# AI Release Checklist
By Alexandr Rich · alexandrrich.com

The last pass before real users see a change.
Run it for every release, not only the first one.

## Before you merge
- [ ] The change does one thing, and the description says what and why.
- [ ] A person has read the diff, not only the agent's summary of it.
- [ ] Automated tests pass, including the main user workflow.
- [ ] Anything touching auth, money, permissions or deletion has its own test.
- [ ] New dependencies are real, maintained and needed.
- [ ] No secrets, test keys or debug switches are in the change.

## Before you deploy
- [ ] Database and configuration changes are included in the deploy, not done by hand.
- [ ] You know the exact commit currently in production.
- [ ] You know how to roll back to it, and roughly how long that takes.
- [ ] Paid APIs used by the change have rate limits and spending caps.

## After you deploy
- [ ] The deploy actually succeeded. Check the platform, not only the merge.
- [ ] The live site is serving the new version.
- [ ] You completed the main workflow on production yourself.
- [ ] Error tracking shows no new failures after 30 minutes.
- [ ] Cost and usage look normal after the first day.

## Tell people
- [ ] Users who asked for this change know it has shipped.
- [ ] Known limitations are written down where users will see them.
- [ ] The project memory records what changed, and anything the next release needs to know.

## If something goes wrong
Roll back first. Investigate second.
Then write down the cause and the check that would have caught it, and add that check to this list.