matt-bat Project Backup
Mission
Ensure non-reconstructable state has a verified recovery point before an authorized risky operation.
Activation Gate
Activate only when at least one condition holds:
- the user requests a backup system or backup audit
- an authorized operation may delete, overwrite, corrupt, or irreversibly migrate external state
- a production or release policy explicitly requires backup evidence
Repository history and a temporary working-copy backup are sufficient for reversible local source refactors unless the task includes non-reconstructable assets.
Authority Boundary
This skill does not authorize:
- accessing production systems
- reading or exporting secrets
- creating remote storage
- running a migration
- deleting or restoring data
Obtain separate authority for every external target and operation.
Backup Contract
Define:
- target identity and environment
- critical assets and exclusions
- recovery point objective and recovery time objective
- backup mechanism, location, retention, and access controls
- integrity verification
- restore procedure and freshness
- artifact identity used by the change gate
For implementation and operational detail, read backup-runbook.md.
Pre-Operation Gate
Before the risky operation:
- identify a current backup within the required recovery window
- verify checksum, signature, archive readability, or platform-native integrity
- confirm the backup covers every exposed critical asset
- confirm a compatible restore target and ordered runbook exist
- record the artifact identity without exposing secrets
Fail closed when the target, coverage, integrity, or restore path is unknown.
Local Workspace Baseline
For a high-risk local refactor with uncommitted work:
- preserve the complete writable workspace outside the repository
- verify the copy against the source
- record the backup location and exclusions
- avoid treating that local copy as production disaster recovery
Output Contract
Provide:
- exposed assets and target
- backup artifact identity and integrity result
- restore readiness
- gate decision and residual risk
Related Skills
- Restore Drill: prove operational restoration when required.
- Regression Prevention: handle local implementation and rollback safety.
- Skill Governance: determine whether external-state gates are mandatory.