Deployment Procedures
Deployment principles and decision-making for safe production releases.
Learn to THINK, not memorize scripts.
⚠️ How to Use This Skill
This skill teaches deployment principles, not bash scripts to copy.
- Every deployment is unique
- Understand the WHY behind each step
- Adapt procedures to your platform
1. Platform Selection
Decision Tree
What are you deploying?
│
├── Static site / JAMstack
│ └── Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages
│
├── Simple web app
│ ├── Managed → Railway, Render, Fly.io
│ └── Control → VPS + PM2/Docker
│
├── Microservices
│ └── Container orchestration
│
└── Serverless
└── Edge functions, Lambda
Each Platform Has Different Procedures
| Platform |
Deployment Method |
| Vercel/Netlify |
Git push, auto-deploy |
| Railway/Render |
Git push or CLI |
| VPS + PM2 |
SSH + manual steps |
| Docker |
Image push + orchestration |
| Kubernetes |
kubectl apply |
2. Pre-Deployment Principles
The 4 Verification Categories
| Category |
What to Check |
| Code Quality |
Tests passing, linting clean, reviewed |
| Build |
Production build works, no warnings |
| Environment |
Env vars set, secrets current |
| Safety |
Backup done, rollback plan ready |
Pre-Deployment Checklist
3. Deployment Workflow Principles
The 5-Phase Process
1. PREPARE
└── Verify code, build, env vars
2. BACKUP
└── Save current state before changing
3. DEPLOY
└── Execute with monitoring open
4. VERIFY
└── Health check, logs, key flows
5. CONFIRM or ROLLBACK
└── All good? Confirm. Issues? Rollback.
Phase Principles
| Phase |
Principle |
| Prepare |
Never deploy untested code |
| Backup |
Can't rollback without backup |
| Deploy |
Watch it happen, don't walk away |
| Verify |
Trust but verify |
| Confirm |
Have rollback trigger ready |
4. Post-Deployment Verification
What to Verify
| Check |
Why |
| Health endpoint |
Service is running |
| Error logs |
No new errors |
| Key user flows |
Critical features work |
| Performance |
Response times acceptable |
Verification Window
- First 5 minutes: Active monitoring
- 15 minutes: Confirm stable
- 1 hour: Final verification
- Next day: Review metrics
5. Rollback Principles
When to Rollback
| Symptom |
Action |
| Service down |
Rollback immediately |
| Critical errors |
Rollback |
| Performance >50% degraded |
Consider rollback |
| Minor issues |
Fix forward if quick |
Rollback Strategy by Platform
| Platform |
Rollback Method |
| Vercel/Netlify |
Redeploy previous commit |
| Railway/Render |
Rollback in dashboard |
| VPS + PM2 |
Restore backup, restart |
| Docker |
Previous image tag |
| K8s |
kubectl rollout undo |
Rollback Principles
- Speed over perfection: Rollback first, debug later
- Don't compound errors: One rollback, not multiple changes
- Communicate: Tell team what happened
- Post-mortem: Understand why after stable
6. Zero-Downtime Deployment
Strategies
| Strategy |
How It Works |
| Rolling |
Replace instances one by one |
| Blue-Green |
Switch traffic between environments |
| Canary |
Gradual traffic shift |
Selection Principles
| Scenario |
Strategy |
| Standard release |
Rolling |
| High-risk change |
Blue-green (easy rollback) |
| Need validation |
Canary (test with real traffic) |
7. Emergency Procedures
Service Down Priority
- Assess: What's the symptom?
- Quick fix: Restart if unclear
- Rollback: If restart doesn't help
- Investigate: After stable
Investigation Order
| Check |
Common Issues |
| Logs |
Errors, exceptions |
| Resources |
Disk full, memory |
| Network |
DNS, firewall |
| Dependencies |
Database, APIs |
8. Anti-Patterns
| ❌ Don't |
✅ Do |
| Deploy on Friday |
Deploy early in week |
| Rush deployment |
Follow the process |
| Skip staging |
Always test first |
| Deploy without backup |
Backup before deploy |
| Walk away after deploy |
Monitor for 15+ min |
| Multiple changes at once |
One change at a time |
9. Decision Checklist
Before deploying:
10. Best Practices
- Small, frequent deploys over big releases
- Feature flags for risky changes
- Automate repetitive steps
- Document every deployment
- Review what went wrong after issues
- Test rollback before you need it
Remember: Every deployment is a risk. Minimize risk through preparation, not speed.
When to Use
This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.
1---2name: deployment-procedures3description: "Production deployment principles and decision-making. Safe deployment workflows, rollback strategies, and verification. Teaches thinking, not scripts."4allowed-tools: Read, Glob, Grep, Bash5risk: unknown6source: community7---89# Deployment Procedures1011> Deployment principles and decision-making for safe production releases.12> **Learn to THINK, not memorize scripts.**1314---1516## ⚠️ How to Use This Skill1718This skill teaches **deployment principles**, not bash scripts to copy.1920- Every deployment is unique21- Understand the WHY behind each step22- Adapt procedures to your platform2324---2526## 1. Platform Selection2728### Decision Tree2930```31What are you deploying?32│33├── Static site / JAMstack34│ └── Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages35│36├── Simple web app37│ ├── Managed → Railway, Render, Fly.io38│ └── Control → VPS + PM2/Docker39│40├── Microservices41│ └── Container orchestration42│43└── Serverless44 └── Edge functions, Lambda45```4647### Each Platform Has Different Procedures4849| Platform | Deployment Method |50|----------|------------------|51| **Vercel/Netlify** | Git push, auto-deploy |52| **Railway/Render** | Git push or CLI |53| **VPS + PM2** | SSH + manual steps |54| **Docker** | Image push + orchestration |55| **Kubernetes** | kubectl apply |5657---5859## 2. Pre-Deployment Principles6061### The 4 Verification Categories6263| Category | What to Check |64|----------|--------------|65| **Code Quality** | Tests passing, linting clean, reviewed |66| **Build** | Production build works, no warnings |67| **Environment** | Env vars set, secrets current |68| **Safety** | Backup done, rollback plan ready |6970### Pre-Deployment Checklist7172- [ ] All tests passing73- [ ] Code reviewed and approved74- [ ] Production build successful75- [ ] Environment variables verified76- [ ] Database migrations ready (if any)77- [ ] Rollback plan documented78- [ ] Team notified79- [ ] Monitoring ready8081---8283## 3. Deployment Workflow Principles8485### The 5-Phase Process8687```881. PREPARE89 └── Verify code, build, env vars90912. BACKUP92 └── Save current state before changing93943. DEPLOY95 └── Execute with monitoring open96974. VERIFY98 └── Health check, logs, key flows991005. CONFIRM or ROLLBACK101 └── All good? Confirm. Issues? Rollback.102```103104### Phase Principles105106| Phase | Principle |107|-------|-----------|108| **Prepare** | Never deploy untested code |109| **Backup** | Can't rollback without backup |110| **Deploy** | Watch it happen, don't walk away |111| **Verify** | Trust but verify |112| **Confirm** | Have rollback trigger ready |113114---115116## 4. Post-Deployment Verification117118### What to Verify119120| Check | Why |121|-------|-----|122| **Health endpoint** | Service is running |123| **Error logs** | No new errors |124| **Key user flows** | Critical features work |125| **Performance** | Response times acceptable |126127### Verification Window128129- **First 5 minutes**: Active monitoring130- **15 minutes**: Confirm stable131- **1 hour**: Final verification132- **Next day**: Review metrics133134---135136## 5. Rollback Principles137138### When to Rollback139140| Symptom | Action |141|---------|--------|142| Service down | Rollback immediately |143| Critical errors | Rollback |144| Performance >50% degraded | Consider rollback |145| Minor issues | Fix forward if quick |146147### Rollback Strategy by Platform148149| Platform | Rollback Method |150|----------|----------------|151| **Vercel/Netlify** | Redeploy previous commit |152| **Railway/Render** | Rollback in dashboard |153| **VPS + PM2** | Restore backup, restart |154| **Docker** | Previous image tag |155| **K8s** | kubectl rollout undo |156157### Rollback Principles1581591. **Speed over perfection**: Rollback first, debug later1602. **Don't compound errors**: One rollback, not multiple changes1613. **Communicate**: Tell team what happened1624. **Post-mortem**: Understand why after stable163164---165166## 6. Zero-Downtime Deployment167168### Strategies169170| Strategy | How It Works |171|----------|--------------|172| **Rolling** | Replace instances one by one |173| **Blue-Green** | Switch traffic between environments |174| **Canary** | Gradual traffic shift |175176### Selection Principles177178| Scenario | Strategy |179|----------|----------|180| Standard release | Rolling |181| High-risk change | Blue-green (easy rollback) |182| Need validation | Canary (test with real traffic) |183184---185186## 7. Emergency Procedures187188### Service Down Priority1891901. **Assess**: What's the symptom?1912. **Quick fix**: Restart if unclear1923. **Rollback**: If restart doesn't help1934. **Investigate**: After stable194195### Investigation Order196197| Check | Common Issues |198|-------|--------------|199| **Logs** | Errors, exceptions |200| **Resources** | Disk full, memory |201| **Network** | DNS, firewall |202| **Dependencies** | Database, APIs |203204---205206## 8. Anti-Patterns207208| ❌ Don't | ✅ Do |209|----------|-------|210| Deploy on Friday | Deploy early in week |211| Rush deployment | Follow the process |212| Skip staging | Always test first |213| Deploy without backup | Backup before deploy |214| Walk away after deploy | Monitor for 15+ min |215| Multiple changes at once | One change at a time |216217---218219## 9. Decision Checklist220221Before deploying:222223- [ ] **Platform-appropriate procedure?**224- [ ] **Backup strategy ready?**225- [ ] **Rollback plan documented?**226- [ ] **Monitoring configured?**227- [ ] **Team notified?**228- [ ] **Time to monitor after?**229230---231232## 10. Best Practices2332341. **Small, frequent deploys** over big releases2352. **Feature flags** for risky changes2363. **Automate** repetitive steps2374. **Document** every deployment2385. **Review** what went wrong after issues2396. **Test rollback** before you need it240241---242243> **Remember:** Every deployment is a risk. Minimize risk through preparation, not speed.244245## When to Use246This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.
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