Release Branch Automation with GitHub Actions

To automate the process of cutting a release branch every Friday at 3pm EST from the latest develop branch, you can use GitHub Actions. The following is a step-by-step guide on how to set this up:

Step 1: Create a New GitHub Action Workflow

In your repository, create a new file under .github/workflows directory, say cut_release_branch.yml.

Step 2: Define the Workflow

In the cut_release_branch.yml file, paste the following workflow:

name: Cut Release Branch

on:
  schedule:
    # This schedule is in UTC, 3pm EST is 7pm UTC during daylight saving time and 8pm UTC otherwise.
    # Adjust accordingly if needed.
    - cron: '0 19 * * 5' 

jobs:
  cut_release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
    - name: Check out code
      uses: actions/checkout@v2

    - name: Configure Git
      run: |
        git config --global user.name 'GitHub Actions Bot'
        git config --global user.email 'actions@github.com'

    - name: Cut Release Branch
      run: |
        # Assuming versioning format is x.y.z and you want to bump the z part.
        # Adjust accordingly if your versioning is different.
        LATEST_TAG=$(git describe --tags $(git rev-list --tags --max-count=1))
        NEW_TAG=${LATEST_TAG%.*}.$((${LATEST_TAG##*.} + 1))

        git checkout develop
        git checkout -b release/$NEW_TAG
        git push origin release/$NEW_TAG

    - name: Print New Release Branch
      run: echo "New release branch is release/$NEW_TAG"

Step 3: Commit and Push the Workflow

After adding the workflow file, commit and push it to your repository:

git add .github/workflows/cut_release_branch.yml
git commit -m "Add GitHub Action to cut release branch"
git push origin main  # or your default branch name if it's not 'main'

Step 4: Monitoring the Action

After pushing the action, you can monitor its progress directly from the GitHub web interface. Go to the "Actions" tab of your repository. Here you will see a list of all the workflow runs. The workflow should trigger every Friday at 3pm EST.

Please note that the above script assumes:

• Your versioning format is x.y.z.
• You want to bump the z part for the release branch.
• Your development branch is named develop.

Adjustments might be needed based on the specifics of your project.

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