django/docs/internals/howto-release-django.txt

=====================
How to release Django
=====================

This document explains how to release Django.

**Please, keep these instructions up-to-date if you make changes!** The point
here is to be descriptive, not prescriptive, so feel free to streamline or
otherwise make changes, but **update this document accordingly!**

Overview
========

There are three types of releases that you might need to make:

* Security releases: disclosing and fixing a vulnerability. This'll
  generally involve two or three simultaneous releases -- e.g.
  3.2.x, 4.0.x, and, depending on timing, perhaps a 4.1.x.

* Regular version releases: either a final release (e.g. 4.1) or a
  bugfix update (e.g. 4.1.1).

* Pre-releases: e.g. 4.2 alpha, beta, or rc.

The short version of the steps involved is:

#. If this is a security release, pre-notify the security distribution list
   one week before the actual release.

#. Proofread the release notes, looking for organization and writing errors.
   Draft a blog post and email announcement.

#. Update version numbers and create the release artifacts.

#. Create the new ``Release`` in the admin on ``djangoproject.com``.

   #. Set the proper date but ensure the flag ``is_active`` is disabled.
   #. Upload the artifacts (tarball, wheel, and checksums).

#. Verify package(s) signatures, check if they can be installed, and ensure
   minimal functionality.

#. Upload the new version(s) to PyPI.

#. Enable the ``is_active`` flag for each release in the admin on
   ``djangoproject.com``.

#. Post the blog entry and send out the email announcements.

#. Update version numbers post-release in stable branch(es).

#. Add stub release notes for the next patch release in ``main`` and backport.

There are a lot of details, so please read on.

Prerequisites
=============

You'll need a few things before getting started. If this is your first release,
you'll need to coordinate with another releaser to get all these things lined
up, and write to the Ops mailing list requesting the required access and
permissions.

* A Unix environment with these tools installed (in alphabetical order):

  * bash
  * git
  * GPG
  * make
  * man
  * hashing tools (typically ``md5sum``, ``sha1sum``, and ``sha256sum`` on
    Linux, or ``md5`` and ``shasum`` on macOS)
  * python

* A GPG key pair. Ensure that the private part of this key is securely stored.
  The public part needs to be uploaded to your GitHub account, and also to the
  Jenkins server running the "confirm release" job.

  .. admonition:: More than one GPG key

    If the key you want to use is not your default signing key, you'll need to
    add ``-u you@example.com`` to every GPG signing command shown below, where
    ``you@example.com`` is the email address associated with the key you want
    to use.

* A clean Python virtual environment per Django version being released, with
  these required Python packages installed:

  .. code-block:: shell

      $ python -m pip install build twine

* Access to `Django's project on PyPI <https://pypi.org/project/Django/>`_ to
  upload binaries, ideally with extra permissions to `yank a release
  <https://pypi.org/help/#yanked>`_ if necessary. Create a project-scoped token
  following the `official documentation <https://pypi.org/help/#apitoken>`_
  and set up your ``$HOME/.pypirc`` file like this:

  .. code-block:: ini
     :caption: ``~/.pypirc``

     [distutils]
       index-servers =
         pypi
         django

     [pypi]
       username = __token__
       password = # User-scoped or project-scoped token, to set as the default.

     [django]
       repository = https://upload.pypi.org/legacy/
       username = __token__
       password = # A project token.

* Access to `Django's project on Transifex
  <https://app.transifex.com/django/django/>`_, with a Manager role. Generate
  an API Token in the `user setting section
  <https://app.transifex.com/user/settings/api/>`_ and set up your
  ``$HOME/.transifexrc`` file like this:

  .. code-block:: ini
     :caption: ``~/.transifexrc``

     [https://www.transifex.com]
       rest_hostname = https://rest.api.transifex.com
       token = # API token

* Access to the Django admin on ``djangoproject.com`` as a "Site maintainer".

* Access to create a post in the `Django Forum - Announcements category
  <https://forum.djangoproject.com/c/announcements/7>`_ and to send emails to
  the `django-announce <https://groups.google.com/g/django-announce/>`_
  mailing list.

* Access to the ``django-security`` repo in GitHub. Among other things, this
  provides access to the pre-notification distribution list (needed for
  security release preparation tasks).

* Access to the Django project on `Read the Docs
  <https://readthedocs.org/projects/django/>`_.

Pre-release tasks
=================

A few items need to be taken care of before even beginning the release process.
This stuff starts about a week before the release; most of it can be done
any time leading up to the actual release.

10 (or more) days before a security release
-------------------------------------------

#. Request the `CVE IDs <https://cveform.mitre.org/>`_  for the security
   issue(s) being released. One CVE ID per issue, requested with
   ``Vendor: djangoproject`` and ``Product: django``.

#. Generate the relevant (private) patch(es) using ``git format-patch``, one
   for the ``main`` branch and one for each stable branch being patched.

A week before a security release
--------------------------------

#. Send out pre-notification exactly **one week** before the security release.
   The template for that email and a list of the recipients are in the private
   ``django-security`` GitHub wiki. BCC the pre-notification recipients and be
   sure to include the relevant CVE IDs. Attach all the relevant patches
   (targeting ``main`` and the stable branches) and sign the email text with
   the key you'll use for the release, with a command like:

   .. code-block:: shell

      $ gpg --clearsign --digest-algo SHA256 prenotification-email.txt

#. :ref:`Notify django-announce <security-disclosure>` of the upcoming
   security release with a general message such as:

   .. code-block:: text

    Notice of upcoming Django security releases (3.2.24, 4.2.10 and 5.0.2)

    Django versions 5.0.2, 4.2.10, and 3.2.24 will be released on Tuesday,
    February 6th, 2024 around 1500 UTC. They will fix one security defect
    with severity "moderate".

    For details of severity levels, see:
    https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/internals/security/#how-django-discloses-security-issues

A few days before any release
-----------------------------

#. As the release approaches, watch Trac to make sure no release blockers are
   left for the upcoming release. Under exceptional circumstances, such as to
   meet a pre-determined security release date, a release could still go ahead
   with an open release blocker. The releaser is trusted with the decision to
   release with an open release blocker or to postpone the release date of a
   non-security release if required.

#. Check with the other mergers to make sure they don't have any uncommitted
   changes for the release.

#. Proofread the release notes, including looking at the online version to
   :ref:`catch any broken links <documentation-link-check>` or reST errors, and
   make sure the release notes contain the correct date.

#. Double-check that the release notes mention deprecation timelines
   for any APIs noted as deprecated, and that they mention any changes
   in Python version support.

#. Double-check that the release notes index has a link to the notes
   for the new release; this will be in ``docs/releases/index.txt``.

#. If this is a :term:`feature release`, ensure translations from Transifex
   have been integrated. This is typically done by a separate translation's
   manager rather than the releaser, but here are the steps. This process is a
   bit lengthy so be sure to set aside 4-10 hours to do this, and ideally plan
   for this task one or two days ahead of the release day.

   In addition to having a configured Transifex account, the
   `tx CLI <https://developers.transifex.com/docs/cli>`_ should be available in
   your ``PATH``. Then, you can fetch all the translations by running:

   .. code-block:: shell

        $ python scripts/manage_translations.py fetch

   This command takes some time to run. When done, carefully inspect the output
   for potential errors and/or warnings. If there are some, you will need to
   debug and resolve them on a case by case basis.

   The recently fetched translations need some manual adjusting. First of all,
   the ``PO-Revision-Date`` values must be manually bumped to be later than
   ``POT-Creation-Date``. You can use a command similar to this to bulk update
   all the ``.po`` files (compare the diff against the relevant stable branch):

   .. code-block:: shell

        $ git diff --name-only stable/5.0.x | grep "\.po"  | xargs sed -ri "s/PO-Revision-Date: [0-9\-]+ /PO-Revision-Date: $(date -I) /g"

   All the new ``.po`` files should be manually and carefully inspected to
   avoid committing a change in a file without any new translations. Also,
   there shouldn't be any changes in the "plural forms": if there are any
   (usually Spanish and French report changes for this) those will need
   reverting.

   Lastly, commit the changed/added files (both ``.po`` and ``.mo``) and create
   a new PR targeting the stable branch of the corresponding release (example
   `PR updating translations for 4.2
   <https://github.com/django/django/pull/16715>`_).

#. :ref:`Update the django-admin manual page <django-admin-manpage>`:

   .. code-block:: shell

        $ cd docs
        $ make man
        $ man _build/man/django-admin.1  # do a quick sanity check
        $ cp _build/man/django-admin.1 man/django-admin.1

   and then commit the changed man page.

#. If this is the "dot zero" release of a new series, create a new branch from
   the current stable branch in the `django-docs-translations
   <https://github.com/django/django-docs-translations>`_ repository. For
   example, when releasing Django 4.2:

   .. code-block:: shell

    $ git checkout -b stable/4.2.x origin/stable/4.1.x
    $ git push origin stable/4.2.x:stable/4.2.x

#. Write the announcement blog post for the release. You can enter it into the
   admin at any time and mark it as inactive. Here are a few examples: `example
   security release announcement`__, `example regular release announcement`__,
   `example pre-release announcement`__.

__ https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2013/feb/19/security/
__ https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2012/mar/23/14/
__ https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2012/nov/27/15-beta-1/

A few days before a feature freeze
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In preparation for the alpha release, the directory
``/home/www/www/media/releases/A.B`` must be created on the djangoproject
server.

Before the feature freeze, a branch targeting ``main`` must be created to
prepare for the next feature release. It should be reviewed and approved a few
days before the freeze, allowing it to be merged after the stable branch is
cut. The following items should be addressed in this branch:

#. Update the ``VERSION`` tuple in ``django/__init__.py``, incrementing to the
   next expected release (:commit:`example commit
   <96700c7b378c592f0b1732302c22af2fd2c87fc6>`).

#. Create a stub release note for the next feature release. Use the stub from
   the previous feature release or copy the contents from the current version
   and delete most of the contents leaving only the headings
   (:commit:`example commit <9b5ad4056ccf9ff7ea548f72d28eb66c1b4f84cc>`).

#. Remove ``.. versionadded::`` and ``.. versionchanged::`` annotations in the
   documentation from two releases ago, as well as any remaining older
   annotations. For example, in Django 5.1, notes for 4.2 will be removed
   (:commit:`example commit <9edb7833b89e811eefd94974fb987f4605b0c0d7>`).

#. Remove features that have reached the end of their deprecation cycle,
   including their docs and the ``.. deprecated::`` annotation. Each removal
   should be done in a separate commit for clarity. In the commit message, add
   a ``Refs #XXXXX --`` prefix linking to the original ticket where the
   deprecation began if possible. Make sure this gets noted in the removed
   features section in the release notes (:commit:`example commit
   <f2d9c76aa7096ef3eed675b9eb824858f9dd81e5>`).

#. Increase the default PBKDF2 iterations in
   ``django.contrib.auth.hashers.PBKDF2PasswordHasher`` by about 20%
   (pick a round number). Run the tests, and update the 3 failing
   hasher tests with the new values. Make sure this gets noted in the
   release notes (:commit:`example commit
   <7288866da4dddf3705148c703421858ec19cdb78>`).

Concrete examples for past feature release bootstrap branches: `5.2 bootstrap
<https://github.com/django/django/pull/18127>`_, `5.1 bootstrap
<https://github.com/django/django/pull/17246>`_, `5.0 bootstrap
<https://github.com/django/django/pull/16432>`_.

Feature freeze tasks
====================

#. Remove empty sections from the release notes (:commit:`example commit
   <9e6e58bad237a80ddd5e3ab8b834cecdaad8455e>`).

#. Build the release notes locally and read them. Make any necessary change
   to improve flow or fix grammar (:commit:`example commit
   <435bdab93889dae01e71c79598edab10627cc1f9>`).

#. Create a new stable branch from ``main``. For example, when feature freezing
   Django 5.2:

   .. code-block:: shell

    $ git checkout -b stable/5.2.x upstream/main
    $ git push upstream -u stable/5.2.x:stable/5.2.x

   At the same time, update the ``django_next_version`` variable in
   ``docs/conf.py`` on the stable release branch to point to the new
   development version. For example, when creating ``stable/5.2.x``, set
   ``django_next_version`` to ``'6.0'`` on the new stable branch
   (:commit:`example commit <1eb62e5b622ef7fd6e0123d8bbf6662d893d5d08>`).

#. Go to the `Add release page in the admin`__, create a ``Release`` object for
   the *final* release, ensuring that the *Release date* field is blank, thus
   marking it as *unreleased*. For example, when creating ``stable/5.2.x``,
   create ``5.2`` with the Release date field blank. If the release is part of
   an LTS branch, mark it so.

   __ https://www.djangoproject.com/admin/releases/release/add/

#. Go to the `Add document release page in the admin`__, create a new
   ``DocumentRelease`` object for the English language for the newly created
   ``Release`` object. Do not mark this as default.

   __ https://www.djangoproject.com/admin/docs/documentrelease/add/

#. Add the new branch to `Read the Docs
   <https://readthedocs.org/projects/django/>`_. Since the automatically
   generated version names ("stable-A.B.x") differ from the version names
   used in Read the Docs ("A.B.x"), `create a ticket
   <https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/issues/5537>`_ requesting
   the new version.

#. `Request the new classifier on PyPI
   <https://github.com/pypa/trove-classifiers/issues/29>`_. For example
   ``Framework :: Django :: 5.2``.

#. Create a `roadmap page
   <https://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/Version6.0Roadmap>`_ for the next
   release on Trac. To create a new page on the Wiki, navigate to the URL of
   where you wish to create the page and a "Create this page" button will be
   available.

#. Update the current branch under active development and add pre-release
   branch in the `Django release process
   <https://code.djangoproject.com/#Djangoreleaseprocess>`_ on Trac.

#. Update the ``docs/fixtures/doc_releases.json`` JSON fixture for
   djangoproject.com, so people without access to the production DB can still
   run an up-to-date copy of the docs site
   (`example PR <https://github.com/django/djangoproject.com/pull/1446>`__).
   This will be merged after the final release.

Actually rolling the release
============================

OK, this is the fun part, where we actually push out a release! If you're
issuing **multiple releases**, repeat these steps for each release.

#. Check `Jenkins`__ is green for the version(s) you're putting out. You
   probably shouldn't issue a release until it's green, and you should make
   sure that the latest green run includes the changes that you are releasing.

   __ https://djangoci.com

#. Cleanup the release notes for this release. Make these changes in ``main``
   and backport to all branches where the release notes for a particular
   version are located.

   #. For a feature release, remove the ``UNDER DEVELOPMENT`` header at the top
      of the release notes, remove the ``Expected`` prefix and update the
      release date, if necessary (:commit:`example commit
      <1994a2643881a9e3f9fa8d3e0794c1a9933a1831>`).

   #. For a patch release, remove the ``Expected`` prefix and update the
      release date for all releases, if necessary (:commit:`example commit
      <34a503162fe222033a1cd3249bccad014fcd1d20>`).

#. A release always begins from a release branch, so you should make sure
   you're on an up-to-date stable branch. Also, you should have available a
   clean and dedicated virtual environment per version being released. For
   example:

   .. code-block:: shell

        $ git checkout stable/4.1.x
        $ git pull

#. If this is a security release, merge the appropriate patches from
   ``django-security``. Rebase these patches as necessary to make each one a
   plain commit on the release branch rather than a merge commit. To ensure
   this, merge them with the ``--ff-only`` flag; for example:

   .. code-block:: shell

        $ git checkout stable/4.1.x
        $ git merge --ff-only security/4.1.x

   (This assumes ``security/4.1.x`` is a branch in the ``django-security`` repo
   containing the necessary security patches for the next release in the 4.1
   series.)

   If git refuses to merge with ``--ff-only``, switch to the security-patch
   branch and rebase it on the branch you are about to merge it into (``git
   checkout security/4.1.x; git rebase stable/4.1.x``) and then switch back and
   do the merge. Make sure the commit message for each security fix explains
   that the commit is a security fix and that an announcement will follow
   (:commit:`example security commit <bf39978a53f117ca02e9a0c78b76664a41a54745>`).

#. Update the version number in ``django/__init__.py`` for the release.
   Please see `notes on setting the VERSION tuple`_ below for details
   on ``VERSION`` (:commit:`example commit
   <2719a7f8c161233f45d34b624a9df9392c86cc1b>`).

   #. If this is a pre-release package also update the "Development Status"
      trove classifier in ``pyproject.toml`` to reflect this. An ``rc``
      pre-release should not change the trove classifier (:commit:`example
      commit for alpha release <759921c8e9ad151932fc913ab429fef0a6112ef8>`,
      :commit:`example commit for beta release
      <25fec8940b24107e21314ab6616e18ce8dec1c1c>`).

   #. Otherwise, make sure the classifier is set to
      ``Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable``.

Building the artifacts
----------------------

.. admonition:: Optionally use helper scripts

    You can streamline some of the steps below using helper scripts from the Wiki:

    * `Release script for versions 5.1 and newer
      <https://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/ReleaseScript>`_
    * `Release script for versions 5.0 and older
      <https://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/ReleaseScript5.0AndOlder>`_
    * `Test new version script
      <https://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/ReleaseTestNewVersion>`_

#. Tag the release using ``git tag``. For example:

   .. code-block:: shell

        $ git tag --sign --message="Tag 4.1.1" 4.1.1

   You can check your work running ``git tag --verify <tag>``.

#. Make sure you have an absolutely clean tree by running ``git clean -dfx``.

#. Run ``python -m build`` to generate the release packages. This will create
   the release artifacts (tarball and wheel) in a ``dist/`` directory. For
   Django 5.0 or older, you need to run ``make -f extras/Makefile`` instead.

#. Generate the hashes of the release packages:

   .. code-block:: shell

        $ cd dist
        $ md5sum *
        $ sha1sum *
        $ sha256sum *

#. Create a "checksums" file, ``Django-<<VERSION>>.checksum.txt`` containing
   the hashes and release information. Start with this template and insert the
   correct version, date, GPG key ID (from
   ``gpg --list-keys --keyid-format LONG``), release manager's GitHub username,
   release URL, and checksums:

   .. code-block:: text

    This file contains MD5, SHA1, and SHA256 checksums for the source-code
    tarball and wheel files of Django <<VERSION>>, released <<DATE>>.

    To use this file, you will need a working install of PGP or other
    compatible public-key encryption software. You will also need to have
    the Django release manager's public key in your keyring. This key has
    the ID ``XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX`` and can be imported from the MIT
    keyserver, for example, if using the open-source GNU Privacy Guard
    implementation of PGP:

        gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-key XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    or via the GitHub API:

        curl https://github.com/<<RELEASE MANAGER GITHUB USERNAME>>.gpg | gpg --import -

    Once the key is imported, verify this file:

        gpg --verify <<THIS FILENAME>>

    Once you have verified this file, you can use normal MD5, SHA1, or SHA256
    checksumming applications to generate the checksums of the Django
    package and compare them to the checksums listed below.

    Release packages
    ================

    https://www.djangoproject.com/download/<<VERSION>>/tarball/
    https://www.djangoproject.com/download/<<VERSION>>/wheel/

    MD5 checksums
    =============

    <<MD5SUM>>  <<RELEASE TAR.GZ FILENAME>>
    <<MD5SUM>>  <<RELEASE WHL FILENAME>>

    SHA1 checksums
    ==============

    <<SHA1SUM>>  <<RELEASE TAR.GZ FILENAME>>
    <<SHA1SUM>>  <<RELEASE WHL FILENAME>>

    SHA256 checksums
    ================

    <<SHA256SUM>>  <<RELEASE TAR.GZ FILENAME>>
    <<SHA256SUM>>  <<RELEASE WHL FILENAME>>

#. Sign the checksum file (``gpg --clearsign --digest-algo SHA256
   Django-<version>.checksum.txt``). This generates a signed document,
   ``Django-<version>.checksum.txt.asc`` which you can then verify using ``gpg
   --verify Django-<version>.checksum.txt.asc``.

Making the release(s) available to the public
=============================================

Now you're ready to actually put the release out there. To do this:

#. Create a new ``Release`` entry in the `djangoproject.com's admin
   <https://www.djangoproject.com/admin/releases/release/add/>`_. If this is a
   security release, this should be done 15 minutes before the announced
   release time, no sooner:

   Version
     Must match the version number as defined in the tarball
     (``django-<version>.tar.gz``). For example: "5.2", "4.1.1", or "4.2rc1".

   Is active
     Set to False until the release is fully published (last step).

   LTS
     Enable if the release is part of an :abbr:`LTS (Long Term Support)`
     branch.

   Dates
     Set the release date to today. This release will not be published until
     ``is_active`` is enabled.

   Artifacts
     Upload the tarball (``django-<version>.tar.gz``), wheel
     (``django-<version>-py3-none-any.whl``), and checksum
     (``django-<version>.checksum.txt.asc``) files created earlier.

#. Test that the release packages install correctly using ``pip``. Here's one
   simple method (this just tests that the binaries are available, that they
   install correctly, and that migrations and the development server start, but
   it'll catch silly mistakes):
   https://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/ReleaseTestNewVersion.

#. Run the `confirm-release`__ build on Jenkins to verify the checksum file(s)
   (e.g. use ``4.2rc1`` for
   https://media.djangoproject.com/pgp/Django-4.2rc1.checksum.txt).

   __ https://djangoci.com/job/confirm-release/

#. Upload the release packages to PyPI (for pre-releases, only upload the wheel
   file):

   .. code-block:: shell

       $ twine upload --repository django dist/*

#. Update the newly created ``Release`` in the admin in ``djangoproject.com``
   and enable the ``is_active`` flag.

#. Push your work and the new tag:

   .. code-block:: shell

        $ git push
        $ git push --tags

#. Make the blog post announcing the release live.

#. For a new version release (e.g. 4.1, 4.2), update the default stable version
   of the docs by flipping the ``is_default`` flag to ``True`` on the
   appropriate ``DocumentRelease`` object in the ``docs.djangoproject.com``
   database (this will automatically flip it to ``False`` for all
   others); you can do this using the site's admin.

   Create new ``DocumentRelease`` objects for each language that has an entry
   for the previous release. Update djangoproject.com's `robots.docs.txt`__
   file by copying the result generated from running the command
   ``manage_translations.py robots_txt`` in the current stable branch from the
   `django-docs-translations repository`__. For example, when releasing Django
   4.2:

   .. code-block:: shell

        $ git checkout stable/4.2.x
        $ git pull
        $ python manage_translations.py robots_txt

   __ https://github.com/django/djangoproject.com/blob/main/djangoproject/static/robots.docs.txt
   __ https://github.com/django/django-docs-translations

#. Post the release announcement to the |django-announce| mailing list and the
   Django Forum. This should include a link to the announcement blog post.

#. If this is a security release, send a separate email to
   oss-security@lists.openwall.com. Provide a descriptive subject, for example,
   "Django" plus the issue title from the release notes (including CVE ID). The
   message body should include the vulnerability details, for example, the
   announcement blog post text. Include a link to the announcement blog post.

Post-release
============

You're almost done! All that's left to do now is:

#. If this is not a pre-release, update the ``VERSION`` tuple in
   ``django/__init__.py`` again, incrementing to whatever the next expected
   release will be. For example, after releasing 4.1.1, update ``VERSION`` to
   ``VERSION = (4, 1, 2, 'alpha', 0)`` (:commit:`example commit
   <a4d19953d46247ee1992b3427fe652e941524272>`).

#. Add the release in `Trac's versions list`_ if necessary (and make it the
   default by changing the ``default_version`` setting in the
   code.djangoproject.com's `trac.ini`__, if it's a final release). The new X.Y
   version should be added after the alpha release and the default version
   should be updated after "dot zero" release.

   __ https://github.com/django/code.djangoproject.com/blob/main/trac-env/conf/trac.ini

#. If this was a final release:

   #. Update the current stable branch and remove the pre-release branch in the
      `Django release process
      <https://code.djangoproject.com/#Djangoreleaseprocess>`_ on Trac.

   #. Update djangoproject.com's download page (`example PR
      <https://github.com/django/djangoproject.com/pull/1444>`__).

#. If this was a security release, update :doc:`/releases/security` with
   details of the issues addressed.

.. _Trac's versions list: https://code.djangoproject.com/admin/ticket/versions

Notes on setting the VERSION tuple
==================================

Django's version reporting is controlled by the ``VERSION`` tuple in
``django/__init__.py``. This is a five-element tuple, whose elements
are:

#. Major version.
#. Minor version.
#. Micro version.
#. Status -- can be one of "alpha", "beta", "rc" or "final".
#. Series number, for alpha/beta/RC packages which run in sequence
   (allowing, for example, "beta 1", "beta 2", etc.).

For a final release, the status is always "final" and the series
number is always 0. A series number of 0 with an "alpha" status will
be reported as "pre-alpha".

Some examples:

* ``(4, 1, 1, "final", 0)`` → "4.1.1"

* ``(4, 2, 0, "alpha", 0)`` → "4.2 pre-alpha"

* ``(4, 2, 0, "beta", 1)`` → "4.2 beta 1"