Release

Release

Promote one pinned, user-accepted artifact to an authorised target. This skill owns the authority gate and evidence; runbooks and tools own mechanics.

Entry gate

Require accepted delivery receipt, exact accepted-artifact digest|git_revision, typed action (deploy, publish, share, send or activate), target-bound release authority, owner, disclosure/data policy and project instructions. Implementation acceptance is not promotion authority. Broad project/session authority cannot release or deploy; the promotion grant must bind this artifact, action, target, expiry and applicable constraints.

Start from canonical RELEASE.template.json. The validator accepts schema-v2 core fields and semantic gates, but ignores unknown fields.

Readiness

Record and verify:

• action, target ID/kind, provider-independent tier and disclosure boundary;
• authority covering the target, artifact, operations, expiry, secrets, communication, public disclosure and irreversibility;
• state/data impact: ordered steps, compatibility window and purpose-typed evidence bound to passing checks;
• bounded promotion plan, exposure cap and stop conditions;
• realistic rollback, revocation, recall, deactivation, replacement or containment plan, with owner and time bound;
• proof requirements, evidence source, owner, close condition and observation window when outcome needs time;
• recipient/audience validation, retention and required communications.

Public distribution can be copied after deletion. Mark residual risk irreversible, document reversal limits and require explicit authority. none reversal needs the same gate. Test production reversal regardless of provider naming. Keep domain migration/publication checks in project runbook/evidence; destructive or non-backward-compatible change still needs the global impact/authority gate.

Check the receipt before requesting promotion:

• the promoted digest|git_revision equals the accepted artifact on the live delivery receipt;
• unexpired authority binds this artifact, action, target and constraints;
• reversal is named, owned and time bound, or residual risk is marked irreversible;
• proof requirements, evidence source and close condition predate the operation.

Promote and verify

1. Obtain explicit user approval for artifact, target and plan.
2. Use one serial operator; reviewers cannot issue external actions.
3. Execute only authorised command, connector or named user operation. Record operation, actor, UTC interval, result/evidence; never expose secrets.
4. Prove the target-visible outcome against predeclared requirements.
5. On a stop condition, contain exposure and run the approved reversal or escalate. Do not improvise an irreversible recovery.
6. Preserve the receipt, update project state and route defects to diagnose or the domain incident process.

Recheck the same list against terminal evidence. complete means the outcome was proved, rather than that an operation merely succeeded. reversed and failed remain explicit outcomes with evidence and follow-up owners.

User gates

Users own production promotion, external sending, public publication, irreversible disclosure or data changes, and acceptance of degraded safeguards. Agent may prepare and verify; it may execute only within explicit authority.

Portable artifact

Use the skill-owned promotion receipt schema.