diff --git a/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-common-tasks.rst b/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-common-tasks.rst index 4b76217ad3..09f20a2bc9 100644 --- a/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-common-tasks.rst +++ b/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-common-tasks.rst @@ -11004,6 +11004,63 @@ Lastly please ensure that you also test your revised changes. In particular please don't just edit the patch file written out by ``git format-patch`` and resend it. +Submitting Changes to Stable Release Branches +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +The process for proposing changes to a Yocto Project stable branch differs +from the steps described above. Changes to a stable branch must address +identified bugs or CVEs and should be made carefully in order to avoid the +risk of introducing new bugs or breaking backwards compatibility. Typically +bug fixes must already be accepted into the master branch before they can be +backported to a stable branch unless the bug in question does not affect the +master branch or the fix on the master branch is unsuitable for backporting. + +The list of stable branches along with the status and maintainer for each +branch can be obtained from the +:yocto_wiki:`Releases wiki page `. + +.. note:: + + Changes will not typically be accepted for branches which are marked as + End-Of-Life (EOL). + +With this in mind, the steps to submit a change for a stable branch are as +follows: + +1. *Identify the bug or CVE to be fixed:* This information should be + collected so that it can be included in your submission. + +2. *Check if the fix is already present in the master branch:* This will + result in the most straightforward path into the stable branch for the + fix. + + a. *If the fix is present in the master branch - Submit a backport request + by email:* You should send an email to the relevant stable branch + maintainer and the mailing list with details of the bug or CVE to be + fixed, the commit hash on the master branch that fixes the issue and + the stable branches which you would like this fix to be backported to. + + b. *If the fix is not present in the master branch - Submit the fix to the + master branch first:* This will ensure that the fix passes through the + project's usual patch review and test processes before being accepted. + It will also ensure that bugs are not left unresolved in the master + branch itself. Once the fix is accepted in the master branch a backport + request can be submitted as above. + + c. *If the fix is unsuitable for the master branch - Submit a patch + directly for the stable branch:* This method should be considered as a + last resort. It is typically necessary when the master branch is using + a newer version of the software which includes an upstream fix for the + issue or when the issue has been fixed on the master branch in a way + that introduces backwards incompatible changes. In this case follow the + steps in :ref:`preparing-changes-for-submissions` and + :ref:`submitting-a-patch` but modify the subject header of your patch + email to include the name of the stable branch which you are + targetting. This can be done using the ``--subject-prefix`` argument to + ``git format-patch``, for example to submit a patch to the dunfell + branch use + ``git format-patch --subject-prefix='&DISTRO_NAME_NO_CAP_MINUS_ONE;][PATCH' ...``. + Working With Licenses =====================