ship-workflow

name	ship-workflow
description	Automated release pipeline: merges main, runs tests, pre-landing review, version bump, changelog, bisectable commits, and PR creation. Triggers on: "ship it", "release this", "prepare for release", "open a PR", "push and PR", "land this", "/ship-workflow".
metadata	{"version":"1.0.1","category":"review","tags":["release","ci-cd","pull-request","changelog"],"difficulty":"intermediate","phase":"ship"}

Ship Workflow

Automated release pipeline that takes a feature branch from working state to merged PR. Executes a deterministic sequence of pre-flight checks, testing, review, versioning, and PR creation — stopping immediately on any failure with specific remediation instructions.

Pipeline Overview

pre-flight → merge main → test → review → version bump → changelog → bisectable commits → push → PR

Each step has explicit stop conditions. The pipeline never auto-resolves ambiguity.

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Step 1: Pre-flight Checks

Run all three checks before proceeding:

1. Not on default branch — detect the default branch dynamically:

   git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD | sed 's@^refs/remotes/origin/@@'
   

   If the current branch matches: STOP. Instruct the user to create a feature branch.

2. Clean working tree — git status --porcelain must produce no output. If dirty: STOP. List the uncommitted files and instruct the user to commit or stash.

3. Up-to-date with remote — git fetch origin then compare local HEAD with origin/<current-branch>. If the remote is ahead: STOP. Instruct the user to pull or rebase.

If any check fails, STOP with the specific remediation instruction. Do not proceed.

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Step 2: Merge Default Branch

git fetch origin
git merge origin/<default-branch>

• If merge conflicts occur: STOP. Report the conflicting files. Do not auto-resolve.
• If clean: proceed.

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Step 3: Run Tests

Detect the test command from project configuration using references/project-detection.md:

Indicator	Test Command
Makefile with test target	make test
package.json with test script	<detected-pkg-manager> run test
pyproject.toml with pytest config	uv run pytest (or detected runner)
Cargo.toml	cargo test
go.mod	go test ./...
Gemfile + Rakefile	bundle exec rake test

Detection order: check each indicator top-to-bottom; use the first match.

• If tests fail: STOP. Report the failure output. Do not proceed.
• If no test command detected: warn the user and ask whether to proceed without tests.

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Step 4: Pre-Landing Review

Invoke the pre-landing-review skill if available. Otherwise, perform a lightweight diff review against the default branch:

git diff origin/<default-branch>...HEAD

Review the diff for:

• Obvious bugs or logic errors
• Security concerns (credentials, injection vectors)
• Missing error handling on new code paths

Classification:

• CRITICAL findings: STOP. Resolve before proceeding.
• INFORMATIONAL findings: note them for inclusion in the PR description. Proceed.

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Step 5: Version Bump

Detect the version strategy from project configuration using references/project-detection.md:

Indicator	Version Location
VERSION file	Update file contents directly
package.json version field	Update the field
pyproject.toml version field	Update the field
Cargo.toml version field	Update the field
Git tags only	Create tag at push time

Default bump level: PATCH.

• For MINOR or MAJOR bumps: STOP. Confirm with the user before proceeding.
• If no version strategy detected: skip the version bump entirely. Note the skip in the PR description.

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Step 6: Update Changelog

• If CHANGELOG.md exists: prepend an entry in Keep a Changelog format.
• If no changelog file exists: skip.

Auto-generate the entry from commit messages since the last tag or release. Group entries by conventional commit type:

## [<new-version>] - <date>

### Added

- feat: ...

### Fixed

- fix: ...

### Changed

- refactor: ...

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Step 7: Create Bisectable Commits

Organize staged changes into logical, bisectable commit groups in this order:

1. Infrastructure / config changes — build files, CI config, dependencies
2. Models / services / core logic — domain layer, business rules
3. Controllers / views / API endpoints — presentation and routing
4. Version bump + changelog — always last

Each commit uses a descriptive conventional commit message. Each commit should pass tests independently when possible (verify if CI turnaround allows it; otherwise trust the ordering).

If all changes are already committed in a reasonable structure, skip reorganization.

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Step 8: Push and Create PR

git push -u origin <current-branch>

Create the PR:

gh pr create \
  --title "<conventional-format-title>" \
  --body "<generated-body>"

PR body includes:

• Summary of changes (grouped by commit)
• Test results (pass confirmation)
• Version bump details (old → new, or "skipped")
• Any INFORMATIONAL findings from Step 4

Output the PR URL as the final result.

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Stop Conditions

The pipeline halts immediately and reports when any of these occur:

Condition	Step	Action
On default branch	1	Stop, instruct to create feature branch
Dirty working tree	1	Stop, list files, instruct to commit/stash
Behind remote	1	Stop, instruct to pull/rebase
Merge conflicts	2	Stop, report conflicting files
Test failures	3	Stop, report failure output
Critical review findings	4	Stop, resolve before proceeding
MINOR/MAJOR version bump	5	Stop, confirm with user

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Important Notes

• This skill modifies the repository: it creates commits, pushes code, and opens PRs.
• All branch names and test commands are detected dynamically — nothing is hardcoded.
• The version strategy is inferred from project files, not assumed.
• If the pre-landing-review skill is not available, the review step degrades to a lightweight diff scan rather than skipping entirely.