[release] Release v0.7

[Breakthrough]

PySceneDetect Release Checklist

Use one copy per release, copy into a pull request and check each box as steps are completed.
Optional: version referenced below as X.Y[.Z] - replace with the real version throughout.

1. Version Identifiers, Branch Prep

• Create / fast-forward release branch: releases/X.Y off main if major/minor release. If patch release, fast-forward current releases/X.Y branch.
• Bump __version__ in scenedetect/__init__.py
• Bump docs/LATEST_VERSION if needed (stable major/minor releases only)
• Regular release: No -dev suffix or other, pre-release: has suffix -dev0, -dev1, ...

2. Documentation, Website, Changelog

• Docstrings / API docs reflect any signature changes (cd docs/ && make html builds clean).
• docs/api/migration_guide.rst updated if any public API changed.
• Docstring examples all run correctly, nothing references removed or deprecated symbols.
• Changelog has release notes for major/minor release, all features, breaking changes, bug fixes, and known issues are documented.
• website/pages/download.md updated with the new version / installer link / release date.
• website/pages/changelog.md: move the release changes from the Development section at the bottom to the top.
• website/pages/index.md: Latest release version and date updated.

3. Tests

• Static analysis passing (ruff + pyright).
• Unit tests green locally and in CI: pytest -vv (should collect -m 'not release' by default).
• Release test suite green: manually trigger or make a release candidate tag, all 4 jobs (static, release-tests, install-matrix, long-stress) green across the OS and Python version matrix.
• pip-audit clean (or exceptions documented in the changelog).

4. Prepare Windows Distribution

• Update packaging/windows/requirements.txt and bump bundled ffmpeg version in appveyor.yml
• Run Appyeyor build on release branch, ensure resulting portable distribution and MSI installer are correct

GUI required for structural changes. scripts/update_installer.py covers routine version bumps and --sync-files covers dependency-driven file-list changes, but anything that touches the project structure of the .aip still needs the AdvancedInstaller GUI. Examples:

• Moving the .aip or its source tree (the build's SourcePath references are stored relative to the .aip and aren't rewritten by /NewSync.
• Adding/removing build configurations, features, or prerequisites.
• Install directory layout (APPDIR location), or per-component attributes.
• Editing dialog layouts, branding bitmaps, install sequences, custom actions, file associations, or shortcuts.

5. Tag & Draft Release

• Final commit on releases/X.Y: "Release vX.Y[.Z]".
• Tag vX.Y[.Z]-release on that commit and push. Wait for all tests/builds to pass.
• Approve code signing request on SignPath, download scenedetect-signed.zip
• Finalize Windows artifacts locally (CI can't do this - signing happens after the AppVeyor build, so the signed-exe swap and hashing must run locally):
  • Create dist/signed/ and copy in both scenedetect-signed.zip (from SignPath) and PySceneDetect-X.Y.Z-win64.zip (from the AppVeyor PySceneDetect-win64 artifact).
  • Run python scripts/finalize_windows_dist.py. This swaps the signed scenedetect.exe into the portable .zip, repacks it with 7-Zip, copies out the signed .msi, and writes PySceneDetect-X.Y.Z-win64.manifest.json + SHA256SUMS.
• Draft release on Github using the tagged commit: include full changelog & release notes, signed portable .ZIP, signed .MSI installer, Python .whl/.tar.gz packages, and checksum manifests (PySceneDetect-X.Y.Z.manifest.json + SHA256SUMS)
• Verify all artifacts uploaded to Github release are valid and named correctly
• Smoke-test all release artifacts

6. Publish & Release Checks

• Publish Github release
• Upload to PyPI: publish-pypi.yml must be manually triggered on a release tag. Specify testpypi first, and make sure everything goes okay on the test instance. When verified and smoke tested, specify pypi as the environment, and publish the production package.
• Verify both projects: https://pypi.org/project/scenedetect/ and https://pypi.org/project/scenedetect-headless/.
• Merge releases/X.Y back into main.
• Deploy website: generate-website.yml picks up the changelog / download page updates.
• Deploy docs: generate-docs.yml publishes the new version.
• Smoke-test PyPI release: in a fresh venv, pip install scenedetect==X.Y.Z; CLI launches and scenedetect --version looks correct.
• Verify download links on website are correct, PyPI project page is up to date and correct.
• Clear / archive release-scoped tracking files (tracking.md, any release-specific TODOs).
• Announce: project site, relevant issues / discussions closed and linked to the release.

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Notes

• Branching model: work spans multiple commits on releases/X.Y; the final one gets the vX.Y[.Z]-release tag which gates the release-test workflow. A passing release-test is a hard prerequisite for publishing.
• Version consistency is enforced in two places (__init__.py, PySceneDetect.aip). The static job of release-test.yml checks __init__.py against the tag and verifies the changelog has a matching ## PySceneDetect X.Y heading; the installer parity is checked by scripts/pre_release.py --release.
• Changelog convention: the in-development section lives at the bottom of website/pages/changelog.md under the "Development" heading - don't move it to the top.