Looks finished
The developer can navigate, click, and demonstrate the feature in one working tree.
The Shipped-or-Not Release Audit
Local code is not a production outcome.
A practical field guide for proving that an important feature is tracked, reproducible, deployed, reachable, and usable.
Get the auditSee the five proofs
The release gap
A working tree can tell a convincing lie.
A feature may be complete in one local environment while its source is ignored, its locked build cannot reproduce it, its deployment omits a component, or its public task remains unusable. Release evidence must cross every boundary.
May be incomplete
Untracked source, hidden configuration, missing migrations, or stale artifacts never reach the release.
Needs proof
A public route and a real task-level walkthrough confirm the promised outcome.
The release contract
Demand five proofs before saying shipped.
Tracked
The intended source, configuration template, route, migration, and manifest are present in the commit tree.
Reproducible
A fresh checkout installs the locked dependency graph and produces the expected build without hidden local files.
Deployed
The release records the exact source revision, artifact, target, configuration contract, and deployment result.
Reachable
The public route, function, media, auth boundary, and integration answer as designed.
Usable
A real person completes the promised task from a fresh session and sees the expected outcome.
Reversible
The release has a rollback path, preserved evidence, and a clear owner for exceptions.
Built from a first-party correction
An ignore rule hid an entire feature tree.
Public PONO build history documents a broad artifact rule that matched a nested source directory and silently kept a complete feature out of version control. The repair anchored the rule to intended artifact locations, added the missing source, and strengthened deployment verification. The lesson is shared without exposing customers, secrets, private environments, or endpoints.
Supporting guidance: official Git ignore documentation, SLSA provenance, and GitHub Actions build-and-test guidance.