Before you publish GOV.UK Frontend

Read the docs for what to do before publishing a release to ensure you are prepared to publish.

publish a new release of previous major versions of GOV.UK Frontend
publish a ‘hotfix’ release of GOV.UK Frontend without including other unreleased changes on the main branch

Publish a new version of GOV.UK Frontend

Developers should pair on releases. When remote working, it can be useful to be on a call together.

Check out the main branch and pull the latest changes.
Ensure you're running the version of NodeJS matching .nvmrc.
- If you use NVM, run nvm use to set up the right version
- If you use another management system (like asdf), compare the output of node --version and install the right one if necessary
Run npm ci to make sure you have the exact dependencies installed.
Pick a new version number according to the versioning documentation and apply it by running:
```
npm version <NEW VERSION NUMBER> --no-git-tag-version --workspace govuk-frontend
```
This step will update govuk-frontend's package.json and project package-lock.json files.

Do not commit the changes.

Create and check out a new branch (release-[version])

git switch -c "release-$(npm run version --silent --workspace govuk-frontend)"

Update the CHANGELOG.md by:
- changing the 'Unreleased' heading to the new version number and release type. For example, '3.11.0 (Feature release)'
- adding a new 'Unreleased' heading above the new version number and release type, so users will know where to add PRs to the changelog
- if the changelog has headings from pre-releases, regroup the content under those headings in a single block
- saving your changes
Run npm run build-release to:
- build GOV.UK Frontend into the package's /dist and root /dist directories
- commit the changes
- push a branch to GitHub
You will now be prompted to continue or cancel. Check the details and enter y to continue. If something does not look right, press N to cancel the build and creation of the branch on GitHub.
Create a pull request and copy the changelog text. When reviewing the PR, check that the version numbers have been updated and that the compiled assets use this version number.
Once a reviewer approves the pull request, merge it to main.

Check out the main branch and pull the latest changes.
Sign in to npm (npm login), using the credentials for the govuk-patterns-and-tools npm user from Bitwarden.
Run npm run publish-release, which will prompt you to check whether the npm tag looks as expected.

If you're following these instructions, you're probably doing a sequential release, meaning the tag should be 'latest'.
Enter y to continue. If you think the tag should be different, enter N to have the option to set your own npm tag.
You will now be prompted to continue or cancel the release. Check the details and enter y to continue. If something does not look right, press N to cancel the release.

This step will create a ZIP file containing the release in the root of your govuk-frontend git directory. You will need this file when creating the GitHub release.

This step will also automatically create a tag in Github which you can use to create a Github release in the following section.
Verify the presence of the release and its tag on npm

If the release has been assigned the wrong tag (mistakes happen), you can use npm dist-tag to quickly correct.
Run npm logout to log out from npm in the command line. If you've logged in through your browser, remember to log out from https://npmjs.com there as well.

To create a new GitHub release, do the following:

Select the tag corresponding to the release in the list of tags on GitHub
Press Create release from tag
Set 'GOV.UK Frontend v[version]' as the title
Add release notes from CHANGELOG.md
Attach as release binary the ZIP file that has been generated at the root of this project during the npm publishing phase
Publish release