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+# ybtop — Release Guide (GitHub Releases, no PyPI)
+
+How to build `ybtop` as a Python wheel and distribute it via **GitHub Releases** — no PyPI account needed. Users install directly from the release URL with a single `pip` command.
+
+---
+
+## Prerequisites (one-time)
+
+```bash
+pip install --upgrade build
+```
+
+Install the `gh` CLI if not already present: <https://cli.github.com/>
+
+```bash
+gh auth login   # authenticate once
+```
+
+---
+
+## Step 1 — Bump the version
+
+Edit **both** files — they must match:
+
+**`pyproject.toml`** (line 3):
+```toml
+version = "0.1.11"
+```
+
+**`src/ybtop/__init__.py`** (line 1):
+```python
+__version__ = "0.1.11"
+```
+
+Add an entry to `CHANGELOG.md`:
+```markdown
+## [0.1.11] — YYYY-MM-DD
+
+### Added / Changed / Fixed
+- ...
+```
+
+Commit and push:
+```bash
+git add pyproject.toml src/ybtop/__init__.py CHANGELOG.md
+git commit -m "chore: bump version to 0.1.11"
+git push
+```
+
+---
+
+## Step 2 — Build the wheel
+
+Run from the repo root (where `pyproject.toml` lives):
+
+```bash
+# Clean previous build artifacts
+rm -rf dist/ build/ src/ybtop.egg-info/
+
+# Build wheel + sdist
+python -m build
+```
+
+This produces two files in `dist/`:
+
+```
+dist/
+  ybtop-0.1.11-py3-none-any.whl   ← wheel  (users install this)
+  ybtop-0.1.11.tar.gz             ← source dist (attach for completeness)
+```
+
+### What the wheel filename means
+
+| Segment | Value | Meaning |
+|---|---|---|
+| Python tag | `py3` | Python 3.x |
+| ABI tag | `none` | No C extensions — pure Python |
+| Platform tag | `any` | macOS, Linux, Windows |
+
+A wheel built on macOS installs identically on Linux and Windows because `ybtop` has no compiled extensions. The only platform-specific dependency (`psycopg[binary]`) is resolved by pip on the user's machine at install time.
+
+---
+
+## Step 3 — Verify locally before releasing
+
+```bash
+# Create a clean venv
+python -m venv /tmp/ybtop-test
+source /tmp/ybtop-test/bin/activate     # Windows: /tmp/ybtop-test/Scripts/activate
+
+# Install from the wheel
+pip install dist/ybtop-0.1.11-py3-none-any.whl
+
+# Smoke test
+ybtop --help
+python -c "import ybtop; print(ybtop.__version__)"   # should print 0.1.11
+
+deactivate
+```
+
+---
+
+## Step 4 — Tag and publish the GitHub Release
+
+```bash
+git tag v0.1.11
+git push origin v0.1.11
+```
+
+Create the release and attach both dist files:
+
+```bash
+gh release create v0.1.11 \
+  dist/ybtop-0.1.11-py3-none-any.whl \
+  dist/ybtop-0.1.11.tar.gz \
+  --title "v0.1.11" \
+  --notes "$(sed -n '/## \[0.1.11\]/,/## \[0.1/p' CHANGELOG.md | head -n -1)"
+```
+
+The release will be live at:
+```
+https://github.com/kmuthukk/ybtop/releases/tag/v0.1.11
+```
+
+---
+
+## How users install it
+
+### Option A — Direct pip install from the release URL (recommended)
+
+No download needed. pip fetches and installs the wheel in one command:
+
+```bash
+pip install https://github.com/kmuthukk/ybtop/releases/download/v0.1.11/ybtop-0.1.11-py3-none-any.whl
+```
+
+### Option B — Download the wheel and install locally
+
+1. Go to the Releases page and download `ybtop-0.1.11-py3-none-any.whl`
+2. Run:
+```bash
+pip install ybtop-0.1.11-py3-none-any.whl
+```
+
+### Option C — Install latest from source (no wheel needed)
+
+Installs directly from the repo's default branch — always the latest code:
+
+```bash
+pip install git+https://github.com/kmuthukk/ybtop.git
+```
+
+Pin to a specific tag:
+
+```bash
+pip install git+https://github.com/kmuthukk/ybtop.git@v0.1.11
+```
+
+> All three options automatically install `psycopg[binary]` and `rich` as dependencies.
+
+---
+
+## Upgrading to a newer release
+
+```bash
+# Direct URL install (replace version number)
+pip install --upgrade https://github.com/kmuthukk/ybtop/releases/download/v0.1.12/ybtop-0.1.12-py3-none-any.whl
+
+# Or from git
+pip install --upgrade git+https://github.com/kmuthukk/ybtop.git@v0.1.12
+```
+
+---
+
+## Cross-platform compatibility
+
+The repo is already correctly configured — no platform-specific build matrix needed:
+
+| Item | Location | Status |
+|---|---|---|
+| `Operating System :: OS Independent` classifier | `pyproject.toml` | ✅ Set |
+| No C extensions → `py3-none-any` wheel | `src/ybtop/` | ✅ Pure Python |
+| `psycopg[binary]` resolved per-platform by pip | `pyproject.toml` | ✅ Automatic |
+| `requires-python = ">=3.9"` | `pyproject.toml` | ✅ Set |
+| Web assets bundled via `package-data` | `pyproject.toml` | ✅ Set |
+
+---
+
+## Release checklist
+
+```
+[ ] Bump version in pyproject.toml and src/ybtop/__init__.py
+[ ] Add CHANGELOG.md entry
+[ ] git commit + push
+[ ] rm -rf dist/ build/ src/ybtop.egg-info/
+[ ] python -m build
+[ ] Install wheel locally and smoke test  (ybtop --help)
+[ ] git tag v0.x.x && git push origin v0.x.x
+[ ] gh release create v0.x.x dist/ybtop-*.whl dist/ybtop-*.tar.gz ...
+[ ] Share the install URL with users
+```
+
+---
+
+## Optional: Also publish to PyPI
+
+If you want users to be able to `pip install ybtop` without a URL, publish to PyPI in addition to the GitHub Release. The dist files from Step 2 are reused — no rebuild needed.
+
+### Additional prerequisite
+
+```bash
+pip install --upgrade twine
+```
+
+### Set up PyPI credentials (one-time)
+
+1. Register at <https://pypi.org/account/register/>
+2. Enable 2FA (required for project owners)
+3. Go to **Account Settings → API tokens → Add API token**
+4. Set scope to **Entire account** for the first upload; narrow to per-project after
+5. Copy the token (starts with `pypi-`)
+
+Save it to `~/.pypirc`:
+
+```ini
+[distutils]
+index-servers = pypi
+
+[pypi]
+  username = __token__
+  password = pypi-YOUR_TOKEN_HERE
+```
+
+Or export for a single session:
+
+```bash
+export TWINE_USERNAME=__token__
+export TWINE_PASSWORD=pypi-YOUR_TOKEN_HERE
+```
+
+### Validate metadata before uploading
+
+```bash
+twine check dist/*
+# Every item should show: PASSED
+```
+
+### Test on TestPyPI first (recommended)
+
+Upload to the test registry to catch issues without touching the real index:
+
+```bash
+twine upload --repository testpypi dist/*
+```
+
+Verify the install from TestPyPI:
+
+```bash
+pip install \
+  --index-url https://test.pypi.org/simple/ \
+  --extra-index-url https://pypi.org/simple/ \
+  ybtop==0.1.11
+```
+
+> `--extra-index-url` points to real PyPI so that `psycopg` and `rich` resolve correctly.
+
+### Publish to PyPI
+
+```bash
+twine upload dist/*
+```
+
+The package is live at `https://pypi.org/project/ybtop/`. Users can now install without a URL:
+
+```bash
+pip install ybtop
+pip install ybtop==0.1.11   # pin a specific version
+```
+
+### PyPI release checklist (addendum)
+
+```
+[ ] pip install --upgrade twine
+[ ] twine check dist/*
+[ ] twine upload --repository testpypi dist/*   (optional but recommended)
+[ ] Verify install from TestPyPI
+[ ] twine upload dist/*
+[ ] Confirm live at https://pypi.org/project/ybtop/
+```