vibe-rollback-plan

The time to plan a rollback is BEFORE you need one.

When to Use This Skill

• Database migrations (especially destructive ones)
• API breaking changes
• Infrastructure changes (networking, permissions, DNS)
• Large dependency upgrades
• Any change where "undo" isn't obvious

When NOT to Use This Skill

• Safe, easily reversible changes (adding a new file, adding a feature flag)
• Changes with automated rollback (CI/CD with rollback built in)
• Local development changes

Steps

1. Document the change:

   • What is being changed?
   • Why is it being changed?
   • What systems are affected?

2. Define success criteria:

   • How do we know the change worked?
   • What metrics to watch?
   • How long to monitor before declaring success?

3. Assess blast radius:

   • What breaks if this fails?
   • Which users/services are affected?
   • Is there data loss risk?

4. Write rollback procedure:

   • Step-by-step commands to reverse the change
   • Expected time to rollback
   • Who needs to be notified?

5. Pre-change checklist:

   • Rollback procedure documented
   • Rollback tested (if possible)
   • Monitoring in place
   • Team notified
   • Backup taken

Output Format

Rollback Plan: [Change Name]

Change: [Description] Risk Level: Low / Medium / High / Critical Blast Radius: [What's affected] Estimated Recovery Time: [Time to rollback]

Success Criteria

1. [How to verify the change worked]

Rollback Procedure

# Step 1: [Description]
[command]
# Step 2: [Description]
[command]

Pre-Change Checklist

• Backup taken
• Rollback tested
• Monitoring active
• Team notified