The Jenkins `release/tag` takes as input the version number to be released and the commit hash to tag.
The job will will automatically tag the release and create the release branch.
Once a new release branch is created or update, jenkins should perform the final release build as part of the `rook/rook` pipeline as usual.
The release branch is not by default created as "protected", so remember to go to the [branch settings](https://github.com/rook/rook/settings/branches) and mark it as "protected".
The protection settings should be similar to that of the previous release branches.
## Authoring release notes
Every release should have comprehensive and well written release notes published.
While work is ongoing for a milestone, contributors should be keeping the [pending release notes](/PendingReleaseNotes.md) up to date, so that should be used as a starting point.
When the release is nearing completion, start a new release "draft" by going to https://github.com/rook/rook/releases/new and start with the content from the pending release notes.
Fill in the rest of the sections to fully capture the themes, accomplishments and caveats for the release.
Ensure that you only click `Save draft` until the release is complete, after which you can then click `Publish release` to make them public.
NOTE: Until https://issues.jenkins-ci.org/browse/JENKINS-41929 is fixed, pipeline builds for a new branch will run with no params. The workaround now is to run promote the second time and it should prompt for version number and channel correctly.