Flowchart

Software release process flowchart template

A software release flowchart: build, automated tests, staging, release approval, canary rollout, full rollout and monitoring, with rollback on failed tests or bad metrics. Adapt it to your pipeline, then export PNG, SVG, Word or PowerPoint free.

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

No

Merge to main

Automated build

Automated tests

Tests pass

Fix and resubmit

Deploy to staging

Verify on staging

Release approval

Canary rollout

Metrics healthy

Roll back

Full rollout

Monitor

Anomaly detected

Release complete and logged

Review the cause

Previewed in the “Gradient” theme; you can switch themes in the editor

When to use it

Use it to write a release standard, to walk a new engineer through shipping, or as the reference during a post-incident review. Failed tests return to development and bad metrics after canary or full rollout lead to rollback; those two loops are the safety net.

Make it yours

  • Projects without canary capability can delete that node and its decision.
  • State who can approve in the release approval node.
  • Put the watch period in the Monitor node, such as 30 minutes.

Mermaid code

software-release-flowchart.mmd
flowchart TD
    A[Merge to main] --> B[Automated build]
    B --> C[Automated tests]
    C --> D{Tests pass}
    D -->|No| E[Fix and resubmit] --> A
    D -->|Yes| F[Deploy to staging]
    F --> G[Verify on staging]
    G --> H[Release approval]
    H --> I[Canary rollout]
    I --> J{Metrics healthy}
    J -->|No| K[Roll back]
    J -->|Yes| L[Full rollout]
    L --> M[Monitor]
    M --> N{Anomaly detected}
    N -->|Yes| K
    N -->|No| O[Release complete and logged]
    K --> P[Review the cause]

Ask an AI for one with this structure

Send the prompt below to ChatGPT or Claude, then paste the whole reply into the editor; the code inside is detected automatically.

prompt.txt
Draw a software release flowchart with Mermaid flowchart TD syntax. Merge to main, automated build, automated tests; if tests fail, fix and resubmit. If they pass, deploy to staging, verify, get release approval, and start a canary rollout. If metrics are not healthy, roll back; if healthy, do the full rollout and monitor. An anomaly leads to rollback; otherwise the release is complete and logged. After a rollback, review the cause. Use diamonds for decisions and no parentheses in node text. Output only the mermaid code block.

FAQ

How do I separate what developers, QA and operations do?

Use a swimlane. The library has a software release swimlane template with one lane per role.

Can I add tool or job names?

Yes. Add a line break in the node, such as Automated build<br/>pipeline job name.

What about a hotfix?

Copy the chart, remove staging verification and canary, and replace release approval with "Owner approves verbally, ticket filed afterward".

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Updated 2026-11-11