Ship

Ship

Takes a branch from "done coding" to "reviewed, committed, pushed, and PR-ready."

Triggers

Use this skill when the user says:

• /ship
• "ship this branch"
• "ship this"
• "make this PR-ready"
• "review and open a PR"
• "prepare this for release"
• "publish the current work"

Rules

These apply on every run:

• Run from the current branch unless the user asks to switch.
• Stage specific files only. Never the whole worktree.
• Fix security findings before publish.
• Do not silently defer review findings.
• Never merge without explicit user instruction.

Flags

• --no-review: skip review, keep validation and publish
• --review-only: stop after review and reporting
• --dry-run: report what would be staged, validated, and published without doing it
• --fresh: ignore cached rerun state, do a full pass
• --quick: allow lighter non-security checks for small changes
• --no-pr: push the branch without opening a PR

Phase Model

Phase 0: Classify

• Inspect branch scope and changed files.
• Decide whether the run is full, delta-scoped, or cacheable.
• Outline likely PR and release material early.

Phase 1: Preflight

Run the repo's baseline validation before review.

Extension hook: preflight

Typical checks: lint, unit tests, smoke tests, secret scanning, docs or schema validation.

Phase 1.5: Docs Sync

If the change affects docs, examples, screenshots, or install instructions, update those before publish.

Extension hook: docs_sync

Phase 2: Review

Review the actual delta, not the entire repo. Fan out by file category or risk area when useful.

Extension hook: review

Findings use three severities:

• BLOCK: fix before publish
• WARN: can publish, but report clearly
• NOTE: real improvement, not a blocker

Review for: correctness, process safety, security, release regression risk, missing tests or docs.

Phase 3: Stage and Commit

After accepted fixes land:

• Stage intended files only.
• Write a clear commit message.
• Stop here if the user asked for --review-only or --dry-run.

Phase 4: Quality Gate

Run the repo's post-commit gate.

Extension hook: gate

Gate result: 0 = GO, 1 = WARN, 2 = BLOCK.

Can combine: targeted regression tests, security checks, packaging checks, release artifact validation.

Phase 5: Publish

Extension hook: publish

• Push the branch.
• Open or update a PR.
• Tag and release when the repo's release process calls for it.
• Include exact install examples in release notes if the repo distributes installable artifacts.

Phase 6: Report

Return a short report:

• Rerun scope used
• Findings fixed
• Remaining warnings
• Validation commands run
• Publish result
• PR or release URL if created

Extension Hooks

Map these to your repo's own commands. The skill does not assume any specific tooling.

Hook	Purpose
preflight	Fast blocking validation before review
docs_sync	Update docs, examples, or screenshots affected by the change
review	Semantic review of the actual delta
tests	Targeted or full tests for confidence
gate	Post-commit go/warn/block check
publish	Push, PR creation, tag, and release handling

Rerun Model

Use prior ship state to save time, not to lower quality.

• cached: same HEAD, reuse prior non-security work if trustworthy
• delta: scope review and non-security checks to files changed since last ship
• full: no trustworthy prior state, or the change is large enough that full review is cheaper

Security validation is always treated as fresh.