release-engineer

name	release-engineer
description	This skill should be used when the user asks to 'prepare release', 'create PR', 'generate documentation', 'run release gates', or needs guidance on Phase 9 release. Also trigger on 'sdd release', 'blocking gates', 'security scan', 'release gate', or 'export work items'.

Release Engineer (Phase 9)

Overview

Phase 9 executes final release gates, creates deployment artifacts, generates user documentation, and publishes work items. It is the final verification before production deployment.

Prerequisites for Release

Before Phase 9 begins, verify these mandatory conditions:

From Phase 6 (Analyze)

• ANALYSIS.md exists and is marked APPROVE (not CONDITIONAL or REJECT)
• All P0 and P1 review items resolved
• Security scan completed with no critical findings
• Performance benchmarks validated
• Code review sign-off from 2+ maintainers

From Phase 8 (Verify)

• VERIFICATION.md shows ≥90% test pass rate
• All P0 (critical) tests passing
• Coverage ≥80% overall, ≥90% for security modules
• Zero phantom completions verified
• Spec-code drift ≤20%

Missing prerequisites block release. Run /specky:check-gates to validate.

Blocking Gates

Two sequential blocking gates must pass before release:

Gate 1: Security Gate (security-scan.sh)

Execute security scanning:

./scripts/security-scan.sh --full

Checks performed:

• Dependency vulnerability scan (npm audit, pip check, cargo audit)
• Container image scanning (Trivy, Snyk)
• SAST analysis (SonarQube, Semgrep)
• Secrets detection (git-secrets, TruffleHog)
• License compliance (SBOM generation)

Pass criteria:

• Zero critical vulnerabilities in dependencies
• Zero high-severity secrets in codebase
• All open-source licenses approved
• Container images free of critical CVEs
• SAST findings resolved or accepted

Fail items block release completely.

Gate 2: Release Gate (release-gate.sh)

Execute final release checklist:

./scripts/release-gate.sh --version=X.Y.Z

Verifies:

• Build succeeds on clean checkout
• All tests pass in CI/CD
• Deployment to staging succeeds
• Smoke tests pass in staging
• Documentation builds without errors
• Changelog is complete and accurate
• Version numbering follows semver
• Git tags created and pushed
• Release notes generated

Pass criteria:

• All checks return status 0
• No deployment rollback needed in staging
• Documentation publicly accessible

Either gate failure blocks release. Manual override requires CISO approval (security) or engineering director approval (release).

Documentation Generation

Auto-generate deployment documentation from DESIGN.md and SPECIFICATION.md:

User Documentation

Generate from SPECIFICATION.md user-facing requirements:

• Feature overview with screenshots
• User workflows and step-by-step guides
• FAQ addressing common questions
• Troubleshooting section
• Support contact information

Format: Markdown → PDF/HTML via doc pipeline

API Documentation

Generate from DESIGN.md API contracts:

• Endpoint reference (method, path, parameters)
• Request/response schemas with examples
• Error codes and handling guidance
• Rate limiting and quotas
• SDK samples (curl, Python, JavaScript)

Format: OpenAPI spec → Swagger UI / Redoc

Deployment Guide

From DESIGN.md deployment topology:

• Infrastructure requirements (CPU, memory, storage)
• Installation steps for supported platforms
• Configuration options and environment variables
• Database migration procedures
• Backup and recovery procedures
• Rollback procedures

Format: Markdown

Runbook

From DESIGN.md and operational NFRs:

• Health check procedures
• Monitoring and alerting setup
• Common operational tasks
• Incident response procedures
• Performance tuning guidelines

PR Creation

Create GitHub/GitLab PR with generated release description:

## Release v1.2.3

**Release Type:** [Major | Minor | Patch]
**Date:** [YYYY-MM-DD]

### Summary
[Auto-generated from SPECIFICATION.md summary]

### Features
- [REQ-FEAT-001] Feature description
- [REQ-FEAT-002] Feature description

### Fixes
- [REQ-BUG-001] Bug description
- [REQ-BUG-002] Bug description

### Breaking Changes
[If major version]
- [BREAKING-001] Description
- Migration guide: [link]

### Checklist
- [ ] All tests pass
- [ ] Documentation updated
- [ ] Security scan clean
- [ ] Changelog complete
- [ ] Version bumped correctly
- [ ] Release notes reviewed

**Artifacts:**
- Binary/image: [link]
- Documentation: [link]
- Changelog: [link]

Approvals:
- [x] Code review
- [x] Security review
- [x] Product review

Set PR to merge following the Gitflow-SDD branching strategy:

• From spec/NNN-* branch → target develop (after Phase 8 verification)
• From develop → target stage (after integration review)
• From stage → target main (after all blocking gates pass)

Require 2+ approvals. Never merge a spec branch directly to main or stage.

Work Item Export

Export implementation tracking to project management tool:

Generate from TASKS.md and implementation history:

Work Item Type: Release
Title: Release v1.2.3
Status: Ready for Release
Completion: 100%

Linked Tasks (completed):
- TASK-001: Feature A implementation (100%)
- TASK-002: Feature B implementation (100%)
- TASK-003: Bug C fix (100%)

Related PRs:
- PR-#451: Implement feature A
- PR-#452: Implement feature B
- PR-#453: Fix bug C

Metrics:
- Tasks completed: 20 of 20
- Lines of code: [count]
- Test coverage: 87%
- Cycle time: 14 days

Artifacts:
- Release binary: [link]
- Release notes: [link]
- Deployment guide: [link]

Export to Jira, Linear, Azure DevOps, or Asana via REST API.

Changelog Format

Generate from commit history, SPECIFICATION.md, and VERIFICATION.md:

# Changelog - v1.2.3

**Released:** 2026-04-13

## [1.2.3] - 2026-04-13

### Added
- REQ-FEAT-001: User dashboard with real-time metrics
- REQ-FEAT-002: Bulk operations via CSV import
- REQ-FEAT-003: Advanced search with filters

### Fixed
- REQ-BUG-001: Login timeout on slow networks
- REQ-BUG-002: Export function truncating long values

### Changed
- REQ-ENHANCEMENT-001: Improved search performance by 40%
- REQ-ENHANCEMENT-002: Redesigned settings UI

### Deprecated
- Old reporting API (use Analytics API instead)
- CSV export format v1 (migrate to v2)

### Removed
- Legacy authentication method (deprecated in v1.1.0)

### Security
- Fixed XSS vulnerability in rich text editor
- Updated dependencies with security patches

### Performance
- Reduced API response time by 35% (REQ-NFR-001)
- Optimized database queries for large datasets

## [1.2.2] - 2026-03-30
[previous release notes...]

Release Commands

/specky:release --version=X.Y.Z          # Full release workflow
/specky:release --security-scan          # Run security gate only
/specky:release --generate-docs          # Generate docs only
/specky:release --create-pr --no-merge   # Create PR, don't merge
/specky:release --export-items            # Export to project mgmt

Release Rollback Procedure

If post-release issues detected:

1. Trigger rollback: /specky:rollback --version=X.Y.Z
2. Revert to previous stable version
3. Create incident report in ANALYSIS.md
4. Schedule post-mortem
5. Update release procedures to prevent recurrence

MCP Tools

Tool	Purpose
sdd_create_pr	Generate PR payload with spec summary and correct branch target
sdd_generate_all_docs	Parallel generation of all documentation types
sdd_generate_docs	Generate user documentation from SPECIFICATION.md
sdd_generate_api_docs	Generate API reference from DESIGN.md
sdd_generate_runbook	Generate operational runbook from DESIGN.md
sdd_generate_onboarding	Generate developer onboarding guide
sdd_export_work_items	Export tasks to GitHub Issues / Azure DevOps / Jira

Companion Agent

@release-engineer — Phase 9 agent that runs blocking gates and calls these tools. Load this skill as first step.