---
type: reference, howto
stage: Release
group: Release
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
---

# Releases **(FREE)**

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/issues/41766) in GitLab 11.7.

To introduce a checkpoint in your source code history, you can assign a
[Git tag](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Basics-Tagging) at the moment of release.
However, in most cases, your users need more than just the raw source code.
They need compiled objects or other assets output by your CI/CD system.

A GitLab Release can be:

- A snapshot of the source code of your repository.
- [Generic packages](../../packages/generic_packages/index.md) created from job artifacts.
- Other metadata associated with a released version of your code.

You can create a GitLab release on any branch. When you create a release:

- GitLab automatically archives source code and associates it with the release.
- GitLab automatically creates a JSON file that lists everything in the release,
  so you can compare and audit releases. This file is called [release evidence](#release-evidence).
- You can add release notes and a message for the tag associated with the release.

After you create a release, you can [associate milestones with it](#associate-milestones-with-a-release),
and attach [release assets](#release-assets), like runbooks or packages.

## View releases

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/36667) in GitLab 12.8.

To view a list of releases:

- On the left sidebar, select **Deployments > Releases**, or

- On the project's overview page, if at least one release exists, click the number of releases.

  ![Number of Releases](img/releases_count_v13_2.png "Incremental counter of Releases")

  - On public projects, this number is visible to all users.
  - On private projects, this number is visible to users with Reporter
    [permissions](../../permissions.md#project-members-permissions) or higher.

### Sort Releases

On the top right of the **Releases** page, you can use the sorting button to order releases by
**Released date** or **Created date**. You can sort releases in ascending or descending order.

![Sort Releases dropdown button](img/releases_sort_v13_6.png)

## Create a release

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/32812) in GitLab 12.9. Releases can be created directly in the GitLab UI.

You can create a release in the user interface, or by using the
[Releases API](../../../api/releases/index.md#create-a-release).
We recommend using the API to create releases as one of the last steps in your
CI/CD pipeline.

Only users with at least the Developer role can create releases.
Read more about [Release permissions](#release-permissions).

To create a new release through the GitLab UI:

1. On the left sidebar, select **Deployments > Releases** and select **New release**.
1. Open the [**Tag name**](#tag-name) dropdown. Select an existing tag or type
   in a new tag name. Selecting an existing tag that is already associated with
   a release will result in a validation error.
1. If creating a new tag, open the **Create from** dropdown. Select a
   branch, tag, or commit SHA to use when creating the new tag.
1. Optionally, fill out any additional information about the release, such as its
   [title](#title), [milestones](#associate-milestones-with-a-release),
   [release notes](#release-notes-description), or [assets links](#links).
1. Click **Create release**.

### Create release from GitLab CI

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/19298) in GitLab 12.7.

You can [create a release directly from the GitLab CI pipeline](../../../ci/yaml/index.md#release)
by using a `release` node in the job definition.

The release is created only if the job processes without error. If the Rails API returns an error
during release creation, the release job fails.

### Upcoming releases

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/issues/38105) in GitLab 12.1.

You can create a release ahead of time by using the [Releases API](../../../api/releases/index.md#upcoming-releases).
When you set a future `released_at` date, an **Upcoming Release** badge is displayed next to the
release tag. When the `released_at` date and time has passed, the badge is automatically removed.

![An upcoming release](img/upcoming_release_v12_7.png)

## Edit a release

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/26016) in GitLab 12.6. Asset link editing was [introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/9427) in GitLab 12.10.

Only users with at least the Developer role can edit releases.
Read more about [Release permissions](#release-permissions).

To edit the details of a release:

1. On the left sidebar, select **Deployments > Releases**.
1. In the top-right corner of the release you want to modify, click **Edit this release** (the pencil icon).
1. On the **Edit Release** page, change the release's details.
1. Click **Save changes**.

You can edit the release title, notes, associated milestones, and asset links.
To change the release date use the
[Releases API](../../../api/releases/index.md#update-a-release).

## Add release notes to Git tags

If you have an existing Git tag, you can add release notes to it.

You can do this in the user interface, or by using the [Releases API](../../../api/releases/index.md).
We recommend using the API to add release notes as one of the last steps in your CI/CD release pipeline.

In the interface, to add release notes to a new Git tag:

1. Navigate to your project's **Repository > Tags**.
1. Click **New tag**.
1. In the **Release notes** field, enter the release's description.
   You can use Markdown and drag and drop files to this field.
1. Click **Create tag**.

In the interface, to add release notes to an existing Git tag:

1. Navigate to your project's **Repository > Tags**.
1. Click **Edit release notes** (the pencil icon).
1. In the **Release notes** field, enter the release's description.
   You can use Markdown in this field, and drag and drop files to it.
1. Click **Save changes**.

## Associate milestones with a release

> - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/29020) in GitLab 12.5.
> - [Updated](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/39467) to edit milestones in the UI in GitLab 13.0.

You can associate a release with one or more [project milestones](../milestones/index.md#project-milestones-and-group-milestones).

[GitLab Premium](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) customers can specify [group milestones](../milestones/index.md#project-milestones-and-group-milestones) to associate with a release.

You can do this in the user interface, or by including a `milestones` array in your request to
the [Releases API](../../../api/releases/index.md#create-a-release).

In the user interface, to associate milestones to a release:

1. On the left sidebar, select **Deployments > Releases**.
1. In the top-right corner of the release you want to modify, click **Edit this release** (the pencil icon).
1. From the **Milestones** list, select each milestone you want to associate. You can select multiple milestones.
1. Click **Save changes**.

On the **Deployments > Releases** page, the **Milestone** is listed in the top
section, along with statistics about the issues in the milestones.

![A Release with one associated milestone](img/release_with_milestone_v12_9.png)

Releases are also visible on the **Issues > Milestones** page, and when you click a milestone
on this page.

Here is an example of milestones with no releases, one release, and two releases, respectively.

![Milestones with and without Release associations](img/milestone_list_with_releases_v12_5.png)

## Get notified when a release is created

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/26001) in GitLab 12.4.

You can be notified by email when a new release is created for your project.

To subscribe to notifications for releases:

1. On the left sidebar, select **Project information**.
1. Click **Notification setting** (the bell icon).
1. In the list, click **Custom**.
1. Select the **New release** checkbox.
1. Close the dialog box to save.

## Prevent unintentional releases by setting a deploy freeze

> - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/29382) in GitLab 13.0.
> - The ability to delete freeze periods through the UI was [introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/212451) in GitLab 14.3.

Prevent unintended production releases during a period of time you specify by
setting a [*deploy freeze* period](../../../ci/environments/deployment_safety.md).
Deploy freezes help reduce uncertainty and risk when automating deployments.

A maintainer can set a deploy freeze window in the user interface or by using the [Freeze Periods API](../../../api/freeze_periods.md) to set a `freeze_start` and a `freeze_end`, which
are defined as [crontab](https://crontab.guru/) entries.

If the job that's executing is within a freeze period, GitLab CI/CD creates an environment
variable named `$CI_DEPLOY_FREEZE`.

To prevent the deployment job from executing, create a `rules` entry in your
`.gitlab-ci.yml`, for example:

```yaml
deploy_to_production:
  stage: deploy
  script: deploy_to_prod.sh
  rules:
    - if: $CI_DEPLOY_FREEZE == null
```

To set a deploy freeze window in the UI, complete these steps:

1. Sign in to GitLab as a user with the [Maintainer role](../../permissions.md).
1. On the left sidebar, select **Project information**.
1. In the left navigation menu, navigate to **Settings > CI/CD**.
1. Scroll to **Deploy freezes**.
1. Click **Expand** to see the deploy freeze table.
1. Click **Add deploy freeze** to open the deploy freeze modal.
1. Enter the start time, end time, and time zone of the desired deploy freeze period.
1. Click **Add deploy freeze** in the modal.
1. After the deploy freeze is saved, you can edit it by selecting the edit button (**{pencil}**) and remove it by selecting the delete button (**{remove}**).
   ![Deploy freeze modal for setting a deploy freeze period](img/deploy_freeze_v14_3.png)

If a project contains multiple freeze periods, all periods apply. If they overlap, the freeze covers the
complete overlapping period.

For more information, see [Deployment safety](../../../ci/environments/deployment_safety.md).

## Release fields

The following fields are available when you create or edit a release.

### Title

The release title can be customized using the **Release title** field when
creating or editing a release. If no title is provided, the release's tag name
is used instead.

Guest users of private projects are allowed to view the **Releases** page
but are _not_ allowed to view details about the Git repository (in particular,
tag names). Because of this, release titles are replaced with a generic
title like "Release-1234" for Guest users to avoid leaking tag name information.

See the [Release permissions](#release-permissions) section for
more information about permissions.

### Tag name

The release tag name should include the release version. GitLab uses [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/)
for our releases, and we recommend you do too. Use `(Major).(Minor).(Patch)`, as detailed in the
[GitLab Policy for Versioning](../../../policy/maintenance.md#versioning).

For example, for GitLab version `10.5.7`:

- `10` represents the major version. The major release was `10.0.0`, but often referred to as `10.0`.
- `5` represents the minor version. The minor release was `10.5.0`, but often referred to as `10.5`.
- `7` represents the patch number.

Any part of the version number can be multiple digits, for example, `13.10.11`.

### Release notes description

Every release has a description. You can add any text you like, but we recommend
including a changelog to describe the content of your release. This helps users
quickly scan the differences between each release you publish.

[Git's tagging messages](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Basics-Tagging) and
Release note descriptions are unrelated. Description supports [Markdown](../../markdown.md).

### Release assets

A release contains the following types of assets:

- [Source code](#source-code)
- [Link](#links)

#### Source code

GitLab automatically generates `zip`, `tar.gz`, `tar.bz2`, and `tar`
archived source code from the given Git tag. These are read-only assets.

#### Links

A link is any URL which can point to whatever you like: documentation, built
binaries, or other related materials. These can be both internal or external
links from your GitLab instance.
Each link as an asset has the following attributes:

| Attribute   | Description                            | Required |
| ----        | -----------                            | ---      |
| `name`      | The name of the link.                  | Yes      |
| `url`       | The URL to download a file.            | Yes      |
| `filepath`  | The redirect link to the `url`. See [this section](#permanent-links-to-release-assets) for more information. | No       |
| `link_type` | The content kind of what users can download via `url`. See [this section](#link-types) for more information. | No       |

##### Permanent links to release assets

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/27300) in GitLab 12.9.

The assets associated with a release are accessible through a permanent URL.
GitLab always redirects this URL to the actual asset
location, so even if the assets move to a different location, you can continue
to use the same URL. This is defined during [link creation](../../../api/releases/links.md#create-a-link) or [updating](../../../api/releases/links.md#update-a-link).

The format of the URL is:

```plaintext
https://host/namespace/project/releases/:release/downloads/:filepath
```

If you have an asset for the `v11.9.0-rc2` release in the `gitlab-org`
namespace and `gitlab-runner` project on `gitlab.com`, for example:

```json
{
  "name": "linux amd64",
  "filepath": "/binaries/gitlab-runner-linux-amd64",
  "url": "https://gitlab-runner-downloads.s3.amazonaws.com/v11.9.0-rc2/binaries/gitlab-runner-linux-amd64",
  "link_type": "other"
}
```

This asset has a direct link of:

```plaintext
https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/releases/v11.9.0-rc2/downloads/binaries/gitlab-runner-linux-amd64
```

The physical location of the asset can change at any time and the direct link remains unchanged.

##### Link Types

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/207257) in GitLab 13.1.

The four types of links are "Runbook," "Package," "Image," and "Other."
The `link_type` parameter accepts one of the following four values:

- `runbook`
- `package`
- `image`
- `other` (default)

This field has no effect on the URL and it's only used for visual purposes in the Releases page of your project.

##### Use a generic package for attaching binaries

You can use [generic packages](../../packages/generic_packages/index.md)
to store any artifacts from a release or tag pipeline,
that can also be used for attaching binary files to an individual release entry.
You basically need to:

1. [Push the artifacts to the Generic Package Registry](../../packages/generic_packages/index.md#publish-a-package-file).
1. [Attach the package link to the release](#links).

The following example generates release assets, publishes them
as a generic package, and then creates a release:

```yaml
stages:
  - build
  - upload
  - release

variables:
  # Package version can only contain numbers (0-9), and dots (.).
  # Must be in the format of X.Y.Z, i.e. should match /\A\d+\.\d+\.\d+\z/ regular expresion.
  # See https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/packages/generic_packages/#publish-a-package-file
  PACKAGE_VERSION: "1.2.3"
  DARWIN_AMD64_BINARY: "myawesomerelease-darwin-amd64-${PACKAGE_VERSION}"
  LINUX_AMD64_BINARY: "myawesomerelease-linux-amd64-${PACKAGE_VERSION}"
  PACKAGE_REGISTRY_URL: "${CI_API_V4_URL}/projects/${CI_PROJECT_ID}/packages/generic/myawesomerelease/${PACKAGE_VERSION}"

build:
  stage: build
  image: alpine:latest
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_TAG
  script:
    - mkdir bin
    - echo "Mock binary for ${DARWIN_AMD64_BINARY}" > bin/${DARWIN_AMD64_BINARY}
    - echo "Mock binary for ${LINUX_AMD64_BINARY}" > bin/${LINUX_AMD64_BINARY}
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - bin/

upload:
  stage: upload
  image: curlimages/curl:latest
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_TAG
  script:
    - |
      curl --header "JOB-TOKEN: ${CI_JOB_TOKEN}" --upload-file bin/${DARWIN_AMD64_BINARY} "${PACKAGE_REGISTRY_URL}/${DARWIN_AMD64_BINARY}"
    - |
      curl --header "JOB-TOKEN: ${CI_JOB_TOKEN}" --upload-file bin/${LINUX_AMD64_BINARY} "${PACKAGE_REGISTRY_URL}/${LINUX_AMD64_BINARY}"

release:
  # Caution, as of 2021-02-02 these assets links require a login, see:
  # https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/299384
  stage: release
  image: registry.gitlab.com/gitlab-org/release-cli:latest
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_TAG
  script:
    - |
      release-cli create --name "Release $CI_COMMIT_TAG" --tag-name $CI_COMMIT_TAG \
        --assets-link "{\"name\":\"${DARWIN_AMD64_BINARY}\",\"url\":\"${PACKAGE_REGISTRY_URL}/${DARWIN_AMD64_BINARY}\"}" \
        --assets-link "{\"name\":\"${LINUX_AMD64_BINARY}\",\"url\":\"${PACKAGE_REGISTRY_URL}/${LINUX_AMD64_BINARY}\"}"
```

PowerShell users may need to escape the double quote `"` inside a JSON
string with a `` ` `` (back tick) for `--assets-link` and `ConvertTo-Json`
before passing on to the `release-cli`.
For example:

```yaml
release:
  script:
    - $env:asset = "{`"name`":`"MyFooAsset`",`"url`":`"https://gitlab.com/upack/artifacts/download/$env:UPACK_GROUP/$env:UPACK_NAME/$($env:GitVersion_SemVer)?contentOnly=zip`"}"
    - $env:assetjson = $env:asset | ConvertTo-Json
    - release-cli create --name $CI_COMMIT_TAG --description "Release $CI_COMMIT_TAG" --ref $CI_COMMIT_TAG --tag-name $CI_COMMIT_TAG --assets-link=$env:assetjson
```

NOTE:
Directly attaching [job artifacts](../../../ci/pipelines/job_artifacts.md)
links to a release is not recommended, because artifacts are ephemeral and
are used to pass data in the same pipeline. This means there's a risk that
they could either expire or someone might manually delete them.

## Release evidence

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/26019) in GitLab 12.6.

Each time a release is created, GitLab takes a snapshot of data that's related to it.
This data is saved in a JSON file and called *release evidence*. The feature
includes test artifacts and linked milestones to facilitate
internal processes, like external audits.

To access the release evidence, on the Releases page, click the link to the JSON file that's listed
under the **Evidence collection** heading.

You can also [use the API](../../../api/releases/index.md#collect-release-evidence) to
generate release evidence for an existing release. Because of this, each release
can have multiple release evidence snapshots. You can view the release evidence and
its details on the Releases page.

When the issue tracker is disabled, release evidence [can't be downloaded](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/208397).

Here is an example of a release evidence object:

```json
{
  "release": {
    "id": 5,
    "tag_name": "v4.0",
    "name": "New release",
    "project": {
      "id": 20,
      "name": "Project name",
      "created_at": "2019-04-14T11:12:13.940Z",
      "description": "Project description"
    },
    "created_at": "2019-06-28 13:23:40 UTC",
    "description": "Release description",
    "milestones": [
      {
        "id": 11,
        "title": "v4.0-rc1",
        "state": "closed",
        "due_date": "2019-05-12 12:00:00 UTC",
        "created_at": "2019-04-17 15:45:12 UTC",
        "issues": [
          {
            "id": 82,
            "title": "The top-right popup is broken",
            "author_name": "John Doe",
            "author_email": "john@doe.com",
            "state": "closed",
            "due_date": "2019-05-10 12:00:00 UTC"
          },
          {
            "id": 89,
            "title": "The title of this page is misleading",
            "author_name": "Jane Smith",
            "author_email": "jane@smith.com",
            "state": "closed",
            "due_date": "nil"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": 12,
        "title": "v4.0-rc2",
        "state": "closed",
        "due_date": "2019-05-30 18:30:00 UTC",
        "created_at": "2019-04-17 15:45:12 UTC",
        "issues": []
      }
    ],
    "report_artifacts": [
      {
        "url":"https://gitlab.example.com/root/project-name/-/jobs/111/artifacts/download"
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

### Collect release evidence **(PREMIUM SELF)**

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/199065) in [GitLab Premium](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) 12.10.

When a release is created, release evidence is automatically collected. To initiate evidence collection any other time, use an [API call](../../../api/releases/index.md#collect-release-evidence). You can collect release evidence multiple times for one release.

Evidence collection snapshots are visible on the Releases page, along with the timestamp the evidence was collected.

### Include report artifacts as release evidence **(ULTIMATE)**

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/32773) in [GitLab Ultimate](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) 13.2.

When you create a release, if [job artifacts](../../../ci/yaml/index.md#artifactsreports) are included in the last pipeline that ran, they are automatically included in the release as release evidence.

Although job artifacts normally expire, artifacts included in release evidence do not expire.

To enable job artifact collection you need to specify both:

1. [`artifacts:paths`](../../../ci/yaml/index.md#artifactspaths)
1. [`artifacts:reports`](../../../ci/yaml/index.md#artifactsreports)

```yaml
ruby:
  script:
    - gem install bundler
    - bundle install
    - bundle exec rspec --format progress --format RspecJunitFormatter --out rspec.xml
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - rspec.xml
    reports:
      junit: rspec.xml
```

If the pipeline ran successfully, when you create your release, the `rspec.xml` file is saved as
release evidence.

If you [schedule release evidence collection](#schedule-release-evidence-collection),
some artifacts may already be expired by the time of evidence collection. To avoid this you can use
the [`artifacts:expire_in`](../../../ci/yaml/index.md#artifactsexpire_in)
keyword. Learn more in [this issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/222351).

### Schedule release evidence collection

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/23697) in GitLab 12.8.

In the API:

- If you specify a future `released_at` date, the release becomes an **Upcoming Release**
  and the evidence is collected on the date of the release. You cannot collect
  release evidence before then.
- If you use a past `released_at` date, no evidence is collected.
- If you do not specify a `released_at` date, release evidence is collected on the
  date the release is created.

## Release permissions

> [The permission model for create, update and delete actions was fixed](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/327505) in GitLab 14.1.

### View a release and download assets

- Users with [Reporter role or above](../../../user/permissions.md#project-members-permissions)
  have read and download access to the project releases.
- Users with [Guest role](../../../user/permissions.md#project-members-permissions)
  have read and download access to the project releases, however,
  repository-related information are redacted (for example the Git tag name).

### Create, update, and delete a release and its assets

- Users with [Developer role or above](../../../user/permissions.md#project-members-permissions)
  have write access to the project releases and assets.
- If a release is associated with a [protected tag](../protected_tags.md),
  the user must be [allowed to create the protected tag](../protected_tags.md#configuring-protected-tags) too.

As an example of release permission control, you can allow only
[Maintainer role or above](../../../user/permissions.md#project-members-permissions)
to create, update, and delete releases by protecting the tag with a wildcard (`*`),
and set **Maintainer** in the **Allowed to create** column.

## Release Command Line

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/release-cli/-/merge_requests/6) in GitLab 12.10.

The Release CLI is a command-line tool for managing GitLab Releases from the command line or from
the GitLab CI/CD configuration file, `.gitlab-ci.yml`.

With it, you can create, update, modify, and delete releases right through the
terminal.

Read the [Release CLI documentation](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/release-cli/-/blob/master/docs/index.md)
for details.

## Release Metrics **(ULTIMATE)**

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/259703) in GitLab Premium 13.9.

Group-level release metrics are available by navigating to **Group > Analytics > CI/CD**.
These metrics include:

- Total number of releases in the group
- Percentage of projects in the group that have at least one release

## Working example project

The Guided Exploration project [Utterly Automated Software and Artifact Versioning with GitVersion](https://gitlab.com/guided-explorations/devops-patterns/utterly-automated-versioning) demonstrates:

- Using GitLab releases.
- Using the GitLab `release-cli`.
- Creating a generic package.
- Linking the package to the release.
- Using a tool called [GitVersion](https://gitversion.net/) to automatically determine and increment versions for complex repositories.

You can copy the example project to your own group or instance for testing. More details on what other GitLab CI patterns are demonstrated are available at the project page.

## Troubleshooting

### Getting `403 Forbidden` or `Something went wrong while creating a new release` errors when creating, updating or deleting releases and their assets

If the release is associted with a [protected tag](../protected_tags.md),
the UI/API request might result in an authorization failure.
Make sure that the user or a service/bot account is allowed to
[create the protected tag](../protected_tags.md#configuring-protected-tags) too.

See [the release permissions](#release-permissions) for more information.
