public-release

name	public-release
description	Comprehensive pre-release audit for making a GitHub repository public
argument-hint	["specific concerns"]

ultrathink: Perform an exhaustive pre-release security and quality audit of this repository before making it public on GitHub. This is a critical review that protects the developer's reputation and prevents security incidents.

Additional Context

$ARGUMENTS

Project Context

• Current directory: !pwd
• Git branch: !git branch --show-current 2>/dev/null || echo "not a git repo"
• Git remote: !git remote get-url origin 2>/dev/null || echo "no remote"
• Repository size: !git rev-list --count HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown" commits
• Top-level files: !ls -la 2>/dev/null | head -30
• Package manager: ![[ -f package.json ]] && echo "npm/node" || ([[ -f Cargo.toml ]] && echo "cargo/rust" || ([[ -f go.mod ]] && echo "go" || ([[ -f pyproject.toml || -f requirements.txt ]] && echo "python" || echo "unknown")))

Instructions

You MUST follow ALL phases completely. This audit protects the developer's professional reputation and prevents security incidents. Do not rush.

---

Phase 1: Multi-Agent Deep Exploration

Launch 10 Explore agents in parallel to gather comprehensive information:

---

Agent 1: Security Scan - Secrets & Credentials

Search EXHAUSTIVELY for:

API Keys & Tokens:

• Generic patterns: sk-, pk_, api_key, apikey, secret, token, password, credential, auth
• AWS: AKIA, aws_access_key, aws_secret, AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID
• GCP: AIza, service account JSON files
• Azure: AccountKey=, connection strings
• Stripe: sk_live_, pk_live_, rk_live_
• GitHub: ghp_, gho_, ghu_, ghs_, ghr_
• Slack: xoxb-, xoxp-, xoxa-, xoxr-
• OpenAI: sk-, API key patterns
• Anthropic: sk-ant-
• Twilio: SK, AC prefixes with account SIDs
• SendGrid: SG.
• Mailchimp: API key patterns
• Datadog: DD_API_KEY

Private Keys & Certificates:

• RSA/SSH/PGP: -----BEGIN patterns
• .pem, .key, .p12, .pfx files
• SSH keys: id_rsa, id_ed25519, id_ecdsa

Connection Strings:

• Database: mongodb://, postgres://, mysql://, redis://, amqp://
• With embedded credentials in URLs

Other Secrets:

• JWT tokens: eyJ patterns (especially in code, not legitimate auth flows)
• OAuth client secrets
• Webhook URLs with embedded tokens
• .env files that shouldn't be committed
• .npmrc, .pypirc with auth tokens
• config.json, settings.json with credentials

---

Agent 2: Git History Audit

Search the ENTIRE git history for:

Secrets in History:

git log -p -S "password" --all
git log -p -S "api_key" --all
git log -p -S "secret" --all
git log -p -S "token" --all
git log -p -S "AKIA" --all
git log -p -S "sk-" --all

Sensitive Files Ever Committed:

git log --all --full-history -- "*.env"
git log --all --full-history -- "*credentials*"
git log --all --full-history -- "*secret*"
git log --all --full-history -- "*.pem"
git log --all --full-history -- "*.key"

Large Files in History:

git rev-list --objects --all | git cat-file --batch-check='%(objecttype) %(objectname) %(objectsize) %(rest)' | sort -k3 -n -r | head -20

Author Information:

• Check git log --format='%an <%ae>' for private email exposure
• Look for commits with personal vs work email inconsistency

Commit Messages:

• Embarrassing or unprofessional messages
• Messages containing sensitive info (ticket numbers with internal URLs, etc.)
• Profanity or inappropriate content

Problematic History:

• Force-pushed commits that might have hidden issues
• Merge commits from private/internal branches

---

Agent 3: PII & Privacy Scan

Search for Personal Identifiable Information:

Direct PII:

• Email addresses (especially personal @gmail, @hotmail, etc.)
• Phone numbers (various formats)
• Physical addresses
• Social Security Numbers, National ID numbers
• Credit card numbers (even test ones that look real)
• Names in comments, test data, or fixtures

Indirect PII:

• IP addresses (especially internal/private ranges: 10.x, 192.168.x, 172.16-31.x)
• MAC addresses
• User IDs, account numbers
• Device identifiers
• GPS coordinates

Data Files:

• Database dumps or fixtures with real user data
• Log files with user information
• CSV/JSON exports with PII
• Test data that uses real information
• Screenshots containing user data

---

Agent 4: Code Quality & Senior-Level Review

Evaluate code for professional standards:

Security Vulnerabilities:

• XSS (Cross-Site Scripting)
• SQL Injection
• Command Injection
• Path Traversal
• SSRF (Server-Side Request Forgery)
• Insecure deserialization
• Hardcoded credentials (even "temporary" ones)

Code Smells:

• Error handling: Are errors swallowed silently?
• Obvious bugs or race conditions
• Dead code or commented-out code blocks
• Excessive complexity
• Copy-pasted code blocks
• Magic numbers without constants

Debug Code Left In:

• console.log, print(), fmt.Println debug statements
• debugger statements
• Commented-out debug code
• Test code in production files

Unprofessional Patterns:

• TODO/FIXME/HACK/XXX comments with sensitive info or complaints
• Hardcoded localhost, 127.0.0.1, dev URLs
• Sleep/delay hacks
• Swallowed exceptions
• any types everywhere (TypeScript)

Architecture:

• Is the code organization logical?
• Are there clear separation of concerns?
• Would a senior engineer be impressed or concerned?

---

Agent 5: Documentation Audit

Check project documentation:

Required Files:

• README.md - exists, professional, accurate, has badges/screenshots if appropriate
• LICENSE - CRITICAL: required for open source, correct license type
• AGENTS.md - for AI coding assistants
• CLAUDE.md - should be symlink to AGENTS.md

Recommended Files:

• CONTRIBUTING.md - contribution guidelines
• CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md - community standards
• SECURITY.md - security policy and vulnerability reporting
• CHANGELOG.md - version history

Documentation Quality:

• No internal URLs, company wikis, or private references
• No employee names or internal team references
• No outdated information that exposes old infrastructure
• Setup instructions actually work
• No placeholder text or TODOs

GitHub-Specific Files:

• .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ - appropriate for public use
• .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md - no internal references
• .github/CODEOWNERS - no internal usernames/teams
• .github/FUNDING.yml - if sponsorship desired
• .github/dependabot.yml - security updates configured

---

Agent 6: Configuration & Build Files

Review all config files:

Git Configuration:

• .gitignore is comprehensive - check for missing:
  • .env* (except .env.example)
  • IDE folders (.idea/, .vscode/, *.swp)
  • OS files (.DS_Store, Thumbs.db)
  • Build outputs (dist/, build/, node_modules/, __pycache__/)
  • Coverage reports
  • Log files
• .gitattributes for line endings, LFS

Environment Files:

• .env.example exists WITHOUT real values
• No .env, .env.local, .env.production committed
• Environment variable names don't reveal internal systems

Package Manager Configs:

• package.json: Check author, repository, bugs, homepage fields
• No private registry URLs (registry.npmjs.org is fine, npm.internal.company.com is not)
• .npmrc, .yarnrc, .pnpmrc - no auth tokens
• pyproject.toml, setup.py - no internal references
• Cargo.toml - no private registries

CI/CD Configs:

• .github/workflows/*.yml - no hardcoded secrets (should use ${{ secrets.X }})
• .gitlab-ci.yml, .circleci/config.yml, etc.
• No internal CI server references
• No hardcoded deployment targets

Docker & Containers:

• Dockerfile - no secrets in ENV or COPY
• docker-compose.yml - no real passwords (use env vars)
• No internal registry references

Infrastructure as Code:

• Terraform: No hardcoded credentials, no state files committed
• CloudFormation: No embedded secrets
• Kubernetes manifests: No secrets in plain text

---

Agent 7: Dependency & License Audit

Check dependencies for security and legal issues:

Security Vulnerabilities: Run appropriate audit command:

• Node.js: npm audit or yarn audit or pnpm audit
• Python: pip-audit or safety check
• Rust: cargo audit
• Go: govulncheck
• Ruby: bundle audit

License Compatibility:

• Check that all dependency licenses are compatible with your chosen LICENSE
• Watch for: GPL (viral), AGPL (very viral), SSPL, Commons Clause
• Ensure you can legally open-source with your dependency mix
• Check for "license unknown" dependencies

Dependency Concerns:

• Deprecated packages
• Unmaintained packages (no updates in 2+ years)
• Packages with known issues
• Internal/private packages that shouldn't be referenced

---

Agent 8: File Hygiene & Artifacts

Check for files that shouldn't be committed:

OS & Editor Artifacts:

• .DS_Store (macOS)
• Thumbs.db, desktop.ini (Windows)
• *.swp, *.swo, *~ (Vim)
• .idea/, *.iml (JetBrains)
• .vscode/ (VS Code - unless intentionally shared)
• *.sublime-* (Sublime Text)

Build Artifacts:

• node_modules/
• dist/, build/, out/
• __pycache__/, *.pyc, *.pyo
• target/ (Rust/Java)
• vendor/ (Go, unless intentional)
• *.class, *.jar (Java)
• Coverage reports with local paths

Temporary & Backup Files:

• *.bak, *.backup, *.old
• *.tmp, *.temp
• *.log files
• *.orig (merge artifacts)

Large Files:

• Files > 10MB that should be in Git LFS or excluded
• Accidentally committed datasets, databases, binaries
• Media files that should be hosted elsewhere
• Check: find . -size +10M -type f

Compiled/Binary Files:

• Executable binaries
• .exe, .dll, .so, .dylib
• Compiled assets that should be built, not committed

---

Agent 9: Hardcoded Paths & Internal References

Search for environment-specific or internal references:

Absolute Paths:

• /Users/ (macOS home directories)
• /home/ (Linux home directories)
• C:\Users\ (Windows)
• Any path containing usernames

Internal Infrastructure:

• Internal hostnames (*.internal, *.local, *.corp)
• Private IP ranges in configs
• Internal DNS names
• VPN endpoints
• Internal load balancer URLs

Internal Tools & Services:

• Slack webhook URLs
• Internal Jira/Linear/Asana URLs
• Company wiki/Confluence/Notion links
• Internal monitoring (Datadog, Grafana dashboards)
• Internal artifact repositories

Development Environment:

• Hardcoded localhost in production configs
• Dev database URLs
• Staging environment references
• Internal API endpoints

---

Agent 10: Media Files & Metadata

Check images, documents, and binary files:

Image Metadata (EXIF): If images exist, check for:

• GPS coordinates (location exposure)
• Camera/device information
• Timestamps
• Author information
• Software used
• Thumbnails with sensitive content

Use: exiftool -r -ext jpg -ext png -ext jpeg . if available

Document Metadata:

• PDF author, creator, timestamps
• Office documents (docx, xlsx) with author info
• Comments or tracked changes in documents

Screenshots:

• Browser tabs showing internal URLs
• Desktop showing file paths or usernames
• Notification contents
• Sensitive data visible

Other Binary Files:

• Database files (.sqlite, .db)
• Compiled binaries
• Archives (.zip, .tar.gz) - what's inside?

---

Phase 2: Test Verification

Before public release, verify:

Tests Pass:

• Run the test suite: Are there failures?
• Broken tests reflect poorly on professionalism
• Tests that require internal resources will fail for external users

Build Works:

• Does the project build from a clean clone?
• Are all build dependencies documented?
• Does npm install && npm build (or equivalent) work?

Setup Instructions:

• Can someone follow the README and get running?
• Are there undocumented prerequisites?

---

Phase 3: Detailed Analysis

After exploration, analyze findings by severity:

1. CRITICAL BLOCKERS - Secrets, security issues - MUST fix
2. HIGH PRIORITY - PII, vulnerabilities, broken builds
3. MEDIUM PRIORITY - Quality issues, missing docs, professional concerns
4. LOW PRIORITY - Nice-to-haves, polish items

---

Phase 4: Generate Comprehensive Report

Output a detailed report with these EXACT sections:

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🚨 CRITICAL BLOCKERS

Issues that absolutely MUST be fixed before making this repository public:

Issue	Location	Risk Level	Immediate Action
...	file:line or "git history"	Critical/High	...

---

🔐 SECURITY FINDINGS

Secrets & Credentials Found

Secret Type	Location	In Git History?	Action Required
...	...	Yes/No	Rotate & remove

Code Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability	Location	Severity	Fix
...	file:line	Critical/High/Medium	...

Git History Concerns

• Secrets ever committed: [list]
• Problematic commits: [list with hashes]
• Author email exposure: [assessment]

---

👤 PII & PRIVACY

PII Type	Location	Action
...	file:line	Remove/Anonymize

---

📦 DEPENDENCY AUDIT

Security Vulnerabilities

Package	Severity	CVE	Fix
...	Critical/High/Medium/Low	...	Upgrade to X.X.X

License Concerns

Package	License	Compatibility	Action
...	...	✅/⚠️/❌	...

---

📊 CODE QUALITY

Senior-Level Assessment

Overall Grade: A/B/C/D/F

[Assessment: Does this code reflect senior-level work? Would you be proud to show this in an interview?]

Issues Found

Category	Location	Issue	Suggestion
...	file:line	...	...

Positive Observations

[What's done well - briefly]

---

🗂️ FILE HYGIENE

Files to Remove/Gitignore

File/Pattern	Issue	Action
...	...	Add to .gitignore / Delete

Large Files

File	Size	Action
...	...	Git LFS / Remove / Compress

Metadata Issues

File	Metadata Found	Action
...	GPS coords, author info, etc.	Strip metadata

---

🔗 INTERNAL REFERENCES

Type	Location	Reference	Action
Hardcoded path	file:line	/Users/edd/...	Remove
Internal URL	file:line	https://internal.company.com	Remove
...	...	...	...

---

📝 DOCUMENTATION STATUS

Document	Status	Quality	Action Required
README.md	✅/❌	Good/Needs Work	...
LICENSE	✅/❌	-	...
AGENTS.md	✅/❌	-	Run /generate-agents-md
CLAUDE.md → AGENTS.md	✅/❌	-	Create symlink
CONTRIBUTING.md	✅/❌/N/A	-	...
SECURITY.md	✅/❌	-	...
CHANGELOG.md	✅/❌/N/A	-	...
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md	✅/❌/N/A	-	...

.gitignore Completeness

Pattern	Present	Should Add
.env*	✅/❌	...
.DS_Store	✅/❌	...
node_modules/	✅/❌	...
IDE folders	✅/❌	...
Build outputs	✅/❌	...

---

🧪 BUILD & TEST STATUS

Check	Status	Notes
Tests pass	✅/❌/⚠️	...
Build succeeds	✅/❌/⚠️	...
Dependencies install	✅/❌/⚠️	...
README instructions work	✅/❌/⚠️	...

---

🔧 RECOMMENDED ACTIONS

🔴 Must Do Before Public Release

1. ...
2. ...

🟡 Should Do (Professional Quality)

1. ...
2. ...

🟢 Nice to Have

1. ...
2. ...

---

📋 PRE-RELEASE CHECKLIST

Security

• All secrets removed from current code
• Git history cleaned if secrets were ever committed
• All exposed credentials rotated
• No API keys, tokens, or passwords in code
• No private keys or certificates committed

Privacy

• PII removed or anonymized
• No personal email addresses in code
• Test data doesn't contain real user info
• Image metadata stripped (EXIF)

Dependencies

• No critical security vulnerabilities
• All licenses compatible with project license
• No private/internal package references

Documentation

• LICENSE file present and correct
• README.md professional and complete
• AGENTS.md created
• CLAUDE.md symlinked to AGENTS.md
• Setup instructions verified working

Code Quality

• No debug code (console.log, etc.)
• No TODO/FIXME with sensitive info
• No hardcoded localhost/dev URLs
• Code reflects senior-level quality
• Tests pass

File Hygiene

• .gitignore is comprehensive
• No .env files committed (only .env.example)
• No OS artifacts (.DS_Store, Thumbs.db)
• No IDE folders with personal settings
• No large files that should be in LFS
• No build artifacts committed

Git History

• No secrets in commit history
• No embarrassing commit messages
• Author emails are appropriate for public
• No internal branch references

References

• No hardcoded absolute paths
• No internal URLs or hostnames
• No company-specific references
• Package metadata is public-appropriate

---

⚠️ GIT HISTORY CLEANUP

If secrets were found in git history:

Option 1: BFG Repo-Cleaner (Recommended)

# Install BFG
brew install bfg

# Remove specific files from history
bfg --delete-files "*.env" --no-blob-protection

# Remove specific strings
bfg --replace-text passwords.txt --no-blob-protection

# Clean up
git reflog expire --expire=now --all && git gc --prune=now --aggressive

Option 2: git filter-repo

# Install
pip install git-filter-repo

# Remove file from history
git filter-repo --path .env --invert-paths

# Remove string pattern
git filter-repo --replace-text <(echo 'ACTUAL_SECRET==>REMOVED')

After Cleanup

1. ROTATE ALL EXPOSED CREDENTIALS IMMEDIATELY
2. Force push to remote (coordinate with team)
3. All collaborators must re-clone (their copies have the secrets)
4. GitHub caches: Contact GitHub support to clear cached views

---

Critical Rules

• DO NOT make any changes - this is audit only
• BE EXHAUSTIVE - missing a secret can cause real damage
• CHECK GIT HISTORY - current code isn't enough, secrets in history are just as dangerous
• BE SPECIFIC - include file:line for every finding
• PRIORITIZE BY RISK - critical blockers must be unmissable
• THINK REPUTATION - would this code impress a senior hiring manager?
• VERIFY CLAIMS - don't just check file existence, verify contents

---

After This Audit

1. Fix all critical blockers - no exceptions
2. Rotate any exposed credentials - even if "probably not used"
3. Run /generate-agents-md if AGENTS.md is missing
4. Run /generate-readme if README needs improvement
5. Re-run /public-release to verify all fixes
6. Only then: Make repository public