# Vc Ship > Meta-skill: the full Vibecrafted lifecycle umbrella. Launches the 11-stage Read-Write cadence (scaffold → implement → review → workflow → followup → marbles → audit → polarize → dou → hydrate → release) as ONE supervised lifecycle run, then turns the invoking agent into the supervising operator driving the baton relay with the human-controls verbs. Usually invoked in the vc-operator formula. Trigger phrases: "vc-ship", "/vc-ship", "ship it through the lifecycle", "parasol", "umbrella flight", "pełny lot", "lifecycle run", "od scaffoldu po release". - Skill: `vetcoders/vc-ship` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add vetcoders/vc-ship` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/vetcoders/vc-ship/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - Author: vetcoders (https://skillmd.com/u/vetcoders) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/vetcoders/vc-ship --- > **Invocation for `vc-ship` (launcher `ship`)** > > Same three-path _shape_ as the fleet, with **this** skill's literals — see the > canonical [Delegation Matrix](../DELEGATION_MATRIX.md): > > - [Shared three paths](../DELEGATION_MATRIX.md#shared-three-paths) > - [Launcher catalogue](../DELEGATION_MATRIX.md#launcher-catalogue-core-runtime) > - [Per-launcher rule](../DELEGATION_MATRIX.md#per-launcher-rule-the-semantic-delta) > - [Native vs external](../DELEGATION_MATRIX.md#native-subagents-vs-external-workers) > > | Path | Literal for this skill | > | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | > | 1. User-launched worker | `vibecrafted ship ` / `vc-ship` | > | 2. Interactive | `/vc-ship` — execute **in this session**; use native subagents when required; do **not** externalize merely because a launcher exists | > | 3. Agent-operator | may dispatch the worker form above via `vc-dispatch` / operator lines while preserving this skill's identity | > > **Note:** Lifecycle **umbrella** (scaffold→release). Stages keep their own launchers. > Freer native on some runs ≠ abandon external fleet. `vc-dispatch` and `vc-ship` keep their own identities. # vc-ship — the lifecycle umbrella: one mission, eleven stages, one baton --- ## Operator Entry ### Living Tree / Worktree Rule This workflow runs in the operator's current checkout and current branch. Do not create, switch to, or move execution into a git worktree unless the operator explicitly asks for one in this prompt. Re-read files before editing, adapt to concurrent changes, and report substrate failure if the tree is too poisoned to continue safely. The one sanctioned second mode is a Fleet Worktree dispatch (written plan, pre-committed verifiers, disjoint domains, single-thread integrator — see Living Tree Rule, Mode B); outside that formation, stay in the shared tree. See [Living Tree Rule](../LIVING_TREE_RULE.md). ## Canonical Orientation Gate Before this lifecycle umbrella launches its first stage — and before every WRITE stage it later supervises touches source — it MUST run or consume the `vc-init` procedure for the mission's repo. The mission file itself is only valid when grounded in a real `vc-init` pass; if fresh `vc-init` evidence is absent, perform the init pass first and treat the whole flight as blocked until repo truth exists. A prompt is a hypothesis, never the ground truth. `Loctree:loctree` is the default structural perception skill for that pass. Use Loctree before grep or docs-driven claims to produce or refresh the Code-Derived Application Map: repo-view, focus, slice, impact, find, and follow as relevant. Search for existing symbols and contracts before creating new ones; run impact before delete or major refactor; run slice before editing. As supervisor you carry this map as baton cargo, so each stage worker inherits the same structural truth instead of re-discovering the repo from zero. The point is to find the hooks before the eleven stages fly: load-bearing hubs, twins, dead code, drift, runtime entrypoints, and blast-radius traps. If the mission is explicitly non-repo or no-code, state the no-repo exception in the report. Otherwise, missing `vc-init`/Loctree evidence is a process failure and the flight has not honestly begun. ## Repository Work Doctrine For repository work, start with Loctree as the map: use `loct context`, `loct occurrences`, `loct body`, and `loct find --literal` before broad manual search. Use AICX for intent and session context. Use rg/grep as fallback or local magnifier, not as a replacement for structural mapping. If Loctree fails or misses a surface, append feedback to `~/.vibecrafted/loctree/loctree-fail.md`. Standard launcher: ```bash vibecrafted ship --file /path/to/mission.md # canonical: mission file vibecrafted ship codex --prompt 'one-cut mission text' # short missions vc-ship claude --file mission.md # shell shortcut vibecrafted ship --start-stage review --file m.md # resume mid-pipeline ``` Runtime invariant: stage workers fly **headless**, so the lifecycle survives vc-frame and User Session loss. Observe through lifecycle state, transcripts, `observe`, and `await`. `--runtime terminal` is an explicit compatibility exception for a provider path proven to require a TTY. --- ## Purpose Run one product mission through the complete Read-Write cadence as a single supervised lifecycle run, and make the invoking agent the **supervisor** of that run: verifying every stage report, steering with the human-controls verbs, and carrying the baton (with its report cargo) from scaffold all the way to release. The goal of every flight is the dictated one: **big win and ZERO DoU index** — or an honest, traced `accept-dou` for what remains undone. ## The Pipeline (Read-Write Cadence) | # | Stage | Phase | Discovery / delivery tooling | | --- | --------- | ----- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | 1 | scaffold | READ | vc-init, vc-loctree, vc-research | | 2 | implement | WRITE | vc-init, vc-operator, vc-agents | | 3 | review | READ | vc-init, vc-loctree, vc-review, vc-prview (test-heavy by design) | | 4 | workflow | WRITE | vc-init, vc-research, vc-justdo | | 5 | followup | READ | vc-init, vc-intents, vc-loctree, TDD | | 6 | marbles | WRITE | vc-marbles runtime — entropy UP, flood every crack | | 7 | audit | READ | vc-init, vc-loctree, vc-aicx, vc-research | | 8 | polarize | WRITE | marbles runtime — entropy DOWN, one truth, no mercy | | 9 | dou | READ | Definition of Undone: find the gaps before release | | 10 | hydrate | WRITE | vc-init, vc-operator, vc-decorate | | 11 | release | — | deployment/publishing/signing — the operator-plane stage | READ stages must not write source (a violation is traced as `read_phase_violation`); WRITE stages must show commits and green gates. ## How To Fly (supervisor protocol) 1. **Mission first.** Compose the mission as a durable `.md` file under `~/.vibecrafted/artifacts////plans/` — grounded in a real vc-init pass (Loctree atlas + AICX intents + git/risk truth), with explicit deliverables, hard constraints, and gates. `--file` delivers it verbatim to every stage worker. 2. **Launch** with the standard launcher above. Verify the launch receipt: run_id (`life-ship-…`), context atlas loaded, stage 1 accepted. 3. **Arm await immediately, supervisor-side** (never inside a subagent — see `docs/runtime/AGENT_OPS.md`): After dispatch, arm `vibecrafted await --run-id ` immediately, supervisor-side. Control-plane JSON, report files, transcripts, panes, and scheduled wakeups are diagnostic only, not wake signals. Hedging await with ad-hoc pollers/watchers is a Class 3 violation; fix `control_plane.await_run`, do not normalize the hedge. Stage report checks and `ship status --json` are diagnostics subordinate to that canonical await; `ship status --json` exposes `stage_worker` with `worker_dead_without_report` — the actionable death signal; the dispatcher also writes `worker_exit` / `stage_worker_exit` into `state.json` push-side when a worker dies. 3-signal liveness: before declaring done, reconcile await verdict, terminal run meta, and worker pid dead; if a report is promised, confirm it exists. Two agreeing signals are enough to act, three to declare done; disagreement means treat as live and re-arm await. Known skew: rc=0-on-live and meta stuck `active`/`stalled` after real completion. 4. **Verify before every button.** Read the report; for WRITE stages confirm the commits and gates actually exist; for READ stages confirm no `read_phase_violation`. Honor worker steering from report frontmatter (`next_stage`, `next_agent`, `dou_index`) unless it is nonsense — then override with a verb. 5. **Drive with verbs, never with manual state surgery:** ```bash vibecrafted ship runs # list lifecycle runs vibecrafted ship status --json # truth before any button vibecrafted ship approve # baton → next stage (cargo-gated) vibecrafted ship approve --force # traced override of the cargo gate vibecrafted ship interrupt # stop a blind/dead continuation vibecrafted ship fallback --stage # rewind the baton WITH cargo vibecrafted ship force-audit # suspicious WRITE output vibecrafted ship accept-dou --finding "…" # conscious, traced gap ``` Dead worker recovery is always: `interrupt` → `fallback --stage ` → `approve [--force]`. No baton cargo is lost. 6. **Report at the end, not along the way** (unless the operator asks otherwise): stages flown, corrections made, commits, gate colours, dou_index, and what release honestly did NOT verify. ## Boundaries (what the human keeps) - The baton is an **agent↔agent relay**; the supervising agent is the operator of the run. The human stays the human: mandates, pushes to the world, and merges are theirs unless explicitly delegated. - Never merge your own PR without an explicit one-time mandate. - "Production ready" is a forbidden verdict. Report evidence, `file:line`, gate colours; the release stage and the human own the verdict — honest outcomes like `repo_contract_green_external_release_blocked` beat a confident lie. ## When To Use - A mission needs the full cadence: discovery, delivery, adversarial review, entropy-up/entropy-down stabilization, DoU, and a release gate — as one supervised, auditable run. - The operator says "ship it", "pełny lot", "parasol" for a scoped product cut in ANY repo (the runtime is repo-agnostic; the mission file names the root). **When NOT to use:** - A single cut with known shape → `vc-implement` or `vc-justdo`. - Only stabilization → `vc-marbles` (then `vc-polarize`). - Only discovery → `vc-init` / `vc-research` / `vc-scaffold` directly. ## Pipeline Position - Upstream: `vc-operator` (usual invoker), a scaffold-grade mission plan. - Downstream: nothing — vc-ship IS the pipeline; its release stage emits the handoff (release report + DoU trail) the human acts on. ## Acceptance Criteria The skill run is **done** when: - [ ] Lifecycle run reached `release` (or an operator-decided stop), with every transition traced in `operator_actions`. - [ ] Every WRITE stage has verifiable commits + green gates; every READ stage is violation-free. - [ ] `dou_index` is 0 — or every remaining gap is an explicit, traced `accept-dou` with its follow-up named. - [ ] Final report delivered: stages, corrections, commits, gate colours, and what was NOT verified. If any acceptance bullet cannot be ticked with evidence, the flight has not completed — say so explicitly in the final report. ## Anti-Patterns - Launching without a mission file grounded in vc-init truth (the prompt is a hypothesis, not the ground truth). - Watching gates or workers from inside a subagent — gate-nap class failure (`docs/runtime/AGENT_OPS.md`, Class 1); watchers live with the supervisor. - Trusting silence: a missing report is indistinguishable from a dead worker until you check liveness (Class 2) — use `status`/`stage_worker`, don't wait out budgets on a corpse. - Manual edits to `state.json` instead of verbs — the trace IS the product. - Approving a stage without reading its report, or pronouncing "ready" yourself instead of handing the verdict to the gate. ## Examples See [`examples/example-prompt.md`](examples/example-prompt.md) for a minimal trigger phrase + expected behavior pair. --- _𝚅𝚒𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚍. with AI Agents by Vetcoders (c)2024-2026 LibraxisAI_