Releasers

Releaser is a term that denotes a person or thing that causes something to be released. The precise meaning depends on the domain. In everyday usage, a releaser is any agent that triggers the release of substances, information, or products.

In pharmacology, releasing agents (monoamine releasing agents) are substances that promote the release of neurotransmitters from presynaptic terminals. They may enter nerve terminals via uptake transporters and induce reverse transport or deplete vesicular stores, leading to increased extracellular levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. These agents can have therapeutic uses, such as in certain psychiatric conditions, but they also carry risks of abuse, dependence, and adverse cardiovascular and psychiatric effects. Releasing agents are distinct from reuptake inhibitors, which raise neurotransmitter levels by blocking reabsorption rather than promoting release.

In software development, a releaser or release engineer is the person or role responsible for producing software releases. Responsibilities typically include configuring and validating builds, packaging binaries or containers, tagging version control repositories, generating release notes, signing artifacts, and distributing releases to distribution channels or end users. The role often involves coordinating with quality assurance, security, legal, and operations teams, ensuring compliance with licensing and governance, and planning versions and deployment timelines. In open source projects, the term is used less frequently than release manager, but some teams refer to the individual responsible for a release as the releaser.

Other uses of the term may arise in publishing or corporate communications, where a releaser could be the person who issues a press release or public statement. As with many terms, the exact meaning is determined by the field and context.