koboldcpp/docs/release.md
Daniel Bevenius 680a9ae63d
cmake : introduce semantic versioning (#26839)
* cmake : introduce semantic versioning (wip)

This commit introduces semantic versioning to llama.cpp.

* squash! cmake : introduce semantic versioning (wip)

* cmake : update test-cmake README notes [no ci]

* include libmtmd in output so show its semversioned

* ci : add make-release workflow

* ci : fix build number check in build-cmake-pkg.yml

* examples : remove trailing whitespace

* ci : abort if upstream ggml version does not exist

* ci : extract step contents into scripts

* ci : add GGML_NATIVE=OFF to ubuntu job

* examples : remove CI build information from test-cmake [no ci]

This commit removes the nightly/release information that I added
previously to keep this focused only on using building and installing
llama.cpp with cmake and being able to quickly verify changes or
troubleshoot issues.

* ci : merge scripts into single script

* remove -dev-build_number support

This commit removes the incremental build number (versioning) support
that I added. This was incorrect and we should only use the semver for
the version. Releases will be tag a nightly build and package
maintainers/managers that build from source can use the tag and it is
therefor important that the correct version is reported. So a
nightly-build will report the semver without the build number. The build
number and commit as availble via cmake and test-cmake has been updated
to include an example of using them:
```console
$ ./build.sh
[test-cmake] version: 0.1.0, build: 10360 (08c69e381)
...
```

Refs: https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp/pull/26839#discussion_r3755836969

* docs: add initial release.md documentation

* cmake : clean-up and add LLAMA_BUILD_IS_DEV option

* ci : remove version input from make-release job

* ci : add LLAMA_BUILD_IS_DEV=OFF to build-cmake-pkg.yml

Refs: https://github.com/danbev/llama.cpp/actions/runs/31576801921/job/94050639145

* docs : update release notes with LLAMA_BUILD_IS_DEV info [no ci]

* ci : add TODO to winget workflow [no ci]

---------

Co-authored-by: Georgi Gerganov <ggerganov@gmail.com>
2026-08-12 14:15:03 +02:00

49 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown

# Release process
llama.cpp uses [semantic versioning](https://semver.org) (`MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH`).
## Version bump guidelines
| Change type | Version component |
|---|---|
| Breaking change to the public C API (`include/llama.h`) | `MAJOR` |
| Backward-compatible features, model support, or API addition | `MINOR` |
| Bug fix with no API change | `PATCH` |
The version is set in the three variables at the top of the root `CMakeLists.txt`:
```cmake
set(LLAMA_VERSION_MAJOR 0)
set(LLAMA_VERSION_MINOR 1)
set(LLAMA_VERSION_PATCH 0)
```
_A version bump should be included in the PR that introduces the change, or in a
dedicated bump commit merged before the release is cut._
_TODO: add PR labels (`semver: patch`, `semver: minor`, `semver: major`) to help
identify which PRs require a version bump before cutting a release._
## Making a release
Releases are created by running the [make-release](.github/workflows/make-release.yml)
which is a manual workflow.
The workflow creates an annotated git tag (e.g. `v0.1.0`) and pushes it to the
remote. No GitHub Release object is created, the tag is the release artifact.
## Building a release
By default, `LLAMA_BUILD_IS_DEV=ON` which appends a `-dev` suffix to `LLAMA_VERSION`,
marking the build as a nightly/development build. Distributors building from a
release tag must pass `-DLLAMA_BUILD_IS_DEV=OFF` to produce a clean version string
(e.g. `0.1.0` instead of `0.1.0-dev`).
## How releases reach users
Currently releases are not published to github releases, only nightly/development
builds are available there. The way users can access releases are using the following
channels:
- **llama-install.sh** — downloads pre-built binaries built from the release tag.
- **Package managers** — consume the git tag directly.
- **Build from source** — users clone the repo and check out the tag.