---

name: release description: Release readiness checklist for shipping. Use after execution completes, when the user says "release" or "ship", or before deploying to production.

Release — Pre-Ship Gate

Final verification before shipping. Maps to Protocol P12 (Release Readiness) and P13 (Security Gate).

Pattern: This skill runs after all beads are closed. It verifies all work is done, security is clean, and the system is ready to ship.

When This Applies

Signal	Action
All beads closed	Run release checklist
User says "/release" or "ship"	Run release checklist
Before production deployment	Run release checklist

---

Prerequisites

Before running /release:

1. All execution phases complete (or user explicitly skipping)
2. No beads in in_progress status
3. Agent Mail available (if multi-agent)

---

Tool Reference

Verification Commands

Command	Purpose
bd list --json	Verify all beads closed
bv --robot-summary	Check for orphaned/blocked beads
bv --robot-alerts	Surface any issues
ubs --staged	Security scan (MANDATORY)
pytest / npm test	Run test suite
git status	Check for uncommitted changes
git log --oneline -10	Recent commit history

Agent Mail (MCP)

Tool	Purpose
fetch_inbox(agent_name, urgent_only=True)	Check for unresolved urgent messages
release_file_reservations(project_key, agent_name)	Release any held reservations
send_message(subject="[RELEASE READY]")	Announce release readiness

Message Subjects

Pattern	When
[RELEASE READY] Project Name	All checks passed
[RELEASE BLOCKED] Project Name	Blockers found

---

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      RELEASE ORCHESTRATOR                        │
│  You are here. You:                                              │
│  - Verify all beads closed                                       │
│  - Run security scan                                             │
│  - Check for uncommitted work                                    │
│  - Validate against rigor tier                                   │
│  - Generate release report                                       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
         ┌────────────────────┼────────────────────┐
         │                    │                    │
         ▼                    ▼                    ▼
┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐
│  Bead Status    │  │  Security Gate  │  │  Multi-Agent    │
│  bd list        │  │  ubs --staged   │  │  Cleanup        │
│  bv --robot-*   │  │  Language audits│  │  Agent Mail     │
└─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘
         │                    │                    │
         └────────────────────┼────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
                    ┌─────────────────┐
                    │  Release Report │ → Present to operator
                    │  GO / NO-GO     │
                    └─────────────────┘

---

Execution Flow

Step 1: Setup

1. Identify rigor tier from North Star Card:
   - Read PLAN/00_north_star.md (or project config)
   - Determine Tier 1, 2, or 3

2. Initialize TodoWrite with release phases:
   - [ ] Verify beads complete
   - [ ] Run security scan
   - [ ] Check git state
   - [ ] Multi-agent cleanup
   - [ ] Generate report

Step 2: Verify Beads Complete

# Check for incomplete beads
bd list --json | jq '.[] | select(.status != "closed")'

# Get summary
bv --robot-summary

# Check for alerts
bv --robot-alerts

Blocking if:

• Any P0 beads not closed
• Any beads in in_progress status (orphaned work)

Step 3: Security Gate (MANDATORY)

# Run security scan
ubs --staged

# For Java code (72% OWASP failure rate)
# ADDITIONAL manual SQL injection review required

# For web code (JS/TS)
# ADDITIONAL manual XSS output encoding review required

Blocking if:

• Any high/critical findings
• Medium findings without documented justification

Step 4: Run Tests

# Run test suite (project-specific)
pytest                    # Python
npm test                  # Node.js
go test ./...             # Go
cargo test                # Rust

Blocking if:

• Any test failures

Step 5: Check Git State

# Uncommitted changes?
git status

# Recent commits look right?
git log --oneline -10

# On correct branch?
git branch --show-current

Blocking if:

• Uncommitted changes (unless intentional)
• On wrong branch

Step 6: Multi-Agent Cleanup

# Check for unresolved urgent messages
urgent = fetch_inbox(
    project_key=PROJECT_PATH,
    agent_name=AGENT_NAME,
    urgent_only=True
)

if urgent:
    # Handle or acknowledge before release
    for msg in urgent:
        acknowledge_message(project_key, AGENT_NAME, msg.id)

# Release any file reservations
release_file_reservations(
    project_key=PROJECT_PATH,
    agent_name=AGENT_NAME
)

# Announce release readiness
send_message(
    project_key=PROJECT_PATH,
    sender_name=AGENT_NAME,
    to=["Coordinator"],  # or all agents
    subject="[RELEASE READY] Project Name",
    body_md="""
Release verification complete.

**Status:** READY TO SHIP
**Beads:** X closed, Y blocked
**Security:** Clean
**Tests:** Passing
    """,
    importance="high"
)

Step 7: Generate Release Report

Present to operator:

## Release Readiness Report

**Project:** [name]
**Rigor Tier:** [1/2/3]
**Date:** [timestamp]
**Agent:** [agent_name]

### Verification Summary

| Check | Status | Details |
|-------|--------|---------|
| Beads Complete | ✓/✗ | X/Y closed |
| Security (ubs) | ✓/✗ | Clean / N findings |
| Tests | ✓/✗ | All passing / N failures |
| Git State | ✓/✗ | Clean / uncommitted |
| Agent Mail | ✓/✗ | No urgent / N unresolved |

### Blockers
[List any blocking issues, or "None"]

### Recommendation
**[READY TO SHIP]** or **[BLOCKED - see above]**

### Next Steps
- [ ] Operator sign-off
- [ ] Tag release: `git tag -a vX.Y.Z -m "Release X.Y.Z"`
- [ ] Deploy to [environment]
- [ ] Monitor logs/metrics

---

Release Checklist by Rigor Tier

Tier 1 (Personal/Hobby)

Check	Required
All planned beads closed	✓
ubs --staged clean	✓
Basic smoke test	✓
No uncommitted changes	✓

Tier 2 (Startup MVP / Business Tool)

Check	Required
All P0/P1 beads closed	✓
All tests passing	✓
ubs --staged clean	✓
Medium findings documented	✓
No secrets in codebase	✓
P0 requirements verified	✓
Basic observability	✓
Operator sign-off	✓

Tier 3 (Enterprise)

Check	Required
All beads closed	✓
Full test suite passing	✓
ubs --staged zero findings	✓
Language-specific audits	✓
All REQ-* traced to tests	✓
Threat model reviewed	✓
Observability complete	✓
Rollback plan tested	✓
Audit trail complete	✓
Stakeholder sign-off	✓

---

Agent Mail Protocol

Subject	Sender	Recipients	When
[RELEASE READY] Project	Release Agent	Coordinator, All	All checks passed
[RELEASE BLOCKED] Project	Release Agent	Coordinator	Blockers found

---

Error Handling

Beads Not Complete

1. List incomplete beads with bd list --json
2. Present to operator: complete or descope?
3. If descoping: document decision, update requirements
4. Re-run release check

Security Findings

1. List findings from ubs --staged
2. For high/critical: MUST fix before release
3. For medium: document justification or fix
4. Re-run after fixes

Test Failures

1. List failing tests
2. Fix failures or document known issues
3. Known issues require operator sign-off
4. Re-run after fixes

Orphaned File Reservations

1. Check for stale reservations
2. Force release if agents are inactive
3. Document in release notes

---

Post-Release

After shipping:

# Tag the release
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release 1.0.0"
git push origin v1.0.0

# Update beads (if any tracking beads remain)
bd close <release-bead-id> --reason "Released v1.0.0"

# Notify team
send_message(
    project_key=PROJECT_PATH,
    sender_name=AGENT_NAME,
    to=["all"],
    subject="[RELEASED] v1.0.0",
    body_md="Release complete. Monitoring for issues.",
    importance="high"
)

---

Mandatory Rules (2025 Research)

Rule	Why	Evidence
ubs --staged mandatory	~40% of LLM code has vulnerabilities	research/052-llm-security-vulnerabilities.md
Java: extra SQL review	72% OWASP failure rate	research/061-llm-security-2025.md
JS/TS: XSS review	Only 14% XSS caught	research/061-llm-security-2025.md
Human verification for P0	AI helps most when human understands domain	research/051-metr-rct.md

---

Evidence Base

Research	Finding
research/021-swe-bench-plus.md	Benchmark hygiene matters; don't trust passing tests alone
research/047-humaneval-pro.md	Progressive verification catches drift
research/044-iris.md	Security verification is essential
research/052-llm-security-vulnerabilities.md	~40% of LLM code has vulnerabilities
research/061-llm-security-2025.md	Language-specific vulnerability rates
research/051-metr-rct.md	Human verification required for production

---

See Also

• /calibrate — Run if drift detected before release
• /prime — Worker startup (for re-verification)
• docs/workflow/PROTOCOLS.md — P12: Release Readiness, P13: Security Gate
• docs/workflow/IDEATION_TO_PRODUCTION.md — Stage 10
• advance/ — Bead lifecycle details