Releasing a new version of mev-boost

November 19, 2025 ยท View on GitHub

This is a guide on how to release a new version of mev-boost.

The best days to release a new version are Monday to Wednesday. Never release on a Friday. Release preferred with another person present (four eyes principle).

Process:

  1. Double-check the current build
  2. Create a release candidate (RC)
  3. Test the RC on testnets
  4. Collect signoffs
  5. Create the full release + announcement

Double-check the current build

First of all, check that the git repository is in the final state, and all the tests and checks are running fine

Test the current

make lint
make test-race
go mod tidy
git status # should be no changes

# Start mev-boost with relay check and -relays
go run . -mainnet -relay-check -min-bid 0.12345 -debug -relays https://0xac6e77dfe25ecd6110b8e780608cce0dab71fdd5ebea22a16c0205200f2f8e2e3ad3b71d3499c54ad14d6c21b41a37ae@boost-relay.flashbots.net,https://0x8b5d2e73e2a3a55c6c87b8b6eb92e0149a125c852751db1422fa951e42a09b82c142c3ea98d0d9930b056a3bc9896b8f@bloxroute.max-profit.blxrbdn.com,https://0xa1559ace749633b997cb3fdacffb890aeebdb0f5a3b6aaa7eeeaf1a38af0a8fe88b9e4b1f61f236d2e64d95733327a62@relay.ultrasound.money

# Start mev-boost with relay check and multiple -relay flags
go run . -mainnet -relay-check -debug -min-bid 0.12345 \
    -relay https://0xac6e77dfe25ecd6110b8e780608cce0dab71fdd5ebea22a16c0205200f2f8e2e3ad3b71d3499c54ad14d6c21b41a37ae@boost-relay.flashbots.net \
    -relay https://0x8b5d2e73e2a3a55c6c87b8b6eb92e0149a125c852751db1422fa951e42a09b82c142c3ea98d0d9930b056a3bc9896b8f@bloxroute.max-profit.blxrbdn.com \
    -relay https://0xa1559ace749633b997cb3fdacffb890aeebdb0f5a3b6aaa7eeeaf1a38af0a8fe88b9e4b1f61f236d2e64d95733327a62@relay.ultrasound.money

# Call the status endpoint
curl localhost:18550/eth/v1/builder/status

Make a release

Let's release v1.9:

  1. Create a GitHub issue about the upcoming release (example)
  2. Tag a release candidate (RC), or alpha version: v1.9-rc1, and push the new tag to GitHub.
    • The release CI starts building the binaries and the Docker image (which is then pushed to Docker Hub).
    • Binaries can be downloaded from the release CI summary website.
  3. Test the RC in testnets. Iterate as needed, create more alpha versions / release candidates as needed.
  4. When tests are complete, create the release: tag, GitHub release, stable branch update.
# Create the RC tag
git tag -s v1.9-rc1

# Push to Github, which kicks off the release CI
git push origin tags/v1.9-rc1

# When CI is done, the Docker image can be used
docker pull flashbots/mev-boost:v1.9a1

# Once testing is done, tag the full release
git tag -s v1.9
git tag -s v1.9.0

# Push to Github, which kicks off the release CI
git push origin tags/v1.9 tags/v1.9.0

# Finally, update the stable branch
git checkout stable
git merge tags/v1.9 --ff-only