docs: make release changelog commands portable to macOS - #853
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The two sed -i calls in the release and re-arm steps only work with GNU sed. BSD sed on macOS requires a suffix argument after -i, and the re-arm command also uses the GNU-only 0,/re/ address and \n in the replacement. Replace both with perl, which is preinstalled on macOS and Linux and behaves the same on both.
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i debated between this and a justfile target to do it.. this was a smaller change but happy to consider alternatives if you have a preference |
edavidaja
approved these changes
Sep 10, 2026
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I think a just target would be nice if you feel like it but if not, thank you! |
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I'll merge as is for now... if i need to come back to any of this, i can explore the just target. |
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Intent
The release and re-arm steps in CONTRIBUTING.md use
sed -iin forms that only work with GNU sed. On macOS, the release step fails because BSD sed requires a suffix argument after-i, and the re-arm step has no BSD equivalent at all: it relies on the GNU-only0,/re/address range and on\nin the replacement text. Anyone releasing from a Mac has to translate the commands by hand.Type of Change
Approach
Replace both
sed -icalls with perl, which is preinstalled on macOS and on mainstream Linux distributions and behaves the same on both:perl -pi -e "s/^## Unreleased/## [$VERSION] - $(date +%Y-%m-%d)/" docs/CHANGELOG.mdperl -0777 -pi -e 's/^## \[/## Unreleased\n\n$&/m' docs/CHANGELOG.mdThe re-arm command slurps the file so
^with the/mflag matches the start of each line, and without/gonly the first## [heading gets the new## Unreleasedsection inserted above it.A one-line comment above the first command explains why it is perl rather than sed, so the change is not reverted later.
Alternatives considered:
sed -i.bakis portable for the release step but not the re-arm step; awk needs a temp file and a move; ajustrecipe backed by Python would be cleanest but is more than this doc fix needs.Automated Tests
None. This changes documentation only. Both commands were run by hand on macOS against a copy of
docs/CHANGELOG.mdand produced the expected result.Directions for Reviewers
On a Mac or Linux machine, copy
docs/CHANGELOG.mdsomewhere scratch and run the two commands from the diff against it, withVERSIONset to any value. The release command should rename## Unreleasedto a dated heading. The re-arm command should insert a blank-line-separated## Unreleasedsection above the topmost release heading, once.Checklist
rsconnect-python-tests-at-nightworkflow in Connect against this feature branch. (Not needed: no code change.)