ship

Sub-agent contract

/contract

Release pipeline for work that is already done locally. This skill does NOT build, implement, or fix — if the task needs code, route to /mint; if a bug needs diagnosis, route to /diagnose. This skill's job is the hand-off from "done locally" to "visible in a PR."

Skip when:

• Working tree is clean (nothing to ship — tell the user).
• Current branch is the default branch (main/master) — ask the user for a feature branch.
• User invokes with --dry-run → produce the plan but take no git actions.

Arguments:

• --verify — force the optional adversarial verifier wave (Phase 6), regardless of diff size.
• --draft — open the PR as a draft.
• --dry-run — run phases 1–5 but stop before Phase 7 (no push, no PR).

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Hard rules (non-negotiable — these override any inferred convention):

• Branch lock. Whatever branch is checked out when /ship starts is the only branch you may commit and push from. NEVER git checkout to a different branch during this skill — not to main, not to master, not to a sibling feature branch. If pre-flight finds you on the default branch, abort. Do not "recover" by switching branches yourself.
• Never push to the default branch. Phase 5 pushes the CURRENT (feature) branch. Phase 8 opens a PR. There is no path through this skill that pushes to main/master or merges without a PR. If you find yourself about to run git push origin main (or equivalent), stop.
• User intent is absolute. If the user said "make a PR," "open a PR," "submit for review," or anything synonymous, you MUST complete Phase 8. "Ship" / "release" alone also implies PR — there is no interpretation under which /ship means "skip the PR step."
• Do not invent project convention. Never assert "this project uses direct-to-main flow," "this repo merges direct," or any equivalent justification for bypassing the PR step. If you genuinely cannot tell whether the project uses PRs, run gh pr list --state merged --limit 5; ≥3 merged PRs in the last week ⇒ PR is the convention. If still ambiguous, ask the user. Default to PR — it is the safer choice.
• Anchor cwd. When /ship is invoked, pwd at that moment is the only working directory you operate in. All git commands and file reads must run inside that directory — never cd to a sibling worktree, the parent repo, or any other path during this skill. If you find yourself reading state from a path other than the invocation cwd (e.g. git log returning unrelated commits, or a file diff that doesn't match what was just edited), stop and re-anchor on the original cwd. Worktrees and sibling repos look almost identical; cwd is the only disambiguator.

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Phase 1 — Pre-flight (mandatory, runs BEFORE any git mutation). Invoke ground-state via the Skill tool. Abort and surface the blocker with remediation steps if ground-state reports any of:

• Uncommitted changes in files unrelated to the declared scope
• Branch behind origin/<default> (stale — user needs to rebase/merge first)
• Current branch IS the default branch
• Wrong-repo context (user's cwd doesn't match the branch's purpose)

Phase 2 — Test gate. Detect the project's test harness by scanning, in order:

1. package.json → scripts.test (run via the project's package manager: pnpm/yarn/npm)
2. pyproject.toml → pytest if configured, or scripts.test
3. Cargo.toml → cargo test
4. go.mod → go test ./...
5. Makefile → test target

If found → run it. Non-zero exit → abort; surface the failing output and recommend /diagnose. Do not proceed to commit.

If no harness detected → warn the user: "No test harness detected. Ship without running tests?" Require explicit yes. Do not silently skip.

Phase 3 — Draft commit message. Read the cumulative diff: git diff --stat origin/<default>...HEAD + full git diff. Synthesize a commit message:

• Subject (≤70 chars): imperative, Conventional Commits format (feat, fix, chore, refactor, docs, etc.)
• Body: 2–5 bullets on WHY — the motivation, constraint, or trade-off. Skip the WHAT — the diff speaks for itself.