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CANShift Docs

Release process

import { Aside, Steps } from “@astrojs/starlight/components”;

CANShift releases are driven by tburkhalterr/CANShift GitHub Releases. The docs site pulls them at build time and renders the public changelog, so release descriptions need to be substantive.

Versioning

  • Firmware: canshift-firmware/package.json::version — the build script bakes it into APP_VERSION_STR. Semver.
  • Core schema: canshift-core/src/index.ts::CURRENT_SCHEMA_VERSION — bumped only when dashboard.json / signals.json shape changes in a way the firmware needs to reject old configs for. Independent of firmware semver.
  • Tuner / docs / mobile: each ships its own package.json::version. No global lockstep.

The firmware semver bumps the most often. Schema version is the gate that forces a re-burn from the tuner.

Release-notes structure

Every release description follows this template (also documented in Changelog):

## [Version] — YYYY-MM-DD


### 🚗 For the driver
- (UX, new widgets, hardware support, etc.)


### 🔧 For the tuner / installer
- (config, calibration, ECU parameters)


### 🔬 Firmware / dev
- (build flags, schema, Rust ports, refactors)


### ⚠️ Breaking
- (concrete impact + required action — re-flash, re-burn config, etc.)


### PRs
- #XXXX — ...

Steps

  1. Bump firmware version in canshift-firmware/package.json. Commit on main via PR with title chore(firmware): bump to <version>.

  2. Bump schema version if any breaking change to dashboard.json / signals.json landed since the last release. Otherwise leave alone.

  3. Cut the tag locally:

    Terminal window
    git tag firmware/v1.2.3
    git push origin firmware/v1.2.3

  4. Build the artefacts — the release workflow runs on the tag push and produces signed firmware binaries.

  5. Open the GitHub Release for the tag, paste the structured template above, fill in real content from the PR stream since the previous tag. Use gh release create or the web UI.

  6. Attach the firmware binaries to the release. The flasher (hosted at canshift-tuner.vercel.app/firmware) reads the GitHub Releases API to list available firmware versions — your release will show up there within ~1 minute.

  7. Smoke-test by re-flashing a dash from the tuner using the new release.

Patch vs minor vs major

  • Patch (1.2.3 → 1.2.4): bug fix, no UX change, no schema change. Re-flash is optional unless the user hit the bug.
  • Minor (1.2.x → 1.3.0): new feature, no breaking change. Re-flash recommended.
  • Major (1.x → 2.0): breaking change. Driver MUST re-flash AND re-burn config. Spell out the migration in the ⚠️ Breaking section.

Pre-releases

Tag with a suffix to mark a pre-release (e.g. firmware/v1.3.0-rc.1). GitHub Releases recognises the suffix and badges it as “pre-release”. The flasher lists pre-releases behind a toggle.