Claude-Code-Game-Studios/CCGS Skill Testing Framework/skills/utility/launch-checklist.md

Skill Test Spec: /launch-checklist

Skill Summary

/launch-checklist generates a launch-readiness checklist across code, content, QA, store, legal, infrastructure, community and operations, scoped to the project. It is handed the resolved rigor, project.stage, platform.cert_tier and automation, and scopes by them: out-of-reach phases are declared out of scope, rigor: minimal drops process-weight items, and the Platform Certification section is emitted only for the cert_tier value (none | itch | steam | console). An unset cert_tier is a question, not a licence to emit every track; if it cannot be determined the section is marked NOT ASSESSED — cert tier unknown.

Phase 2 reads CLAUDE.md, the latest milestone, any existing checklist in production/releases/ and the content calendar. Phase 3 scans the code root for TODO/FIXME/HACK, debug output, placeholder assets and hardcoded dev values, and reports every scan with its denominator (scanned [N] files, [M] hits) or NOT ASSESSED — [reason]; an unassessable item is written - [?] with a legend, never a bare box or tick. The bug rows follow workflow: S1 and S2 (or a documented exception), and at full S1–S3 with no exceptions. Phase 4b asks one AskUserQuestion per section about the items no scan or file settled, each answered yes / no / not yet / N/A: yes ticks it, no or not yet is a failed item (Blocking, or Conditional with a workaround or accepted risk), N/A leaves it out; it is skipped, and says so, in dry-run and in autonomous mode. The checklist ends in a Go / No-Go section. Blocking Items are every FAIL or unresolved finding with no documented workaround or accepted risk; Conditional Items are shortfalls with a documented workaround or an explicitly accepted risk. Overall Status is computed from them, first match wins: NOT READY (any blocking item) → NOT ASSESSED (any [?] item, NOT ASSESSED section or unconfirmed item, each named) → CONDITIONAL (any conditional item) → READY. Unless the argument is dry-run, it asks "May I write this to production/releases/launch-checklist-[date].md?" and creates nothing — not even the directory — before the answer. Next steps: /gate-check release first if project.stage is not Release (Polish, an earlier stage, or unset), then /team-release. No director gates are spawned.

---

Static Assertions (Structural)

Checked against the SKILL.md by /skill-test spec — no fixture needed.

• Has required frontmatter fields: name, description, argument-hint, user-invocable, allowed-tools
• Has ≥2 phase headings
• Contains verdict keywords: READY, CONDITIONAL, NOT ASSESSED, NOT READY (Overall Status, first match NOT READY → NOT ASSESSED → CONDITIONAL → READY), and NOT ASSESSED for unassessable scans and cert tier
• Contains "May I write" language before writing the checklist, and creates no file or directory before the answer
• Has a Phase 4b that asks one AskUserQuestion per section, answers yes / no / not yet / N/A, with no / not yet a failed item and N/A excluded
• Has a next-step handoff (/gate-check release only when project.stage is not Release, and /team-release)

---

Director Gate Checks

None. /launch-checklist has no Agent tool and spawns no director. The "Sign-Offs Required" list (Creative Director, Technical Director, QA Lead, Producer, Release Manager) is checklist text for humans, coordinated later via /team-release; the formal gate verdict comes from /gate-check.

---

Test Cases

Case 1: Happy Path — Steam project, clean scans, every section confirmed, READY

Fixture:

• project.yaml: project.stage: Release, modes.rigor: standard, platform.cert_tier: steam, engine Godot (code root src/); a single-player game with no servers
• src/ has 40 source files with no TODO/FIXME/HACK, no debug output, no placeholder or hardcoded dev values
• assets/ exists with final assets
• production/releases/ does not exist yet
• In Phase 4b the user answers Yes — all of them for every section, except the Infrastructure question, where Some differ gives each Servers item N/A and every Analytics and Monitoring item yes

Input: /launch-checklist 2026-11-01

Expected behavior:

1. Target Launch reads 2026-11-01
2. Phase 3 reports each scan as scanned [N] files, 0 hits
3. Platform Certification contains only the Steam block (Steamworks SDK, store page, depot build, achievements, common content rules) plus the every-tier accessibility row
4. The soak-test item asks for the longest soak /soak-test runs (or a longer one run by hand), not a fixed duration /soak-test cannot produce
5. Phase 4b asks one AskUserQuestion per section, listing only the items no scan or file settled (not the Phase 3 counts), each answered yes / no / not yet / N/A
6. The confirmed items are ticked (confirmed by the user); the Servers items are written - N/A — [item] and left out of the status. Nothing is Blocking, Conditional or unconfirmed, so the first-match rule gives READY
7. Skill presents the checklist with a summary (Overall Status, total items, blocking count, conditional count, not-assessed count, departments with incomplete sections)
8. Asks "May I write this to production/releases/launch-checklist-[date].md?"; production/releases/ is not created before the answer
9. Next steps: /team-release — the stage already reads Release, so /gate-check is not offered

Assertions:

• Every Phase 3 scan line shows its denominator (scanned [N] files, [M] hits)
• No console (TRC/Lotcheck) or itch.io items appear
• The soak-test item does not require a soak longer than /soak-test offers
• Phase 4b asks at most one question per section, and no Phase 3 count is asked about
• Overall Status is READY — every item is ticked on evidence or on a Phase 4b answer, or marked N/A
• The summary gives total, blocking, conditional and not-assessed counts
• "May I write" names production/releases/launch-checklist-[date].md, and no directory exists before the user answers it
• Next steps name /team-release and do not offer /gate-check

---

Case 2: Blocking Findings — FIXMEs and debug output

Fixture:

• As Case 1, but src/ contains 3 FIXME comments and one print() debug call in production code
• src/ also has one HACK comment whose justification is documented beside it

Input: /launch-checklist 2026-11-01

Expected behavior:

1. Phase 3 counts the FIXMEs with their locations and finds the debug output
2. Code Quality shows "FIXME count: 3 (zero required)" and the "No debug output" item unticked
3. These appear under Blocking Items — findings with no workaround or accepted risk
4. The justified HACK appears under Conditional Items, with its justification
5. Overall Status is NOT READY — a blocking item outranks everything else
6. "May I write" is still asked before saving

Assertions:

• FIXME count is 3, with file locations
• The debug print() is reported and its item is not ticked
• Blocking Items lists the FIXMEs and the debug output
• The documented HACK is under Conditional Items, not Blocking Items
• Overall Status is NOT READY (not READY, CONDITIONAL or NOT ASSESSED)

---

Case 3: Cert Tier Unset — Ask, do not emit every track

Fixture:

• project.yaml: project.stage: Release, modes.rigor: standard, no platform.cert_tier
• Config block shows platform.cert_tier: (unset -- ask which platforms are in scope)

Input: /launch-checklist 2026-11-01

Expected behavior:

1. Skill asks which platforms are in scope instead of emitting all certification tracks
2. If the user answers, only the matching tier block is emitted
3. If it cannot be determined, the section is marked NOT ASSESSED — cert tier unknown
4. Unset is not treated as none — the section is not silently omitted

Assertions:

• Skill asks which platforms are in scope
• Console, Steam and itch.io blocks are never all emitted together
• Without an answer, the section reads NOT ASSESSED — cert tier unknown
• The "omitted — cert_tier is 'none'" line does not appear

---

Case 4: Nothing to Scan — [?] items, not green ticks

Fixture:

• project.yaml: project.stage: Release, platform.cert_tier: itch, engine Godot
• src/ exists but is empty; no assets/ directory

Input: /launch-checklist 2026-11-01

Expected behavior:

1. Phase 3 reports the code scans as NOT ASSESSED — no source files (or directory empty) and the placeholder-asset scan as NOT ASSESSED — no asset folder, instead of zero hits
2. The affected items (e.g. "All placeholder art replaced with final assets", "No debug output in production code") are written - [?]
3. The legend [?] = not assessed — the input to this check was absent is included
4. Platform Certification contains only the itch.io block
5. Nothing was found, so Blocking Items is empty — and the [?] items make the Overall Status NOT ASSESSED, naming the scans that could not run, never READY

Assertions:

• No scan with no input is reported as zero hits
• "All placeholder art replaced with final assets" is - [?], not ticked and not - [ ]
• The [?] legend appears
• No Steamworks or console items appear
• Overall Status is NOT ASSESSED and names the [?] scans (code and placeholder-asset scans); it is not READY or CONDITIONAL

---

Case 5: Director Gate Check — Dry run, cert tier none

Fixture:

• project.yaml: project.stage: Release, platform.cert_tier: none
• Code root with source files

Input: /launch-checklist dry-run

Expected behavior:

1. Target Launch reads DRY RUN
2. Platform Certification is replaced by the one line Platform Certification: omitted — cert_tier is 'none' (internal/jam release).
3. Phase 4b is skipped and the output says so; the items it would have asked stay unconfirmed, so the Overall Status is NOT ASSESSED
4. The checklist is presented but no "May I write" ask is made and no file is written
5. No director or other agent is spawned; no gate IDs appear
6. Next steps name /team-release; the stage reads Release, so /gate-check is not offered

Assertions:

• The "omitted — cert_tier is 'none'" line appears and no certification rows are emitted
• No Phase 4b question is asked in dry-run, the skip is stated, and the Overall Status is NOT ASSESSED
• No "May I write" ask and no file written in dry-run mode
• No director gate is invoked and no gate skip messages appear
• Next steps name /team-release and do not offer /gate-check

---

Case 6: Stage Still Polish — Answers Make It CONDITIONAL, or NOT ASSESSED

Fixture:

• As Case 1, but project.stage: Polish and modes.rigor: full (workflow: full)
• Variant A: in Phase 4b the Marketing items all get yes except "Press/influencer review keys distributed", answered not yet — the user says the keys go out on launch morning and the producer accepts the risk; every other section is Yes — all of them (Servers N/A as in Case 1)
• Variant B: as Variant A, but the user leaves the Legal question unanswered

Input: /launch-checklist 2026-11-01

Expected behavior:

1. The Testing bug rows are the workflow: full ones: zero S1, and zero S2 and S3 with no exceptions
2. Variant A: the press-keys item is a failed item with an accepted risk, so it goes under Conditional Items naming who accepted it; nothing is Blocking or unconfirmed; Overall Status is CONDITIONAL
3. Variant B: the Legal items stay unconfirmed and are named; Overall Status is NOT ASSESSED (it outranks CONDITIONAL)
4. Next steps: run /gate-check release first — the stage still reads Polish — then /team-release

Assertions:

• A not yet answer is never ticked; with an accepted risk it is listed under Conditional Items
• Variant A's Overall Status is CONDITIONAL
• Variant B's Overall Status is NOT ASSESSED and names the unanswered Legal items
• No "documented exception" is offered for an S2 or S3 at workflow: full
• Next steps name /gate-check release before /team-release

---

Protocol Compliance

• Scopes the checklist by project.stage, modes.rigor and platform.cert_tier
• Branches certification on the four cert_tier values, not on platform names
• Reports every scan with a denominator or NOT ASSESSED — [reason]
• Writes unassessable items as - [?] with the legend
• Asks "May I write" before saving (skipped entirely in dry-run), and creates no file or directory before the answer
• Asks one Phase 4b question per section for the items only a person can confirm, never answering them itself; skips Phase 4b, and says so, in dry-run and autonomous mode
• Names /gate-check release in next steps whenever project.stage is not Release
• Puts findings with no workaround or accepted risk under Blocking Items, and shortfalls with a documented workaround or accepted risk under Conditional Items
• Overall Status is READY, CONDITIONAL, NOT ASSESSED or NOT READY, first match NOT READY → NOT ASSESSED → CONDITIONAL → READY

---

Coverage Notes

• cert_tier: console (TRC/Lotcheck, save-data, controller-mapping, age ratings) is not separately tested.
• Stage scoping (items for phases not yet reached are declared out of scope) and rigor: minimal trimming are not separately tested.
• An existing checklist in production/releases/ is read as context only; no comparison against it is tested.