Current version: 0.0.17

#Versioning and Tags

Zephyr utilizes familiar versioning concepts by adopting SemVer (Semantic Versioning) as its foundational versioning methodology, ensuring a systematic and meaningful progression of project versions.

Applications deployed through Zephyr could have unlimited number of versions. After you configure Zephyr's npm plugin in your build tool, or bundlers, each successful deployment would generate a new version.

#Semantic Versioning Overview

Semantic versioning is structured as MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH:

• MAJOR: Introduces breaking changes.
• MINOR: Adds new, backward-compatible features.
• PATCH: Makes backward-compatible bug fixes.

#Advantages of Semantic Versioning with Tags

1. Clarity and Communication: Provides explicit guidelines on version progression, facilitating clear communication across the development team and stakeholders.
2. Backward Compatibility: Aids in maintaining compatibility and understanding the implications of new updates.
3. Issue Tracking: Simplifies the process of tracking bugs and changes back to specific releases.
4. Dependency Management: Crucial for effectively managing dependencies, particularly in complex projects.

#Tag Management

To streamline the tagging process and ensure seamless integration with continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) pipelines, Zephyr adopts specific rules for generating tags based on branch names during CI processes. This approach not only automates tag creation but also aligns with the development workflow to accurately reflect the state of the software at any given point.

#How Tags are created

#Auto-generated

On your first successful build, we find below two values to generated a tag:

• Current branch name
• Username

After the first successful build, each build's version fits in these two criteria will be attached as latest version under this tag.

#Created via Dashboard

On Zephyr's Dashboard, you can find Tags under each application's Settings page.

After clicking on Create Tag, you will need to input a Tag name and choose rules under Tag conditions. Currently four related rule sets are available:

User

After selection any future deployment from this selected user will be locked into to this tag as the latest.

Version

Select a specific version to pin to this tag. Version number is an integer at the end of a deployment URL.

Branch

Your git's branch. Any future deployment from this branch will be locked into this tag as the latest.

CI

Checking if environment is a CI environment. Only deployment through CI will be locked into this tag.

You can select a combination of rule set by clicking on + Add under Tag conditions.

How will a combination of tag rules work with deployment

Take an example, you just created a new tag rule with 3 rules:

• Username: Zack
• Branch: fix-ui
• Version: 200

Zack's deployment, version 200 under the branch "fix-ui" will be locked into this tag. Since the version rule is set to a fixed version.

#Edit existing tags

Under application's Settings page select Tags and then the desired Tag name you want to edit.

Click on + Add button to add new rules, edit or delete pre-existing rules.

#Tagging Strategy in CI

When code is pushed through a CI pipeline, tags are dynamically assigned based on the branch from which the push originates:

• master or main branches: Automatically tagged as latest. This tag is used for the most stable, production-ready version of the application.
• development branch: Assigned the next tag. This is used for pre-release versions that may still be under active development but are stable enough for testing purposes.
• Other branches: Receive a tag that matches the branch name. This allows for unique identification of builds coming from feature branches or other non-standard development paths.

#Non-CI Tagging Considerations

For manual pushes (i.e., those not done through a CI pipeline), the tagging format incorporates the branch name followed by the username of the developer who made the push. This format is particularly useful for:

• Traceability: Allows teams to easily trace back versions to specific developers, enhancing accountability and understanding of changes made.
• Collaborative Development: Supports collaborative environments where multiple developers may be working on different aspects of the project simultaneously.

These tagging strategies ensure that every build on Zephyr can be uniquely identified and correlated with its source, enhancing both the development process and version control.