How the AI-Driven Dev Framework ships, and what to follow when you open a change. Weekly rolling releases, with a fast lane for urgent fixes.

For branch naming, commit format, and the release tooling, see aidd_docs/memory/vcs.md.

For who may merge and release, see GOVERNANCE.md.

• main is production. The marketplace tracks it, so users only ever get released, versioned code.
• next is integration. The week's work batches here, and ships in one weekly release.
• A release happens only when there is work, and is cut automatically by release-please.
• A hotfix/* skips next: it branches from main and ships its own release out of cycle, for urgent production fixes.

Almost everything flows through next and ships in the weekly release. Only an urgent production fix takes the fast lane straight to main.

flowchart LR
    work["feat/* · fix/* · docs/* · …"] -->|PR| next
    next -->|weekly promotion PR| main
    main -->|release-please PR, auto-merged| rel["tag + version bump"]
    rel -->|back-merge, auto| next
    hotfix["hotfix/*"] -->|PR| main

Two merges reach main: the weekly promotion PR from next, then the auto-merged Release PR that release-please raises.

The commit type drives the changelog section it lands under.

The version bump is release-please's call: feat → minor, fix → patch, a ! suffix or BREAKING CHANGE footer → major. The other types ride along in a release triggered by a feat or fix.

• The Release PR is auto-merged. Otherwise main briefly holds merged but unversioned code, and a new user installing in that window picks it up.
• The main → next back-merge is automatic. Otherwise the version manifest and the changelog on next drift from main.

1. Open the promotion PR next → main once the week's work is ready.
2. release-please opens a Release PR on main; it is auto-merged.
3. Tags and version bumps are created; release artifacts are attached.
4. main is back-merged into next automatically.

1. Branch hotfix/* from main, fix, PR back to main.
2. release-please cuts a dedicated patch release.
3. main is back-merged into next automatically.