ship-checklist
Definition-of-done checklist for shipping a new write, signal, table, edge, or query to the ax graph. Use when adding a SurrealDB table/edge/field, an ingest derive-stage, a new analytic query, or any new ax capability - before opening the PR. Ensures every write gets an on-demand read AND a proactive (agent-facing) read AND docs/distribution, not just the write. Triggers on "ship", "new signal", "new table/edge", "new lens/query", "wire this up", "is this done", or finishing an ax feature branch.
How do I install this agent skill?
npx skills add https://github.com/necmttn/ax --skill ship-checklistIs this agent skill safe to install?
- Gen Agent Trust Hubpass
This skill is a development process checklist designed to ensure that new features in the 'ax' project are fully implemented, documented, and made accessible to AI agents through MCP tools and cognitive skills. It contains no executable code or security risks.
- Socketpass
No alerts
- Snykpass
Risk: LOW · No issues
What does this agent skill do?
ship-checklist - every write needs a read path an agent can find
The recurring miss in ax: we ship the write + an on-demand CLI read, and skip the proactive / agent-facing read. A signal only visible on a manual CLI run is invisible to the self-improvement loop. ax's whole thesis is that agents discover and act on signals - so a new write is not done until an agent can find it without being told.
Organizing rule: every write needs (B) an on-demand read AND (C) a proactive read AND an agent-facing surface (MCP/skill). Most features do A+B and stop.
Run this before opening the PR. Skipping a row is fine - but say so in the PR and why, don't skip silently.
A. Write
- Schema in
schema.surql+ registered inSCHEMA_TABLES(CI mirror guard) - Ingest idempotent + incremental (since-aware) + deref-free denormalization for reads (no record derefs inside aggregates - they hang prod)
- Backfill: does history get the signal, or only new data? Note "dark until re-ingest" if so
- Stage
deps= every producer of the input table
B. Read - on-demand
- CLI: a command or a facet on an existing one (consistent family)
-
--jsonenvelope for scripting - Dashboard/studio surface (if visual)
C. Read - proactive (the usually-missed half)
- MCP tool so an agent can query it in-context (
apps/axctl/src/mcp/tools.ts) -
ax improve recommendgenerator - mint a proposal when the signal crosses a threshold (agent gets the suggestion unprompted) -
ax insights/ dashboard next-actions wiring (if it implies an action) - dojo agenda item (if the overnight loop should act on it)
- Skill: a cognitive pattern teaching an agent to act on the signal (e.g. the
lnskill routes visual judgment to subagents offax cost images)
D. Documentation
-
CLAUDE.mdcommand/section docs (there is a docs gate for new subcommands) - llms.txt / site docs / README, if user-facing
- CHANGELOG + release notes (release-please)
- Spec in
docs/superpowers/specs/for non-trivial features
E. Onboarding / distribution
- Onboarding prompt (
@ax/onboarding-prompt) - should a day-1 user/agent know it exists? - Marketing coverage (site page / blog / X), if a user-facing capability
-
/api/versioncapability flag, if relevant
F. Verify (evidence, not assertion)
- Tests: unit on pure helpers + schema-mirror guard + CLI command-list test
- Live-verified against the real DB - paste the actual output in the PR
- "Dark until data" honesty: state if it needs backfill/telemetry to light up
How to use
Create a TodoWrite item per relevant row, or paste the A-F headers into the PR body as a checked list. The point is the C section - if a new signal has no MCP tool, no improve generator, and no skill, an agent will never surface it on its own, and the feature is half-built no matter how clean the write is.
How can the creator link this skill?
Add the canonical catalog link to the repository README so users can inspect current installs and available audits. The publishing guide covers the complete discovery path.
<a href="https://skillzs.dev/skills/necmttn/ax/ship-checklist">View ship-checklist on skillZs</a>