Releases
A release turns a git tag into something people can read and download: a title, Markdown release notes, and source-code archives of exactly that tag. Every repository has a Releases section in its left sidebar, next to Tags.
Releases annotate tags — they never change history. Deleting a release keeps the tag it was published from.
Who can do what
| Action | Who |
|---|---|
| Browse releases, read notes, download archives | Anyone who can read the repository |
| Publish, edit, delete a release | The repository owner, its collaborators, and organisation members |
A private repository's releases (and its archives) are invisible to everyone
without read access — the pages answer 404, not 403.
Publishing a release
- Open Releases → New release.
- Tag — type the tag name, e.g.
v1.0.0. The field suggests tags that already exist and have no release yet. - Create the tag from — pick a branch when the tag does not exist yet. git-shark then creates an annotated tag on that branch's current commit as part of publishing. When the tag already exists, this choice is ignored.
- Title — optional; defaults to the tag name.
- Release notes — optional Markdown (headings, lists, tables, links). Embedded raw HTML is escaped, so notes can never inject markup into the page.
- This is a pre-release — tick for a release candidate or beta.
Publishing takes you straight to the new release page.
The release page
- The Latest badge marks the newest release that is not a pre-release. Pre-releases are listed normally but never become "latest".
- Source code (zip) and Source code (tar.gz) download the repository tree
at that tag. Both unpack into a single
<repo>-<tag>/directory. - The commit link opens the exact revision the tag pointed at when the release was published.
- Owners and collaborators get Edit and Delete buttons.
Editing changes the title, the notes and the pre-release flag. The tag and its commit stay fixed — publish a new release to ship a new version.
Downloading without the UI
The archive URLs work for any ref, not just released tags:
https://<host>/repos/<owner>/<repo>/archive/<ref>.zip
https://<host>/repos/<owner>/<repo>/archive/<ref>.tar.gz
<ref> may be a tag, a branch, or a commit id. For a private repository, the
usual login (browser session) is required.
Limits today
- No file attachments. A release carries notes and the source archives; you cannot upload binaries or checksums yet.
- No drafts. A published release is immediately visible to everyone who can read the repository.
- Releases are not announced to federation followers.
Related: Comments · Repository visibility