precommit-release-gates

name	precommit-release-gates
description	How to harden pre-commit against release-only failures, especially packaging mismatches
domain	release-management
confidence	high
source	earned

Context

Use this when a release workflow fails even though local builds or lighter smoke checks were green.

Patterns

• Reproduce the failure with the exact release command first (for VS Code extensions, npm run package, not just npm install or npm run compile).
• Promote that exact release command into scripts/pre-commit.ps1 if the failure is deterministic and commit-blocking.
• Keep hook documentation synchronized with the real script; stale check lists are a docs bug.
• If the failure is a manifest or metadata mismatch, align the authoritative config files together (for example package.json and package-lock.json).

Examples

• vscode-extension/package.json and vscode-extension/package-lock.json both moved engines.vscode to ^1.110.0 to match @types/vscode ^1.110.0.
• scripts/pre-commit.ps1 now runs the same npm run package path that release uses.

Anti-Patterns

• Assuming install or compile coverage proves the package is releasable.
• Updating the hook without updating docs that enumerate its gates.
• Fixing the symptom in one manifest file while leaving the lockfile or related metadata stale.