Add initial release documentation (#194)

Signed-off-by: Stephen Augustus <[email protected]>

RELEASE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+# Releasing the scorecard GitHub Action
+
+This is a draft document to describe the release process for the scorecard
+GitHub Action.
+
+(If there are improvements you'd like to see, please comment on the
+[tracking issue](https://github.com/ossf/scorecard-action/issues/33) or issue a
+pull request to discuss.)
+
+- [Tracking](#tracking)
+- [Preparing the release](#preparing-the-release)
+ - [Update the scorecard version](#update-the-scorecard-version)
+- [Drafting release notes](#drafting-release-notes)
+- [Release](#release)
+ - [Create a tag](#create-a-tag)
+ - [Create a GitHub release](#create-a-github-release)
+- [Update the starter workflow](#update-the-starter-workflow)
+- [Announce](#announce)
+
+## Tracking
+
+As the first task, a Release Manager should open a tracking issue for the
+release.
+
+We don't currently have a template for releasing, but the following
+[issue](https://github.com/ossf/scorecard-action/issues/97) is a good example
+to draw inspiration from.
+
+We're not striving for perfection with the template, but the tracking issue
+will serve as a reference point to aggregate feedback, so try your best to be
+as descriptive as possible.
+
+## Preparing the release
+
+This section covers changes that need to be issued as a pull request and should
+be merged before releasing the scorecard GitHub Action.
+
+### Update the scorecard version
+
+_NOTE: As the scorecard GitHub Action is based on scorecard, you may want to publish a new release of scorecard to ensure the next release of the GitHub Action has the most up-to-date functionality. This is not strictly required. The only requirement is that we use a stable scorecard version which is at or above the current version used for this action._
+
+For the rest of document, let `CH1` be the hash of the scorecard image you
+intend to use for this release.
+
+See [here](https://github.com/orgs/ossf/packages?repo_name=scorecard) for
+scorecard images.
+
+(We'll use `0bc9576b3efbda7b38febbf0a1e1b9546894f9650aaead9ccb5edc7dade86552`
+as `CH1` in any examples below.)
+
+Now that you have `CH1`, update the digest in the [Dockerfile](Dockerfile) to use `CH1`.
+
+Example:
+
+```Dockerfile
+FROM gcr.io/openssf/scorecard:v100.0.0@sha256:0bc9576b3efbda7b38febbf0a1e1b9546894f9650aaead9ccb5edc7dade86552 as base
+```
+
+Create a pull request with this change.
+
+Once the PR is merged, note the GitHub commit hash.
+We'll refer to this as `GH2` below.
+
+## Drafting release notes
+
+<!-- TODO(release): Provide details -->
+
+## Release
+
+### Create a tag
+
+Locally, create a signed tag based on `GH2`:
+
+```console
+git remote update
+git checkout `GH2`
+git tag -s -m "v100.0.0" v100.0.0
+git push <upstream> --tags
+```
+
+### Create a GitHub release
+
+Create a
+[GitHub release](https://github.com/ossf/scorecard-action/releases/new) using
+the tag you've just created.
+
+Release title: `<tag>`
+
+The release notes will be the notes you drafted in the previous step.
+
+Ensure the following fields are up to date:
+
+- Security contact email
+- Primary Category
+- Another Category — optional
+
+Click `Publish release`.
+
+## Update the starter workflow
+
+1. Open a pull request in the
+[starter workflows repo](https://github.com/actions/starter-workflows/tree/main/code-scanning/scorecards.yml)
+to update the action's digest to `GH2`.
+
+1. Update our documentation's example workflow to use `GH2`.
+
+1. Verify on
+ [GitHub Marketplace](https://github.com/marketplace/actions/ossf-scorecard-action)
+ that the workflow example contains `GH2`.
+
+ _NOTE: GitHub Marketplace uses the default branch as reference documentation_
+
+## Announce
+
+<!-- TODO(release): Provide details -->