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This version of GitHub Enterprise was discontinued on 2023-03-15. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

Managing releases in a repository

In this article

You can create releases to bundle and deliver iterations of a project to users.

Who can use this feature

Repository collaborators and people with write access to a repository can create, edit, and delete a release.

About release management

You can create new releases with release notes, @mentions of contributors, and links to binary files, as well as edit or delete existing releases. You can also create, modify, and delete releases by using the Releases API. For more information, see "Releases" in the REST API documentation.

Creating a release

  1. On your GitHub Enterprise Server instance, navigate to the main page of the repository.

  2. To the right of the list of files, click Releases.

    Screenshot of the main page of a repository. A link, labeled "Releases", is highlighted with an orange outline.

  3. At the top of the page, click Draft a new release.

  4. To choose a tag for the release, select the Choose a tag dropdown menu.

    • To use an existing tag, click the tag.
    • To create a new tag, type a version number for your release, then click Create new tag.

  5. If you created a new tag, select the Target dropdown menu, then click the branch that contains the project you want to release.

  6. In the "Release title" field, type a title for your release.

  7. In the "Describe this release" field, type a description for your release. If you @mention anyone in the description, the published release will include a Contributors section with an avatar list of all the mentioned users. Alternatively, you can automatically generate your release notes by clicking Auto-generate release notes.

  8. Optionally, to include binary files such as compiled programs in your release, drag and drop or manually select files in the binaries box.

  9. Optionally, to notify users that the release is not ready for production and may be unstable, select This is a pre-release.

  10. If you're ready to publicize your release, click Publish release. To work on the release later, click Save draft.

To learn more about GitHub CLI, see "About GitHub CLI."

  1. To create a release, use the gh release create subcommand. Replace tag with the desired tag for the release.

    gh release create TAG

  2. Follow the interactive prompts. Alternatively, you can specify arguments to skip these prompts. For more information about possible arguments, see the GitHub CLI manual. For example, this command creates a prerelease with the specified title and notes.

    gh release create v1.3.2 --title "v1.3.2 (beta)" --notes "this is a beta release" --prerelease

If you @mention any GitHub Enterprise Server users in the notes, the published release on GitHub.com will include a Contributors section with an avatar list of all the mentioned users.

Editing a release

  1. On your GitHub Enterprise Server instance, navigate to the main page of the repository.

  2. To the right of the list of files, click Releases.

    Screenshot of the main page of a repository. A link, labeled "Releases", is highlighted with an orange outline.

  3. On the right side of the page, next to the release you want to edit, click Edit release.

  4. Edit the details for the release in the form, then click Update release. If you add or remove any @mentions of GitHub users in the description, those users will be added or removed from the avatar list in the Contributors section of the release.

Releases cannot currently be edited with GitHub CLI.

Deleting a release

  1. On your GitHub Enterprise Server instance, navigate to the main page of the repository.

  2. To the right of the list of files, click Releases.

    Screenshot of the main page of a repository. A link, labeled "Releases", is highlighted with an orange outline.

  3. On the right side of the page, next to the release you want to delete, click .

    Screenshot of a release in the releases list. A trash icon is highlighted with an orange outline.

  4. Click Delete this release.

  1. To delete a release, use the gh release delete subcommand. Replace tag with the tag of the release to delete. Use the -y flag to skip confirmation.

    gh release delete TAG -y