MCAF: CI/CD

Trigger On

• adding or changing CI workflows
• defining release flow or rollback policy
• tightening pipeline quality gates
• writing or reviewing AI-assisted pipeline YAML

Value

• produce a concrete project delta: code, docs, config, tests, CI, or review artifact
• reduce ambiguity through explicit planning, verification, and final validation skills
• leave reusable project context so future tasks are faster and safer

Do Not Use For

• feature-level testing with no pipeline or release impact
• general source-control policy without CI/CD changes

Inputs

• the current pipeline and release flow
• real build, test, analyze, and deploy steps
• environment and rollback constraints

Quick Start

1. Read the nearest AGENTS.md and confirm scope and constraints.
2. Run this skill's Workflow through the Ralph Loop until outcomes are acceptable.
3. Return the Required Result Format with concrete artifacts and verification evidence.

Workflow

1. Define the target flow first:
   • PR validation
   • integration-branch gates
   • non-production deployment
   • production promotion or release
2. Keep pipelines reviewable:
   • explicit build, test, and analyze steps
   • least-privilege secrets and permissions
   • rollback or fail-safe strategy
3. Treat AI-generated YAML as draft content until it is reviewed and validated.
4. For .NET repositories, make the quality gate explicit:
   • formatting ownership
   • analyzer ownership
   • coverage and report generation
   • runner model (VSTest or Microsoft.Testing.Platform)
5. Pull only the references that match the current delivery problem.

Deliver

• CI/CD changes that are explicit, reproducible, and reviewable
• release documentation with rollback thinking
• pipeline rules aligned with MCAF verification

Validate

• every stage has a clear purpose and failure signal
• rollback or safe failure is explicit
• secrets and permissions are minimized
• the pipeline matches the repo’s actual verification model

Ralph Loop

Use the Ralph Loop for every task, including docs, architecture, testing, and tooling work.

1. Brainstorm first (mandatory):
   • analyze current state
   • define the problem, target outcome, constraints, and risks
   • generate options and think through trade-offs before committing
   • capture the recommended direction and open questions
2. Plan second (mandatory):
   • write a detailed execution plan from the chosen direction
   • list final validation skills to run at the end, with order and reason
3. Execute one planned step and produce a concrete delta.
4. Review the result and capture findings with actionable next fixes.
5. Apply fixes in small batches and rerun the relevant checks or review steps.
6. Update the plan after each iteration.
7. Repeat until outcomes are acceptable or only explicit exceptions remain.
8. If a dependency is missing, bootstrap it or return status: not_applicable with explicit reason and fallback path.

Required Result Format

• status: complete | clean | improved | configured | not_applicable | blocked
• plan: concise plan and current iteration step
• actions_taken: concrete changes made
• validation_skills: final skills run, or skipped with reasons
• verification: commands, checks, or review evidence summary
• remaining: top unresolved items or none

For setup-only requests with no execution, return status: configured and exact next commands.

Load References

• read references/ci-cd.md first
• for .NET quality gates, use the external mcaf-dotnet-quality-ci skill from the Managed Code Skills catalog

Example Requests

• "Design CI for this repo."
• "Tighten our deployment gates and rollback story."
• "Review this GitHub Actions YAML before we trust it."