pdlc-os/release

You are force-releasing a roadmap-level feature claim. Use this when a claim is stuck — dev left the team, laptop unavailable, session died without cleanup — and another dev needs to pick up or reassign the feature.

If $ARGUMENTS is empty, list every currently-held roadmap claim and ask which to release:

bd list --label roadmap --status in-progress --json

Present the list as:

"Active roadmap claims:

• F-005 (user-auth) — held by [email protected] since 2026-04-10
• F-008 (webhooks) — held by [email protected] since 2026-04-18

Which do you want to release? Type F-NNN or cancel."

Store the target feature ID as [feature-id] and feature slug as [feature-name].

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Safeguards

Guard 1 — Never release your own active claim

Check if [feature-id] is claimed by the current user:

bd list --claimed-by me --label roadmap --label [feature-id] --json

If the result is non-empty, refuse:

"[feature-id] is your own active claim. Use /abandon if you want to stop work on this feature — that preserves artifacts and records an ADR. /release is for unsticking someone else's orphaned claims."

Stop here.

Guard 2 — Confirm the force-release

Show what's being released and require explicit confirmation:

bd show [bd-task-id]

Print:

"Force-releasing [feature-id]: [feature-name]

• Currently claimed by: [claimer email]
• Claimed at: [timestamp]
• Status will go from in-progress → planned
• Feature becomes available for the next /brainstorm

This is a high-friction action — it interferes with another developer's in-flight work. Confirm with their team first if possible.

Reason for force-release? (required — goes into DECISIONS.md)"

Wait for a reason. Empty / skip / cancel aborts.

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Step 1 — Release the claim in Beads

bd unclaim [bd-task-id]
bd update [bd-task-id] --status planned

If bd update --status isn't supported, use bd update [bd-task-id] --reopen or the closest equivalent to put the task back into planned so bd ready --label roadmap surfaces it.

Report:

"Claim released. [feature-id] is now available for the next /brainstorm."

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Step 2 — Update ROADMAP.md

Find the row for [feature-id]. Update:

• Claimed by: clear to —
• Status: In Progress → Planned
• Last updated (file header): today's date

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Step 3 — Record the forced release in DECISIONS.md

Append a new ADR:

### ADR-[NNN]: Force-release of roadmap claim [feature-id]

**Date:** [today]
**Source:** User (explicit — `/release [feature-id]`)
**Phase:** Administrative
**Agent:** Atlas
**Feature:** [feature-name]
**Previous claimer:** [email]
**Status:** Active

**Decision:** Force-release the claim on `[feature-id]` without consent from the prior claimer.

**Context:** [user's reason]

**Alternatives considered:** Not applicable — administrative action.

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Step 4 — Optional notify

If gh is available AND the repo has a pinned Roadmap GitHub issue (from the ship-time mirror), append a comment to that issue:

gh issue comment <roadmap-issue-number> --body "Force-released claim on **[feature-id]** (was held by @[prior-claimer]). Reason: [user's reason]. Released by @[me]."

Skip silently if gh is unavailable or no pinned issue exists.

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Final confirmation

Tell the user:

"Force-release complete for [feature-id].

• Beads task unclaimed, status → planned
• ROADMAP.md updated
• ADR-[NNN] recorded in DECISIONS.md [If notified:] - Comment posted to the Roadmap issue

The next /brainstorm (without args) will pick this feature up as the next priority candidate."

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Rules

• /release never touches artifacts. PRDs, design docs, brainstorm logs, and feature branches created by the prior claimer stay in place. The next dev who claims the feature can choose to reuse or discard them.
• /release never releases your own active claim — use /abandon instead.
• Every release is recorded. The ADR is the audit trail for who released what and why.
• If the target task cannot be found in Beads, refuse with "No Beads task found for [feature-id] — check bd list --label roadmap and /diagnose." Do not fall back to editing ROADMAP.md alone; that would create the exact drift this skill is designed to prevent.