# Release pilot rotation

### About release pilots

Generally speaking, **Release pilots** are the team members given the ultimate responsibility of overseeing each release and resolving blocking issues that may arise. By default, release pilots have broad permissions to perform actions within releases in Runway, will be specifically pinged by certain notifications, and will be responsible for completing checklist items assigned to the Release pilot role.

### Managing your release pilot rotation

The release pilot rotation is a list of app users that Runway loops through to automatically assign release pilots to upcoming releases in Runway. 

In the **Release pilot rotation** page in App settings, you can add and remove users from the release pilot rotation, as well as update the order of the list. For a user to be eligible to be added to the release pilot rotation , they must be in the list of app users for the app (**App settings > Team**) and they must have the **Release pilot** user role.

<figure><img src="/files/zOMb7IXRp6n0m3TgzccF" alt=""><figcaption><p>Release pilot rotation view</p></figcaption></figure>

Upcoming releases and their predicted release pilots are shown on the release pilot rotation view. By default, two cycles of the rotation are shown in the list.

{% hint style="info" %}
A release pilot can always be changed manually for a particular release, by clicking **Edit release settings** on the Kickoff step for a release. This will display as an **override** in the release pilot rotation view.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
To disable automatic assignment of release pilots from the rotation, simply remove all users from the release pilot rotation. Note that you'll need to manually choose a pilot for each release.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
Release pilots have their full permissions at all times, whether or not they're currently assigned in the rotation.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
Runway does not assign the next release pilot in the rotation for hotfix releases. Instead, the hotfix release inherits the release pilot from the "parent" release.&#x20;
{% endhint %}

### Using a Scheduling integration to manage the release pilot rotation

The [Scheduling integration capability](/integrations/scheduling.md) allows your app's release pilot rotation to be synced from scheduling integrations like PagerDuty and OpsGenie.

When a Scheduling integration is connected, Runway will automatically assign release pilots to releases based on your configured schedule in the integration provider.

Release pilots are first matched to shifts on the scheduling integration when the *target kickoff date* is set – the user whose scheduled on-call shift aligns with the release's target kickoff date will be assigned as the release pilot for the release.

{% hint style="info" %}
If an override for a shift is created in the scheduling integration, the pilot in Runway will be re-assigned to match the override in the integration.
{% endhint %}

Runway will additionally continue to update a release's pilot throughout the lifetime of its release – this facilitates mid-cycle hand-offs when one person's shift ends and another begins. Runway will continuously update the release pilot to match the on-call user in your scheduling integration for the currently active ("next") release and for the live release until its rollout has completed.

{% hint style="warning" %}
If a Scheduling integration is connected, release pilot selection in Runway will be *disabled*. You must manage release pilots and overrides from your Scheduling integration directly.
{% endhint %}


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