SQLiteCpp Release

How to cut a new SQLiteCpp release once the changes for it have landed on master. The per-PR CHANGELOG and branching rules live in [[sqlitecpp-workflow]] and [[sqlitecpp-git-branching]].

1. Start a release branch

Branch from an up-to-date master: release-X.Y.Z (see [[sqlitecpp-git-branching]]).

2. Finalize the CHANGELOG

The entries should already be there from each PR (see [[sqlitecpp-workflow]]). For the release:

• Rename the heading from Version X.Y.Z - <year> ??? to the real release date, e.g. Version 3.4.0 - 2026 Jun 22.
• Confirm every merged PR since the previous tag has a bullet, including any change committed directly to master.

3. Bump the version

Keep all of these in sync. The four-place version (e.g. 3.4.0) and the zero-padded macro form (e.g. "3.04.00" / 3004000) must match.

• CMakeLists.txt: project(SQLiteCpp VERSION X.Y.Z)
• Doxyfile: PROJECT_NUMBER = X.Y.Z
• package.xml: <version>X.Y.Z</version>
• meson.build: version: 'X.Y.Z',
• include/SQLiteCpp/SQLiteCpp.h:
  • #define SQLITECPP_VERSION "X.0Y.0Z" (each component zero-padded to two digits)
  • #define SQLITECPP_VERSION_NUMBER XYYZZ (e.g. 3.4.0 -> 3004000)

The header carries a WARNING: shall always be updated in sync with PROJECT_VERSION comment. Honor it: a mismatch between the header macros and CMakeLists.txt is the most common release mistake.

Commit as Update project version to X.Y.Z.

4. Open the Release PR

Open a PR titled Release X.Y.Z. GitHub's "Generate release notes" lists the merged PRs and new contributors; that summary is for the GitHub Release body, while CHANGELOG.md stays the hand-curated record.

5. Tag after merge

After the Release PR merges, create the lightweight tag X.Y.Z (no v prefix, matching existing tags) on the merge commit and publish the GitHub Release with the generated notes.

Version numbering

• Patch (Z) for fixes and build tweaks only.
• Minor (Y) when adding features, public API, or CMake/Meson options, or for a non-trivial SQLite bump.
• Major (X) for breaking API changes or a raised C++/CMake baseline.