release-checklist

name	release-checklist
description	Generates a comprehensive pre-release validation checklist for software versions covering build verification, deployment readiness, and release risk. Use when preparing to release a product version or when the user mentions release checklist or pre-release validation.
argument-hint	[surface: web|api|desktop|mobile|all]
user-invocable	true
allowed-tools	Read, Glob, Grep, Write
effort	3
when_to_use	Use before releasing a software version to validate build completeness, deployment readiness, and launch risk across target surfaces.

When this skill is invoked:

Explicit invocation only: This skill should only run when the user explicitly requests it with /release-checklist. Do not auto-invoke based on context matching.

1. Read the argument for the target surface (web, api, desktop, mobile, or all). If no surface is specified, default to all.

2. Read CLAUDE.md for project context, version information, and release surfaces.

3. Read the current milestone from production/milestones/ to understand what features and behaviors should be included in this release.

4. Scan the codebase for outstanding issues:

   • Count TODO comments
   • Count FIXME comments
   • Count HACK comments
   • Note their locations and severity

5. Check for test results in any test output directories, CI logs, or release validation notes if available.

6. Generate the release checklist:

## Release Checklist: [Version] -- [Surface]
Generated: [Date]

### Codebase Health
- TODO count: [N] ([list top 5 if many])
- FIXME count: [N] ([list all -- these are potential blockers])
- HACK count: [N] ([list all -- these need review])

### Build Verification
- [ ] Clean build succeeds for all target surfaces
- [ ] No release-blocking compiler or linter errors
- [ ] Build version number correctly set ([version])
- [ ] Release artifact is reproducible from tagged commit
- [ ] Configuration files and feature flags match release intent
- [ ] Schema migrations tested with rollback or recovery plan
- [ ] Packaging, signing, or publish steps validated where applicable

### Quality Gates
- [ ] Zero Sev1 (Critical) bugs
- [ ] Zero Sev2 (High/Major) bugs, or documented exceptions with owner approval
- [ ] All critical-path features tested and signed off by QA
- [ ] No regression from previous release
- [ ] Performance within budgets:
  - [ ] Response time or startup time within target
  - [ ] Memory usage within budget
  - [ ] Load time or background job latency within budget
  - [ ] No sustained error-rate increase during release candidate soak
- [ ] Monitoring and alerting verified for release-critical paths

### Product Complete
- [ ] All placeholder content replaced or removed
- [ ] All TODO/FIXME in user-facing flows resolved or documented
- [ ] All user-facing text proofread
- [ ] All text localization-ready (no hardcoded strings)
- [ ] Analytics / telemetry events verified
- [ ] Support and admin workflows tested
- [ ] Known limitations documented for support and customers

7. Add surface-specific sections based on the argument:

For web:

### Surface Requirements: Web
- [ ] Core journeys tested on supported browsers
- [ ] Responsive layouts verified across target breakpoints
- [ ] Authentication, session expiry, and logout flows verified
- [ ] CDN, cache invalidation, and static asset delivery validated
- [ ] CSP, cookie consent, and security headers reviewed
- [ ] SEO metadata and robots/indexing settings reviewed if public-facing

For api:

### Surface Requirements: API
- [ ] OpenAPI / schema docs updated
- [ ] Backward compatibility or versioning impact assessed
- [ ] Auth, rate limiting, and idempotency tested
- [ ] Webhooks, retries, and signature verification tested if applicable
- [ ] Consumer-facing breaking changes communicated
- [ ] Database migrations validated against representative data

For desktop:

### Surface Requirements: Desktop
- [ ] Installer/package generated and verified
- [ ] Code signing and notarization complete if required
- [ ] Auto-update flow tested
- [ ] Clean install, upgrade, and uninstall scenarios verified
- [ ] File-system permissions and data directory behavior verified
- [ ] Crash recovery and relaunch behavior tested

For mobile:

### Surface Requirements: Mobile
- [ ] App store guidelines compliance verified
- [ ] All required device permissions justified and documented
- [ ] Privacy policy linked and accurate
- [ ] Background, resume, and offline behavior verified
- [ ] Push notification and deep link flows tested if applicable
- [ ] In-app purchase / subscription flows tested if applicable
- [ ] Crash-free launch tested on supported OS/device matrix

8. Add release distribution and launch sections:

### Distribution / Release Assets
- [ ] Changelog complete and proofread
- [ ] Release notes complete and audience-appropriate
- [ ] Customer support FAQ updated
- [ ] Public status page, docs, or announcement content prepared
- [ ] App store or download-page metadata current, if applicable
- [ ] Legal notices, privacy policy, and third-party attributions in place

### Launch Readiness
- [ ] Analytics / telemetry verified and receiving data
- [ ] Crash reporting configured and dashboard accessible
- [ ] Deployment window approved
- [ ] Rollback plan documented and tested
- [ ] On-call team schedule set for release window
- [ ] Support team briefed on known issues and escalation path
- [ ] Incident communication template prepared

### Go / No-Go: [READY / NOT READY]

**Rationale:**
[Summary of readiness assessment. List any blocking items that must be
resolved before release. If NOT READY, list the specific items that need
resolution and estimated time to address them.]

**Sign-offs Required:**
- [ ] QA Lead
- [ ] Engineering Lead
- [ ] Product Owner
- [ ] Release Manager
- [ ] Security / Compliance Owner (if applicable)

9. Save the checklist to production/releases/release-checklist-[version].md, creating the directory if it does not exist.

10. Output a summary to the user with: total checklist items, number of known blockers (FIXME/HACK counts, known bugs), and the file path.

Protocol

• Question: Reads surface argument (web / api / desktop / mobile / all); defaults to all
• Options: Skip
• Decision: Skip - checklist is generated; Go/No-Go is advisory
• Draft: Summary shown before writing
• Approval: "May I write to production/releases/release-checklist-[version].md?"

Output

Deliver exactly:

• Checklist file saved to production/releases/release-checklist-[version].md
• Summary: total items / blockers count (FIXME/HACK/known bugs) / sign-offs pending
• Verdict: READY TO RELEASE / CONDITIONAL / BLOCKED - DO NOT RELEASE