vernum 7.1.3

Easy semantic versioning for projects in Git

VerNum

Configurable GitLab CI/CD-powered version numbering for project releases

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Warning: Breaking Changes

Starting in VerNum v4.0.0:

• No longer generates a .version file - file generation is the responsibility of an outer script
• Includes alpha and beta increments
• Supports the --set-current option to receive the current version number from a source other than Git tags
• Requires an increment - patch is no longer the default
• No longer checks Git status before proceeding
• No longer provides the option to automatically update the Git tag, and no longer supports the dry-run option

Starting in VerNum 7.0.0:

• Requires one of the commands max or next
• Reads from stdin and outputs to stdout by default
• Default scheme is patch and an increment is required (no default)
• The minor-alpha-beta scheme, though similar to previous versions of VerNum, increments to minor-alpha1 or major-alpha1 before going to patch

Python module/CLI installation

The VerNum Python module is distributed as a PyPI module and can be installed like any other.

Install with system-level Python

pip3 install vernum

Install with pipx to avoid dependency collisions

pipx install vernum

Install with a venv (depends on venv location)

.venv/bin/pip install vernum

... or install as a Poetry dev dependency

Commands

The vernum max command

Takes a list of version numbers and based on the configued numbering scheme, returns the highest value in the list.

echo "1.4.0\n1.4.1\n1.5.0" | vernum max

The vernum next command

Takes a single version number and, based on the configured numbering scheme and the selected increment, outputs the next version number.

echo "3.4.5" | vernum next patch

Schemes

VerNum supports multiple "schemes" for version numbering.

Scheme	Description	Increments	Example
major	Just a single version number	major	4
minor	Major, dot, minor	major minor	4.2
patch	Major, dot, minor, dot patch	major minor patch	4.2.1
minor-alpha-beta	Major, dot, minor, dot, and either a patch, alpha, or beta	major, minor, patch, alpha, beta	4.3.alpha2

Schemes support an optional "v" before the version number for inputs, including from Git, but output the result without a "v".

The default scheme is patch.

Details of the minor-alpha-beta scheme

The minor-alpha-beta scheme is designed for situations where alpha and beta pre-releases apply to minor versions. But increments only go forward, and assume that new work will start with alpha1. So:

• major changes e.g. 5.6.2 to 6.0.alpha1
• minor changes e.g. 5.6.2 to 5.7.alpha1
• beta changes e.g. 5.7.beta3 to 5.7.beta4
• alpha changes e.g. 5.7.alpha8 to 5.7.alpha9
• patch changes e.g. 5.6.beta6 to 5.6.0
• patch changes e.g. 5.6.2 to 5.6.3

Use with Git tags

We designed VerNum to use with Git tags, and recommend using the history of tags in the default branch as the source of truth for version numbers.

The example below demonstrates one way to use VerNum with Git tags.

git tag --list --merged HEAD | vernum max | vernum next patch > .version
git tag -a "$(cat .version)" -m "$(cat .version)"

Keep the following pointers in mind when using VerNum with Git.

• CD to the root of the project before running it
• Be on the branch that you use for releases (i.e. master)
• Be fully up-to-date in git (i.e. merged, committed, and pushed)

Configuration and input

VerNum uses the WizLib framework for configuration and input control.

• Input to commands can come through stdin
• Alternatively, use the vernum --input <filename> to pull input from a file
• The scheme can be selected with an environment variable $VERNUM_SCHEME
• Alternatively, the scheme can be set in a YAML configuration file; the application will try, in order:
  • A config file location designated with vernum --config <filename>
  • A config file location designated with a $VERNUM_CONFIG environment variable
  • .vernum.yml in the local directory
  • .vernum.yml in the user's home directory

We recommend placing a .vernum.yml file in the project directory and committing it to the project's Git repository, so different environments use the same scheme.

The format for the YAML file is simple (allowing for other forms of configuration in the future):

vernum:
  scheme: minor

Usage (GitLab CI/CD)

VerNum is designed for use withing GitLab CI/CD, and includes a CI/CD configuration component to support the most common use cases.

Best practices (in our opinion) dictate that version numbering happens downstream of source code, and the only record of a version number lives in the Git tags themselves. In other words, resist the temptation to add new commits just to bump a version.

Use the provided vernum CI/CD component for the base case in GitLab, using either the default patch schema or one defined in a local .vernum.yml file. Override the 2-release job to perform the actual distribution or deployment operation.

include:
  - component: 'gitlab.com/procicd/lib/vernum/base@main'

2-release:
  script:
    - echo "Distribution or deployment process"

The CI/CD component will add a set of jobs that:

• Output the latest version (based on Git tags in the branch being processed)
• Increment the version according to the configured scheme using an increment provided as a variable
• Place the new version number in a job artifact called .version for use by later jobs
• Add a GitLab release object and Git tag for the new version (using release-cli)

To trigger a release and indicate the increment, provide the variable VERNUM_INCREMENT. Treat this variable as momentary and keep it out of the settings. Provide the value in the "Run Pipeline" form or use the glab CLI:

glab ci run --variables VERNUM_INCREMENT:minor

Or attach the variable to a push operation:

git push -o ci.variable="VERNUM_INCREMENT=alpha"

The project also includes components that pre-specify the numbering scheme and include the exact right options for the "Run Pipeline" form.

• gitlab.com/procicd/lib/vernum/major-scheme@main
• gitlab.com/procicd/lib/vernum/minor-scheme@main
• gitlab.com/procicd/lib/vernum/patch-scheme@main
• gitlab.com/procicd/lib/vernum/minor-alpha-beta-scheme@main

Note that the CI jobs contain a bug and will fail if no previous version matching the scheme exists (to be fixed).