Terminology
May 8, 2026 · View on GitHub
Quick reference for CAMARA release terminology.
Release Numbering
Repository release (rX.Y): A tagged release of an entire API repository. Example: r4.1
API version (X.Y.Z): Semantic version of a single API. Example: 3.2.0-rc.2
These are independent numbering systems.
Release Configuration
Release track: How the repository participates in releases — none, independent, or meta-release.
Meta-release: A coordinated CAMARA release cycle (e.g., Sync26).
Release type: The maturity level of a repository release:
| Type | Meaning |
|---|---|
pre-release-alpha | Early feedback |
pre-release-rc | Release candidate |
public-release | Production-ready |
maintenance-release | Patch to existing release |
API status: The development level of an individual API: draft → alpha → rc → public
Release Artifacts
Release Issue: Workflow-managed GitHub issue used to trigger and track a release.
Release PR: Pull request for reviewing release documentation.
Draft release: Prepared but unpublished GitHub release.
Release tag: Git tag marking a published release (e.g., r4.1).
Release pointer branch: A branch (release/rX.Y for public releases, pre-release/rX.Y for pre-releases) created by the automation at the release tag commit. Prevents the GitHub "commit does not belong to any branch" warning when browsing the tag tree view.
Release-review branch: An editable branch created by the automation at snapshot time, named release-review/rX.Y-<snapshot-id>. The CHANGELOG-rX.md is completed here during release review. This branch is deleted by the automation when /publish-release is run.
Pr-to-main branch: The source branch for the post-release sync PR, named pr-to-main/rX.Y. Created automatically on publish to carry CHANGELOG-rX.md and the automation-updated README.md back to main. Codeowner deletes it after the sync PR is merged.
Release States
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| PLANNED | Release intent declared in release-plan.yaml |
| SNAPSHOT ACTIVE | Release PR under review |
| DRAFT READY | Draft awaiting publication |
| PUBLISHED | Release complete |
| NOT PLANNED | Release no longer planned |
Metadata Files
release-plan.yaml: Declares release intent. Edited by codeowners on main.
release-metadata.yaml: Records actual release. Generated by automation.