deploy-prototype

type	Skill
name	Deploy Prototype
category	dev
description	Generate a small app or tool and deploy it live to Vercel via API
var
tags	["dev","build"]
requires	["VERCEL_TOKEN?","GH_GLOBAL?"]

${var} — What to build and deploy.

• Empty → auto-select from recent signals (articles, logs, memory topics).
• Plain text (e.g. market heatmap) → interpret as a build brief.
• Typed form type:slug description (e.g. tool:market-heatmap volume heatmap of top-20 tokens, viz:tx-graph, api:summarize, landing:startup-idea) → use type to bias shape and slug as the deployment name.

Today is ${today}. Your task is to ship a small, self-contained prototype that someone could actually use in the browser today.

Steps

1. Read context. Read memory/MEMORY.md and the most recent entries in memory/logs/ for active topics. If running as part of a chain, scan injected upstream outputs for a concrete artifact worth making interactive.

2. Pick what to build (if ${var} is empty or vague).

   Scan these sources, in order, for prototype-worthy signals:

   • output/articles/ — last 7 entries by mtime: any claim, finding, or dataset that would be more useful as an interactive page?
   • memory/topics/*.md — running narratives; pick one with a live data source (prices, feeds, markets)
   • memory/logs/${today}.md and the two prior days — skill outputs flagged as interesting
   • memory/MEMORY.md → "Next Priorities" and "Recent Articles"

   Score each candidate 1-5 on:

   • Leverage — does an interactive version beat the static write-up?
   • Concreteness — is the spec obvious in one sentence? (if no, reject)
   • Novelty — haven't shipped this in the last 14 days (check output/articles/prototype-*.md by mtime and any memory/topics/prototypes.md)

   Pick the highest-total candidate. If no candidate reaches 9/15, skip building and exit as DEPLOY_PROTOTYPE_EMPTY (step 9).

   Record the chosen signal — its source file(s) and one-line rationale — you'll use it in steps 6 and 7.

3. Commit to a shape before writing code. Before touching .pending-deploy/, write out (in your reasoning, not a file):

   • Slug: aeon-prototype-<descriptor>, all lowercase, [a-z0-9-], 3–50 chars after prefix (e.g. aeon-prototype-market-heatmap). If ${var} supplied a typed slug, use it; otherwise derive one.
   • Tagline (≤90 chars) — the one-liner that appears in the page title and OG tags.
   • Primary action — what is the one thing a visitor does in the first 10 seconds? (read a number, click a filter, submit an input, compare two things). If you can't name it, go back to step 2.
   • Shape: static HTML+JS / static + api/ function / Next.js. Default to static single-file HTML unless the idea genuinely needs a serverless function.

4. Write the files.

   rm -rf .pending-deploy        # clear stale state from prior runs
   mkdir -p .pending-deploy/files
   

   Write all project files into .pending-deploy/files/. This directory is the repo root — everything here is pushed to GitHub and deployed to Vercel.

   Quality bar — every prototype must meet these:

   • Self-contained — no external build step where avoidable. Prefer one index.html with inline <style> and <script>; fall back to a main.css / main.js only when size justifies it.
   • Loads in <1s on a cold visit. No jQuery, no CDN UI libraries for a single-page tool. Vanilla JS or a ~10KB util max. No <link rel="stylesheet"> to a CDN font unless it's one font.
   • Mobile-first, works on a phone. Viewport meta set, tap targets ≥40px, no horizontal scroll at 360px wide.
   • Share-friendly. Include <title>, <meta name="description">, <meta property="og:title">, <meta property="og:description">, <meta property="og:type" content="website">. Skip OG image unless you generate one.
   • Real content, not lorem. If the prototype shows data, fetch it from a public no-auth endpoint at load time (CoinGecko, GitHub public API, public RSS, public JSON feeds) — or hardcode a recent, realistic snapshot with the timestamp visible. Never ship placeholder [example data].
   • One visible CTA or primary surface. Clear hierarchy: what does the visitor look at first?
   • Works with JS disabled to at least show the tagline (progressive enhancement — not required for interactive tools, but the title and description must render server-free).
   • Light + dark via prefers-color-scheme — 4 CSS vars is enough.
   • No secrets. No API keys, tokens, or env vars embedded anywhere. If the idea requires auth, redesign around a public endpoint or drop the idea.
   • Include a README.md in .pending-deploy/files/ with: what it is (1 line), how to run locally (1 line), signal source (1 line link to the article/log/topic from step 2).

   For API endpoints: place handlers in api/ (e.g. api/index.js exporting export default function handler(req, res) { ... }). For Next.js: keep it one page — package.json + pages/index.js. Only if the idea genuinely needs SSR.

5. Write deploy metadata. Create .pending-deploy/meta.json:

   {
     "name": "aeon-prototype-<slug-from-step-3>",
     "description": "One-sentence description, matches the OG description on the page",
     "framework": null,
     "tagline": "≤90 chars — matches <title> on the page",
     "signal_source": "path or URL of the article/log/topic that triggered this prototype",
     "primary_action": "what the visitor does in the first 10 seconds"
   }
   

   • framework: null for static; "nextjs", "svelte", etc. when used.
   • The extra fields (tagline, signal_source, primary_action) are for the prototype record and downstream dashboards; the deploy step may ignore them.

6. Build the Vercel deploy payload. Write .pending-deploy/payload.json:

   {
     "name": "aeon-prototype-<slug>",
     "files": [
       { "file": "index.html", "data": "<!DOCTYPE html>...", "encoding": "utf-8" }
     ],
     "projectSettings": {
       "framework": null,
       "buildCommand": null,
       "outputDirectory": null
     },
     "target": "production"
   }
   

   Use "encoding": "base64" for any binary file.

   Pre-flight checks (run before writing the notify):

   • File count ≤ 20. Reject if above.
   • Total payload JSON ≤ 4MB. Reject if above (Vercel inline deploy practical limit).
   • Slug matches ^aeon-prototype-[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]{2,49}$.
   • Grep every file for: VERCEL_TOKEN, GH_GLOBAL, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, sk-ant-, sk-, ghp_, xoxb-, xai-. Any hit → abort and rewrite the offending file without the value.
   • Grep every file for literal TODO, FIXME, lorem ipsum, placeholder. Any hit → fix in place before proceeding.
   • If VERCEL_TOKEN is unset, the build still completes but the live deploy in step 8 is skipped (you'll exit DEPLOY_PROTOTYPE_NO_TOKEN there) — the pre-flight itself doesn't fail on a missing token.

7. Save the prototype record. Write to output/articles/prototype-${today}.md. If a file with that name already exists (second run in the same day), append -02, -03, etc.

   # Prototype: <Name>
   
   **Built:** ${today}
   **Tagline:** <tagline from meta.json>
   **Status:** Pending deploy
   **Live URL:** _(filled in-run in step 8 once the Vercel deploy returns its URL)_
   
   ## Signal
   What triggered this: one paragraph. Link the source article/log/topic (`signal_source` from meta.json).
   
   ## What it does
   One paragraph, plain language. Include the primary action a visitor takes.
   
   ## How it works
   Brief technical notes — stack, data source, anything non-obvious. No code dumps.
   
   ## Files
   - `index.html` — brief description
   - …
   
   ## Extend
   Three bullets on what would make this a real product (not placeholder — concrete next steps).
   

   Append a one-line row to memory/topics/prototypes.md (create the file with a header row if missing):

   | date | slug | tagline | signal_source | live_url |
   |------|------|---------|---------------|----------|
   | 2026-04-20 | aeon-prototype-foo | ... | output/articles/... | _pending_ |
   

8. Deploy live (in-run). The deploy is the skill's irreversible action, so it runs in-run as the final step — behind the step-6 pre-flight — not deferred to any post-run script.

   If VERCEL_TOKEN is unset → skip the deploy, leave .pending-deploy/ in place, and exit DEPLOY_PROTOTYPE_NO_TOKEN (step 10). The build still succeeded; the operator just needs to add the token and re-run.

   Otherwise POST the inline deployment built in step 6. Write the key as the literal {VERCEL_TOKEN} placeholder so ./secretcurl substitutes it internally — a bare $VERCEL_TOKEN on the command line is refused by the Bash permission layer, and plain curl must not carry the token:

   HTTP=$(./secretcurl -sS -o .pending-deploy/deploy-resp.json -w '%{http_code}' \
     -X POST "https://api.vercel.com/v13/deployments" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer {VERCEL_TOKEN}" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     --data @.pending-deploy/payload.json)
   echo "http=$HTTP"
   

   • http 200/201: read the deployment host from the response (.url in deploy-resp.json) and form the live URL https://<url>. Backfill it into the step-7 record (**Status:** Live, **Live URL:** https://…) and the memory/topics/prototypes.md row (replace _pending_). Exit DEPLOY_PROTOTYPE_OK (step 10).
   • Any non-2xx / --max-time timeout / 200 with empty body: print the real reason (http=<code> / timeout / empty), keep .pending-deploy/ for a retry, and exit DEPLOY_PROTOTYPE_DEPLOY_FAILED (step 10). Never mark the record Live on a failed deploy.

   Optional source mirror (best-effort, non-fatal). If GH_GLOBAL is set, also publish the source to GitHub. gh already authenticates as GH_GLOBAL in-run (it's the ambient GH_TOKEN), so no secret goes on the command line:

   if [ -n "${GH_GLOBAL:-}" ]; then
     ( cd .pending-deploy/files && git init -q && git add -A \
       && git -c user.name=aeon -c user.email=[e-mail] commit -qm "prototype: <slug>" \
       && gh repo create "<slug>" --public --source=. --push ) \
       || echo "::notice::source mirror skipped (non-fatal)"
   fi
   

   A mirror failure never fails the run — the live Vercel URL is the deliverable.

9. Notify. Send via ./notify (one of these, depending on outcome):

   • Deployed: shipped: <slug> — <tagline>. live: <url>
   • Built, token missing: built: <slug> — <tagline>. ⚠ VERCEL_TOKEN unset — not deployed. add it and re-run.
   • Deploy failed: built: <slug> — <tagline>. ✗ vercel deploy failed (<reason>) — .pending-deploy kept for retry.
   • No signal worth shipping: handled in step 10.

10. Exit modes. End the run with one of these, logged in memory/logs/${today}.md under ### deploy-prototype:

    • DEPLOY_PROTOTYPE_OK — prototype built, validated, and deployed live.
    • DEPLOY_PROTOTYPE_NO_TOKEN — built and valid, but VERCEL_TOKEN unset; deploy skipped, operator action needed.
    • DEPLOY_PROTOTYPE_DEPLOY_FAILED — built and valid, but the Vercel API call failed; .pending-deploy/ kept for retry.
    • DEPLOY_PROTOTYPE_EMPTY — no candidate cleared the quality threshold in step 2. Log the top candidate and its score so the next run can reconsider. ./notify "deploy-prototype: no candidate cleared threshold today — top was <slug> (<score>/15)".
    • DEPLOY_PROTOTYPE_VALIDATION_FAILED — a pre-flight check in step 6 failed and couldn't be fixed automatically. Leave .pending-deploy/ in place, log the failure reason, notify the operator.

11. Log. Append to memory/logs/${today}.md:

    ### deploy-prototype
    - Exit: DEPLOY_PROTOTYPE_<MODE>
    - Slug: aeon-prototype-<slug> (or — if empty)
    - Live URL: <url or —>
    - Signal: <signal_source>
    - Notes: <anything the next run should know>
    

Environment Variables

• VERCEL_TOKEN — the live Vercel deploy in step 8. Used in-run via ./secretcurl (the {VERCEL_TOKEN} placeholder). Without it, the build succeeds but the deploy is skipped (DEPLOY_PROTOTYPE_NO_TOKEN).
• GH_GLOBAL — the optional GitHub source mirror in step 8. Used ambiently by gh (it's the run's GH_TOKEN); a missing token just skips the mirror.

Both are declared optional (?) so the skill degrades gracefully: no VERCEL_TOKEN → build-only; no GH_GLOBAL → deploy without the source mirror. Never read the token values directly and never embed them in any deployed file (step 6 greps for them).

Guidelines

• A prototype is not a PoC. It's a page someone with zero context can load, understand in 10 seconds, and get value from. Hold that bar.
• Single index.html is almost always the right answer. Resist the urge to add tooling.
• Max ~5 files (enforced at 20 in pre-flight).
• Descriptive slugs. aeon-prototype-market-heatmap, not aeon-prototype-1.
• Never hardcode secrets. If a public-auth endpoint isn't enough for the idea, drop the idea.
• The Vercel deploy (and the optional GitHub source mirror) happen in-run in step 8 via ./secretcurl / gh — an irreversible side-effect run as the skill's final, fail-closed action. Build the files, metadata, and payload correctly in steps 4–6 so that final call goes clean.

Network note

Steps 1–7 are local — file writes and notify only. Step 8's deploy is the one outbound side-effect and it runs in-run: the Vercel deployment via ./secretcurl with the {VERCEL_TOKEN} placeholder (a bare $VERCEL_TOKEN on the command line is refused by the Bash permission layer, so never use plain curl for it), and the optional GitHub mirror via gh (authenticated ambiently as GH_GLOBAL). There is no deferred/postprocess step — the deploy is the skill's final, fail-closed action: on any non-2xx it exits DEPLOY_PROTOTYPE_DEPLOY_FAILED and keeps .pending-deploy/ for a retry.