docs/.github/actions-scripts/enterprise-server-issue-templates/deprecation-issue.md

Overview

The day after a GHES version's deprecation date, a banner on the docs will say: This version was deprecated on <date>. This is all users need to know. However, we don't want to update those docs anymore or link to them in the nav. Follow the steps in this issue to archive the docs.

Note: Do each step below in a separate PR. Only move on to the next step when the previous PR has been merged.

The following large repositories are used throughout this checklist, it may be useful to clone them before you begin:

• github/help-docs-archived-enterprise-versions
• github/github
• github/docs-internal

Additionally, you may want to download:

• Azure Storage Explorer

Step 0: Remove deprecated version numbers from docs-content issue forms

Note: This step can be performed independently of all other steps, and can be done several days before or along with the other steps.

• In the docs-content repo, remove the deprecated GHES version number from the "Specific GHES version(s)" section in the following files (in the .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ directory): release-tier-1-or-2-tracking.yml and release-tier-3-or-tier-4.yml.
• When the PR is approved, merge it in. This can be merged independently from all other steps.

Step 1: Scrape the docs and archive the files

• In your checkout of the repo with archived GHES content, create a new branch: git checkout -b deprecate-<version>
• In your docs-internal checkout, download the static files for the oldest supported version into your archival checkout: The archive script depends on an optional dependency so install optional dependencies first:

  $ npm i --include-optional
  

  Ensure your build is up to date:

  $ npm run build
  

  Then run the archive script:

  $ script/enterprise-server-deprecations/archive-version.js -p <path-to-archive-repo-checkout>
  

  If your checkouts live in the same directory, this command would be:

  $ script/enterprise-server-deprecations/archive-version.js -p ../help-docs-archived-enterprise-versions
  

  Note: You can pass the --dry-run flag to scrape only the first 10 pages plus their redirects for testing purposes. If you use the dry run command, be sure to run the full script without --dry-run before you commit the changes.

Step 2: Upload the assets directory to Azure storage

• Log in to the Azure portal from Okta. Navigate to the githubdocs Azure Storage Blob resource.
• Click the "Open in Explorer" button to the right of search box. If you haven't already, click the download link to download "Microsoft Azure Storage Explorer." To login to the app, click the plug icon in the left sidebar and click the option to "add an azure account." When you login, you'll need a yubikey to authenticate through Okta.
• From the Microsoft Azure Storage Explorer app, select the githubdocs storage account resource and navigate to the github-images blob container.
• Click "Upload" and select "Upload folder." Click the "Selected folder" input to navigate to the help-docs-archived-enterprise-versions repository and select the assets directory for the version you just generated. In the "Destination directory" input, add the version number. For example, /enterprise/2.22/.
• Check the log to ensure all files were uploaded successfully.
• Remove the assets directory from your help-docs-archived-enterprise-versions repository, we don't want to commit that directory in the next step.

Step 3: Commit and push changes to help-docs-archived-enterprise-versions repo

• Search for site-search-input in the compressed Javascript files (should find the file in the _next directory). When you find it, use something like https://beautifier.io/ or VSCode to reformat it to be readable. To reformat using VSCode, use the "Format document" option or Shift+Option+F. Find site-search-input in the file, the result will be enclosed in a function that looks something like... 1125: function () { ... }, Delete the innards of this function, but leave the function() {} part.
• Save the file. If using beautifier, copy and paste the updated file back into your local help-docs-archived-enterprise-versions repository.
• In your archival checkout, git add <version>, commit, and push.
• Open a PR and merge it in. Note that the version will not be deprecated on the docs site until you do the next step.

Step 4: Deprecate the version in docs-internal

In your docs-internal checkout:

• Create a new branch: git checkout -b deprecate-<version>.
• Edit lib/enterprise-server-releases.js by removing the version number to be deprecated from the supported array and move it to the deprecatedWithFunctionalRedirects array.

Test that the archived static pages were generated correctly

You can test that the static pages were generated correctly on localhost and on staging. Verify that the static pages are accessible by running npm run dev in your local docs-internal checkout and navigate to: http://localhost:3000/enterprise/<version>/.

Note: the GitHub Pages deployment from the previous step will need to have completed successfully in order for you to test this. You may need to wait up to 10 minutes for this to occur.

Poke around several pages, ensure that the stylesheets are working properly, images are rendering properly, and that the search functionality was disabled.

Step 5: Continue to deprecate the version in docs-internal

• Open a new PR. Make sure to check the following:
  • Tests are passing (you may need to include the changes in step 6 to get tests to pass).
  • The deprecated version renders in preview as expected. You should be able to navigate to docs.github.com/enterprise/<DEPRECATED VERSION> to access the docs. You should also be able to navigate to a page that is available in the deprecated version and change the version in the URL to the deprecated version, to test redirects.
  • The new oldest supported version renders on staging as expected. You should see a banner on the top of every page for the oldest supported version that notes when the version will be deprecated.

Step 5: Remove static files for the version

• In your docs-internal checkout, create a new branch remove-<version>-static-files branch: git checkout -b remove-<version>-static-files (you can branch off of main or from your deprecate-<version> branch, up to you).
• Run script/enterprise-server-deprecations/remove-static-files.js and commit results.
• Run script/enterprise-server-deprecations/remove-redirects.js and commit results.
• Open a new PR.
• Get a review from docs-engineering and merge. This step can be merged independently from step 6. The purpose of splitting up steps 5 and 6 is to focus the review on specific files.

Step 6: Remove the liquid conditionals and content for the version

• In your docs-internal checkout, create a new branch remove-<version>-markup branch: git checkout -b remove-<version>-markup (you can branch off of main or from your deprecate-<version> branch, up to you).
• Remove the outdated Liquid markup and frontmatter.
  • Run the script: script/enterprise-server-deprecations/remove-version-markup.js --release <number>.
  • Spot check a few changes. Content, frontmatter, and data files should all have been updated.
  • Open a PR with the results. The diff may be large and complex, so make sure to get a review from @github/docs-content.
  • Debug any test failures or unexpected results -- it's very likely manual updates will be necessary, the script does a lot of work but doesn't automate everything and can't 100% replace human intent.
• When the PR is approved, merge it in to complete the deprecation. This can be merged independently from step 5.

Step 7: Deprecate the OpenAPI description in github/github

• In github/github, edit the release's config file in app/api/description/config/releases/, and change deprecated: false to deprecated: true.
• Open a new PR, and get the required code owner approvals. A docs-content team member can approve it for the docs team.
• When the PR is approved, deploy the github/github PR. If you haven't deployed a github/github PR before, work with someone that has -- the process isn't too involved depending on how you deploy, but there are a lot of details that can potentially be confusing as you can see from the documentation.

Note: you can do this step independently of the other steps after a GHES version is deprecated since it should no longer get updates in github/github. You should plan to get this PR merged as soon as possible, otherwise if you wait too long our OpenAPI automation may re-add the static files that you removed in step 5.