release

name	release
description	Use when preparing a TestFlight or App Store release, drafting a pre-release checklist, generating release notes from the changelog, or submitting a build to App Store Connect. Verifies CI gates green (build + test + tokens-check + ui-audit P0=0) before promoting any build. Sub-commands: /release prepare, /release checklist, /release notes, /release submit.
last_updated	"2026-05-15T00:00:00.000Z"
framework_version	v7.8.6
status	stable
adapters_used	["app-store-connect"]

Release Management Skill: $ARGUMENTS

You are the Release Management specialist for FitMe. You handle version bumps, changelog generation, release readiness checks, TestFlight distribution, and App Store submission preparation.

Observed patterns preflight

The pattern↔skill map tracks 51 work-blocking patterns (23 gate-firing patterns + 28 workflow patterns) drawn from the Observed Patterns Catalog (make observed-patterns). The patterns below are the ones mapped to /release work — probe the mechanized ones, checklist the rest:

ID	Pattern	Blocker	Remediation
W4	No auto-merge without explicit approval	yes	Never auto-merge; surface PR + checks and wait for explicit approval.
W15	MDX <digit / <non-letter breaks page rendering	yes	Escape/avoid <digit in MDX (use 'under 5 min', <, or a code-span) to keep prerender green.
W18	Default-URL OG image silent-404	no	Point the default OG image URL at the Next.js convention route; unit-test that the URL resolves.
W19	Env-var trailing newline corrupts runtime string	no	Trim string env vars at the boundary (process.env.X?.trim()) to strip trailing newlines.
W26	Two workflows sharing name: clash in github.workflow concurrency groups (probed)	no	Give each workflow a hardcoded concurrency-group prefix, not ${{ github.workflow }}, when names collide.
W28	Local xcodebuild blocked by CoreSimulator out-of-date (Mac restart required)	no	Local xcodebuild CoreSimulator-out-of-date needs a Mac restart; fall back to swiftc -parse + CI.

At activation run make skill-preflight SKILL=release — probes the 1 mechanized blockers for this work type; clear any before proceeding.

Mandatory (CLAUDE.md §v7.8.5): any novel pattern surfaced this session MUST be appended to observed-patterns.md before the feature closes — then re-run make gen-skill-preflight.

Shared Data

Preflight cache: .claude/shared/preflight-cache.json — refreshed by make preflight WORK_TYPE=<feature|enhancement|fix|chore> [FEATURE=<name>]. Run BEFORE any sub-command to get current work-context data (W1 ssh-agent, integrity findings, drift vs anchor, doc-debt, adoption baseline). Cache schema: docs/skills/preflight-cache-schema.md.

Reads: .claude/shared/feature-registry.json (what's included in release), .claude/shared/test-coverage.json (quality gate status), .claude/shared/health-status.json (CI + infrastructure ready)

Produces: CHANGELOG.md updates, version bump in Xcode project, App Store submission materials

Sub-commands

/release prepare

Prepare a new release.

1. Determine version bump:
   • Read current version from Xcode project (FitTracker.xcodeproj)
   • Read .claude/shared/feature-registry.json for features merged since last release
   • Apply semantic versioning:
     • Major: breaking changes, major UI redesign
     • Minor: new features
     • Patch: bug fixes, performance improvements
2. Bump version:
   • Update MARKETING_VERSION in Xcode project
   • Increment CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION (build number)
3. Generate release notes from merged features (see /release notes)
4. Tag release: git tag v{version}

/release checklist

Pre-release readiness checklist.

Run every check and report pass/fail:

Check	Status	Details
CI green (main)		Latest workflow run
All tests passing		XCTest suite
Token pipeline synced		make tokens-check
No critical bugs		Open issues with bug + priority:critical labels
Analytics regression passed		All events firing on main
Performance acceptable		Cold start <2s
No PII exposure		Scan for sensitive data in logs/analytics
ASO listing updated		App Store metadata ready
Screenshots current		Reflect new features
Release notes written		CHANGELOG.md updated
Feature registry updated		All shipped features marked complete

All checks must pass before proceeding to submission.

/release notes

Generate changelog entry from merged features.

1. Read git log since last release tag: git log v{last}..HEAD --oneline
2. Read .claude/shared/feature-registry.json for feature descriptions
3. Categorize commits:
   • New: new features
   • Improved: enhancements to existing features
   • Fixed: bug fixes
   • Internal: refactoring, CI, tooling (don't include in user-facing notes)
4. Generate two versions:
   • CHANGELOG.md entry (developer-facing, detailed)
   • App Store release notes (user-facing, benefit-focused, concise)

/release submit

App Store submission checklist.

1. Build:
   • Archive build for distribution
   • Validate with App Store Connect (no issues)
2. Metadata:
   • Description (read from /marketing aso output or draft)
   • Keywords
   • Screenshots (all required sizes)
   • Preview video (if applicable)
   • Privacy nutrition labels (accurate for current data usage)
   • App Review notes (test account, special instructions)
3. TestFlight (optional):
   • Upload to TestFlight
   • Internal testing group configuration
   • External testing group (if applicable)
   • Beta App Review submission
4. Production submission:
   • Select build
   • Confirm metadata
   • Submit for App Review
   • Set release mode: manual or automatic after approval

Key References

• FitTracker.xcodeproj — Xcode project (version numbers)
• CHANGELOG.md — release history
• .github/workflows/ci.yml — CI pipeline
• .claude/shared/feature-registry.json — feature tracking

---

External Data Sources

Adapter	Type	What It Provides
app-store-connect	MCP	App versions, TestFlight builds, submission status, build processing

Adapter location: .claude/integrations/app-store-connect/ Shared layer writes: feature-registry.json

Validation Gate

All incoming release data passes through automatic validation before entering the shared layer:

• Score >= 95% GREEN: Data is clean. Write to shared layer. Notify /release + /pm-workflow.
• Score 90-95% ORANGE: Minor discrepancies. Write + advisory. Review when convenient.
• Score < 90% RED: DO NOT write. Alert /release + /pm-workflow. User must resolve.

Validation is automatic. Resolution is always manual.

Research Scope (Phase 2)

When the cache doesn't have an answer for a release task, research:

1. Version strategy — current version, what's changed since last release, semantic versioning rules
2. Release checklist — CI gates, feature flag status, migration requirements, breaking changes
3. App Store requirements — current review guidelines, metadata requirements, screenshot specs
4. Tools & APIs — App Store Connect submission API, Fastlane lane configurations, TestFlight distribution
5. Rollback planning — phased rollout percentage, crash monitoring thresholds, rollback triggers

Sources checked in order: L1 cache → shared layer (feature-registry.json, health-status.json) → integration adapters (app-store-connect) → codebase (CHANGELOG.md, xcodeproj) → external docs

Cache Protocol

Phase 1 (Cache Check): Read .claude/cache/release/_index.json. Check for cached release checklists, version bump patterns, TestFlight distribution lists from prior releases.

Phase 4 (Learn): Extract new patterns (release timing, submission gotchas, review turnaround). Write/update L1 cache.

Cache location: .claude/cache/release/

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Cache Protocol

Phase 1 — Cache Check (on skill start)

1. Read .claude/cache/release/_index.json for L1 entries
2. Match current task against task_signature.type
3. Check L2 .claude/cache/_shared/ for cross-skill patterns
4. If hit: load learned_patterns, anti_patterns, speedup_instructions
5. Apply loaded patterns — skip derivation steps covered by cache
6. If miss: proceed to Phase 2 (Research)

Phase 4 — Learn (on skill complete)

1. Extract new patterns and anti-patterns from this execution
2. Write or update L1 cache entry in .claude/cache/release/
3. If pattern overlaps with an existing L2 entry, increment hit_count
4. If a new pattern applies to 2+ skills, flag for L2 promotion

Health Check (Phase 0 — random trigger)

On skill start, before cache check:

1. Read .claude/shared/framework-health.json
2. If random() < 0.25 AND hours_since(last_check) > 2: run 5 health checks, compute weighted score, append to history
3. If score < 0.90: STOP and alert user with failing checks and rollback options
4. Proceed to Phase 1 (Cache Check)

External Data Sources

Adapter	Location	Shared Layer Target	When to Pull
app-store-connect	.claude/integrations/app-store-connect/	feature-registry.json	On /release checklist or /release submit

Fallback: If adapter unavailable, continue with existing shared data. Log to change-log.json.

Research Scope (Phase 2 — when cache misses)

1. Version history and changelog patterns
2. Submission requirements and guidelines
3. TestFlight feedback from prior builds
4. Regression checklist from change-log.json
5. Store metadata and screenshot status

Source priority: L2 cache > L1 cache > shared layer (feature-registry.json) > app-store-connect adapter

Anti-patterns

Hard-won mistakes for /release work. Every bullet encodes a real or near-miss failure mode.

• Do not promote a build to TestFlight without make verify-local passing end-to-end (tokens-check + schema-check + ui-audit + build + test) — every leg gates
• Do not include partial_ship features in release notes without resolving the decision fork first (pattern #15 PARTIAL_SHIP_TERMINAL)
• Do not skip the release checklist — every TestFlight push and every App Store submit is multi-part approval (pattern W7)
• Do not edit a release note after submission without recording the change in CHANGELOG.md and noting the version it correlates to
• Do not bump a major version without parallel notification to /marketing — launch comms prep needs a 1-week lead time minimum