secureCodeBox · Zero3141 · Aug 10, 2023 · Aug 10, 2023 · Aug 10, 2023 · Aug 10, 2023
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -18,14 +18,14 @@ You can find the latest version on [Maven Central](https://central.sonatype.com/
 <dependency>
     <groupId>io.securecodebox</groupId>
     <artifactId>defectdojo-client</artifactId>
-    <version>1.0.0.-beta2</version>
+    <version>1.0.0</version>
 </dependency>
 ```
 
 ### Gradle
 
 ```groovy
-implementation group: 'io.securecodebox', name: 'defectdojo-client', version: '1.0.0.-beta2'
+implementation group: 'io.securecodebox', name: 'defectdojo-client', version: '1.0.0'
 ```
 
 ## Development
@@ -36,6 +36,10 @@ To run a local build clone this repo and just invoke the following command in th
 mvn clean install
 ```
 
+## Release
+
+The release process is [documented](docs/release.md) in a separate file.
+
 ## Supported DefectDojo Versions
 
 The client is supposed to be compatible with DefectDojo 1.10 and later, older version of DefectDojo might still work, but are not officially supported.

diff --git a/docs/release.md b/docs/release.md
@@ -4,42 +4,42 @@ Here we describe all the ceremonial stuff necessary to publish a Java library to
 
 ## How to Perform a Release
 
-The release process consists of two main tasks:
-
-1. Build the release on GitHub
-2. Release the published artifacts on Maven Central.
-
-### Build the Release on GitHub
-
-1. Go to the [release page](https://github.com/secureCodeBox/defectdojo-client-java/releases) and click "Draft a new release".
-2. Create a tag for the release (e.g. "1.0.0", for testing you can add a pre-release identifier like "1.0.0-alpha").
-   1. Click "Choose tag".
-   2. Type in tag name (e.g. "1.0.0").
-   3. Click "Create new tag..."
-3. Click "Generate release notes"
-4. Select either 
-    - "Set as a pre-release" if you have a pre-release identifier in the version (e.g. "1.0.0-alpha").
-    - or else "Set as the latest release"
-5. Click "Publish release"
-
-### Release the published artifacts on Maven Central.
-
-Hint: You need to hit the "Refresh" button from time to ime, to see changes.
-
-1. Login to the [Nexus Repository Manager](https://oss.sonatype.org/).
-2. On the left site navigate to "Staging Repositories"
-3. You will see an entry for each unpublished release (usually there is only one):<br>
-![](./release_staging_1.png)
-4. Select the release (in the "Content" tab you can verify the files contained in the release):<br>   
-![](./release_staging_2.png)
-5. Close the repository (this triggers the validation of [requirements][ossrh-requirements]):<br>
-![](./release_staging_3.png)
-6. You can see if all validation rules passed in the "Activity" tab:<br>
-![](./release_staging_4.png)
-7. Then either click "Release" or "Drop":
-   - Release: This will publish and sync the artifact to Maven Central. (This can't be undone, there is no way to delete a published artifact!). After syncing the staging repo is dropped automatically.
-   - Drop: Does not publish the artifact. Use this if something is broken and ypu want to publish a new release with the same version.
-8. After some time (see below) you can find it on Maven Central: <https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/io.securecodebox/defectdojo-client/>
+The whole release process is automated by a [GitHub action workflow](https://github.com/secureCodeBox/defectdojo-client-java/actions) which utilizes the [Maven release plugin](https://maven.apache.org/maven-release/maven-release-plugin/). Since we need the possibility to set custom versions (e.g. 2.0.0-beta) we can not use a simple one-push-button solution. Instead, we utilize en event triggered workflow to achieve this. The release process is as following:  
+
+First go to the "Actions" tab and select the "Publish Release" workflow:
+
+![](release_01_select-workflow.png)
+
+Then click the "Run workflow" button:
+
+![](release_02_run-workflow.png)
+
+For an ordinary release simply click the green "Run workflow" button and leave the optional text input fields blank:
+
+![](release_03_trigger-workflow.png)
+
+Now a "Publish Release" workflow run should appear in the list of runs:
+
+![](release_04_running-workflow.png)
+
+## Custom Release Version
+
+Typically, a release by Maven simply means:
+
+- Remove the "-SNAPSHOT" qualifier from the version in the `pom.xml`. E.g. "1.0.0-SNAPSHOT" will become "1.0.0".
+- Build everything, make a commit with this version and tag this version.
+- Upload the resulting artifacts to [Sonatype Nexus](https://oss.sonatype.org/) and stage them.
+- Increment to next development version in `pom.xml`. In this example "1.0.1-SNAPSHOT".
+- Build everything and make a commit.
+
+In the case you want to publish a custom release, e.g. a "1.0.2-beta", it is necessary to pass it to Maven. For this purpose we introduced the two optional text inputs:
+
+1. _Custom version_: Here you add the version with a custom qualifier. E.g. for the development version "1.0.2-SNAPSHOT" and a beta release, it is "1.0.2-beta".
+2. _Next development version_: Since Maven simply increments the last number of the semantic version and appends "-SNAPSHOT", automatic increment is not sufficient here because it will end in something like "1.0.2-beta-SNAPSHOT". So you must specify the next development version by hand. In this example still "1.0.2-SNAPSHOT". 
+
+![](release_05_custom-version.png)
+
+### Additional Information About the Release Process
 
 After the first release a [bot created the Maven Central sync][ossrh-jira-issue]:
 

diff --git a/docs/release_01_select-workflow.png b/docs/release_01_select-workflow.png
diff --git a/docs/release_02_run-workflow.png b/docs/release_02_run-workflow.png
diff --git a/docs/release_03_trigger-workflow.png b/docs/release_03_trigger-workflow.png
diff --git a/docs/release_04_running-workflow.png b/docs/release_04_running-workflow.png
diff --git a/docs/release_05_custom-version.png b/docs/release_05_custom-version.png
diff --git a/docs/release_staging_1.png b/docs/release_staging_1.png
diff --git a/docs/release_staging_2.png b/docs/release_staging_2.png
diff --git a/docs/release_staging_3.png b/docs/release_staging_3.png
diff --git a/docs/release_staging_4.png b/docs/release_staging_4.png