Release prep

Release Prep Checklist

Validates that the repository is in a clean, releasable state. Does not create tags, bump versions, or push commits — release-please automation manages all of that from main. The only action beyond validation is offering to open a PR, and only after every gate passes and the user explicitly approves.

Run the steps in order. Stop immediately and report findings to the user if any step fails. Do not proceed to the next step.

Step 1 — Validate Skills and Version Sync

Run /validate-skills. It validates the public skill (router + command files) and internal skills, plus the version-sync check (scripts/check-version-sync.py). Any error: stop and report. Warnings touching files changed in this branch must be fixed.

Step 2 — Audit Gates

Run each gate command in this order. A gate passes when no Critical or High finding remains open in the findings store after fixes are applied (python3 skills/nitpicker/scripts/findings.py list --status open). Any gate with an open Critical/High finding: stop and report.

Gate	Command
Security	/nitpicker security
Documentation accuracy	/nitpicker docs (Critical and High must be resolved; Medium and below may be deferred as open findings)
Architecture	/nitpicker arch (refreshes the profile via /nitpicker arch-profile when missing or stale — staleness per that command's git-metadata rule)
Exhaustive review	/nitpicker audit
Enforcement loopholes	/nitpicker agent-loopholes
Hook coverage	/nitpicker agent-hooks
Performance	/nitpicker perf
Test-suite strength	/nitpicker tests
Dependency health	/nitpicker deps
Error handling	/nitpicker errors
Migration safety	/nitpicker migrations
Observability	/nitpicker observability
API contract	/nitpicker contract
Accessibility	/nitpicker a11y
CI/CD pipeline	/nitpicker ci
Commit discipline	/nitpicker commits
Concurrency safety	/nitpicker concurrency
Internationalization	/nitpicker i18n
Resource lifecycle	/nitpicker leaks
Configuration	/nitpicker config
Data privacy	/nitpicker privacy
Unwired implementations	/nitpicker unwired

No-surface verdicts ("no auditable UI surface", "no localization surface", "no personal-data surface") pass their gate.

Step 3 — Release Gate

Run /nitpicker release-gate. It fails on any open finding at High or above across all auditors — this is the aggregate backstop after the per-gate fixes. If it fails: stop and report.

Step 4 — Verify Conventional Commits

Confirm every commit on this branch follows the conventional commits format release-please uses for version bumps and release notes:

• feat: — minor bump; fix: — patch bump
• feat!: or BREAKING CHANGE: footer — major bump
• chore:, docs:, refactor: — no bump

git log main..HEAD --oneline

Any non-conforming message: stop; instruct the user to reword via git rebase -i main. Do not require a manual CHANGELOG.md entry — release-please manages the changelog.

Step 5 — Confirm CI Is Green

Check .github/workflows/validate-skills.yml passed on the current commit. Failing CI: stop and report which checks failed.

Gate Summary

After all steps pass, present:

✅ All release gates passed.

  [✓] validate-skills — no skill errors; all 5 version files in sync at vX.Y.Z
  [✓] all audit gates — no open Critical/High findings (see INDEX.md)
  [✓] /nitpicker release-gate — PASS (threshold High)
  [✓] conventional commits — all commits on branch use valid format
  [✓] CI — validate-skills.yml passing

Release-please automation will create the Release PR when these changes are
merged to main. No manual version bump or tagging is needed.

Then ask:

Create a PR for these changes? (y/n) [default: n]

n or no answer: stop; inform the user no PR was created. y: open a PR using the branch's conventional commit messages for title and description. Do not bump versions, create tags, or push beyond what is staged.

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• Does not bump version numbers, create git tags, or push commits/tags
• Does not create a GitHub Release (release-please does, after the tag)