| name | ijfw-ship |
| description | Use when the user says 'ship it', 'ship this', 'release', 'publish', 'launch', 'deploy', 'go live', 'wrap this up', 'time to ship', or invokes '/ijfw-ship'. Domain-aware release — software (test → tag → push → publish), book (final edit → format → KDP / agent / Substack), campaign (review → schedule → launch → first-24h monitor), landing page (deploy → analytics → mobile + a11y re-check), design system (publish → announce → adoption). Reads the issue ledger, runs the SHIP gate, requires the user's push-word for irreversible ops. |
| since | 1.5.0 |
| allowed-tools | Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob, AskUserQuestion, Agent |
IJFW Ship — domain-aware release closer
You are the orchestrator-facing trigger that closes a slice and pushes it
into the world. Same closing arc across domains: pre-flight → execute the
release → confirm in the wild → update memory. The verb "ship" differs by
domain; the discipline doesn't.
This skill is the body for the /ijfw-ship slash command. Both paths land
here.
When to fire
- User explicitly asks: "ship it", "release", "publish", "launch", "deploy",
"go live", "wrap this up", "time to ship".
/ijfw-ship slash command is invoked.- ijfw-workflow Deep path enters the Ship gate after Verify.
Domain detection
Detect from project layout + brief language:
| Domain | Signals | Ship verb |
|---|
| software | package.json / pyproject.toml / Cargo.toml | tag + publish |
| book / chapter | manuscript/, chapters/, agent / KDP / Substack ref | format + submit |
| campaign | campaign/, calendar.md, channel language | schedule + send |
| landing page | next.config.*, astro.config.*, deploy host configs | deploy + verify |
| design system | tokens/, components/, registry / npm package | publish + announce |
If the domain is ambiguous, ask one AskUserQuestion: What are we shipping?
with the five options above. Never guess.
Pre-ship checklist (domain-aware)
Software
- CHANGELOG.md updated with what's in this release.
- Test suite green (
npm test / pytest / cargo test) — fresh run, this
session, raw output.
- Version bumped in
package.json / equivalent.
- Tag drafted (
v<MAJOR>.<MINOR>.<PATCH>); push deferred until push-word.
- Rollback plan documented (
npm deprecate / cargo yank / revert + retag).
Book / chapter
- Manuscript final edit pass done.
- Format pass complete (epub / pdf / docx, depending on channel).
- Front-matter (title page, copyright, dedication, ISBN if owned) present.
- Cover + back-cover copy finalised.
- Target channel decided: Amazon KDP, agent submission, Substack, direct.
- Rollback plan = unpublish window noted (KDP allows ~72h unpublish; agent
withdrawal letter ready if submitted).
Campaign / launch
- All assets reviewed against brand voice + legal compliance.
- Send schedule locked (calendar + timezone).
- Tracking confirmed (UTMs in place; analytics pixel firing; conversion
goal mapped).
- First-24h monitoring plan + owner identified.
- Rollback plan = kill switch (pause sends; revert nav links; statement
ready).
Landing page
- Production deploy command identified (
vercel --prod, netlify deploy --prod, etc).
- Analytics live and verified (real pageview registered in dashboard).
- Mobile re-check: iPhone + Android viewport screenshot.
- Accessibility re-check: keyboard navigation, screen-reader labels, color
contrast.
- Rollback plan = previous deployment URL pinned for instant promote-back.
Design system
- Package version bumped + CHANGELOG entry written.
- Visual regression suite green (Chromatic / Loki / Percy).
- Migration guide drafted for consumers if breaking change.
- Announcement copy drafted (Slack / Discord / mailing list).
- Rollback plan =
npm deprecate <pkg>@<version> script ready.
Donahoe principles enforced at ship
- P15: Updates invisible to users — no action required from them.
- P20: Works on all target platforms.
- P21: Pricing respects the user (no surprise costs introduced).
Ledger gate (BLOCKS ship)
Before the SHIP gate proper, read .ijfw/state/execute-issues.json:
read_issues() {
local f=".ijfw/state/execute-issues.json"
[ -f "$f" ] || { printf '{"issues":[]}'; return; }
cat "$f"
}
If any entry has status: unresolved (any kind), ship is refused:
ISSUE: ship-blocked-by-unresolved-issues
count: <N>
ids: [iss_001, iss_002]
action: resolve all issues before shipping
Missing file = zero issues (day-1 fresh-install protection).
SHIP gate — brief reconciliation
Before any push / send / publish, re-read .ijfw/memory/brief.md and confirm
what was built matches what was asked. If gaps remain, ship is held until
they close.
Cross-audit gate (Trident, optional but recommended)
Before irreversible release ops, recommend invoking ijfw-cross-audit as a
second-opinion gate on the release diff / final draft / campaign brief.
Consensus findings BLOCK ship; contested findings surface to the user for an
explicit go / no-go.
Confidence declaration (required before push / publish)
Every ship-readiness claim is tagged VERIFIED / LIKELY / GUESSING / ISSUE.
Ship proceeds only when every blocking claim is VERIFIED (live-run command
with raw output) or LIKELY with explicit user acknowledgement. GUESSING or
ISSUE halts the ship.
Publish operations (git push, git tag v*, npm publish, KDP submit,
campaign send, vercel --prod) require the user's explicit push-word —
"push it" / "ship it" / "send it" / "go live" — no substitute authorization
accepted. See feedback_push_back_on_irreversible.md.
Release-mechanics offload (software domain)
For software releases, dispatch ijfw-release-eng so version-bump / tag /
push / publish-watch / smoke-rollback don't fragment orchestrator context:
Task: ijfw-release-eng
Args:
target_version: <semver>
publish_target: npm | container | github-release
Watch the agent's exit; if smoke fails post-publish, follow its rollback
recipe.
Post-ship close-out
After the release lands successfully:
- Update
.ijfw/memory/ with the ship summary (what shipped, what's next).
- Write
.planning/<milestone>/SHIPPED.md if a milestone is active.
- If software: confirm tag visible on remote (
git ls-remote --tags).
- If book: confirm channel listing live (KDP dashboard / agent receipt).
- If campaign: confirm first sends went out; monitoring dashboard pinned.
- If landing page: confirm production URL serves the new build.
- If design system: confirm package version resolves on the public registry.
Output contract
Emit a gate-result block as the LAST content of your output. Use
gate="ship". Statuses: PASS | CONDITIONAL | WARN | FLAG | FAIL.
Format follows the v1.5.0 gate-result schema (see ijfw-plan-check for the
canonical example).
Anti-patterns (do not do)
- Do NOT push / publish without the user's explicit push-word.
- Do NOT skip the ledger gate — unresolved issues block ship for a reason.
- Do NOT claim "shipped" without VERIFIED confirmation the release is live.
- Do NOT bypass the brief reconciliation just because the plan said "done".
- Do NOT mix domains' checklists — use the one that matches the project.
Success criteria for this skill
- Pre-ship checklist for the detected domain is complete.
- Ledger gate passed (no unresolved issues).
- SHIP gate passed (brief reconciled).
- User issued an explicit push-word before any irreversible op.
- Release landed and was VERIFIED in the wild.
- Memory + milestone docs updated.
gate-result block emitted last.
