A maintainer runbook turns a release from memory into an inspectable sequence

Record authority and prerequisites

Begin with the maintainers allowed to approve and publish, the registry and repository roles they need, the supported release branches, and the place where secrets are managed. List the required checks, versioning rule, changelog source, package metadata, license and notice review, clean-install environments, and artifact-signing process when one exists. A runbook should refer to credential names and owners, never embed the secret values that grant release authority.

Define the candidate precisely with a commit identifier and proposed version. Build in a clean runner, preserve checksums and package contents, install the built artifact, and run the documented first example. Review dependency and license facts for changes from the previous release. If any required check is waived, record who made the decision and why instead of silently editing the checklist after the fact.

Separate build, publish, and verify

Building an artifact is reversible; publishing a version may not be. The runbook should include an approval checkpoint between them, state whether the registry permits deletion or only deprecation, and name the response to a wrong or compromised artifact. Publish from the reviewed artifact rather than rebuilding from an unpinned environment. Then verify the registry page, checksum, metadata, install command, first-use example, generated documentation, release notes, and repository tag from a new consumer environment.

OpenSSF Scorecard includes packaging and signed-release checks among its public signals. These checks can prompt a maintainer to examine provenance and release controls, but a project should document what it actually implements. If artifacts are unsigned, state that fact. If only source archives are distributed, remove irrelevant signing language rather than leaving a false checkbox in the runbook.

Close the release with support evidence

Create a release record containing the approver, commit, version, artifact identifiers, check results, publication timestamp, verification output, known limitations, and any rollback or deprecation action. Update supported-version statements and the security-reporting policy when an older line becomes unsupported. Watch the support route for install failures that reveal an incorrect published assumption and turn reproducible defects into the next release's checks.

Reality Contact, LLC prepares and rehearses this runbook for Repo Launch Record. The buyer retains registry credentials, chooses who may publish, approves every waiver, and performs or supervises publication. The runbook records a bounded operating method; it does not supply continuing maintenance, incident response, legal review, security certification, or a promise that users will adopt the project.

Where the service stops

Reality Contact, LLC prepares repository code, factual inventories, documents, and test evidence but does not provide legal advice, choose a license for the buyer, certify security, promise community adoption, moderate the project indefinitely, or maintain releases after handoff. The buyer chooses the license and governance position, approves the supported environments and contribution policy, controls publication credentials, and decides whether and when to make the repository public. The service is software implementation and document preparation, and it does not replace legal review, security assessment, registry administration, project governance, or continuing maintenance. The buyer chooses all license and governance terms, controls repository and registry credentials, approves the supported environments, and makes every publication decision.