Get started with fledge

Do you want to provide a changelog (NEWS.md) more informative than “bug fixes and performance improvements” (https://twitter.com/EmilyKager/status/1413628436984188933) to the users of your package?

Installation & setup

Once per machine

Install from cynkra’s R-universe using:

install.packages("fledge", repos = "https://cynkra.r-universe.dev")

Or install from GitHub using:

devtools::install_github("cynkra/fledge")

If you are used to making workflow packages (e.g. devtools) available for all your interactive work, you might enjoy loading fledge in your .Rprofile.

Once per package

Your package needs to have a remote that indicates the default branch (e.g. GitHub remote) or to be using the same default branch name as your global/project init.defaultbranch.
If your package…
- is brand-new, remember to run fledge::bump_version() regularly.
- has already undergone some development, it is not too late to jump on the train! Run fledge::bump_version() and then fledge::finalize_version().
Add a mention of fledge usage in your contributing guide, as contributors might not know about it. A comment is added to the top of NEWS.md, but it tends to be ignored occasionally.

Functions

{fledge} consists of the following functions that enable versioning at different stages through the package development lifecycle.

Function Name	Description	Stage Applicable
`bump_version(which)`	Increments the package version based on argument. (Version format supported major.minor.dev.patch)	Configuration, Development, Release
`finalize_version()`	Finalize the package version	Configuration, Development
`commit_version()`	Commits `NEWS.md` and `DESCRIPTION` to Git.	Release
`tag_version()`	Parses `NEWS.md` and creates/updates the tag for the most recent version.	Release
`update_news()`	Update `NEWS.md` with messages from top level commits	Used by `bump_version()`
`update_version()`	Update `NEWS.md` and `DESCRIPTION` with a new version	Used by `bump_version()`

Usage

The following sections show how to combine these functions at different stages with any R package on GitHub. All {fledge} commands should be issued from the package directory of the target R package.

Initial Configuration

{fledge} assumes that the target R package is version-controlled with Git in a dedicated repository. The following steps are required to set up {fledge} for first time use, with your package.

Call bump_version() as given below to set the package version
```
fledge::bump_version()
```
Edit NEWS.md if required (typo fixes, rephrasing, grouping).
Call finalize_version() as given below to update NEWS.md
```
fledge::finalize_version()
```

You are all set to switch to the development stage now. Ensure that you use bullet points (* or -) in your commit or merge messages to indicate the messages that you want to include in NEWS.md. Use finalize_version(push = TRUE) to push to the remote repository (e.g. GitHub) in one swoop.

Development

{fledge} aims to update NEWS.md and DESCRIPTION correctly whenever a new version is assigned. In order to do this, the following steps need to be included throughout the development workflow.

In commit messages to your main branch (typically main or master), mark everything that should go to NEWS.md with a bullet point (- or *). This is applicable to single commits, merge commits, or squash commits from pull requests. Do not edit NEWS.md manually.
When you want to assign a version number to the current state of your R package e.g. at the end of the day or before a break, call
```
fledge::bump_version()
```
The default argument for bump_version is “dev”. So the dev part of the version number will be updated. It is good practice to assign a new version number before switching focus to another project.
Edit NEWS.md if required (typo fixes, rephrasing, grouping).
Call finalize_version(): fledge::finalize_version(). This achieves the following:
- NEWS.md is now composed, based on the most recent commit messages. To understand how NEWS.md is updated by fledge, see the section on NEWS.md implementation.
- A new version number is assigned automatically (this is modeled after usethis::use_version()).
- A tag matching the version number is assigned automatically, with the most recent NEWS.md messages included in the tag’s message.

Releasing to CRAN

When you want to release your package to CRAN, follow the steps below:

Call bump_version() with the appropriate argument ("patch", "major", "minor"). e.g.,
```
fledge::bump_version("patch")
```
Edit NEWS.md, convert the “change log” to “release notes” – a higher-level description of features and bug fixes (typo fixes, rephrasing, grouping).
Call commit_version() as below
```
fledge::commit_version()
```
Make any necessary adjustments before releasing to CRAN depending on results of preparatory / incoming checks.
Once the release/changes have been accepted by CRAN, use the following calls to tag the released version and to switch to a development version immediately.
```
fledge::tag_version()
fledge::bump_version()
```
Return to development mode!

FAQ & edge cases

At least we think these questions could be asked. Feel free to also ask us questions!

But what if I want to edit NEWS.md manually?

You still can!

The best moment is between bump_version() and finalize_version(push = TRUE).
You can actually edit at any time, but only between those two calls the text in the changelog will be captured in the tag message, which is better for the tag history.

What if a contributor wants to contribute a NEWS item?

If someone opens a PR, with fledge the information about the changes should be entered in the message for the merge or squash commit. Now you could still advise contributors to provide a summary of the change as a comment to the PR.

Does this mean “Fix #42” will appear in NEWS.md?

If you want to fix an issue with a commit message you can

put “Fix #42” on a separate non-bulleted line or after a line with 3 hyphens.

- Adds support for coolness (#42, @contributor).

---

Fix #42

In a PR on e.g. GitHub you can link an issue to a PR by starting the first comment with “Fix 42” so the issue will be closed. The merge or squash commit will be hyperlinked to the PR, but the commit message won’t have that phrase. You should still add an acknowledgement in the actual commit message e.g. “- Adds support for coolness (#42, @contributor)”.

Edge cases

If you rebase after creating a tag, you need to call finalize_version() to make sure the tag is moved to the mainline branch.
If you pushed via finalize_version(push = TRUE) or git push, the tag may have been pushed as well. In this case, invoke

git push origin :vx.y.z.9www

(where x.y.z.9www is the new version) to delete the newly created remote tag. This is the reason why {fledge} only tags "dev" releases automatically. Other releases always must be tagged manually with tag_version().