Creating and Managing Releases
A release is a planned milestone or version of your product — for example "v2.0 Launch", "Q2 Feature Drop", or "October Hotfix". In Varai Sprints, every sprint must belong to a release. Releases give your team a shared goal and a clear ship date to work toward.
What is a release?
Think of a release as a container that groups one or more sprints together under a single delivery goal. A release has:
- A name (usually a version number or milestone label)
- A description explaining what the release delivers
- A planned start date and planned end date
- A status that moves from Planning → Active → Completed (or Cancelled)
Release: v2.1.0 (Planned: May 1 – May 31)
├── Sprint 1 (May 1 – May 14)
├── Sprint 2 (May 15 – May 28)
└── Sprint 3 (May 29 – May 31) ← final polish sprint
Creating a release
- In the left sidebar, click Releases.
- Click the New Release button (top-right corner).
- Fill in the release form:
| Field | Required? | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Release name | Yes | A clear label, e.g., "v1.2.0" or "Spring Launch" |
| Description | No | A short summary of what this release delivers |
| Start date | Yes | When work on this release begins |
| End date | Yes | The planned ship date |
- Click Create Release.
Your new release appears in the Releases list with a Planning status.
Common naming styles: semantic versions (v1.0.0, v2.3.1), quarter-based (Q3 2025), codenames (Aurora, Blaze), or date-based (2025-Oct). Pick one style and stick with it — consistency helps everyone.
Release statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Planning | The release is being set up. Sprints can be added. No sprint has started yet. |
| Active | At least one sprint within the release is in progress. |
| Completed | All sprints are done and the release has shipped. |
| Cancelled | The release was cancelled before shipping. Data is preserved. |
Status transitions happen automatically as sprints within the release are started and completed. You can also manually mark a release as Completed or Cancelled from its detail page.
Editing a release
- Click on the release name to open the release detail page.
- Click the Edit button (pencil icon, top-right).
- Update the fields you want to change.
- Click Save Changes.
You can edit the name, description, and planned dates at any time while the release is in Planning or Active status. Once a release is Completed, only admins can make changes.
Viewing release progress
The release detail page shows:
- Sprint list — all sprints in this release with their dates and status
- Progress bar — percentage of tasks and issues completed across all sprints
- Open items count — tasks and issues not yet done
- Overdue items — items that passed their planned end date
Cancelling a release
If plans change and you need to abandon a release:
- Open the release.
- Click Actions → Cancel Release.
- Confirm the cancellation.
Cancelled releases preserve all sprint and task data. Your team's work history is not lost.
Cancelling a release does not automatically cancel or complete the sprints inside it. You will need to handle each active sprint individually — either complete it, close it, or move its items to another sprint.
Completing a release
When all the work is done:
- Open the release.
- Click Actions → Mark as Completed.
- Confirm.
This marks the release as shipped. All in-progress items will show as open until you close them individually.
We recommend completing or cancelling all sprints before marking the release as complete. This keeps your progress data clean.
Deleting a release
Deleting a release permanently removes it and all its sprints and items. This action cannot be undone.
Only workspace Admins can delete releases. To delete:
- Open the release.
- Click Actions → Delete Release.
- Type the release name to confirm.
- Click Delete.
Deletion is irreversible. If you just want to stop work on a release, use Cancel instead.