CI/CD Engineer
When to Use
- Design or implement CI/CD for a skills monorepo (validate on PR, package on release)
- Add or fix GitHub Actions workflows for skill folders, changed-path detection, and matrix validation
- Wire skill-creator scripts (
quick_validate.py, package_skill.py) into pipelines
- Define quality gates: frontmatter, description length, reference layout, batch validate
- Plan release and promotion for
.skill artifacts (tags, environments, changelogs)
- Document secrets, OIDC, and fork-safe PR checks for skill repos
- Write rollback and change-management steps for a bad skill release
- Produce runbooks for on-call during skill publish failures
When NOT to Use
- Application/service CI only (containers, K8s deploy, app test suites) without skill packaging →
devops
- Pre-flight architecture or build go/no-go before execution →
build-validator
- Internal developer platform, golden paths, Backstage, paved-road templates →
platform-engineer
- SLI/SLO programs, error budgets, burn-rate alerting, PRR without pipeline work →
site-reliability-engineer
- Skill catalog inventory, overlap dedup, deprecate/split governance without CI YAML →
ai-skill-manager
- Security gates (SBOM, SAST policy, supply-chain signing) as the primary task →
devsecops
- Author a single new skill from scratch (content only) → skill-creator /
init_skill.py
Related skills
| Need |
Skill |
| General app CI/CD, GitOps, container delivery |
devops |
| Go/no-go validation before major changes |
build-validator |
| IDP, golden paths, developer portal |
platform-engineer |
| SLOs, reliability metrics, incident reliability |
site-reliability-engineer |
| Batch validate script, portfolio standards |
ai-skill-manager |
| Pipeline and artifact security gates |
devsecops |
| Release cutover tiers and change windows |
deployment-strategist |
Core Workflows
1. Pipeline topology for skills repos
Standard stage order:
checkout → detect changed skills → validate (quick_validate) → optional lint/scripts → package on release tag → publish artifact → notify
Checklist:
See references/pipeline_design_and_workflow.md.
2. GitHub Actions implementation
- Use
paths / paths-filter for **/SKILL.md and references/**
- Matrix or loop per changed skill directory
- Cache nothing sensitive; use
GITHUB_TOKEN with least scope
- Fork PRs: read-only checks; no secrets on
pull_request_target without hardening
- Reusable workflow (
workflow_call) for validate + package jobs
See references/github_actions_and_build.md.
3. Testing and quality gates
| Gate |
Tool / check |
| Structure + YAML |
quick_validate.py |
| Batch regression |
ai-skill-manager/scripts/validate_all_skills.sh |
| Description triggers |
Human review + grep for duplicate keywords |
| Scripts in skill dirs |
Lint + no network exfil patterns |
See references/testing_gates_and_quality.md.
4. Skill validation and packaging CI
python3 ~/.claude/skills/skill-creator/scripts/quick_validate.py path/to/skill-dir
python3 ~/.claude/skills/skill-creator/scripts/package_skill.py path/to/skill-dir ./dist
- PR: validate changed skills only
- Release: package validated skills; attach
.skill to GitHub Release or internal registry
- Do not package every skill on every PR unless releasing a bundle
See references/skill_validation_and_packaging_ci.md.
5. Deployment, promotion, and operations
- Dev/staging: auto-validate on PR merge to main
- Release: tag
skill-v* or calendar version; package and publish
- Promotion: copy artifacts to consumer paths (plugin cache, internal registry) with checksum
- Rollback: re-publish previous tag artifacts; document superseded skill
description if needed
- Runbook: who approves, how to verify install, comms for broken bundle
See references/deployment_promotion_and_operations.md.
6. Scope and boundaries
Confirm the ask is skills-repo CI/CD, not generic platform ops. Load references/cicd_engineer_scope.md when routing or scoping engagements.
When to load references
| Topic |
Reference |
| Role boundaries and triggers |
references/cicd_engineer_scope.md |
| Pipeline stages, branching, artifacts |
references/pipeline_design_and_workflow.md |
| GitHub Actions patterns |
references/github_actions_and_build.md |
| Gates, batch validate, PR policy |
references/testing_gates_and_quality.md |
| quick_validate / package_skill in CI |
references/skill_validation_and_packaging_ci.md |
| Release, promotion, rollback, runbooks |
references/deployment_promotion_and_operations.md |
1---2name: cicd-engineer3description: Guides CI/CD for agent skills repositories and skill packages—pipeline design (build, test, validate, package), GitHub Actions for PR checks and release promotion, environment gates, secrets hygiene (no secrets in repo), skill-creator integration (quick_validate.py, package_skill.py), .skill artifact strategy, rollback, and operational runbooks for skill releases. Use when the user mentions CI/CD, CI/CD engineer, pipeline design, GitHub Actions, skill validation CI, package skills, release pipeline, deploy skills, PR checks, continuous integration, or skill release workflow—not application-only CI without skill packaging (devops), pre-flight plan go/no-go (build-validator), IDP or golden paths (platform-engineer), org-wide SLO and error-budget programs without pipeline ownership (site-reliability-engineer), or portfolio catalog governance without pipeline YAML (ai-skill-manager).4---56# CI/CD Engineer78## When to Use910- Design or implement CI/CD for a **skills monorepo** (validate on PR, package on release)11- Add or fix **GitHub Actions** workflows for skill folders, changed-path detection, and matrix validation12- Wire **skill-creator** scripts (`quick_validate.py`, `package_skill.py`) into pipelines13- Define **quality gates**: frontmatter, description length, reference layout, batch validate14- Plan **release and promotion** for `.skill` artifacts (tags, environments, changelogs)15- Document **secrets**, OIDC, and fork-safe PR checks for skill repos16- Write **rollback** and change-management steps for a bad skill release17- Produce **runbooks** for on-call during skill publish failures1819## When NOT to Use2021- Application/service CI only (containers, K8s deploy, app test suites) without skill packaging → `devops`22- Pre-flight architecture or build go/no-go before execution → `build-validator`23- Internal developer platform, golden paths, Backstage, paved-road templates → `platform-engineer`24- SLI/SLO programs, error budgets, burn-rate alerting, PRR without pipeline work → `site-reliability-engineer`25- Skill catalog inventory, overlap dedup, deprecate/split governance without CI YAML → `ai-skill-manager`26- Security gates (SBOM, SAST policy, supply-chain signing) as the primary task → `devsecops`27- Author a single new skill from scratch (content only) → skill-creator / `init_skill.py`2829## Related skills3031| Need | Skill |32|---|---|33| General app CI/CD, GitOps, container delivery | `devops` |34| Go/no-go validation before major changes | `build-validator` |35| IDP, golden paths, developer portal | `platform-engineer` |36| SLOs, reliability metrics, incident reliability | `site-reliability-engineer` |37| Batch validate script, portfolio standards | `ai-skill-manager` |38| Pipeline and artifact security gates | `devsecops` |39| Release cutover tiers and change windows | `deployment-strategist` |4041## Core Workflows4243### 1. Pipeline topology for skills repos4445**Standard stage order:**4647```48checkout → detect changed skills → validate (quick_validate) → optional lint/scripts → package on release tag → publish artifact → notify49```5051**Checklist:**5253- [ ] Pipeline as code under `.github/workflows/`; versioned with repo54- [ ] PR jobs run on changed skill directories only when possible55- [ ] `quick_validate.py` gates merge; fail closed on invalid frontmatter56- [ ] Release job runs `package_skill.py` only after validation passes57- [ ] Artifacts immutable (tag + commit SHA in name or metadata)58- [ ] Manual or environment approval before org-wide distribution5960**See `references/pipeline_design_and_workflow.md`.**6162### 2. GitHub Actions implementation63641. Use `paths` / `paths-filter` for `**/SKILL.md` and `references/**`652. Matrix or loop per changed skill directory663. Cache nothing sensitive; use `GITHUB_TOKEN` with least scope674. Fork PRs: read-only checks; no secrets on `pull_request_target` without hardening685. Reusable workflow (`workflow_call`) for validate + package jobs6970**See `references/github_actions_and_build.md`.**7172### 3. Testing and quality gates7374| Gate | Tool / check |75|---|---|76| Structure + YAML | `quick_validate.py` |77| Batch regression | `ai-skill-manager/scripts/validate_all_skills.sh` |78| Description triggers | Human review + grep for duplicate keywords |79| Scripts in skill dirs | Lint + no network exfil patterns |8081**See `references/testing_gates_and_quality.md`.**8283### 4. Skill validation and packaging CI8485```bash86python3 ~/.claude/skills/skill-creator/scripts/quick_validate.py path/to/skill-dir87python3 ~/.claude/skills/skill-creator/scripts/package_skill.py path/to/skill-dir ./dist88```8990- PR: validate changed skills only91- Release: package validated skills; attach `.skill` to GitHub Release or internal registry92- Do not package every skill on every PR unless releasing a bundle9394**See `references/skill_validation_and_packaging_ci.md`.**9596### 5. Deployment, promotion, and operations97981. **Dev/staging**: auto-validate on PR merge to main992. **Release**: tag `skill-v*` or calendar version; package and publish1003. **Promotion**: copy artifacts to consumer paths (plugin cache, internal registry) with checksum1014. **Rollback**: re-publish previous tag artifacts; document superseded skill `description` if needed1025. **Runbook**: who approves, how to verify install, comms for broken bundle103104**See `references/deployment_promotion_and_operations.md`.**105106### 6. Scope and boundaries107108Confirm the ask is **skills-repo CI/CD**, not generic platform ops. Load `references/cicd_engineer_scope.md` when routing or scoping engagements.109110## When to load references111112| Topic | Reference |113|---|---|114| Role boundaries and triggers | `references/cicd_engineer_scope.md` |115| Pipeline stages, branching, artifacts | `references/pipeline_design_and_workflow.md` |116| GitHub Actions patterns | `references/github_actions_and_build.md` |117| Gates, batch validate, PR policy | `references/testing_gates_and_quality.md` |118| quick_validate / package_skill in CI | `references/skill_validation_and_packaging_ci.md` |119| Release, promotion, rollback, runbooks | `references/deployment_promotion_and_operations.md` |