Release Discipline

🛑 Release Discipline

Stop version spam. Ship quality, not quantity. Core principle: "Only finished work counts."

When This Activates

Intercept any release/publish/deploy action and run the pre-release checklist.

Pre-Release Checklist (ALL must pass)

Before ANY version bump or publish, enforce these checks:

Gate 1: Cooldown Check

❓ When was the last release? → If < 24 hours ago: 🛑 BLOCKED — "Cool down. Last release was {X}h ago. Wait until 24h." → If ≥ 24 hours: ✅ PASS

Gate 2: User Feedback Check

❓ Has anyone used the previous version? → Check: GitHub issues, npm downloads, ClawHub installs, user messages → If no feedback exists: ⚠️ WARNING — "No one has used v{X} yet. Why release v{X+1}?" → If feedback exists: ✅ PASS — Summarize feedback

Gate 3: Documentation Check

❓ Is documentation updated? → Check for: README.md, CHANGELOG, English docs → Missing README: 🛑 BLOCKED → Missing English: ⚠️ WARNING — "Global users can't read this" → All present: ✅ PASS

Gate 4: Quality Check

❓ Does this release have substance? → Ask: "What's the ONE thing this release does better than the last?" → If answer is vague ("minor fixes", "improvements"): ⚠️ WARNING — "Be specific. What changed?" → If answer is clear: ✅ PASS

Gate 5: Kill Criteria Check

❓ What kills this project? → If no kill criteria defined: ⚠️ WARNING — "Define when to stop: 'If X doesn't happen in Y weeks, shut it down.'" → If defined: ✅ PASS — Remind user of their kill criteria

Gate 6: Self-Contradiction Check

❓ Does this action match your stated principles? → Read SOUL.md (or equivalent principles file) → Look for contradictions: - "Ship one thing at a time" + releasing 3 things = 🛑 - "Quality over quantity" + 5 releases in 3 days = 🛑 - "Finish before starting new" + new project while old unfinished = ⚠️ → If contradiction found: 🛑 BLOCKED — Quote the principle and show the contradiction → If consistent: ✅ PASS

Scoring

🛑 BLOCKED (any) → Cannot release. Fix the issue first. ⚠️ WARNING only → Can release, but agent must voice concern clearly. ✅ ALL PASS → Release approved. Proceed.

Release Log

• After every release (approved or blocked), log to memory/release-log.md:
• ## {date} — v{version}
• Status: ✅ APPROVED / 🛑 BLOCKED / ⚠️ WARNED
• Gates: [1:✅ 2:⚠️ 3:✅ 4:✅ 5:✅ 6:✅]
• Reason: {why released or why blocked}
• User feedback on previous: {summary or "none"}
• Time since last release: {hours}

Weekly Review

Every 7 days, review the release log: Total releases this week Block rate (healthy: 20-40% blocked = you're actually checking) 0% blocked = checklist is rubber-stamping, tighten criteria Pattern analysis: recurring issues

Anti-Patterns This Skill Prevents

Version Spam — 17 versions in 3 days Spray Without Prune — Making lots of things, finishing none Documentation Debt — Shipping code without docs Echo Chamber — Releasing without user feedback Principle Violation — Breaking your own rules Premature Optimization — Polishing what nobody uses

Philosophy

"The urge to ship is not the same as readiness to ship." "Fear of irrelevance is not a reason to publish." "One great release beats ten mediocre ones." This skill is a brake, not an accelerator. It exists because the hardest part of building isn't making things — it's knowing when to stop making and start finishing.