Proc release checklist

Skill: Release Checklist (Pre-Go-Live)

What this skill is

Validation protocol before any production delivery — first deploy or significant new version. Universal: adapt the sections to the project's context.

Principle: A release checklist is not bureaucracy. It is the last line of defense before a problem reaches a real user.

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When to use it

• First production deploy of a project
• Release with database schema changes
• Release with authentication or security changes
• Release with newly exposed public endpoints
• Any release after an inactivity period > 2 weeks

For small incremental releases (hotfix, visual adjustment), a subset of the sections below is enough.

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1. Security — mandatory before any public release

• Passwords hashed securely: Argon2id or bcrypt with proper parameters
• JWT/tokens: expiration configured, revocation implemented, strong secret (≥ 256 bits)
• Environment variables: all secrets in env, nothing hardcoded in code
• HTTP headers: CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options configured
• CORS: explicit origins configured (no wildcard * on credentialed APIs)
• Rate limiting: authentication endpoints and public endpoints protected
• File upload: magic-bytes validation active before processing
• SQL: confirmation of parameterized queries (no input concatenation)
• Dependency audit: no open critical or high CVEs (npm audit, mvn dependency-check)
• Minimum pentest: IDOR tested, brute force tested, post-logout token tested

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2. Database

• Versioned migrations: all schema changes are in versioned migrations (see be-db-migrations)
• Validated backup: recent backup tested (restore verified, not just snapshot)
• Indexes created: dashboard/report queries checked with EXPLAIN
• Rollback planned: rollback strategy documented if the migration is destructive
• RLS / isolation: if multi-user system, data isolation validated

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3. Backend / API

• Health check: /health endpoint or equivalent working and monitored
• Required variables: startup fails clearly if a required variable is missing
• Timeouts: external calls with explicit timeout configured
• Error handling: GlobalExceptionHandler does not expose stack trace to the client
• Logs: structured, without PII or secrets; correlation ID per request
• Pagination: list endpoints do not return all records without pagination

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4. Frontend

• Environment variables: API URLs not hardcoded; env file configured
• Production build: build with minification and tree-shaking enabled
• Lazy loading: initial bundle does not load all modules
• Console errors: zero errors in the console during normal usage flow
• No-JS flow: fallback page or proper message if JS is disabled
• Accessibility: axe/Lighthouse with no critical errors in the main flows

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5. Observability

• Alerts configured: alert for error rate above baseline
• Metrics dashboard: latency, error rate, throughput visible
• Runbook: document describing what to do if the system becomes unavailable
• On-call contact: who to contact if there is an incident outside business hours

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6. Process

• REQUISITOS.md: FRs implemented in this release marked as ✅
• structural-analysis.md: new pending items discovered during the release recorded
• HISTORY.md: release entry created with what was delivered and decisions made
• User documentation: COMO_USAR.md updated with new functionality (if applicable)
• Maintenance window: users notified if downtime is expected
• Rollback plan: documented procedure if the release needs to be reverted

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7. Post-deploy validation (first 30 minutes)

□ Application responds (health check green)
□ Login works
□ Main critical flow (e.g.: create transaction, import CSV) works
□ Logs with no unexpected critical errors
□ Latency metrics within baseline
□ No user reported a problem in the first accesses

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Release record format

Add to HISTORY.md:

### [YYYY-MM-DD] Release [version or description]

**Owner:** [name]
**Deliveries:**
- [RF-XX] [feature description]
- [fix] [bug fix description]

**Release checklist:** ✅ Complete | ⚠️ Pending items: [list]
**Decisions:** [decisions made during the release]
**Next steps:** [what to monitor in the next hours/days]
**Blockers:** None

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Reference: engineering-principles.md §2 (Security), §9 (Observability), §10 (CI/CD)