Assemble the complete replication/evidence package after a successful review. This skill requires an APPROVE verdict from /research-harness-review before it will package any output.
A single human confirmation gate precedes all packaging operations.
This skill runs after /research-harness-review (verdict: APPROVE).
Quick Reference
Input
Action
/research-harness-release
Full replication package assembly
/research-harness-release --dry-run
List what would be included; do not copy or create the package
/research-harness-release --no-data
Package without processed data (for confidential data projects)
Pre-flight Checks
Read reports/review_report.md. If it does not exist, stop.
Check the verdict in reports/review_report.md. If it is not APPROVE, stop and tell the user: the review must pass before release can proceed.
Read study_spec.md and analysis_plan.md. If either does not exist, stop.
Confirm that all tasks marked cc:done in analysis_plan.md have a corresponding evidence row (script + log + output).
If the review verdict is REQUEST_CHANGES or BLOCK: do not proceed. Tell the user to resolve review findings first.
Procedure
Step 1 — Inventory all artifacts
Collect paths for every artifact that will go into the replication package:
Source-of-truth files:
study_spec.md
analysis_plan.md
Reports:
reports/data_audit_report.md
reports/data_cleaning_plan.md (if exists)
reports/data_cleaning_report.md
reports/merge_report.md (if merges occurred)
reports/review_report.md
Scripts: all scripts referenced in Evidence Ledger
analysis_plan.md
Logs: all logs referenced in analysis_plan.md Evidence Ledger
Outputs: all tables and figures referenced in analysis_plan.md Evidence Ledger
Cleaned data:data/processed/ files referenced in the cleaning report (skip if --no-data)
Templates used: list only (do not copy templates themselves)
For each artifact, record whether the file exists on disk. Flag missing files as gaps.
Step 2 — Human confirmation gate
Print the full artifact inventory:
Research Harness Release — Confirmation Required
Review verdict: APPROVE
Review report: reports/review_report.md
Artifacts to include:
Source-of-truth:
[x] study_spec.md
[x] analysis_plan.md
Reports:
[x] reports/data_audit_report.md
[x] reports/data_cleaning_report.md
[x] reports/merge_report.md
[x] reports/review_report.md
Scripts (N files):
[x] scripts/clean.R
[x] analysis/main/scripts/main_regression.R
...
Logs (N files):
[x] logs/clean_YYYYMMDD.log
[x] analysis/main/logs/main_regression.log
...
Outputs (N files):
[x] output/tables/table1.csv
[x] output/tables/table2.csv
[x] output/figures/figure1.pdf
...
Cleaned data:
[x] data/processed/analysis_ready.csv [included / excluded with --no-data]
Gaps (files listed in analysis_plan.md but not found on disk):
[list or "none"]
Data access note:
[If --no-data: "Processed data excluded. Add access instructions to reproducibility_report.md."]
[If data included: "Processed data included. Confirm you have permission to share this data."]
Proceed with release? (yes / no)
Wait for user confirmation. Do not proceed without it.
If the user says no: stop. Print: "Release cancelled. No files were packaged."
Step 3 — Write reproducibility_report.md
Copy templates/reproducibility_report.md to reports/reproducibility_report.md.
Fill in all sections:
§1 Software environment: read from script headers (language and package versions mentioned in comments or sessionInfo() / pip freeze output in logs if present; otherwise write unknown)
§2 Scripts: list all scripts from the Evidence Ledger in execution order. Record file name and last-modified timestamp (SHA if git is available).
§3 Data files: list raw data files (with access instructions) and processed data files (with paths). If --no-data, note that processed data is not included and explain how to obtain raw data.
§4 Logs: list all logs from the Evidence Ledger with date run and exit code (read from log header).
§5 Output files: list all tables and figures from the Evidence Ledger.
§6 Verified claims: for each key numerical claim verified during review (from reports/review_report.md §3), list the claim, the reported value, and the log file where it appears.
§7 Unverified items: list any items from reports/review_report.md that were flagged as unverified or advisory, with risk level.
§8 How to reproduce: write step-by-step instructions. Steps must be specific (e.g., "Run Rscript scripts/clean.R from the project root") not generic.
§9 Remaining limitations: copy from reports/review_report.md minor findings and from study_spec.md §7 open questions.
§10 Checklist: fill in each item as checked or explain why it is not applicable.
Step 4 — Create the release folder
Create release/ at the project root (or the user-specified path).
Copy all artifacts from Step 1 into release/ preserving the folder structure:
Do not include raw data under data/raw/ unless the user explicitly instructs it (and it is not confidential).
Step 5 — Final verification
After copying:
Confirm every file in the inventory exists in release/
Re-read the reproducibility report checklist — confirm all items are checked
Count: total files in package, total verified claims, total unverified items
Step 6 — Print release summary
Research Harness Release — Complete
Package location: release/
Total files: N
Verified claims: N
Unverified items: N (see reports/reproducibility_report.md §7)
⚠ Before sharing this package:
- Confirm you have permission to share any data files included
- Confirm data/raw/ contents are not in release/ (unless intended)
- Test reproduction instructions on a clean environment if possible
Reproducibility report: release/reports/reproducibility_report.md
Forbidden Actions
Do not proceed if the review verdict is not APPROVE
Do not proceed without human confirmation (Step 2)
Do not include files from data/raw/ unless the user explicitly approves
Do not claim full reproducibility if data access restrictions prevent it — document them in §3 and §8
Do not omit known limitations from the reproducibility report
Do not fabricate software version numbers or timestamps not present in logs
Evidence Requirements
reports/review_report.md with verdict APPROVE
reports/reproducibility_report.md with all sections filled in
release/ folder exists and contains all inventoried artifacts
Release summary printed
Completion Criteria
Review verdict confirmed as APPROVE
Human confirmation received
Artifact inventory complete with no unexpected gaps
reports/reproducibility_report.md written with all sections
release/ folder created and populated
Reproducibility report checklist fully checked
Release summary printed with file count and verified claims
Post-Release
The release package is complete. Remaining researcher responsibilities (outside harness scope):
Submit the package to a data repository (e.g., Harvard Dataverse, ICPSR, OSF)
Add a README to the repository explaining how to obtain restricted data (if applicable)
Archive the release/ folder alongside the paper submission
