Mastering Release Discipline with the deployment-rules Skill

Where this fits

You’re building an agent that prepares release candidates for a Tauri desktop app. The repo has strict rules: no auto-releases on push, manual dispatch only, and commit messages must pass commitlint. Without guidance, your agent might bump versions manually, commit a feat: that triggers an unwanted minor bump, or edit package.json directly. The deployment-rules skill encodes these standards so your agent can act as a disciplined release engineer.

Why agents benefit

• Encodes release policies: The skill teaches your agent that releases only run on manual dispatch and that semantic-release derives bumps—so it never tags or bumps versions itself.
• Prevents commitlint violations: It knows the exact rules (lower-case subjects, ≤100 chars, allowed types) and can rewrite commit messages before they block the pipeline.
• Handles version-sync constraints: It knows scripts/sync-tauri-version.cjs is the only allowed way to update version files, avoiding manual edits that break the build.
• Guides semantic-release configuration: It understands the release.config.mjs mapping (e.g., breaking changes → minor while pre-1.0) and can adjust configs without breaking the release flow.
• Streamlines /prepare-release: The agent loads the skill automatically for that command, ensuring every release step follows the repo’s exact workflow.

Practical scenarios

Preparing a release candidate

Your agent runs /prepare-release after a sprint. It checks recent commits, validates messages against commitlint, and suggests a release type (minor, patch, or none) based on the rules. It then triggers the manual release workflow—no accidental auto-runs.

Fixing a commit message before push

A developer writes Fix: update API endpoint (capitalised, too long). The agent intercepts, rewrites it to fix: update api endpoint, and confirms it passes commitlint—saving a CI cycle.

Syncing version files across projects

After a release, your agent runs sync-tauri-version.cjs to update version files in lockstep. It knows not to hand-edit them, so the Tauri and npm versions stay aligned.

Add it to your agent workflow

Install the skill with:

npx skills add saeedkolivand/ai-job-hunter-app --skill deployment-rules

Then, when your agent sees a release.config.mjs change or a /prepare-release command, it automatically loads the rules and applies them. Example: your agent reviews a PR that modifies release.config.mjs—it checks that the breaking-change mapping is still intact and flags any deviation.

Compare before adopting

Before adding this skill, compare it against your own release docs and scripts. Check the skill’s freshness (last commit, open issues), the author’s maintenance cadence, and whether it matches your repo’s actual workflow (e.g., if you use a different commit convention). Also evaluate alternatives: a simple prompt template or a custom YAML rule set might suffice if your pipeline is simpler.

Why it is worth tracking

This skill is a concrete example of how agents can enforce project-specific operational standards. With 48 stars and an active author, it’s a solid reference for building your own release-governance skills. Track it to see how the author evolves the rules (e.g., adding support for pre-1.0 breaking changes) and to borrow patterns for your own agent skills. For a broader view of similar skills, visit OpenAgentSkill's listing. Evaluate it when your agent starts handling release tasks—it will save you from countless mis-tagged versions and failed CI runs.