finalize — Claude Code skill: pre-ship UI check with a verdict

---
name: finalize
description: "Pre-ship gate — runs detector, verifies brief and tokens, applies the 10-pass finish bar, ranks findings by feedback hierarchy. Use when the user wants to ship, merge, or finalize a surface and needs a verdict (READY / NOT READY / BLOCKED) before committing. Invoke when the user asks for finalize on their UI, or mentions 'finalize' alongside design / UI / frontend work."
---

<!-- HARNESS MIRROR — do not edit here. Canonical source: skills/ or commands/. After editing source, copy into cli/assets/<harness>/ and repo-root harness mirrors. -->

**Context:** this sub-skill is one lens of the broader `ui-craft` skill. If the `ui-craft` skill is also installed, read its SKILL.md first for Discovery + Anti-Slop + Craft Test, then apply the specific lens below.

Load the `ui-craft` skill. This command produces findings only — do NOT edit code.

---

## Step 1 — Brief check (gate)

Look for `.ui-craft/brief.md`.

- Absent: STOP. Output: "No brief found. Run `/brief` first. `/finalize` requires a design brief to distinguish intentional decisions from findings." Do not proceed.
- Present: load it. Extract principles (numbered, in conflict-resolution order). These are the override registry for Steps 4–5.

---

## Step 2 — Detector

Run `npx ui-craft-detect` on `$ARGUMENTS` (or current working surface if no argument).

Capture all output. Every Critical detector finding maps directly to a block-ship finding in the report. Preserve detector source labels.

---

## Step 3 — Token check

Quick three-question audit (no deep read required):

1. Are all three token layers present (primitives → semantic → component)?
2. Are both light and dark modes explicitly authored (not inverted)?
3. Are all seven token categories represented (color, spacing, radius, shadow, typography, motion, z-index)?

Any "no": flag as Major. Do not block ship. Append a recommendation: "Run `/tokens` to close the gap at [category]."

---

## Step 3b — Craft-intent check (full surfaces only)

Applies only when the target is a complete surface (dashboard, landing, auth, settings shell, portfolio) — skip for single components.

1. **Signature bet present?** Scan for exactly one memorable decision from `references/craft-intent.md` §3 (product / auth / marketing lists). Zero → **Major** ("no signature — surface is competent but anonymous; run `/bolder` or `/polish`"). Two or more competing → **Major** ("signature bets stack — keep the strongest, cut the rest").
2. **Variance matches surface?** Layout risk visibly inconsistent with the surface's DESIGN_VARIANCE default (e.g. experimental asymmetry on an auth form, or a landing that is one centered symmetric column) → **Major**, unless the brief or spec records the deviation.
3. **Craft Read recorded?** If a `.ui-craft/spec.md` section or session declared a Craft Read, verify the built surface matches it (theme, variance, signature). Mismatch → **Major** with the specific delta.

These findings are Major, never Critical — they gate NOT READY, not BLOCKED.

---

## Step 3c — Copy self-audit + mechanical counts (marketing surfaces only)

Applies to landings, portfolios, and campaign pages — skip for product shells.

Load `references/recipe-landing.md` and run its Acceptance-bar mechanical checks against the built surface — thresholds (eyebrow count, layout-family budget, hero discipline) live there, not here; this step only names which checks apply and where a violation lands.

1. **Copy self-audit.** Read every visible string (headlines, eyebrows, buttons, captions, alt text, footer). Grammatically broken copy, unclear referents, forced-clever labels ("Field notes" over testimonials, "Quietly trusted by"), or fake-precise numbers with no source → **Major** per `references/copy.md` Copy Self-Audit.
2. **Eyebrow count (mechanical)** — per `references/recipe-landing.md` Eyebrow budget. Over budget → **Major** ("eyebrow flood — delete labels until the count passes").
3. **Layout-family count (mechanical)** — per `references/recipe-landing.md` Layout-family budget. Any repeat or consecutive-split overrun → **Major**.
4. **CTA intent (mechanical)** — per `references/copy.md` CTAs & Buttons (one label per intent; CTA fits one line at desktop). Violation → **Major**.
5. **Hero discipline** — per `references/recipe-landing.md` Hero discipline. Over budget → **Major**.

---

## Step 4 — Finish bar

Load `references/finish-bar.md`. Run all 10 passes in document order. Do not reorder.

**Knob behavior (apply before running):**

- `CRAFT_LEVEL ≤ 6` AND user did not explicitly invoke `/finalize`: run Passes 1, 6, 8 only; mark remaining as N/A (knob-gated).
- `CRAFT_LEVEL ≥ 7` OR user explicitly invoked `/finalize`: run all 10 passes.
- `MOTION_INTENSITY ≤ 3`: Pass 7 = motion-gap audit only; do not fail on absent entrance animations.
- `VISUAL_DENSITY ≥ 8` AND brief documents compressed rhythm: Pass 4 accepts compressed spacing values.

**For each pass:**

- Collect findings.
- Assign severity per the severity map in `finish-bar.md` (Critical / Major / Minor).
- If a finding conflicts with a recorded principle in `brief.md`: downgrade to "Deferred per brief" and cite the exact principle. If no brief principle covers it, it remains a finding regardless.
- Record file:line when available.

---

## Step 5 — Feedback hierarchy filter

Load `references/review.md` Feedback Hierarchy section.

Group all findings (detector + token + finish-bar) into three tiers:

- **Value** — does the surface solve the problem the brief defines?
- **Ease of Use** — can the user accomplish the primary task?
- **Delight** — is it polished?

If any Value findings exist: surface them first in the report and add a standing recommendation to defer all Delight findings until Value findings are resolved. This prevents polish work masking broken functionality.

---

## Step 6 — Output

Print this report. Do not add preamble.

```
## Finalize report — <surface name>

**Ship verdict:** READY / NOT READY / BLOCKED

> BLOCKED = any Critical finding present.
> NOT READY = any Major finding present, no Critical.
> READY = zero Critical, zero Major (Minor explicitly accepted).

### Block-ship findings (must fix before merge)
- [Pass / detector source] — [finding] — [file:line if available]

### Major findings (fix or defer with recorded reason)
- [...]

### Minor findings (polish; ship-okay if explicitly accepted)
- [...]

### Deferred per brief
- [finding] — [principle from brief.md that defers it]

### Recommended next actions
- [ordered, 3–5 items max]
```

If a tier has no findings, omit the section header entirely.

---

## Step 6b — Convergence mode (explicit opt-in only)

Convergence mode activates ONLY when the user explicitly says "run in convergence mode", "converge until the bar passes", or uses a `--converge` flag. A vague "keep going", "fix it", or "make it pass" does NOT trigger convergence — the default remains findings-only (Step 7 hard-stop applies).

When explicitly triggered: load `skills/ui-craft/references/loops.md` and run preset `visual-anti-slop` (budget the default loop budget defined in loops.md, hard cap 5). Emit the pre-flight cost notice before iteration 1. After each single highest-impact fix, re-run finalize Steps 2–6 (this command's own steps) until READY or budget exhausted. **Note:** finalize's findings-only hard-stop (Step 7) is lifted ONLY inside convergence mode — fixes are applied during iteration.

---

## Step 7 — Hard stops

Do not edit any file. Do not propose code changes inline. The verdict is the output. If the user asks for fixes after reading the report, respond to that as a separate request.

**Next step:** Ship. If the gate is red, the findings name the pass to re-run — `/polish`, `/harden` or `/clarify`.