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Releasing python-for-android

This document describes the release process for python-for-android. It is intended for core developers who cut new releases. Casual contributors do not need to read it.

Versioning

python-for-android uses calendar versioning of the form YYYY.MM.DD (e.g. 2026.05.09). Calendar versioning is used because changes are often driven by Android build-tool updates, so users generally want the latest release. Backward compatibility is preserved across releases where possible.

The single source of truth for the version is pythonforandroid/__init__.py. setup.py parses __version__ from that file and exposes it as the package version.

Branching model

  • master always represents the latest stable release.
  • develop is the active development branch and the target for all PRs.
  • Release branches release-YYYY.MM.DD are cut from develop for each release, then merged into both master and back into develop.

Release steps

  1. Cut a release branch from an up-to-date develop:

    git checkout develop && git pull
git checkout -b release-YYYY.MM.DD

  2. Bump the version in pythonforandroid/__init__.py.

  3. Regenerate CHANGELOG.md using github-changelog-generator.

  4. Open a pull request from release-YYYY.MM.DD targeting master. Copy the release checklist into the PR description and tick items off as they are validated.

  5. Wait for review and complete the checklist before merging.

  6. Merge the release branch into master, then merge it back into develop so the version bump and changelog land on both branches.

  7. Tag the release commit on master with an annotated tag:

    git checkout master && git pull
git tag -a vYYYY.MM.DD -m "Release YYYY.MM.DD"
git push origin vYYYY.MM.DD

    Tags follow the format vYYYY.MM.DD.

  8. PyPI upload happens automatically when the tag is pushed. The pypi-release.yml workflow builds sdist and bdist_wheel, runs twine check, and uploads via the pypi_password token. Non-tag pushes still build and check the artifacts but do not publish.

  9. Create the GitHub Release at https://github.com/kivy/python-for-android/releases from the new tag. Use GitHub's "Generate release notes" feature to auto-fill the title and description from merged PRs since the previous tag, then tweak as needed.

  10. Announce the release on Discord in the #announcements channel. Include the version number and a link to the GitHub release page.

Release checklist

Use this as the PR description for the release branch.

  • Check that the builds are passing
  • Run the tests locally via tox: this performs some long-running tests that are skipped on github-actions.
  • Build and run the on_device_unit_tests app using buildozer. Check that they all pass.
  • Build (or download from github actions) and run the following testapps for arch armeabi-v7a and arm64-v8a:
    • on_device_unit_tests
      • armeabi-v7a (cd testapps/on_device_unit_tests && PYTHONPATH=.:../../ python3 setup.py apk --ndk-dir=<your-ndk-dir> --sdk-dir=<your-sdk-dir> --arch=armeabi-v7a --debug)
      • arm64-v8a (cd testapps/on_device_unit_tests && PYTHONPATH=.:../../ python3 setup.py apk --ndk-dir=<your-ndk-dir> --sdk-dir=<your-sdk-dir> --arch=arm64-v8a --debug)
  • Check that the version number is correct