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+# SDK Release Approval Runbook
+
+Last updated: 2026-06-25
+
+Use this when Fern generates an SDK release PR or when a Vapi employee needs to manually start an SDK release.
+
+## Slack notification
+
+- Channel: `#production-release-observability`
+- Slack app: `Vapi Release Observability`
+- GitHub secret name: `PRODUCTION_RELEASE_OBSERVABILITY_SLACK_WEBHOOK`
+
+Each SDK repo that should notify Slack needs a repository secret named `PRODUCTION_RELEASE_OBSERVABILITY_SLACK_WEBHOOK`. The secret value is the Slack workflow webhook URL.
+
+```bash
+gh secret set PRODUCTION_RELEASE_OBSERVABILITY_SLACK_WEBHOOK --repo VapiAI/<sdk-repo>
+```
+
+Expected alert:
+
+```text
+SDK release PR ready for review
+Repo: VapiAI/<sdk-repo>
+PR: #123 <title>
+Package: <registry package>
+Version: <version if detected>
+Next: review/merge the PR, then publish the release tag from the SDK repo.
+Runbook: <this file>
+```
+
+## Default release path
+
+1. Fern or a release workflow opens an SDK PR with generated changes and a version bump.
+2. Slack posts the PR alert to `#production-release-observability`.
+3. Open the PR from Slack and review:
+   - version bump matches the intended release
+   - generated changelog/package files are sane
+   - CI is green
+4. Merge the SDK PR into `main`.
+5. Create the release tag from the SDK repo.
+6. Verify the package appears in the registry.
+
+Do not rely on Fern pushing directly to `main` as the release path. Branch protection means the approval boundary is the SDK PR.
+
+## Start a release PR manually
+
+Use this when docs/API changes are ready but Fern has not opened the SDK PR you expected.
+
+1. Open `VapiAI/docs` in GitHub.
+2. Go to `Actions`.
+3. Select the SDK release workflow:
+   - `Release TypeScript SDK`
+   - `Release Python SDK`
+   - `Release Go SDK`
+   - `Release Ruby SDK`
+   - `Release C# SDK`
+   - `Release PHP SDK`
+   - `Release Swift SDK`
+4. Click `Run workflow`.
+5. Enter the intended version when the workflow asks for one.
+6. Wait for Fern to open the SDK PR.
+7. Follow the default release path above.
+
+These workflows run Fern with `--mode pull-request`, so they should open a PR rather than publishing directly.
+
+## Publish after merge
+
+After the SDK PR is merged, publish from the SDK repo by creating a GitHub release/tag at the merged `main` commit.
+
+GitHub UI path:
+
+1. Open the SDK repo.
+2. Go to `Releases`.
+3. Click `Draft a new release`.
+4. Create the tag for the merged version.
+5. Target `main`.
+6. Publish the release.
+7. Watch the SDK repo's `Actions` tab and confirm the publish job passes, when one exists.
+
+CLI equivalent:
+
+```bash
+gh release create <tag> --repo VapiAI/<sdk-repo> --target main --title <tag> --generate-notes
+```
+
+Use the repo's existing tag convention:
+
+| SDK repo | Package | Tag convention | Publish/verify signal |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| `server-sdk-typescript` | `@vapi-ai/server-sdk` on npm | usually `<version>` | `ci` tag push publishes to npm |
+| `server-sdk-python` | `vapi_server_sdk` on PyPI | usually `<version>` | `ci` tag push publishes to PyPI |
+| `server-sdk-ruby` | `vapi_server_sdk` on RubyGems | usually `<version>` | `ci` tag push publishes to RubyGems |
+| `server-sdk-csharp` | `Vapi.Net` on NuGet | usually `<version>` | `ci` tag push publishes to NuGet |
+| `server-sdk-java` | Maven package | usually `<version>` | `ci` tag push publishes to Maven |
+| `server-sdk-go` | Go module | `v<version>` | Git tag is the release source for Go modules |
+| `server-sdk-php` | `vapi/vapi` on Packagist | usually `<version>` | Packagist follows tags; CI currently build/tests only |
+| `server-sdk-swift` | Swift package | usually `<version>` | Git tag is the release source for Swift Package Manager |
+
+## If the package does not publish
+
+1. Confirm the release tag points at the merged `main` commit.
+2. Open the SDK repo's `Actions` tab.
+3. Check the `ci` run for the tag.
+4. If the tag exists but no publish job ran, confirm that repo has a tag-push publish job.
+5. If the publish job failed, rerun the failed job after fixing the missing credential or registry issue.
+6. If the repo has no publish job, verify the registry integration for that ecosystem.
+
+## Current Fern-managed SDKs
+
+The current Fern generator config in `VapiAI/docs` manages these server SDK repos:
+
+- `VapiAI/server-sdk-typescript`
+- `VapiAI/server-sdk-python`
+- `VapiAI/server-sdk-go`
+- `VapiAI/server-sdk-ruby`
+- `VapiAI/server-sdk-csharp`
+- `VapiAI/server-sdk-php`
+- `VapiAI/server-sdk-swift`
+
+`VapiAI/server-sdk-java` exists and has a tag-push publish job, but it is not currently listed in the `VapiAI/docs` Fern generator config.