Release Process#

Tagging#

LabTether uses calendar-based version names (e.g. v2026.1). Releases are coordinated across multiple repos -- hub, labtether-agent, protocol, mac-agent, and win-agent are all tagged together.

Tag and push all repos simultaneously:

./scripts/release-all.sh v2026.1 --dry-run   # preview
./scripts/release-all.sh v2026.1 --push       # execute

iOS, website, and CLI repos are excluded from coordinated tagging and release independently.

Before tagging, complete the full Pre-Release Checklist.

CI validation#

CI runs the following checks before a release is publishable:

1. make fmt -- code formatting
2. make lint -- static analysis
3. make test -- unit and integration tests
4. cd web/console && npx tsc --noEmit -- console type-check
5. make smoke-test -- end-to-end smoke test against a running stack

All five gates must pass. A desktop smoke test is also required when desktop workflows are affected:

LABTETHER_DESKTOP_SMOKE_TARGET=<asset-id> make desktop-smoke-test

Artifact publishing#

Release artifacts include:

• Docker images -- hub and supporting services, tagged with the release version
• Agent binaries -- cross-platform endpoint-agent artifacts for Linux and Windows, plus the separately packaged macOS agent. FreeBSD is compile-checked in CI but is not a published release artifact.
• Release notes -- CHANGELOG.md or GitHub Release body

For public releases, the following must also be present in the repository root:

• README.md
• LICENSE
• CHANGELOG.md
• KNOWN_ISSUES.md
• SUPPORT.md
• PRIVACY.md (when distributing native/mobile binaries)

Post-release#

1. Verify published Docker images pull and start correctly:

./scripts/install-compose.sh --version vX.Y.Z
make smoke-test

1. Confirm release assets are attached to the GitHub Release.
2. Verify the Platform Support reference reflects the new version.
3. Update documentation for any user-visible changes shipped in the release.
4. Confirm KNOWN_ISSUES.md is current -- close resolved items, add new ones.