Releasing Apache Tika

This guide covers the process for releasing the main Apache Tika project.

Prerequisites

Before starting the release process, ensure you have:

Commit access to the Apache Tika repository
A valid GPG key published to a public keyserver
Maven credentials configured in ~/.m2/settings.xml
Access to Apache’s Nexus repository manager

Pre-Release Checks

Before starting the release, run vulnerability and dependency audits:

# Identify vulnerable dependencies
mvn ossindex:audit -Dossindex.fail=true

# Check for outdated plugins
mvn versions:display-plugin-updates

# Check for outdated dependencies
mvn versions:display-dependency-updates

# Run full regression tests
mvn -Prelease-profile clean verify

Release Process

Step 1: Clone the Repository

Clone the repository if you haven’t already:

git clone https://github.com/apache/tika.git
cd tika

Step 2: Update Documentation

Update CHANGES.txt with the release date:

Release X.Y.Z - MM/dd/yyyy

Add any changelog entries as needed.

Step 3: JIRA Management

Create versions X.Y.Z, X.(Y+1), and X.(Y+2) in JIRA if they don’t exist
Reassign any unresolved X.Y.Z issues to X.(Y+1) via bulk change

Step 4: Verify License Headers

Run the Apache RAT plugin to verify all files have proper license headers:

mvn apache-rat:check

Step 5: Commit Changes

Commit the CHANGES.txt updates:

git add CHANGES.txt
git commit -m "Prepare for X.Y.Z release"
git push

Step 6: Set Maven Memory

Configure Maven memory settings:

export MAVEN_OPTS="-Xms128m -Xmx256m"

Step 7: Prepare the Release

Execute the Maven release prepare goal:

mvn release:prepare

This will prompt you to confirm:

The release version (X.Y.Z)
The SCM tag name
The next development version

Step 8: Perform the Release

Execute the Maven release perform goal:

mvn release:perform

Ensure you have valid Maven credentials in ~/.m2/settings.xml:

<servers>
  <server>
    <id>apache.releases.https</id>
    <username>your-apache-id</username>
    <password>your-password</password>
  </server>
</servers>

Step 9: Verify Staging Repository

Access Apache’s Nexus at https://repository.apache.org
Log in with your Apache credentials
Navigate to "Staging Repositories"
Find the org.apache.tika staging repository
Verify it contains all expected artifacts
Click "Close" with an appropriate message

Step 10: Upload Distribution Artifacts

Upload artifacts to dist.apache.org:

svn co https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/tika tika-dist-dev
cd tika-dist-dev

Upload the following files with their signatures (.asc) and checksums (.sha512):

tika-X.Y.Z-src.zip
tika-app-X.Y.Z.jar
tika-server-standard-X.Y.Z.jar

Also:

Rename CHANGES.txt to CHANGES-X.Y.Z.txt
Ensure the KEYS file contains all contributor signatures

Step 11: Call the Vote

Send a vote request to the dev@tika.apache.org mailing list:

Subject: [VOTE] Release Apache Tika X.Y.Z

Hi all,

I have created a candidate build for Apache Tika X.Y.Z.

The release candidate artifacts can be found at:
https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/tika/

The staging repository is:
https://repository.apache.org/content/repositories/orgapachetika-XXXX

The Git tag is:
https://github.com/apache/tika/tree/X.Y.Z

Please vote:
[ ] +1 Release this package
[ ] +0 No opinion
[ ] -1 Do not release (please provide reason)

This vote will remain open for at least 72 hours.

Step 12: Release the Artifacts

Upon successful vote (at least 3 +1 votes from PMC members):

Release the Nexus staging repository (click "Release" button)
Move artifacts from dev to release distribution:

svn mv https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/tika/X.Y.Z \
       https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/release/tika/X.Y.Z \
       -m "Release Apache Tika X.Y.Z"

Post-Release

Update Unreleased Modules

Update any modules that weren’t part of the release to the next SNAPSHOT version.

Update Website

Refresh the website documentation to reflect the new release:

Update download links
Update version numbers in documentation
Add release notes

Release Docker and Helm Images

Follow the separate guides for releasing:

Send Announcements

Send release announcements to:

Subject: [ANNOUNCE] Apache Tika X.Y.Z Released

The Apache Tika team is pleased to announce the release of Apache Tika X.Y.Z.

Apache Tika is a toolkit for detecting and extracting metadata and text
from various types of files.

This release includes:
[List major changes/features]

For a complete list of changes, see:
https://tika.apache.org/X.Y.Z/changes.html

Download:
https://tika.apache.org/download.html

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this release!

The Apache Tika Team