# Release Checklist
Use this checklist before publishing a new version to crates.io.
## Pre-Release
- [ ] All tests pass: `cargo test --all-features`
- [ ] All targets compile: `cargo test --no-run --all-features --all-targets`
(not `cargo check` — it skips `#[cfg(test)]` modules, integration tests,
examples and benches, several of which carry `required-features`)
- [ ] `legacy-bincode1-read` builds in both directions:
`cargo test --no-default-features --features in-memory,serde,redis-backend`
and the same line with `,legacy-bincode1-read` appended
- [ ] `bincode` is absent from the graph: `cargo tree -i bincode --all-features`
finds nothing
- [ ] `cargo deny check` reports `advisories ok, bans ok, licenses ok, sources ok`
with an empty `ignore` list
- [ ] No clippy warnings: `cargo clippy --all-features --all-targets -- -D warnings`
- [ ] Documentation builds: `cargo doc --no-deps --all-features`
- [ ] Benchmarks compile: `cargo test --no-run --benches --features in-memory,serde`
— **run `cargo bench` locally only, and never add it to CI**: Criterion
executes the whole suite, which takes minutes and produces timings that are
meaningless on a shared runner
- [ ] README examples are tested and up-to-date
- [ ] CHANGELOG.md is updated with new version and changes
- [ ] Version bumped in Cargo.toml
- [ ] MSRV in README matches Cargo.toml `rust-version` field, including the
separate 1.88 floor for `redis-backend`
- [ ] All CI checks pass (if applicable)
## Redis Integration Tests
- [ ] Redis tests pass: `REDIS_URL=redis://127.0.0.1:6379/ cargo test --features redis-backend`
- [ ] Redis example runs: `cargo run --example redis_smoke --features redis-backend`
- [ ] Redis smoke test passes: `python3 scripts/redis_smoke.py`
## Documentation
- [ ] Public API has documentation comments
- [ ] Examples compile and run
- [ ] Doc tests pass: `cargo test --doc`
- [ ] CHANGELOG reflects all breaking changes
- [ ] Migration guide added (if breaking changes)
## Release
- [ ] Create git tag: `git tag -a v0.X.Y -m "Release v0.X.Y"`
- [ ] Push tag: `git push origin v0.X.Y`
- [ ] Dry run: `cargo publish --dry-run`, and confirm the packaged `.crate`
contains no internal planning docs (`PLAN-*.md`)
- [ ] Publish to crates.io: `cargo publish`
- [ ] Verify published docs at docs.rs
- [ ] Create GitHub release with CHANGELOG excerpt
- [ ] Update dependent projects (if any)
## Post-Release
- [ ] Verify crate appears on crates.io
- [ ] Test installation: `cargo new test-project && cd test-project && cargo add tower-http-cache`
- [ ] Check docs.rs build status
- [ ] Announce release (if applicable)