How to use Kit Versioning

How to use Kit Versioning so you can control how changes to your library are released to your team.

Edward Boatman avatar
Written by Edward Boatman
Updated over a week ago

Kit Versioning is a powerful feature that is available to customers on the Plus and Enterprise plans. With Kit Versioning you can do the following. 

  • Make changes to a Kit without disrupting teammates

  • Have a “staging environment” where changes can be made without immediately going live

  • Release what’s in “staging” when you’re ready to do so

  • Communicate what is new in every version that gets released

  • Have teammates update to the newest version when it is convenient for them

  • Rollback to a previous version if needed

How it works

Kit Versioning works like a publishing platform. You make changes in a draft environment — Shared Draft. When you’re ready to make them available to your team, you bundle the changes into a version and release it.

To create and release a version:

1. Go to the Kit you wish to version

2. Locate the version badge towards the top of the Navigator — it will read “Shared Draft”

3. Click the badge and select Create version from the menu

4. Enter a version name, write your release notes and click Release

5. Click Yes, recommend when asked if you want to make it the recommended version for use

If you’re releasing the very first version of a Kit, recommending will actually enforce usage. In essence, teammates without edit privileges are “moved” from the Shared Draft to the version you just released. Don't worry though, since the Shared Draft and the very first version are identical the move will be seamless. Your teammates won’t notice the transition and no action is required from them.

The Shared Draft will then become accessible only to teammates who can edit the Kit. It acts as a “staging environment” where changes can be made without disrupting the rest of the team. Releasing another version tells Lingo to take a snapshot of the Shared Draft and make it available to all teammates as a version.

What happens when a version is released?

Released versions become available to everyone on the Kit. Teammates can switch to using it immediately or wait until it is convenient for them. In other words, browsing and switching versions can be done at anytime. As mentioned before, the only exception to this is when releasing the very first version. If teammates opt to continue using a legacy version, they’ll see a banner notifying them of the fact.

Version history and management

When you and your teammates need to catch up on what’s changed in a release you may access the version history page. This page lists all available versions together with their release notes.

Moreover, on the version history page, teammates with edit privileges can: perform a few actions, these include:

  • deleting a version

  • recommending a version

  • editing the title and release notes of previously released versions

The version history page can be accessed by clicking the version badge and then View history from the menu.

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