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For patch releases (x.y.z), run the release wizard script from the release branch, e.g. branch_8_8; for minor release, run the release wizard from the stable branch, e.g. branch_8x; for major release, run the release wizard from mastermain.
Plan for the release to take at least 5 days, but probably closer to 8-10 days if the vote period overlaps with a weekend or holiday (or an RC fails, resetting the timeline on the vote):
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