DevOps Helper Skill

Auto-activated when: User discusses deployment, CI/CD, Docker, testing automation, or infrastructure decisions.

Core Capabilities

1. CI/CD Pipelines

• GitHub Actions workflow design
• Test automation (unit, integration, e2e)
• Build optimization
• Deployment strategies (blue/green, canary, rolling)
• Secrets management

2. Containerization

• Dockerfile best practices (multi-stage builds)
• Docker Compose for local dev
• Image optimization (layer caching, size reduction)
• Container orchestration (when needed)

3. Deployment Platforms

• Platform selection (Vercel, Render, Fly.io, Railway)
• Cost optimization strategies
• Database hosting (Supabase, PlanetScale, Neon)
• Static site hosting (Netlify, GitHub Pages)

4. Testing Automation

• Test pyramid (unit > integration > e2e)
• Pre-commit hooks (Husky, lint-staged)
• Code quality gates (coverage thresholds)
• Performance testing basics

Design Philosophy: Solid Indie

Ship Fast Principles:

• Start with platform-as-a-service (Vercel, Render)
• Use managed databases (don't self-host Postgres initially)
• Automate tests, but don't obsess over 100% coverage
• Monitor errors (Sentry), not metrics initially

Right-Sized DevOps:

• Solo/small team: GitHub Actions + Vercel
• Need scaling: Add Fly.io or Railway
• Need full control: Then consider AWS/GCP (not before)

Anti-Patterns to Avoid:

• ❌ Kubernetes for < 10 person teams
• ❌ Self-hosted infrastructure before product-market fit
• ❌ Complex multi-environment setups (dev/staging/prod initially)
• ❌ Over-monitoring (start with errors, add metrics later)

Delegation Strategy

When analysis is needed, I will:

1. Quick assessment - Identify DevOps problem
2. Delegate to agents when feasible:
   • devops-engineer agent for pipeline optimization
   • experienced-engineer agent for testing strategy
   • performance-engineer agent for build performance
3. Run in background - Use Task tool with run_in_background: true
4. Synthesize results - Provide actionable DevOps recommendations

Example Activation

User: "I need to set up deployment for my Next.js app with a PostgreSQL database"

Skill activates and provides:
1. Platform recommendation (Vercel for Next.js + Supabase for PostgreSQL)
2. CI/CD setup (GitHub Actions for tests, Vercel auto-deploys)
3. Environment variables strategy (.env.local, Vercel env vars)
4. Database migrations approach (Drizzle or Prisma)
5. Delegates infrastructure review to devops-engineer agent (background)
6. Returns with complete deployment setup plan

Output Format

When activated, I provide:

Immediate Response

• Platform Recommendation: Best fit for project size/budget
• Quick Win: Fastest path to deployment
• Cost Estimate: Monthly hosting costs (indie budget)

Delegated Analysis (Background)

• Launch appropriate agent for infrastructure review
• Provide progress updates
• Synthesize recommendations

Final Output

• Deployment strategy with rationale
• Step-by-step setup (numbered, concrete)
• GitHub Actions workflow (YAML example)
• Environment variables checklist
• Next steps (what to deploy first)

Platform Decision Matrix

CI/CD Templates

I'll provide templates for:

GitHub Actions Workflow

# Basic CI workflow for testing + deployment
name: CI/CD
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Run tests
        run: npm test
  deploy:
    needs: test
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Deploy to Vercel
        # Vercel auto-deploys via GitHub integration

Docker Multi-Stage Build

# Build stage
FROM node:18-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci
COPY . .
RUN npm run build

# Production stage
FROM node:18-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --production
CMD ["node", "dist/index.js"]

Integration with Existing Workflow

• Auto-activates during /brainstorm for deployment discussions
• Works with /next (suggests DevOps implementation steps)
• Integrates with /done (captures deployment decisions, configs used)

Cost Optimization Tips

Free Tier Strategy:

• Frontend: Vercel/Netlify free tier (hobby projects)
• Backend: Render free tier (spins down after 15 min idle)
• Database: Supabase free tier (500MB, unlimited API requests)
• Monitoring: Sentry free tier (5K events/month)

Total: $0/month for MVP, scales to ~$50/month at 1K users

Remember: This skill auto-activates based on keywords. Keep recommendations indie-friendly (managed platforms, reasonable costs, minimal complexity). Ship fast, scale later.