ship-checklist — Claude Code skill: pre-PR done checklist
A definition-of-done skill for the ax graph: it checks that a new write has a read path an agent can find, not just a manual CLI run.
npx skills add Necmttn/ax --skill ship-checklist -a claude-codeWhat ship-checklist does
The skill targets a repeated miss in ax. A write ships together with an on-demand CLI read, and the agent-facing side never happens. A signal you only see when you run the CLI by hand stays invisible to the self-improvement loop, so the work is not finished until an agent can surface it unprompted.
Six sections make up the checklist: write, on-demand read, proactive read, docs, onboarding, verify. The write section covers the schema in schema.surql and its registration in SCHEMA_TABLES, an idempotent ingest that respects since, and denormalization for reads without record derefs inside aggregates. One line asks whether history gets the signal or only new data.
Section C is the reason the skill exists: an MCP tool in apps/axctl/src/mcp/tools.ts, the ax improve recommend generator, wiring into ax insights, a dojo agenda item, and a skill that teaches an agent to act on the signal. You may skip a row, but the PR has to name it and explain why. Run the checklist before you open the PR.
What it helps with
- confirm a new graph write has a read path an agent can find
- remember the MCP tool and proposal generator for a new signal
- flag that a signal stays dark until re-ingest
- paste live-verified output into the PR body
- walk sections A through F before opening the pull request
Example prompts for the agent
- Run ship-checklist on the new
signal_eventstable before I open the PR - I added a signal — check section C and tell me what is missing
- Is this ready to merge? Go through the ship-checklist
How to install ship-checklist
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add Necmttn/ax --skill ship-checklist -a claude-code2Manually: put the files in place
~/.claude/skills/ship-checklist/SKILL.mdCopy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/ship-checklist/
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add Necmttn/ax --skill ship-checklist -a codex2Manually: put the files in place
.agents/skills/ship-checklist/SKILL.mdFor all projects use ~/.agents/skills/
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add Necmttn/ax --skill ship-checklist -a cursor2Manually: put the files in place
.cursor/skills/ship-checklist/SKILL.mdCursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/
1GitHub CLI
gh skill install Necmttn/ax ship-checklist2Manually: put the files in place
.github/skills/ship-checklist/SKILL.md1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add Necmttn/ax --skill ship-checklist -a gemini-cli2Platform CLI
gemini skills install https://github.com/Necmttn/ax --path skills/ship-checklistManually: put the files in place
.devin/skills/ship-checklist/SKILL.mdThe legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works
Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add Necmttn/ax --skill ship-checklist -a opencodeClaude.ai
Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to install skills in Claude Code: five ways
Questions about ship-checklist
How do I install ship-checklist in Claude Code?
Run npx skills add Necmttn/ax --skill ship-checklist -a claude-code. The skill lands in ~/.claude/skills/ship-checklist/SKILL.md.
What does ship-checklist do?
It is a definition-of-done checklist for a new ax graph capability. Every write needs an on-demand read, a proactive read and an agent-facing surface, not the write alone.
Can I skip a checklist row?
Yes, but the PR should say which row you skipped and why. Silent skips are what the skill is meant to prevent.
