gstack/ship/SKILL.md.tmpl

---
name: ship
preamble-tier: 4
version: 1.0.0
description: |
  Ship workflow: detect + merge base branch, run tests, review diff, bump VERSION,
  update CHANGELOG, commit, push, create PR. Use when asked to "ship", "deploy",
  "push to main", "create a PR", "merge and push", or "get it deployed".
  Proactively invoke this skill (do NOT push/PR directly) when the user says code
  is ready, asks about deploying, wants to push code up, or asks to create a PR. (gstack)
allowed-tools:
  - Bash
  - Read
  - Write
  - Edit
  - Grep
  - Glob
  - Agent
  - AskUserQuestion
  - WebSearch
sensitive: true
triggers:
  - ship it
  - create a pr
  - push to main
  - deploy this
---

{{PREAMBLE}}

{{BASE_BRANCH_DETECT}}

{{GBRAIN_CONTEXT_LOAD}}

# Ship: Fully Automated Ship Workflow

You are running the `/ship` workflow. This is a **non-interactive, fully automated** workflow. Do NOT ask for confirmation at any step. The user said `/ship` which means DO IT. Run straight through and output the PR URL at the end.

**Only stop for:**
- On the base branch (abort)
- Merge conflicts that can't be auto-resolved (stop, show conflicts)
- In-branch test failures (pre-existing failures are triaged, not auto-blocking)
- Pre-landing review finds ASK items that need user judgment
- MINOR or MAJOR version bump needed (ask — see Step 12)
- Greptile review comments that need user decision (complex fixes, false positives)
- AI-assessed coverage below minimum threshold (hard gate with user override — see Step 7)
- Plan items NOT DONE with no user override (see Step 8)
- Plan verification failures (see Step 8.1)
- TODOS.md missing and user wants to create one (ask — see Step 14)
- TODOS.md disorganized and user wants to reorganize (ask — see Step 14)

**Never stop for:**
- Uncommitted changes (always include them)
- Version bump choice (auto-pick MICRO or PATCH — see Step 12)
- CHANGELOG content (auto-generate from diff)
- Commit message approval (auto-commit)
- Multi-file changesets (auto-split into bisectable commits)
- TODOS.md completed-item detection (auto-mark)
- Auto-fixable review findings (dead code, N+1, stale comments — fixed automatically)
- Test coverage gaps within target threshold (auto-generate and commit, or flag in PR body)

**Re-run behavior (idempotency):**
Re-running `/ship` means "run the whole checklist again." Every verification step
(tests, coverage audit, plan completion, pre-landing review, adversarial review,
VERSION/CHANGELOG check, TODOS, document-release) runs on every invocation.
Only *actions* are idempotent:
- Step 12: If VERSION already bumped, skip the bump but still read the version
- Step 17: If already pushed, skip the push command
- Step 19: If PR exists, update the body instead of creating a new PR
Never skip a verification step because a prior `/ship` run already performed it.

---

{{SECTION_INDEX:ship}}

---

## Step 1: Pre-flight

1. Check the current branch. If on the base branch or the repo's default branch, **abort**: "You're on the base branch. Ship from a feature branch."

2. Run `git status` (never use `-uall`). Uncommitted changes are always included — no need to ask.

3. Run `git diff <base>...HEAD --stat` and `git log <base>..HEAD --oneline` to understand what's being shipped.

4. Check review readiness:

{{REVIEW_DASHBOARD}}

If the Eng Review is NOT "CLEAR":

Print: "No prior eng review found — ship will run its own pre-landing review in Step 9."

Check diff size: `git diff <base>...HEAD --stat | tail -1`. If the diff is >200 lines, add: "Note: This is a large diff. Consider running `/plan-eng-review` or `/autoplan` for architecture-level review before shipping."

If CEO Review is missing, mention as informational ("CEO Review not run — recommended for product changes") but do NOT block.

For Design Review: run `source <(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-diff-scope <base> 2>/dev/null)`. If `SCOPE_FRONTEND=true` and no design review (plan-design-review or design-review-lite) exists in the dashboard, mention: "Design Review not run — this PR changes frontend code. The lite design check will run automatically in Step 9, but consider running /design-review for a full visual audit post-implementation." Still never block.

Continue to Step 2 — do NOT block or ask. Ship runs its own review in Step 9.

---

## Step 2: Distribution Pipeline Check

If the diff introduces a new standalone artifact (CLI binary, library package, tool) — not a web
service with existing deployment — verify that a distribution pipeline exists.

1. Check if the diff adds a new `cmd/` directory, `main.go`, or `bin/` entry point:
   ```bash
   git diff origin/<base> --name-only | grep -E '(cmd/.*/main\.go|bin/|Cargo\.toml|setup\.py|package\.json)' | head -5
   ```

2. If new artifact detected, check for a release workflow:
   ```bash
   ls .github/workflows/ 2>/dev/null | grep -iE 'release|publish|dist'
   grep -qE 'release|publish|deploy' .gitlab-ci.yml 2>/dev/null && echo "GITLAB_CI_RELEASE"
   ```

3. **If no release pipeline exists and a new artifact was added:** Use AskUserQuestion:
   - "This PR adds a new binary/tool but there's no CI/CD pipeline to build and publish it.
     Users won't be able to download the artifact after merge."
   - A) Add a release workflow now (CI/CD release pipeline — GitHub Actions or GitLab CI depending on platform)
   - B) Defer — add to TODOS.md
   - C) Not needed — this is internal/web-only, existing deployment covers it

4. **If release pipeline exists:** Continue silently.
5. **If no new artifact detected:** Skip silently.

---

## Step 3: Merge the base branch (BEFORE tests)

Fetch and merge the base branch into the feature branch so tests run against the merged state:

```bash
git fetch origin <base> && git merge origin/<base> --no-edit
```

**If there are merge conflicts:** Try to auto-resolve if they are simple (VERSION, schema.rb, CHANGELOG ordering). If conflicts are complex or ambiguous, **STOP** and show them.

**If already up to date:** Continue silently.

---

{{SECTION:tests}}

{{SECTION:test-coverage}}

{{SECTION:plan-completion}}

{{SECTION:review-army}}

{{SECTION:greptile}}

{{SECTION:adversarial}}

## Step 12: Version bump (auto-decide)

The deterministic version-state logic is the tested **`gstack-version-bump`** CLI
(classify / write / repair). The bump-LEVEL decision and queue-collision handling
stay agent judgment; the slot pick stays `gstack-next-version`.

1. **Classify state** — pure reader, never writes:
   ```bash
   bun run ~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-version-bump classify --base <base>
   ```
   Read the JSON `state` and dispatch:
   - **FRESH** → do the bump (steps 2-4).
   - **ALREADY_BUMPED** → skip the bump, but run the queue-drift check (step 3) with the reported `currentVersion`. If the queue moved (next free version differs), **AskUserQuestion**: rebump to the new version (rewrites CHANGELOG header + PR title) or keep current (CI version-gate will reject until resolved).
   - **DRIFT_STALE_PKG** → run `gstack-version-bump repair` (syncs package.json to VERSION). No re-bump; reuse `currentVersion` for CHANGELOG + PR.
   - **DRIFT_UNEXPECTED** → **STOP**. package.json disagrees with VERSION while VERSION matches base — a manual edit bypassed /ship. Reconcile manually, then re-run.

2. **Decide the bump level** from the diff (agent judgment):
   - **MICRO**: <50 lines, trivial tweaks/config. **PATCH**: 50+ lines, no feature signals.
   - **MINOR**: **ASK** if any feature signal (new route/page, migration, new module), OR 500+ lines. **MAJOR**: **ASK** — milestones or breaking changes only.
   Save as `BUMP_LEVEL`. The level is the user-intended bump; queue-aware placement may advance the slot without changing the level.

3. **Queue-aware pick** (workspace-aware ship):
   ```bash
   QUEUE_JSON=$(bun run ~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-next-version --base <base> --bump "$BUMP_LEVEL" --current-version "$BASE_VERSION" 2>/dev/null || echo '{"offline":true}')
   NEW_VERSION=$(echo "$QUEUE_JSON" | jq -r '.version // empty')
   ```
   If `offline`/util fails: fall back to local `BUMP_LEVEL` arithmetic and print `⚠ workspace-aware ship offline — using local bump only`. If `claimed` is non-empty, render the queue table so the user sees landing order. If an active sibling workspace holds a version `>= NEW_VERSION`, **AskUserQuestion**: advance past (unrelated work) or abort and sync with the sibling.

4. **Write the bump** (FRESH, or an approved rebump):
   ```bash
   bun run ~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-version-bump write --version "$NEW_VERSION"
   ```
   The CLI validates the 4-digit `MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH.MICRO` pattern and writes **both** VERSION and package.json. On a half-write (VERSION written, package.json failed) it exits 3 — re-run, and classify will report DRIFT_STALE_PKG for `repair` to fix.

5. **Record the release decision** (durable cross-session memory). The bump level is a real decision the next session should not re-derive blind:
   ```bash
   ~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-decision-log '{"decision":"Ship NEW_VERSION (BUMP_LEVEL)","rationale":"WHY","scope":"repo","source":"skill","confidence":9}' 2>/dev/null || true
   ```
   Substitute `NEW_VERSION`, `BUMP_LEVEL`, and a one-line `WHY` (the signal that set the level: diff scale, a new feature, a breaking change). Best-effort and non-interactive; never blocks the ship. Skip on the ALREADY_BUMPED path (the decision was logged on the run that did the bump).

{{SECTION:changelog}}

## Step 14: TODOS.md (auto-update)

Cross-reference the project's TODOS.md against the changes being shipped. Mark completed items automatically; prompt only if the file is missing or disorganized.

Read `.claude/skills/review/TODOS-format.md` for the canonical format reference.

**1. Check if TODOS.md exists** in the repository root.

**If TODOS.md does not exist:** Use AskUserQuestion:
- Message: "GStack recommends maintaining a TODOS.md organized by skill/component, then priority (P0 at top through P4, then Completed at bottom). See TODOS-format.md for the full format. Would you like to create one?"
- Options: A) Create it now, B) Skip for now
- If A: Create `TODOS.md` with a skeleton (# TODOS heading + ## Completed section). Continue to step 3.
- If B: Skip the rest of Step 14. Continue to Step 15.

**2. Check structure and organization:**

Read TODOS.md and verify it follows the recommended structure:
- Items grouped under `## <Skill/Component>` headings
- Each item has `**Priority:**` field with P0-P4 value
- A `## Completed` section at the bottom

**If disorganized** (missing priority fields, no component groupings, no Completed section): Use AskUserQuestion:
- Message: "TODOS.md doesn't follow the recommended structure (skill/component groupings, P0-P4 priority, Completed section). Would you like to reorganize it?"
- Options: A) Reorganize now (recommended), B) Leave as-is
- If A: Reorganize in-place following TODOS-format.md. Preserve all content — only restructure, never delete items.
- If B: Continue to step 3 without restructuring.

**3. Detect completed TODOs:**

This step is fully automatic — no user interaction.

Use the diff and commit history already gathered in earlier steps:
- `git diff <base>...HEAD` (full diff against the base branch)
- `git log <base>..HEAD --oneline` (all commits being shipped)

For each TODO item, check if the changes in this PR complete it by:
- Matching commit messages against the TODO title and description
- Checking if files referenced in the TODO appear in the diff
- Checking if the TODO's described work matches the functional changes

**Be conservative:** Only mark a TODO as completed if there is clear evidence in the diff. If uncertain, leave it alone.

**4. Move completed items** to the `## Completed` section at the bottom. Append: `**Completed:** vX.Y.Z (YYYY-MM-DD)`

**5. Output summary:**
- `TODOS.md: N items marked complete (item1, item2, ...). M items remaining.`
- Or: `TODOS.md: No completed items detected. M items remaining.`
- Or: `TODOS.md: Created.` / `TODOS.md: Reorganized.`

**6. Defensive:** If TODOS.md cannot be written (permission error, disk full), warn the user and continue. Never stop the ship workflow for a TODOS failure.

Save this summary — it goes into the PR body in Step 19.

---

## Step 15: Commit (bisectable chunks)

### Step 15.0: WIP Commit Squash (continuous checkpoint mode only)

If `CHECKPOINT_MODE` is `"continuous"`, the branch likely contains `WIP:` commits
from auto-checkpointing. These must be squashed INTO the corresponding logical
commits before the bisectable-grouping logic in Step 15.1 runs. Non-WIP commits
on the branch (earlier landed work) must be preserved.

**Detection:**
```bash
WIP_COUNT=$(git log <base>..HEAD --oneline --grep="^WIP:" 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
echo "WIP_COMMITS: $WIP_COUNT"
```

If `WIP_COUNT` is 0: skip this sub-step entirely.

If `WIP_COUNT` > 0, collect the WIP context first so it survives the squash:

```bash
# Export [gstack-context] blocks from all WIP commits on this branch.
# This file becomes input to the CHANGELOG entry and may inform PR body context.
mkdir -p "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.gstack"
git log <base>..HEAD --grep="^WIP:" --format="%H%n%B%n---END---" > \
  "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.gstack/wip-context-before-squash.md" 2>/dev/null || true
```

**Non-destructive squash strategy:**

`git reset --soft <merge-base>` WOULD uncommit everything including non-WIP commits.
DO NOT DO THAT. Instead, use `git rebase` scoped to filter WIP commits only.

Option 1 (preferred, if there are non-WIP commits mixed in):
```bash
# Interactive rebase with automated WIP squashing.
# Mark every WIP commit as 'fixup' (drop its message, fold changes into prior commit).
git rebase -i $(git merge-base HEAD origin/<base>) \
  --exec 'true' \
  -X ours 2>/dev/null || {
    echo "Rebase conflict. Aborting: git rebase --abort"
    git rebase --abort
    echo "STATUS: BLOCKED — manual WIP squash required"
    exit 1
  }
```

Option 2 (simpler, if the branch is ALL WIP commits so far — no landed work):
```bash
# Branch contains only WIP commits. Reset-soft is safe here because there's
# nothing non-WIP to preserve. Verify first.
NON_WIP=$(git log <base>..HEAD --oneline --invert-grep --grep="^WIP:" 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
if [ "$NON_WIP" -eq 0 ]; then
  git reset --soft $(git merge-base HEAD origin/<base>)
  echo "WIP-only branch, reset-soft to merge base. Step 15.1 will create clean commits."
fi
```

Decide at runtime which option applies. If unsure, prefer stopping and asking the
user via AskUserQuestion rather than destroying non-WIP commits.

**Anti-footgun rules:**
- NEVER blind `git reset --soft` if there are non-WIP commits. Codex flagged this
  as destructive — it would uncommit real landed work and turn the push step into
  a non-fast-forward push for anyone who already pushed.
- Only proceed to Step 15.1 after WIP commits are successfully squashed/absorbed
  or the branch has been verified to contain only WIP work.

### Step 15.1: Bisectable Commits

**Goal:** Create small, logical commits that work well with `git bisect` and help LLMs understand what changed.

1. Analyze the diff and group changes into logical commits. Each commit should represent **one coherent change** — not one file, but one logical unit.

2. **Commit ordering** (earlier commits first):
   - **Infrastructure:** migrations, config changes, route additions
   - **Models & services:** new models, services, concerns (with their tests)
   - **Controllers & views:** controllers, views, JS/React components (with their tests)
   - **VERSION + CHANGELOG + TODOS.md:** always in the final commit

3. **Rules for splitting:**
   - A model and its test file go in the same commit
   - A service and its test file go in the same commit
   - A controller, its views, and its test go in the same commit
   - Migrations are their own commit (or grouped with the model they support)
   - Config/route changes can group with the feature they enable
   - If the total diff is small (< 50 lines across < 4 files), a single commit is fine

4. **Each commit must be independently valid** — no broken imports, no references to code that doesn't exist yet. Order commits so dependencies come first.

5. Compose each commit message:
   - First line: `<type>: <summary>` (type = feat/fix/chore/refactor/docs)
   - Body: brief description of what this commit contains
   - Only the **final commit** (VERSION + CHANGELOG) gets the version tag and co-author trailer:

```bash
git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
chore: bump version and changelog (vX.Y.Z.W)

{{CO_AUTHOR_TRAILER}}
EOF
)"
```

---

## Step 16: Verification Gate

**IRON LAW: NO COMPLETION CLAIMS WITHOUT FRESH VERIFICATION EVIDENCE.**

Before pushing, re-verify if code changed during Steps 4-6:

1. **Test verification:** If ANY code changed after Step 5's test run (fixes from review findings, CHANGELOG edits don't count), re-run the test suite. Paste fresh output. Stale output from Step 5 is NOT acceptable.

2. **Build verification:** If the project has a build step, run it. Paste output.

3. **Rationalization prevention:**
   - "Should work now" → RUN IT.
   - "I'm confident" → Confidence is not evidence.
   - "I already tested earlier" → Code changed since then. Test again.
   - "It's a trivial change" → Trivial changes break production.

**If tests fail here:** STOP. Do not push. Fix the issue and return to Step 5.

Claiming work is complete without verification is dishonesty, not efficiency.

---

## Step 17: Push

**Idempotency check:** Check if the branch is already pushed and up to date.

```bash
git fetch origin <branch-name> 2>/dev/null
LOCAL=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
REMOTE=$(git rev-parse origin/<branch-name> 2>/dev/null || echo "none")
echo "LOCAL: $LOCAL  REMOTE: $REMOTE"
[ "$LOCAL" = "$REMOTE" ] && echo "ALREADY_PUSHED" || echo "PUSH_NEEDED"
```

If `ALREADY_PUSHED`, skip the push but continue to Step 18. Otherwise push with upstream tracking:

```bash
git push -u origin <branch-name>
```

**You are NOT done.** The code is pushed but documentation sync and PR creation are mandatory final steps. Continue to Step 18.

---

**PR/MR title invariant (always applies — do not skip even if you don't open the section below):** Any PR or MR you create OR update in the next step MUST have a title that starts with `v$NEW_VERSION` (the version bumped in Step 12), in the format `v<NEW_VERSION> <type>: <summary>`. Never create or edit a PR/MR title without this prefix. Compute the correct title with the single source of truth helper: `~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-pr-title-rewrite.sh "$NEW_VERSION" "<current title>"`. The full create/update procedure (idempotency, redaction scan, self-check) is in the section below.

{{SECTION:pr-body}}

## Step 20: Persist ship metrics

Log coverage and plan completion data so `/retro` can track trends:

```bash
eval "$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-slug 2>/dev/null)" && mkdir -p ~/.gstack/projects/$SLUG
```

Append to `~/.gstack/projects/$SLUG/$BRANCH-reviews.jsonl`:

```bash
echo '{"skill":"ship","timestamp":"'"$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)"'","coverage_pct":COVERAGE_PCT,"plan_items_total":PLAN_TOTAL,"plan_items_done":PLAN_DONE,"verification_result":"VERIFY_RESULT","version":"VERSION","branch":"BRANCH"}' >> ~/.gstack/projects/$SLUG/$BRANCH-reviews.jsonl
```

Substitute from earlier steps:
- **COVERAGE_PCT**: coverage percentage from Step 7 diagram (integer, or -1 if undetermined)
- **PLAN_TOTAL**: total plan items extracted in Step 8 (0 if no plan file)
- **PLAN_DONE**: count of DONE + CHANGED items from Step 8 (0 if no plan file)
- **VERIFY_RESULT**: "pass", "fail", or "skipped" from Step 8.1
- **VERSION**: from the VERSION file
- **BRANCH**: current branch name

This step is automatic — never skip it, never ask for confirmation.

---

## Step 21: Plan-tune discoverability nudge (first-successful-ship only)

Plan-tune cathedral T15. After a successful ship, surface /plan-tune once
per machine. Single line, non-blocking, marker-gated so it never re-fires.

```bash
_NUDGE_MARKER="$HOME/.gstack/.plan-tune-nudge-shown"
_QT=$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-config get question_tuning 2>/dev/null || echo "false")
if [ ! -f "$_NUDGE_MARKER" ] && [ "$_QT" = "false" ]; then
  echo ""
  echo "gstack can learn from your AskUserQuestion answers. Run /plan-tune to opt in"
  echo "— it captures which prompts you find valuable vs noisy and (with hooks installed)"
  echo "auto-decides your never-ask preferences."
  touch "$_NUDGE_MARKER"
fi
```

If the marker exists, OR question_tuning is already on, the nudge is a
no-op. The marker guarantees at-most-once per machine. To re-enable:
`rm ~/.gstack/.plan-tune-nudge-shown` before next ship.

---

## Section self-check (before you finish)

You ran a carved skill. For your situation, list every section the Section index
named as applying, and confirm you issued a Read for each one. If you executed any
of those steps from memory without reading its section, you skipped the source of
truth — STOP, Read it now, and redo that step. Deterministic version work goes
through `gstack-version-bump`; never hand-roll the VERSION/package.json write.

---

## Important Rules

- **Never skip tests.** If tests fail, stop.
- **Never skip the pre-landing review.** If checklist.md is unreadable, stop.
- **Never force push.** Use regular `git push` only.
- **Never ask for trivial confirmations** (e.g., "ready to push?", "create PR?"). DO stop for: version bumps (MINOR/MAJOR), pre-landing review findings (ASK items), and Codex structured review [P1] findings (large diffs only).
- **Always use the 4-digit version format** from the VERSION file.
- **Date format in CHANGELOG:** `YYYY-MM-DD`
- **Split commits for bisectability** — each commit = one logical change.
- **TODOS.md completion detection must be conservative.** Only mark items as completed when the diff clearly shows the work is done.
- **Use Greptile reply templates from greptile-triage.md.** Every reply includes evidence (inline diff, code references, re-rank suggestion). Never post vague replies.
- **Never push without fresh verification evidence.** If code changed after Step 5 tests, re-run before pushing.
- **Step 7 generates coverage tests.** They must pass before committing. Never commit failing tests.
- **The goal is: user says `/ship`, next thing they see is the review + PR URL + auto-synced docs.**