Merge commit '99665eb45f58d959d2cb9e49ddb960c79d596f33'

1 files changed, 56 insertions, 10 deletions

diff --git a/nixpkgs/CONTRIBUTING.md b/nixpkgs/CONTRIBUTING.md
index f0d1ecf5aa32..4c4bea0ae252 100644
--- a/nixpkgs/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/nixpkgs/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Below is a short excerpt of some points in there:
   ```
   (pkg-name | nixos/<module>): (from -> to | init at version | refactor | etc)
 
-  (Motivation for change. Additional information.)
+  (Motivation for change. Link to release notes. Additional information.)
   ```
 
   For consistency, there should not be a period at the end of the commit message's summary line (the first line of the commit message).
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ Below is a short excerpt of some points in there:
 
   * nginx: init at 2.0.1
   * firefox: 54.0.1 -> 55.0
+    https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/55.0/releasenotes/
   * nixos/hydra: add bazBaz option
 
     Dual baz behavior is needed to do foo.
@@ -52,15 +53,62 @@ In addition to writing properly formatted commit messages, it's important to inc
 
 For package version upgrades and such a one-line commit message is usually sufficient.
 
+## Rebasing between branches (i.e. from master to staging)
+
+From time to time, changes between branches must be rebased, for example, if the
+number of new rebuilds they would cause is too large for the target branch. When
+rebasing, care must be taken to include only the intended changes, otherwise
+many CODEOWNERS will be inadvertently requested for review.  To achieve this,
+rebasing should not be performed directly on the target branch, but on the merge
+base between the current and target branch.
+
+In the following example, we assume that the current branch, called `feature`,
+is based on `master`, and we rebase it onto the merge base between
+`master` and `staging` so that the PR can eventually be retargeted to
+`staging` without causing a mess. The example uses `upstream` as the remote for `NixOS/nixpkgs.git`
+while `origin` is the remote you are pushing to.
+
+
+```console
+# Rebase your commits onto the common merge base
+git rebase --onto upstream/staging... upstream/master
+# Force push your changes
+git push origin feature --force-with-lease
+```
+
+The syntax `upstream/staging...` is equivalent to `upstream/staging...HEAD` and
+stands for the merge base between `upstream/staging` and `HEAD` (hence between
+`upstream/staging` and `upstream/master`).
+
+Then change the base branch in the GitHub PR using the *Edit* button in the upper
+right corner, and switch from `master` to `staging`. *After* the PR has been
+retargeted it might be necessary to do a final rebase onto the target branch, to
+resolve any outstanding merge conflicts.
+
+```console
+# Rebase onto target branch
+git rebase upstream/staging
+# Review and fixup possible conflicts
+git status
+# Force push your changes
+git push origin feature --force-with-lease
+```
+
 ## Backporting changes
 
 Follow these steps to backport a change into a release branch in compliance with the [commit policy](https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual/#submitting-changes-stable-release-branches).
 
+You can add a label such as `backport release-22.05` to a PR, so that merging it will
+automatically create a backport (via [a GitHub Action](.github/workflows/backport.yml)).
+This also works for PR's that have already been merged, and might take a couple of minutes to trigger.
+
+You can also create the backport manually:
+
 1. Take note of the commits in which the change was introduced into `master` branch.
-2. Check out the target _release branch_, e.g. `release-21.11`. Do not use a _channel branch_ like `nixos-21.11` or `nixpkgs-21.11-darwin`.
+2. Check out the target _release branch_, e.g. `release-22.05`. Do not use a _channel branch_ like `nixos-22.05` or `nixpkgs-22.05-darwin`.
 3. Create a branch for your change, e.g. `git checkout -b backport`.
 4. When the reason to backport is not obvious from the original commit message, use `git cherry-pick -xe <original commit>` and add a reason. Otherwise use `git cherry-pick -x <original commit>`. That's fine for minor version updates that only include security and bug fixes, commits that fixes an otherwise broken package or similar. Please also ensure the commits exists on the master branch; in the case of squashed or rebased merges, the commit hash will change and the new commits can be found in the merge message at the bottom of the master pull request.
-5. Push to GitHub and open a backport pull request. Make sure to select the release branch (e.g. `release-21.11`) as the target branch of the pull request, and link to the pull request in which the original change was comitted to `master`. The pull request title should be the commit title with the release version as prefix, e.g. `[21.11]`.
+5. Push to GitHub and open a backport pull request. Make sure to select the release branch (e.g. `release-22.05`) as the target branch of the pull request, and link to the pull request in which the original change was comitted to `master`. The pull request title should be the commit title with the release version as prefix, e.g. `[22.05]`.
 6. When the backport pull request is merged and you have the necessary privileges you can also replace the label `9.needs: port to stable` with `8.has: port to stable` on the original pull request. This way maintainers can keep track of missing backports easier.
 
 ## Criteria for Backporting changes
@@ -72,17 +120,15 @@ Anything that does not cause user or downstream dependency regressions can be ba
 - Services which require a client to be up-to-date regardless. (E.g. `spotify`, `steam`, or `discord`)
 - Security critical applications (E.g. `firefox`)
 
-## Generating 22.05 Release Notes
-
-(This section also applies to backporting 21.11 release notes: substitute "rl-2205" for "rl-2111".)
+## Generating 22.11 Release Notes
 
 Documentation in nixpkgs is transitioning to a markdown-centric workflow. Release notes now require a translation step to convert from markdown to a compatible docbook document.
 
-Steps for updating 22.05 Release notes:
+Steps for updating 22.11 Release notes:
 
-1. Edit `nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2205.section.md` with the desired changes
-2. Run `./nixos/doc/manual/md-to-db.sh` to render `nixos/doc/manual/from_md/release-notes/rl-2205.section.xml`
-3. Include changes to `rl-2205.section.md` and `rl-2205.section.xml` in the same commit.
+1. Edit `nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2211.section.md` with the desired changes
+2. Run `./nixos/doc/manual/md-to-db.sh` to render `nixos/doc/manual/from_md/release-notes/rl-2211.section.xml`
+3. Include changes to `rl-2211.section.md` and `rl-2211.section.xml` in the same commit.
 
 ## Reviewing contributions