Context

Inevitably, there will be a need to release immediately, regardless of plans. Should an emergency, critical bug, or security issue (or any matter of that sort) arise, the following process will govern the release

Proposal for an off-cycle release process.

Feedback is welcome.

Context

The Merge exposed some problems with the current Besu release process when it comes to critical bugs or hotfixes. Multiple off-cycle and cherry-picked releases caused frustration for contributors and confusion for some users. This document intends to create a proposal for a new hotfix (off-cycle) release process.

Process Proposal

Off-cycle releases - a new release category.

An off-cycle release is defined as: 

• A release outside of the scheduled times here
• A release not on the typical Wednesday or Thursday slots
• A cherry-picked release (not off main branch)

...

• critical bug affecting a number of users which requires a patch
• regular release process will not address the issue in time
• urgent security issue discovered

Justification for objection (examples)

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