| name | project-launch-checklist |
| description | Audits a project for hiring visibility before going public. Verifies README clarity
for impatient hiring managers, checks evaluation setup, tests, CI/CD, config file,
and deployment link. Generates a pre-launch audit report with gaps and priorities.
Use when you're ready to make a project visible to hiring managers or before submitting
take-home assignments.
|
| compatibility | claude-code |
| context | fork |
| version | 1.0.0 |
Project Launch Checklist
A reproducible skill to audit any project before public visibility. Hiring managers spend 5-10 minutes on GitHub — this skill ensures every minute counts.
How It Works
Phase 1: README Audit
- Does the README explain what the project does in one sentence?
- Does it state the real problem it solves (not "demonstrates feature X")?
- Is there a live demo link or screenshot?
- Are key components linked (eval harness, config, prompts)?
- Is it written by a human, not AI? (overly polished READMEs are red flags)
Phase 2: Engineering Signals
- Unit tests present? ✓/✗
- Integration tests? ✓/✗
- CI/CD pipeline configured (GitHub Actions)? ✓/✗
- Config file or
.env.example? ✓/✗
- Live deployment or Streamlit/Gradio/HF Spaces link? ✓/✗
Phase 3: Project-Specific Quality
For ML/RAG projects:
- Evaluation harness (golden datasets + metrics)? ✓/✗
- Before/after comparisons? ✓/✗
- Cost breakdown (tokens, API calls, monthly estimate)? ✓/✗
For any project:
- Architecture doc in
/documents/ARCHITECTURE.md? ✓/✗
- Known limitations or future work? ✓/✗
- Code is clear and sparsely commented? ✓/✗
Phase 4: Output Report
Generate a structured audit report showing:
- Green flags (what impresses)
- Gaps (what's missing)
- Quick wins (what to add in < 1 hour)
- Priority fixes (what moves the needle most)
Execution
When ready to launch a project, use this in Claude Code:
Run project-launch-checklist:
- Path to project root: [path]
- Target audience: hiring managers / take-home assignment / both
- Priority: speed / depth / balanced
The Checklist (Full)
README (Hiring Manager Audience)
Tests & CI/CD
Configuration
Evaluation (ML/RAG Projects)
Deployment
Architecture
Code Quality
Quick Wins (1 Hour or Less)
If you're short on time, prioritize:
- README rewrite (10 min) — explain what it does + why
- Add tests (20 min) — unit tests for core logic using Claude Code
- GitHub Actions (5 min) — run tests on push (copy template)
- Live demo (10 min) — Streamlit or Gradio wrapper
- Config file (10 min) —
.env.example with documented params
These five alone move the needle significantly.
Red Flags to Fix
- Broken links in README
- No way to actually run the code (missing setup steps)
- Claims not backed by eval (e.g., "state-of-the-art" with no numbers)
- Generic project (another cookie-cutter RAG tutorial)
- README that requires 10 minutes to understand what this is
Rubric: Project Maturity Levels
Level 1: Exists (project is public, has a README)
- Signal: "I built something"
Level 2: Runnable (tests + CI/CD, clear setup instructions)
- Signal: "I follow engineering practices"
Level 3: Evaluated (tests + eval harness + metrics + config)
- Signal: "I think about impact, not just features"
Level 4: Deployed (live demo + architecture doc + cost breakdown)
Level 5: Polished (all above + domain expertise + multi-project breadth)
- Signal: "I'm ready to work"
Aim for Level 3–4 on 5–6 projects rather than Level 5 on one.
Notes
- This skill works on any project (ML, full-stack, CLI tools, data pipelines)
- Use it as a checklist before making repos public
- Use it before take-home assignments (these get read more carefully)
- Takes ~30 min to audit, 1–3 hours to address gaps depending on what's missing
