tp-design-release

name	tp-design-release
description	Release your lock on a design without completing it. Use when you're stepping away and want a teammate to pick it up cleanly, without them having to --force-takeover.
argument-hint	{design-name} [-m "{reason}"] [--force]

Design Release

Release your ownership of a design so another developer can claim it without --force-takeover. This is the graceful handoff path — unlike /tp-design-complete, the design is not finished; you're just stepping away.

Arguments:

• {design-name} (required) — must match an existing directory under three-pillars-docs/tp-designs/.
• -m "{reason}" (optional) — short note stored with the released lock record, visible to the next owner (e.g., "needs help with API design", "on vacation").
• --force (optional) — release someone else's lock. Requires a confirmation. Use when a teammate clearly abandoned the design and you want to clear it without claiming it yourself.

Prerequisites

• three-pillars-docs/tp-designs/{design-name}/lock.json must exist. If not, tell the user there's nothing to release and stop.

Steps

0. Run first-run preflight per skills/_shared/first-run.md.

1. Validate {design-name} per skills/_shared/validate-name.md.

2. Read lock.json from the design directory.

3. Ownership check:

   • If lock.json.owner is already null (already released): tell the user the lock is already released and show the last previous_owners[] entry. Stop.
   • If lock.json.owner matches git config user.email (you own it): proceed.
   • If lock.json.owner differs and --force was not passed: refuse.

     This lock is held by {owner} on {branch}. You can't release someone else's lock without --force. If you want to claim it for yourself, use --force-takeover on the relevant lock-enforcing skill instead. Stop.

   • If lock.json.owner differs and --force was passed: ask for explicit confirmation, show the current holder and last_touched age, and only proceed on affirmative.

4. Release procedure:

   • Append the current lock state to previous_owners[] as a new entry:

     {
       "owner": "<current lock owner>",
       "branch": "<current lock branch>",
       "acquired_at": "<current lock acquired_at>",
       "released_at": "<now ISO 8601 UTC>",
       "released_by": "<git config user.email>",
       "reason": "<from -m flag, or null>"
     }
     

   • Clear top-level fields: set owner, branch, and phase to null. Set acquired_at to null. Set last_touched to now.

5. Write lock.json back to disk.

6. Commit the release per skills/_shared/commit-after-work.md. The lock change IS the substantial work here, so it goes in its own commit. Artifact paths to stage:

   • three-pillars-docs/tp-designs/{design-name}/lock.json Commit message: Release: {design-name} (or Release: {design-name} (force) if --force was used). Visibility to teammates depends on this commit landing on the shared branch — after the commit, remind the user to push.

7. Report to the user:

   Released the lock on {design-name}. Anyone can now claim it by running the next lock-enforcing skill — no --force-takeover required. Prior holder recorded in previous_owners[].

8. Suggest next step: remind the user the design artifacts (design.md, plan.md, etc.) remain on the branch, and that pushing the release commit is what makes the released state visible to teammates.

Rules

• Validate {design-name} per skills/_shared/validate-name.md.
• Respect the lock per skills/_shared/collaboration.md — you can only release your own lock unless --force is passed with explicit confirmation.
• Do NOT delete the design directory or any artifacts. This skill only modifies lock.json. To archive a finished design, use /tp-design-complete.
• Commit scope is only lock.json. If the working tree has other changes on the design's paths, stop and ask the user to handle them separately — a release commit should say nothing about design content.
• --force is a power user option; never use it autonomously (e.g., inside --auto modes).
• A released lock leaves previous_owners[] as the audit trail. Do not truncate that array.