1*cd6b1674SKashyap Chamarthy.. _stable-process: 2*cd6b1674SKashyap Chamarthy 37aa54229SCornelia HuckQEMU and the stable process 47aa54229SCornelia Huck=========================== 57aa54229SCornelia Huck 67aa54229SCornelia HuckQEMU stable releases 77aa54229SCornelia Huck-------------------- 87aa54229SCornelia Huck 97aa54229SCornelia HuckQEMU stable releases are based upon the last released QEMU version 107aa54229SCornelia Huckand marked by an additional version number, e.g. 2.10.1. Occasionally, 117aa54229SCornelia Hucka four-number version is released, if a single urgent fix needs to go 127aa54229SCornelia Huckon top. 137aa54229SCornelia Huck 147aa54229SCornelia HuckUsually, stable releases are only provided for the last major QEMU 157aa54229SCornelia Huckrelease. For example, when QEMU 2.11.0 is released, 2.11.x or 2.11.x.y 167aa54229SCornelia Huckstable releases are produced only until QEMU 2.12.0 is released, at 177aa54229SCornelia Huckwhich point the stable process moves to producing 2.12.x/2.12.x.y releases. 187aa54229SCornelia Huck 197aa54229SCornelia HuckWhat should go into a stable release? 207aa54229SCornelia Huck------------------------------------- 217aa54229SCornelia Huck 227aa54229SCornelia HuckGenerally, the following patches are considered stable material: 23174b72aaSCornelia Huck 24174b72aaSCornelia Huck* Patches that fix severe issues, like fixes for CVEs 25174b72aaSCornelia Huck 26174b72aaSCornelia Huck* Patches that fix regressions 277aa54229SCornelia Huck 287aa54229SCornelia HuckIf you think the patch would be important for users of the current release 297aa54229SCornelia Huck(or for a distribution picking fixes), it is usually a good candidate 307aa54229SCornelia Huckfor stable. 317aa54229SCornelia Huck 327aa54229SCornelia Huck 337aa54229SCornelia HuckHow to get a patch into QEMU stable 347aa54229SCornelia Huck----------------------------------- 357aa54229SCornelia Huck 367aa54229SCornelia HuckThere are various ways to get a patch into stable: 377aa54229SCornelia Huck 387aa54229SCornelia Huck* Preferred: Make sure that the stable maintainers are on copy when you send 397aa54229SCornelia Huck the patch by adding 407aa54229SCornelia Huck 417aa54229SCornelia Huck .. code:: 427aa54229SCornelia Huck 437aa54229SCornelia Huck Cc: qemu-stable@nongnu.org 447aa54229SCornelia Huck 457aa54229SCornelia Huck to the patch description. By default, this will send a copy of the patch 467aa54229SCornelia Huck to ``qemu-stable@nongnu.org`` if you use git send-email, which is where 477aa54229SCornelia Huck patches that are stable candidates are tracked by the maintainers. 487aa54229SCornelia Huck 497aa54229SCornelia Huck* You can also reply to a patch and put ``qemu-stable@nongnu.org`` on copy 507aa54229SCornelia Huck directly in your mail client if you think a previously submitted patch 517aa54229SCornelia Huck should be considered for a stable release. 527aa54229SCornelia Huck 537aa54229SCornelia Huck* If a maintainer judges the patch appropriate for stable later on (or you 547aa54229SCornelia Huck notify them), they will add the same line to the patch, meaning that 557aa54229SCornelia Huck the stable maintainers will be on copy on the maintainer's pull request. 567aa54229SCornelia Huck 577aa54229SCornelia Huck* If you judge an already merged patch suitable for stable, send a mail 587aa54229SCornelia Huck (preferably as a reply to the most recent patch submission) to 597aa54229SCornelia Huck ``qemu-stable@nongnu.org`` along with ``qemu-devel@nongnu.org`` and 607aa54229SCornelia Huck appropriate other people (like the patch author or the relevant maintainer) 617aa54229SCornelia Huck on copy. 627aa54229SCornelia Huck 637aa54229SCornelia HuckStable release process 647aa54229SCornelia Huck---------------------- 657aa54229SCornelia Huck 667aa54229SCornelia HuckWhen the stable maintainers prepare a new stable release, they will prepare 677aa54229SCornelia Hucka git branch with a release candidate and send the patches out to 687aa54229SCornelia Huck``qemu-devel@nongnu.org`` for review. If any of your patches are included, 697aa54229SCornelia Huckplease verify that they look fine, especially if the maintainer had to tweak 707aa54229SCornelia Huckthe patch as part of back-porting things across branches. You may also 717aa54229SCornelia Hucknominate other patches that you think are suitable for inclusion. After 727aa54229SCornelia Huckreview is complete (may involve more release candidates), a new stable release 737aa54229SCornelia Huckis made available. 74