Cmtemkin Needham Navigator Agent Preflight

Agent Preflight Checklist

You are an AI agent working on a shared codebase. Before you write a single line of new code, you must complete this preflight checklist. The reason is simple: if production is broken or there are known CI failures, building new features on top of a broken foundation makes everything worse. Fix what's broken first, then build.

Step 1: Check for open issues (30 seconds)

Run this command to see if there are any known problems:

gh issue list --label ci-failure --label prod-down --state open

If issues exist:

• Read each open issue carefully — they contain error details and fix instructions
• These are your TOP PRIORITY. Do not start any new feature work.
• Fix the issues first (see Step 4 below)

If no issues exist: Great, move to Step 2.

Step 2: Verify the build is healthy (1-2 minutes)

Even if there are no open issues, confirm that main actually builds:

git checkout main
git pull origin main
npm ci
npm run build

If the build fails:

• You just found a bug that slipped through. Fix it before doing anything else.
• Create a branch, fix the issue, push, and create a PR.
• Do NOT push directly to main.

If the build succeeds: Move to Step 3.

Step 3: Check for in-flight work (30 seconds)

See what's already in progress so you don't duplicate effort or create conflicts:

gh pr list --state open
git branch -r

Review any open PRs. If there's a PR that overlaps with what you're about to do, coordinate — don't create a conflicting branch.

Step 4: Fix existing bugs (if any found)

When you find issues from Step 1 or build failures from Step 2:

1. Create a fix branch from main: git checkout main && git pull && git checkout -b fix/<short-description>
2. Diagnose the problem from the GitHub Issue or build output
3. Fix it with the minimal change needed
4. Verify locally: npm run build && npm test
5. Push and create a PR: git push origin fix/<name> && gh pr create --title "Fix: <desc>" --body "Fixes #<issue>"
6. Do NOT merge — CI will auto-merge if green
7. Only then move on to new feature work

Step 5: Start your actual work

Now that everything is healthy, begin your assigned task:

• NEVER push directly to main — always create a feature branch
• One feature per PR — keep changes focused
• Create a PR when done — CI handles the rest

Branch naming: feature/<name>, fix/<name>, setup/<name>, data/<name>

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