Back to docs
Recipe

Release cadence policy writer

Define how often Meridian ships updates, what each tier means, and how customers stay informed.

Why this matters

A clear release cadence builds trust. Customers know when to expect fixes, features, and breaking changes. This recipe produces a one-page policy you can publish in your docs or changelog.

Ingredients

  • Your current ship frequency (weekly, biweekly, monthly)
  • Versioning scheme (SemVer, CalVer, or custom)
  • Channel definitions (stable, beta, canary)
  • Customer notification channels (Discord, email, in-app)

Steps

  1. Pick a rhythm. Weekly patches + monthly features is the Meridian default. Write it down.
  2. Define tiers. Hotfix (same-day), patch (weekly), minor (monthly), major (quarterly).
  3. Set expectations. State SLAs: “Critical security fixes ship within 24 hours.”
  4. Document the channels. Stable gets everything after beta bakes for 7 days. Canary gets nightly builds.
  5. Publish and link. Add the policy to your docs nav and pin it in your Discord #announcements channel.

Example policy snippet

## Meridian Release Cadence

| Tier   | Frequency | SLA            |
|--------|-----------|----------------|
| Hotfix | As needed | < 24 hours     |
| Patch  | Weekly    | Friday 18:00 UTC |
| Minor  | Monthly   | 1st Tuesday    |
| Major  | Quarterly | With 30-day notice |

Stable channel receives all tiers after beta validation.
Beta channel receives patches and minors 7 days early.
Canary channel receives nightly builds — use at your own risk.

Next steps

Pair this with the changelog automation recipe to auto-generate release notes from your commit history.