gabrielmoreira Release Ritual
Cut a versioned release of Alex_ACT_Edition. Releases are high-stakes operations: they ship the brain template to heir projects across the fleet. Run the full 7-step ACT pass before invoking the irreversible steps.
When to Use
- Accepted PRs accumulate to a meaningful release
- A critical bug requires a patch release
- The 60-day re-evaluation cycle ends and a checkpoint release is appropriate
Do not use for: in-progress drafts, single-skill experiments, untested submissions.
Preflight (must all pass before any irreversible step)
| Check | Tool | Pass criterion |
|---|---|---|
| All accepted PRs merged | git log against ../Alex_ACT_Edition |
No open PRs marked "ship in this release" |
| Working tree clean | git status |
No uncommitted changes |
| brain-qa exits 0 | node ../Alex_ACT_Edition/scripts/brain-qa.cjs (when present) |
Exit code 0 |
| Self-contained check | grep for ../master-wiki/ or absolute paths in .github/ |
Zero matches |
| CHANGELOG.md updated | manual review | Entry for the new version with all merged PRs |
| Version bumped | grep version package.json (when present) or currency: in frontmatter |
New version > previous |
| ACT pass complete | this skill | Full 7-step trail recorded |
Release Steps (in order)
1. Confirm scope
List every PR being released. Categorize:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Breaking | API changes, removed skills, renamed files heirs depend on |
| Feature | New skills, new instructions, new prompts |
| Fix | Bug fixes, typo fixes, link repairs |
| Chore | Dependency bumps, dev-only changes |
If breaking is non-empty, bump major version (X.0.0). Else if feature is non-empty, bump minor (x.X.0). Else bump patch (x.x.X).
2. Update CHANGELOG.md
## [x.y.z] - YYYY-MM-DD
### Breaking
- ...
### Added
- ...
### Fixed
- ...
### Chore
- ...
3. Bump version
Update version in:
package.json(if present)README.mdversion badge (if present).github/copilot-instructions.mdif it carries a version stamp
4. Run preflight
All checks from the table above must pass. If any fail, stop. Fix and re-run.
5. Commit
git add CHANGELOG.md package.json README.md .github/
git commit -m "Release vX.Y.Z"
6. Tag
git tag -a vX.Y.Z -m "Alex_ACT_Edition vX.Y.Z"
7. Push (irreversible)
This is the high-stakes step. Run the full ACT pass before:
git push origin main
git push origin vX.Y.Z
8. Announce
Write a one-line entry to feedback/announcements.md (create if absent):
- vX.Y.Z (YYYY-MM-DD) — <one-line summary>. See CHANGELOG for details.
Heirs poll this on next session-start.
Rollback Procedure
If a release introduces a regression and is caught within 24 hours:
git tag -d vX.Y.Z
git push origin :refs/tags/vX.Y.Z
git revert <release-commit-sha>
git push origin main
Then immediately cut a patch release with the revert + a Fixed entry citing the regression.
If the regression is caught after 24 hours, do not delete the tag — heirs may have already pulled. Cut a patch release instead and document the bug in CHANGELOG.
Anti-Patterns
| Anti-pattern | Correction |
|---|---|
| Pushing before preflight | Preflight is non-negotiable — even for "obvious" patch releases |
| Skipping ACT pass on a "small" release | Releases are always high-stakes; small does not mean low-risk |
| Forgetting the tag | Heirs pull by tag; an untagged commit is invisible to the fleet |
| Editing CHANGELOG after the fact | CHANGELOG must be committed as part of the release commit, not after |
Related
release-discipline— the always-on ruleact-pass— full pass mandatory for releases/cut-releaseprompt