Ship — Release Automation

Get code from "ready to build" to "merged and deployed" safely.

Step 0: Create Branch

Before any work begins, create a branch from main:

git checkout main && git pull origin main
git checkout -b <prefix>/<short-description>

Branch Naming

Prefix	When
`feat/`	New features — `feat/user-auth`, `feat/stripe-checkout`
`fix/`	Bug fixes — `fix/login-redirect`, `fix/null-avatar`
`bug/`	Bug investigation + fix — `bug/race-condition-cart`
`chore/`	Maintenance — `chore/upgrade-deps`, `chore/ci-config`
`docs/`	Documentation — `docs/api-reference`, `docs/setup-guide`
`refactor/`	Code restructuring — `refactor/auth-middleware`
`hotfix/`	Urgent production fix — `hotfix/payment-crash`

Rules: kebab-case, max 4 words, no ticket numbers in branch name.

Pre-Ship Checklist

Before shipping, verify:

Gate passes — Run /gate (lint, types, build, tests all green)
Branch is current — Rebased on latest main
No leftover debug code — console.log, debugger, TODO REMOVE
Env vars documented — Any new secrets added to .env.example
Migration tested — DB changes apply cleanly on fresh + existing data

Ship Flow

1. Sync with main

git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main

If conflicts: resolve, run /gate again.

2. Final verification

${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/cli gate

All checks must pass. No exceptions.

3. Push

git push -u origin HEAD

4. Open PR

gh pr create \
  --title "Short descriptive title" \
  --body "## What
Brief description of changes.

## Why
Problem this solves.

## Testing
How this was verified."

5. Post-merge

After PR is merged:

git checkout main
git pull origin main
git branch -d feature-branch

PR Best Practices

Title: imperative mood, under 70 chars ("Add user auth", not "Added user authentication system")
Body: What changed, why, how to test
Size: Under 400 lines. Split larger work into stacked PRs.
Screenshots: Include for any UI change

Hotfix Flow

For urgent production fixes:

Branch from main (not your feature branch)
Minimal fix — no refactoring, no "while I'm here" changes
Run /gate
PR with hotfix: prefix
Request expedited review

Rules

Never force push to main
Never skip /gate because "it's a small change"
Never merge your own PR without at least one review (unless solo)
Tag the PR with relevant labels if your repo uses them