GoLocomotiveRelease and deploy
Turn approved changes into a numbered version, put it live, go back one version, or take the app offline.
Agents change the working copy of your app. Your live app changes only when you say so, in two steps: release (freeze the changes into a version) and deploy (put that version live). Both are in the Releases tab.
The changelog#
Each change your users can see leaves one line under Unreleased, written by the agent for your users, in your app's language. A line can carry a tag: new, fix or change. For example:
## Unreleased
- new: Export the order list as a spreadsheet file.
- fix: The total no longer counts cancelled orders.
Read these lines before you release. They are the text your users read.
Release#
Release v3 (the number is the next one) turns the Unreleased lines into version 3, dated today. The portal shows what will happen and asks you to confirm. Nothing goes live at this step. A release is refused when there is nothing under Unreleased.
Versions are plain numbers: v1, v2, v3. They are easy to read and easy to compare.
Deploy#
Deploy v3 to prod puts version 3 on our production server. The steps show as they run in the confirmation window:
- We build the version on our build machine, never on the production server.
- Only the files that changed travel to the server.
- The server stops the old version, starts the new one, and checks that it answers and that it listens only where it must.
- If any check fails, the server goes back to the previous version by itself, and the window shows the reason.
The first deploy also gives your app its address. Before that, the header shows the address the app will have.
Revert#
Revert puts the previous live version back. Revert again to go one more version back. The production server keeps the last three versions ready. An older one is built again from its saved code.
Undeploy#
Undeploy stops the live app and takes its address down. Its data stays on the server. A later deploy brings the app back with its data as it was.
What your users see#
After a deploy, each user sees a short What's new window at their next sign in: the versions released since their last visit, grouped by version, with one Got it button. A person who signs in for the first time sees nothing: there is nothing new for them yet.
The header#
The header above the preview always shows the version in the working copy, the live version, its memory use, how long it has run, and its address. When the app is not live yet, it shows one button: Deploy for the newest release, or Deploy to prod when there is no release yet (it opens this tab).