Leadup release manager

LeadUp Release Manager

Purpose

Take a finished work batch (commits, PRs, feature branch, sprint) and produce a release pack: summary, changed modules, env / migration changes, test status, risks, rollback plan, client communication, and a single go/no-go recommendation.

When to use

Use when the user is approaching a release / deploy. Do not trigger for ongoing project status updates (use leadup-status-updater), the yes-or-no deploy verdict only (use leadup-deploy-checker), or writing QA test cases (use leadup-qa-test-case-generator).

Trigger phrases: "release", "release notes", "deploy checklist", "version release", "go live", "production release", "ship it", "changelog for release".

Inputs needed

• Git branch / range (e.g. main..release/v0.4.0 or last N commits).
• Stack and deploy target (Coolify / leadup-server / Vercel / other).
• Migration diff (Prisma / Drizzle / SQL).
• Env var diff (added / changed / removed).
• Test status (manual + automated).
• Known issues and workarounds.
• Audience for the client communication (internal team / paying clients / all users).

Ask at most 2 clarifying questions if the branch or audience is unclear.

Tools/resources to use

• references/release-checklist.md — pre-release gate, rollback, comms.
• assets/release-notes.template.md — output shape.
• leadup-deploy-checker — for the READY/NOT READY verdict.
• leadup-qa-test-case-generator — to confirm test coverage.
• leadup-security-review — for sensitive releases.
• leadup-pii-risk-reviewer — if PII surface changes.
• leadup-human-content-editor — to polish client-facing release notes.
• leadup-status-updater — to reflect the release in STATUS.md.

Step-by-step workflow

1. Restate the release scope (branch, target, expected date).
2. Summarize changes — group by Feature / Fix / Improvement / Internal.
3. Changed modules / files — high-level list (modules > files when long).
4. Migrations — list of schema changes, forward + rollback notes.
5. Env vars — added / changed / removed; flag any new secret / third-party key.
6. Test status — manual sign-off + automated pass/fail summary.
7. Known risks — list with severity + mitigation.
8. Rollback plan — exact commands (placeholder branch name / tag); data rollback strategy.
9. Client communication — internal note, paying-clients note, public-changelog entry. Pass copy through leadup-human-content-editor before publishing.
10. Go / No-Go recommendation — one line, with the top reason.

Required output format

One Markdown release pack with these sections, in this order:

1. Release summary — name, version, target, date.
2. What changed — Feature / Fix / Improvement / Internal.
3. Modules / files touched.
4. Migrations — forward + rollback notes.
5. Env vars — added / changed / removed.
6. Test status — manual + automated, with links / paths.
7. Known risks — severity + mitigation.
8. Rollback plan — exact steps + data plan.
9. Client communication — internal / paying-clients / public.
10. Go / No-Go recommendation — one line + top reason.
11. Hand-offs — to deploy checker, security, PII, status.

Safety rules

• Do not ship if migrations are not reversible OR a rollback plan isn't documented.
• Do not ship with secrets in commits or env files; flag for leadup-security-review if anything looks suspicious.
• Do not invent test pass numbers. "Pass / fail / unknown" only.
• Do not publish public changelog copy without leadup-human-content-editor polish.
• For paying clients: tell them about breaking changes, downtime windows, and data migrations in plain language.
• For India SMB clients: prefer WhatsApp + email for the client communication.
• For regulated categories: ensure PII / compliance changes are reviewed by leadup-pii-risk-reviewer.
• Default to No-Go if any of these is true: rollback untested, test status unknown, sensitive PII / payment changes unreviewed, env vars missing in target.

Common mistakes

• Long "what changed" section, no rollback plan.
• Marketing tone inside an internal release note.
• Forgetting env var diff — deploy fails on first request.
• Forgetting to update STATUS.md after the release.
• Vague risks ("might be issues") without severity or mitigation.
• Pushing to prod on Friday evening without rollback rehearsed.
• Skipping the client communication.

Troubleshooting

• Big release (many features): stage rollout — internal → 1 client → soft → full; reuse leadup-ai-feature-planner rollout pattern.
• DB migration is destructive: pause; design a non-destructive alternative (additive then cleanup later).
• No QA pass yet: route to leadup-qa-test-case-generator + run; block release until pass.
• Client downtime needed: schedule in low-traffic window for the audience (India weekday 1–4am IST often safest).
• Coolify / leadup-server quirks: confirm container resources, env vars, health checks via leadup-deploy-checker.
• Multi-tenant change: include tenant isolation regression test in the QA pass.

Test prompts

Should trigger (5)

1. "Prepare release notes for v0.5 of our SaaS."
2. "Make a deploy checklist + rollback plan for tomorrow's release."
3. "Production release: WhatsApp reminders feature."
4. "Go-live pack for the salon booking SaaS."
5. "Version release pack — what changed since last week."

Should NOT trigger (3)

1. "Is the deploy ready or not?" (→ leadup-deploy-checker)
2. "Generate test cases." (→ leadup-qa-test-case-generator)
3. "Update STATUS.md." (→ leadup-status-updater)

Functional test cases (2)

1. Given "main..release/v0.5.0 with WhatsApp BSP wiring + Razorpay refund + 1 schema migration", return a release pack with grouped changes, migration forward + rollback notes, env-var diff, manual
   • automated test status, top 3 risks with mitigation, a rollback plan with exact commands, client-comms templates, and a Go/No-Go.
2. Given "production release with one destructive migration and no QA pass yet", return No-Go with the top reason, list what needs to change to flip to Go, and route the work to leadup-qa-test-case-generator and leadup-deploy-checker.

Success criteria

• All 11 sections present in order.
• Rollback plan has exact commands or named ops.
• Test status uses pass / fail / unknown (no invented numbers).
• Risks have severity + mitigation each.
• Client communication includes internal + paying-clients + public.
• Go / No-Go is one line with top reason.
• Hand-offs to leadup-deploy-checker, leadup-human-content-editor, and leadup-status-updater explicit.