Backdrop 1.26.0 Release checklist

[quicksketch]

Scheduled for September 15, 2023 4pm - 6pm PT

Pre-release tasks

• Merge minor release commits (@quicksketch / @laryn)
• Move all unfinished issues to the next bug-fix release milestone (@quicksketch)
• Review all closed issues in milestone: (@jenlampton)
  • Issue titles should include a complete, but very brief summary of the problem.
  • Issue titles should be in complete sentences, ending with a period.
  • Bug issue titles should start with Fix or Fixed,
  • New feature issue titles should start with Add or Added.
  • Each issue should have accurate labels, especially the "type - " labels.
• Close the milestone (@quicksketch)
• Draft Release notes (@quicksketch)
  • Copy Preview release release notes, update as follows
    • Include a short, descriptive summary of the release, for example:
      • The Backdrop community is proud to release version 1.xx of Backdrop CMS, following our 4-month release cycle.
    • Include a section heading **Notes for updating**
      • Note if any changes were made to files outside the core directory, for example:
        • - No changes have been made to the `.htaccess`, `robots.txt` or default `settings.php` files in this release. Updating customized versions of those files is not necessary.
        • See this example for updates to .htaccess
        • See this example or this example for updates to settings.php
      • Note if updates (update.php) needs to be run, for example:
        • Use the text The database update script does **not** need to be run.
        • or **It will be necessary to run the update script** (located at /update.php) for this release.
    • Include a section heading **Changes since version 1.xx.x** are listed below.
      • Navigate to Actions
      • Select the most recent time "Release Notes Generator" has been run.
      • Download the release-notes artifact attached to the generator.
      • Unzip the file, and copy/pate contents into release notes draft.
      • Re-word issue titles to indicate that the problems have been fixed.
      • Note: This list can also be copied from the list on the preview release, but review closed issuses in the milestone
    • Verify the list above matches all changes since the most recent bug-fix release

Release tasks

• Update bootstrap.inc with version number (@quicksketch)
• Tag for release, and push tag to GitHub (@quicksketch)
• Branch for new minor number (e.g. 1.10.x) and push to GitHub (@quicksketch)
• Revert version number back on 1.x branch with minor number increased (e.g. 1.11.x-dev) (@quicksketch)
• Revert version number back on new minor number branch (e.g. 1.10.x-dev) (@quicksketch)
• Create release notes on GitHub, and publish release (@quicksketch)
• Unpublish preview release on backdropcms.org (@quicksketch)
• Update the front page download link on b.org (@quicksketch)
• Create a new language template file for the translation server (@olafgrabienski)

Immediate Post-release tasks

Publicity tasks

• Tweet that a new release is out (@stpaultim)
  • Use text like "We're thrilled to announce Backdrop version 1.18.0. This is the 19th new feature release of #BackdropCMS. https://backdropcms.org"
• Publish blog post (@cellear)
• email [email protected] for a note in the PHP Weekly Newsletter (assign to stpaultim / klonos / jenlampton)
• Update the roadmap page on b.org (@klonos / @jenlampton)
• Update list of modules included in backdrop core (@jenlampton)
• Update list of modules included in backdrop_upgrade_status module (@jenlampton)
• Update the Wikipedia articles (@klonos)
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:BackdropCMS_version&action=edit -
    • Auto applied to:
      • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backdrop_CMS
      • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_content_management_systems

Code tasks

• Update Tugboat @bwpanda | @klonos
• Update Pantheon @laryn
• Update Platform.sh @herbdool
• Update Composer @herbdool
• Update Docker @Wylbur

Backdrop Website updates

• beta.backdropcms.org -- if not done with preview (assign to bugfolder / jenlampton / bwpanda)
• docs.backdropcms.org (assign to jenlampton / bwpanda / bugfolder)
• events.backdropcms.org (assign to jenlampton / bwpanda / bugfolder)

2-week Post-release tasks

These should be done after the first bug-fix release or 14 days -- whichever
comes sooner.

Publicity tasks

• Add a notification to the dashboard (assign to stpaultim / klonos / jenlampton)
• Send a newsletter to subscribers (assign to bwpanda / stpaultim / jenlampton)

Backdrop Website updates

• backdropcms.org @jenlampton (or bwpanda / bugfolder)
• forum.backdropcms.org @jenlampton (or bwpanda / bugfolder)

See Also

• Bug-Fix Release Checklist
• Preview Release Checklist

[quicksketch]

Release Notes Draft

The Backdrop community is proud to release version 1.26.0 of Backdrop CMS, following our 4-month release cycle.

Backdrop 1.26.0 has an emphasis on updating our 3rd party libraries. In particular jQuery (and most jQuery-dependent libraries) are caught up to the latest versions. Backdrop is also preparing for the inclusion of CKEditor 5, which is currently still in development as a contributed module.

Backdrop 1.26.0 also fully updates core to be PHP 8.2 compatible.

Notes for updating

• No changes have been made to the .htaccess, robots.txt or default settings.php files in this release. Updating customized versions of those files is not necessary.
• It will be necessary to run the update script (located at /core/update.php) for this release.

Changes since version 1.25.2 are listed below.

New features

• Allow Link fields to be restricted to only internal or external URLs #5678
• Allow themes to have config folders #6122
• Add user_role_has_permission() function #6186

Miscellaneous changes

• Add jQuery v3.x and make it the default for new installations (with a fallback to v1.x for existing sites) #3106
• Update to jQuery 3.7.1 #6211
• Update jQuery related libraries in core to their latest version, where possible #6185
• Fork jQuery.once() to maintain compatibility with future versions of jQuery #6195
• Replace deprecated jQuery methods used in core scripts #6149
• Update the telemetry module to report the CKEditor versions #6214
• Show CKEditor in the site status report page. #3360
• Remove interest-cohort header #6199

This release also includes all the fixes from 1.25.2 (also released today). See the 1.25.2 release notes for the list of additional fixes.

[jenlampton]

release notes lgtm!

[quicksketch]

The release is out! https://github.com/backdrop/backdrop/releases/tag/1.26.0

[laryn]

I've updated the Pantheon upstream.

[olafgrabienski]

I've created a new language template file for the translation server.

[laryn]

Closing as outdated.