day-one-patch

Use when a bounded launch patch must be scoped, implemented, QA-gated, and prepared for separately authorized release steps.

SKILL.md

GitHub
<!-- codex-studio-delegation: governed -->

Resolve every role through ../../../.codex/docs/plugin-agent-delegation.md; do not require a repository-local .codex/agents/ or .codex/agent-packs/ tree. Before default delegation, run python3 ../../../tools/codex_studio/agent_delegation.py resolve --project-root <project-root> --role <role> and use only its returned role contract.

Codex Interaction Contract

  • Ask one decision question per turn and wait for the answer before asking another.
  • Use request_user_input for structured choices when it is available; otherwise ask the same concise question directly.
  • Use Codex custom agents by role and profile when delegation is useful.
  • Treat any approved write as one complete proposed changeset. Before writing, present every target path and material edit together; do not add unlisted files or behavior.
  • A new path, expanded scope, or material change requires a revised complete proposed changeset and fresh approval.

Release Safety Boundary

Creating or switching branches, committing, pushing, deploying, releasing, or publishing requires explicit user authorization at that step. Ask again immediately before each operation; approval for one step never authorizes another. Each destructive operation requires its own explicit authorization and rollback explanation.

Delegation Contract

  • Delegate only work that is independent and bounded.
  • Name the custom-agent role and the exact artifact or evidence it must return.
  • Delegated agents must not spawn additional agents (agents.max_depth = 1).
  • The parent synthesizes every result and presents all exact paths and changes to the user.
  • No subagent commits, publishes, or expands scope.
  • Before an approved changeset, delegated work is read-only or draft-only.

Day-One Patch

Every shipped game has a day-one patch. Planning it before launch day prevents chaos. This skill scopes the patch to only what is safe and necessary, gates it through a lightweight QA pass, and ensures a rollback plan exists before anything ships. It is a mini-sprint — not a hotfix, not a full sprint.

When to run:

  • After the gold master build is locked (cert approved or launch candidate tagged)
  • When known bugs exist that are too risky to address in the gold master
  • When cert feedback requires minor fixes post-submission
  • When a pre-launch playtest surfaces must-fix issues after the release gate passed

Day-one patch scope rules:

  • Only P1/P2 bugs that are SAFE to fix quickly
  • No new features — this is fix-only
  • No refactoring — minimum viable change
  • Any fix that requires more than 4 hours of dev time belongs in patch 1.1, not day-one

Output: production/releases/day-one-patch-[version].md


Phase 1: Load Release Context

Read:

  • production/stage.txt — confirm project is in Release stage
  • The most recent file in production/gate-checks/ — read the release gate verdict
  • production/qa/bugs/*.md — load all bugs with Status: Open or Fixed — Pending Verification
  • production/sprints/ most recent — understand what shipped
  • production/security/security-audit-*.md most recent — check for any open security items

If production/stage.txt is not Release or Polish:

"Day-one patch prep is for Release-stage projects. Current stage: [stage]. This skill is not appropriate until you are approaching launch."


Phase 2: Scope the Patch

Step 2a — Classify open bugs for patch inclusion

For each open bug, evaluate:

Criterion Include in day-one?
S1 or S2 severity Yes — must include if safe to fix
P1 priority Yes
Fix estimated < 4 hours Yes
Fix requires architecture change No — defer to 1.1
Fix introduces new code paths No — too risky
Fix is data/config only (no code change) Yes — very low risk
Cert feedback requirement Yes — required for platform approval
S3/S4 severity Only if trivial config fix; otherwise defer

Step 2b — Present patch scope to user

Use request_user_input:

  • Prompt: "Based on open bugs and cert feedback, here is the proposed day-one patch scope. Does this look right?"
  • Show: table of included bugs (ID, severity, description, estimated effort)
  • Show: table of deferred bugs (ID, severity, reason deferred)
  • Options: [A] Approve this scope / [B] Adjust — I want to add or remove items / [C] No day-one patch needed

If [C]: output "No day-one patch required. Proceed to $launch-checklist." Stop.

Step 2c — Check total scope

Sum estimated effort. If total exceeds 1 day of work:

"⚠️ Patch scope is [N hours] — this exceeds a safe day-one window. Consider deferring lower-priority items to patch 1.1. A bloated day-one patch introduces more risk than it removes."

Use request_user_input to confirm proceeding or reduce scope.


Phase 3: Rollback Plan

Before any code is written, define the rollback procedure. This is non-negotiable.

Delegate to release-manager through Codex custom-agent delegation. Ask them to produce a rollback plan covering:

  • How to revert to the gold master build on each target platform
  • Platform-specific rollback constraints (some platforms cannot roll back cert builds)
  • Who is responsible for triggering the rollback
  • What player communication is required if a rollback occurs

Present the rollback plan and keep it as an in-memory draft. Do not proceed to Phase 4 until the parent has shown one complete implementation preflight containing the rollback plan, patch record, every source/config edit, every test/evidence file, exact acceptance criteria, and rollback risk, and the user has approved that complete proposed changeset.


Phase 4: Implement Fixes

For each bug in the approved scope, delegate to a focused implementation loop:

  1. Delegate to lead-programmer through Codex custom-agent delegation with:

    • The bug report (exact reproduction steps and root cause if known)
    • The constraint: minimum viable fix only, no cleanup
    • The affected files (from bug report Technical Context section)
  2. The lead-programmer implements and runs targeted tests.

  3. Delegate to qa-tester through Codex custom-agent delegation to verify: does the bug reproduce after the fix?

For config/data-only fixes: make the change directly (no programmer agent needed). Confirm the value changed and re-run any relevant smoke test.


Phase 5: Patch QA Gate

This is a lightweight QA pass — not a full $team-qa. The patch is already QA-approved from the release gate; we are only re-verifying the changed areas.

Delegate to qa-lead through Codex custom-agent delegation with:

  • List of all changed files
  • List of bugs fixed (with verification status from Phase 4)
  • The smoke check scope for the affected systems

Ask qa-lead to determine: Is a targeted smoke check sufficient, or do any fixes touch systems that require a broader regression?

Run the required QA scope:

  • Targeted smoke check — run $smoke-check [affected-systems]
  • Broader regression — run targeted tests in tests/unit/ and tests/integration/ for affected systems

QA verdict must be PASS or PASS WITH WARNINGS before proceeding. If FAIL: scope the failing fix out of the day-one patch and defer to 1.1.


Phase 6: Generate Patch Record

# Day-One Patch: [Game Name] v[version]

**Date prepared**: [date]
**Target release**: [launch date or "day of launch"]
**Base build**: [gold master tag or commit]
**Patch build**: [patch tag or commit]

---

## Patch Notes (Internal)

### Bugs Fixed
| BUG-ID | Severity | Description | Fix summary |
|--------|----------|-------------|-------------|
| BUG-NNN | S[1-4] | [description] | [one-line fix] |

### Deferred to 1.1
| BUG-ID | Severity | Description | Reason deferred |
|--------|----------|-------------|-----------------|
| BUG-NNN | S[1-4] | [description] | [reason] |

---

## QA Sign-Off

**QA scope**: [Targeted smoke / Broader regression]
**Verdict**: [PASS / PASS WITH WARNINGS]
**QA lead**: qa-lead agent
**Date**: [date]
**Warnings (if any)**: [list or "None"]

---

## Rollback Plan

See: `production/releases/rollback-plan-[version].md`

**Trigger condition**: If [N] or more S1 bugs are reported within [X] hours of launch, execute rollback.
**Rollback owner**: [user / producer]

---

## Approvals Required Before Deploy

- [ ] lead-programmer: all fixes reviewed
- [ ] qa-lead: QA gate PASS confirmed
- [ ] producer: deployment timing approved
- [ ] release-manager: platform submission confirmed

---

## Player-Facing Patch Notes

[Draft for community-manager to review before publishing]

[list player-facing changes in plain language]

The approved complete proposed changeset must include both production/releases/rollback-plan-[version].md and production/releases/day-one-patch-[version].md. Write only the files and edits listed in that approval.


Phase 7: Next Steps

After the patch record is written:

  1. Run $patch-notes to generate the player-facing version of the patch notes
  2. Run $bug-report verify [BUG-ID] for each fixed bug after the patch is live
  3. Run $bug-report close [BUG-ID] for each verified fix
  4. Schedule a post-launch review 48–72 hours after launch using $retrospective launch

If any S1 bugs remain open after the patch:

"⚠️ S1 bugs remain open and were not patched. These are accepted risks. Document them in the rollback plan trigger conditions — if they occur at scale, rollback may be preferable to a follow-up patch."

Use request_user_input:

  • Prompt: "Day-one patch complete. What's next?"
  • Options:
    • [A] Run $patch-notes — generate player-facing patch notes
    • [B] Run $bug-report to log any issues found post-deploy
    • [C] Stop here

Collaborative Protocol

  • Scope discipline is everything — resist scope creep; every addition increases risk
  • Rollback plan first, always — a patch without a rollback plan is irresponsible
  • Deferred is not forgotten — every deferred bug gets a 1.1 ticket automatically
  • Player communication is part of the patch — $patch-notes is a required output, not optional