Shipping to a CoCo-managed Repo

Overview

Formalizes the branch → commit → guard-aware push → PR → CI-wait → report flow used for shipping work to coco-research/coco (or any repo carrying the same corporate git-guard pre-push hook), so it doesn't have to be re-derived by hand each time.

Core principle: Verify state → commit → detect whether the guard actually applies → confirm → push → open PR → wait for real CI → report. Never merge. Never push to main directly, regardless of how it's asked.

Announce at start: "I'm using the coco-ship skill to ship this branch."

This is the direct formalization of Option 2 ("Push and Create PR") in finishing-a-development-branch, specialized for repos that carry the corporate git-guard. It assumes implementation is already done and reviewed — it doesn't replace planning skills like brainstorming, writing-plans, or GSD's phase workflow, and it doesn't run tests itself (that's finishing-a-development-branch's Step 1, or the project's own CI).

The Process

Step 1: Preflight

git status -sb
git branch --show-current

If the current branch is main or master: stop. Do not commit or push here. Offer to create a feature branch first:

git checkout -b <feature-branch-name>

If there's nothing to commit and the branch isn't already ahead of its upstream: stop and say so — there's nothing to ship.

Step 2: Commit

Use the standard git-commit protocol already in effect for this harness — this isn't a new invention, just invoked from inside the skill:

1. In parallel: git status, git diff (staged + unstaged), git log (recent messages, for style).
2. Draft a commit message from the actual diff — why, not just what — matching the repo's existing style.
3. Stage named files explicitly. Never git add -A or git add ..
4. Commit with a Co-Authored-By trailer, via a heredoc so formatting survives.
5. git status again to confirm a clean tree.

If a pre-commit hook fails, fix the issue, re-stage, and create a new commit — never --amend a commit that a failed hook means never actually landed.

Step 3: Detect whether the guard bypass is actually needed

Don't assume — check:

git remote -v
gh repo view <owner>/<repo> --json visibility,owner -q '"\(.visibility) \(.owner.login)"'
git config --show-origin --get core.hooksPath

A GIT_GUARD_REASON bypass is only needed when the repo is PUBLIC and the owner isn't on the guard's allowlist — check the actual guard config or ask the user which org(s) it allows, rather than assuming. If core.hooksPath doesn't point at the guard, don't assume a bypass is relevant on this machine at all — say so.

Step 4: Confirm — every time, no exceptions

This is an outward-facing action (push + open a PR), so it gets the same explicit go-ahead as any other push or PR in this session, regardless of how directly coco-ship was invoked. State plainly:

• Target repo and branch
• Whether a guard bypass will be used, and the exact reason string (not a placeholder)
• That this opens a PR against main — it does not push to main directly

Wait for a clear yes before Step 5. Invoking this skill is not itself that approval.

Step 5: Push

git push -u origin <branch>

Only when Step 3 determined a bypass is needed:

GIT_GUARD_REASON="<specific, real reason>" git push -u origin <branch>

Never --no-verify. Never a plain --force. A --force-with-lease update to an already-open PR's branch is allowed, but still gets its own confirmation, separate from Step 4's.

Step 6: Open the PR

gh pr create --base main --head <branch> --title "<title>" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
<2-3 bullets of what changed and why>

## Test plan
<what was verified, or a checklist of what to verify>
EOF
)"

Keep the title under 70 characters. Put detail in the body, not the title.

Step 7: Wait for CI

gh pr checks <n> --watch

Don't report done while checks are still pending. If a check fails, say so plainly with the failure, don't retry blindly.

Step 8: Report

State the PR URL, the CI result, and the mergeable/review-required status. Say plainly that merging is the user's call — this skill never merges and never self-approves. If the PR author can't self-approve (most repos), say that explicitly rather than implying the PR is ready to merge on its own.

Quick Reference

Step	Action	Confirmation needed?
1	Preflight (refuse on main)	—
2	Commit	—
3	Detect guard need	—
4	State plan, ask	Yes — always
5	Push	(covered by Step 4)
6	Open PR	(covered by Step 4)
7	Wait for CI	—
8	Report	—

Common Mistakes

Assuming the guard bypass is needed without checking

• Problem: Sets GIT_GUARD_REASON on every push, even to private or allowlisted repos, or misses that the guard isn't even installed on this machine.
• Fix: Always run Step 3's checks; only set the env var when the repo is genuinely public and non-allowlisted.

Treating skill invocation as approval

• Problem: Runs Steps 5–6 immediately because the user said "ship this," without a distinct confirmation of the actual push/PR plan.
• Fix: Step 4 is a separate, explicit ask every time — state the repo, branch, guard reason (if any), and that a PR (not a direct push to main) will follow.

Reporting success before CI resolves

• Problem: Says "done" right after gh pr create, while checks are still pending.
• Fix: Step 7 watches until every check resolves, then Step 8 reports the real result.

Red Flags

Never:

• Push to main or master directly, no matter how it's requested
• Use --no-verify or a plain --force
• Auto-merge or self-approve a PR
• Fabricate a GIT_GUARD_REASON instead of a specific, true one
• Skip Step 4's confirmation because the work "seems done"

Always:

• Refuse and redirect if invoked while on main/master
• Check whether the guard bypass is actually needed rather than assuming
• Get explicit confirmation before the push/PR step
• Wait for and report real CI status, not an assumed one

Integration

Formalizes: Option 2 of finishing-a-development-branch ("Push and Create PR"), specialized for repos carrying the corporate git-guard.

Distinct from: commands/team/ship.md (/team:ship, a full idea-to-product pipeline) and systems/gsd/skills/gsd-ship (GSD milestone-scoped). Neither overlaps with this skill's narrower job — shipping already-finished work through the guard and into a PR.

Pairs with: using-git-worktrees for cleanup after the PR merges (not handled by this skill).