Implementation validation cycle

Use this skill after the implementation has passed its required local checks and the user has approved the implementation commit. It produces remote evidence; it never changes the merge path from feat/<scope> to main.

Inputs and gates

Require all of these before mutation: implementation worktree, feature branch, issue/PR number, validation profile, and the full implementation SHA from git rev-parse HEAD. Push the implementation first.

Run the preflight helper. It rejects abbreviated SHAs and a feature branch whose remote tip is not exactly the requested commit.

scripts/validation-cycle.sh preflight \
  --repo /path/to/repo --feature-branch feat/<scope> --sha <40-char-sha>

For a chart change, local evidence normally includes make docs when values.yaml changed, make lint, make template, make package, and an isolated kind install plus helm test. Record an unavailable local dependency honestly; do not claim the remote result was local evidence.

Remote loop

1. Use create without --apply first. Inspect the feature SHA, test branch, worktree path, profile, and generated workflow path.
2. With explicit approval, rerun create --apply. It creates an orphan test/<scope> worktree containing only .github/workflows/validate-implementation.yaml, commits it, and pushes it. The workflow checks out the full pinned SHA.

3. Capture the exact run ID and wait only for that run:

   gh run watch <run-id> --repo <owner/repo> --exit-status

4. On failure, classify before editing:
   • implementation: feature checkout, assertion, or chart workload fails. Return to the feature worktree, rerun local checks, commit a feature fix, and restart with its new SHA.
   • harness: the orphan workflow, its pinned SHA, or its setup fails before testing the implementation. Change only the orphan branch and rerun.
   • infrastructure: runner, registry, or transient platform failure. Preserve state and retry only when the failure is demonstrably transient; otherwise ask the maintainer.

5. On success, post one PR comment with the tested SHA, run URL, inputs, expected and actual results, and a short secret-safe log excerpt. Use the helper to print the Markdown skeleton:

   scripts/validation-cycle.sh evidence \
     --sha <40-char-sha> --run-url <actions-url> --input '<test input>' \
     --expected '<expected result>' --actual '<actual result>'

6. Only after the comment succeeds, inspect the exact test worktree then call cleanup --apply --comment-url <comment-url>. Never open a test-to-main PR, merge the feature branch into the test branch, auto-merge a PR, or run a release.

Helpers

• scripts/validation-cycle.sh: preflight, orphan-worktree creation, workflow rendering, evidence skeleton, and guarded cleanup.
• assets/validate-implementation.yaml.tmpl: the temporary chart-validation workflow. It checks out __IMPLEMENTATION_SHA__ and is the only file copied to an orphan test branch.
• scripts/test-validation-cycle.sh: local fixture tests for the SHA mismatch, dry-run, workflow rendering, and evidence formatting paths.

Add a profile only when its commands and assertions are deterministic. Keep feature-specific assertions in the temporary workflow, not the implementation branch. See CONTRIBUTING.md's "Promoting a validation to permanent CI" for the criteria deciding whether a proven assertion should become permanent CI.