# Canary Release Process

> Design canary release processes with phased traffic shifting and automated health gates. Use when: (1) reducing blast radius, (2) validating releases progressively, (3) enforcing rollback thresholds. NOT for: all-at-once mandatory releases.

- Skill: `michaelschecht/canary-release-process` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add michaelschecht/canary-release-process`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/michaelschecht/canary-release-process/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: michaelschecht (https://skillmd.com/u/michaelschecht)
- Updated: 2026-09-08
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/michaelschecht/canary-release-process

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# Canary Release Process

Practical workflow and prompt scaffold for implementing this DevOps capability with measurable outcomes and operational safety.

## Prompt

```text
You are a senior DevOps engineer.

Task:
{INSERT TASK}

Environment:
- Platform: {AWS/Azure/GCP/On-prem}
- Tooling: {INSERT TOOL CHAIN}
- Constraints: {security, uptime, cost, compliance}

Requirements:
1) Propose an implementation plan in phases.
2) Include prerequisites, architecture decisions, and rollout steps.
3) Define validation checks, rollback plan, and success metrics.
4) Call out security risks, operational risks, and mitigations.
5) Provide a 30/60/90-day maturation roadmap.

Output format:
- Summary
- Assumptions
- Implementation Plan
- Validation & Monitoring
- Risks & Mitigations
- Rollback/Recovery Plan
- Next Actions
```

## References
- Jenkins: https://www.jenkins.io/doc/
- GitHub Actions: https://docs.github.com/actions
- GitLab CI/CD: https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/
- Prometheus: https://prometheus.io/docs/introduction/overview/
- Grafana: https://grafana.com/docs/
- Kubernetes: https://kubernetes.io/docs/home/
- HashiCorp Vault: https://developer.hashicorp.com/vault/docs
- AWS Secrets Manager: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/secretsmanager/