From d381731e06dcde566fcc35164fcb59e6bbf3174f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Dmitri Shuralyov Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2026 12:47:22 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] README.vendor: document release cycle considerations Write down a few more things relevant to the process of maintaining the vendor directory for the std and cmd modules. This includes the import path of the package containing a tree consistency check, and some considerations regarding the Go release cycle. Also mention the updatestd command with enough context so that it's clear that it is okay to either use it to update everything at once, or instead update specific modules with individual 'go get' calls, whichever is a better fit for the task at hand. For #31806. For #36905. Change-Id: I37d391c557d6cf6ebf2751d71ab9c8f7c10d922d Reviewed-on: https://go-review.googlesource.com/c/go/+/739301 Reviewed-by: Dmitri Shuralyov Auto-Submit: Dmitri Shuralyov Reviewed-by: Ian Alexander Reviewed-by: Damien Neil TryBot-Bypass: Dmitri Shuralyov --- src/README.vendor | 21 +++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 21 insertions(+) diff --git a/src/README.vendor b/src/README.vendor index e6a58d5fb55..156a81dad4c 100644 --- a/src/README.vendor +++ b/src/README.vendor @@ -39,12 +39,14 @@ Go from source and use that 'go' binary to update its source tree. Requirements may be added, updated, and removed with 'go get'. The vendor directory may be updated with 'go mod vendor'. +Tree inconsistencies are reported by 'go test cmd/internal/moddeps'. A typical sequence might be: cd src # or src/cmd go get golang.org/x/net@master go mod tidy go mod vendor + go test cmd/internal/moddeps Use caution when passing '-u' to 'go get'. The '-u' flag updates modules providing all transitively imported packages, not only @@ -53,3 +55,22 @@ the module providing the target package. Note that 'go mod vendor' only copies packages that are transitively imported by packages in the current module. If a new package is needed, it should be imported before running 'go mod vendor'. + +Go release cycle considerations +=============================== + +Applying changes to packages that are vendored follows the considerations +written down at go.dev/s/release. + +When the Go tree is open for development, a specific change may be pulled in +at any time that it is needed. During the release freeze, the bar for changes +in vendored packages is the same as it is for changes in non-vendored packages. +After a major release is out, minor Go releases follow a more involved process +documented at go.dev/wiki/MinorReleases#cherry-pick-cls-for-vendored-golangorgx-packages. + +In addition to individual updates that happen on demand, all dependencies in +the std and cmd modules are updated to their latest available versions at least +twice during every major release cycle. This is done to avoid the possibility of +some dependencies being left on very old versions and in turn make their eventual +update more disruptive. This recurring process is tracked in go.dev/issue/36905. +The golang.org/x/build/cmd/updatestd command exists to assist with that process.