bump AC in Fenix.
  6. After an hour, follow up by checking if a new [nightly_version] AC build is available in nightly.maven/components. Fenix and Focus will automatically receive the Nightly AC bump.

See https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components/pull/12956 for an example.

After the release

  1. Verify that the links in the changelog.md and new release are working.
  2. Verify that Fenix is receiving the latest [nightly_version] AC version in main.
  3. Send release message to the Matrix channel: 
    **Android Components 0.17 Release (:ocean:)**
Release notes: https://mozac.org/changelog/
Milestone: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-android/milestone/15?closed=1