Research Harness Release

Assemble the complete replication/evidence package after a successful review. This skill requires an APPROVE verdict from /research-harness-review before it will package any output.

A single human confirmation gate precedes all packaging operations.

This skill runs after /research-harness-review (verdict: APPROVE).

Quick Reference

Pre-flight Checks

1. Read reports/review_report.md. If it does not exist, stop.
2. Check the verdict in reports/review_report.md. If it is not APPROVE, stop and tell the user: the review must pass before release can proceed.
3. Read study_spec.md and analysis_plan.md. If either does not exist, stop.
4. Confirm that all tasks marked cc:done in analysis_plan.md have a corresponding evidence row (script + log + output).

If the review verdict is REQUEST_CHANGES or BLOCK: do not proceed. Tell the user to resolve review findings first.

Procedure

Step 1 — Inventory all artifacts

Collect paths for every artifact that will go into the replication package:

Source-of-truth files:

• study_spec.md
• analysis_plan.md

Reports:

• reports/data_audit_report.md
• reports/data_cleaning_plan.md (if exists)
• reports/data_cleaning_report.md
• reports/merge_report.md (if merges occurred)
• reports/review_report.md

Scripts: all scripts referenced in analysis_plan.md Evidence Ledger

Logs: all logs referenced in analysis_plan.md Evidence Ledger

Outputs: all tables and figures referenced in analysis_plan.md Evidence Ledger

Cleaned data: data/processed/ files referenced in the cleaning report (skip if --no-data)

Templates used: list only (do not copy templates themselves)

For each artifact, record whether the file exists on disk. Flag missing files as gaps.

Step 2 — Human confirmation gate

Print the full artifact inventory:

Research Harness Release — Confirmation Required

Review verdict: APPROVE
Review report: reports/review_report.md

Artifacts to include:

  Source-of-truth:
    [x] study_spec.md
    [x] analysis_plan.md

  Reports:
    [x] reports/data_audit_report.md
    [x] reports/data_cleaning_report.md
    [x] reports/merge_report.md
    [x] reports/review_report.md

  Scripts (N files):
    [x] scripts/clean.R
    [x] analysis/main/scripts/main_regression.R
    ...

  Logs (N files):
    [x] logs/clean_YYYYMMDD.log
    [x] analysis/main/logs/main_regression.log
    ...

  Outputs (N files):
    [x] output/tables/table1.csv
    [x] output/tables/table2.csv
    [x] output/figures/figure1.pdf
    ...

  Cleaned data:
    [x] data/processed/analysis_ready.csv    [included / excluded with --no-data]

Gaps (files listed in analysis_plan.md but not found on disk):
  [list or "none"]

Data access note:
  [If --no-data: "Processed data excluded. Add access instructions to reproducibility_report.md."]
  [If data included: "Processed data included. Confirm you have permission to share this data."]

Proceed with release? (yes / no)

Wait for user confirmation. Do not proceed without it.

If the user says no: stop. Print: "Release cancelled. No files were packaged."

Step 3 — Write reproducibility_report.md

Copy templates/reproducibility_report.md to reports/reproducibility_report.md.

Fill in all sections:

§1 Software environment: read from script headers (language and package versions mentioned in comments or sessionInfo() / pip freeze output in logs if present; otherwise write unknown)

§2 Scripts: list all scripts from the Evidence Ledger in execution order. Record file name and last-modified timestamp (SHA if git is available).

§3 Data files: list raw data files (with access instructions) and processed data files (with paths). If --no-data, note that processed data is not included and explain how to obtain raw data.

§4 Logs: list all logs from the Evidence Ledger with date run and exit code (read from log header).

§5 Output files: list all tables and figures from the Evidence Ledger.

§6 Verified claims: for each key numerical claim verified during review (from reports/review_report.md §3), list the claim, the reported value, and the log file where it appears.

§7 Unverified items: list any items from reports/review_report.md that were flagged as unverified or advisory, with risk level.

§8 How to reproduce: write step-by-step instructions. Steps must be specific (e.g., "Run Rscript scripts/clean.R from the project root") not generic.

§9 Remaining limitations: copy from reports/review_report.md minor findings and from study_spec.md §7 open questions.

§10 Checklist: fill in each item as checked or explain why it is not applicable.

Step 4 — Create the release folder

Create release/ at the project root (or the user-specified path).

Copy all artifacts from Step 1 into release/ preserving the folder structure:

release/
├── study_spec.md
├── analysis_plan.md
├── reports/
│   ├── data_audit_report.md
│   ├── data_cleaning_report.md
│   ├── merge_report.md          (if applicable)
│   └── review_report.md
├── scripts/
│   └── clean.R
├── analysis/
│   └── <stage>/scripts/<task>.R
├── logs/
│   └── clean_YYYYMMDD.log
├── analysis/
│   └── <stage>/logs/<task>.log
├── output/
│   ├── tables/
│   └── figures/
├── data/processed/              (omit if --no-data)
└── reports/reproducibility_report.md

Do not include raw data under data/raw/ unless the user explicitly instructs it (and it is not confidential).

Step 5 — Final verification

After copying:

• Confirm every file in the inventory exists in release/
• Re-read the reproducibility report checklist — confirm all items are checked
• Count: total files in package, total verified claims, total unverified items

Step 6 — Print release summary

Research Harness Release — Complete

Package location: release/
Total files: N
Verified claims: N
Unverified items: N (see reports/reproducibility_report.md §7)

⚠ Before sharing this package:
  - Confirm you have permission to share any data files included
  - Confirm data/raw/ contents are not in release/ (unless intended)
  - Test reproduction instructions on a clean environment if possible

Reproducibility report: release/reports/reproducibility_report.md

Forbidden Actions

• Do not proceed if the review verdict is not APPROVE
• Do not proceed without human confirmation (Step 2)
• Do not include files from data/raw/ unless the user explicitly approves
• Do not claim full reproducibility if data access restrictions prevent it — document them in §3 and §8
• Do not omit known limitations from the reproducibility report
• Do not fabricate software version numbers or timestamps not present in logs

Evidence Requirements

• reports/review_report.md with verdict APPROVE
• reports/reproducibility_report.md with all sections filled in
• release/ folder exists and contains all inventoried artifacts
• Release summary printed

Completion Criteria

• Review verdict confirmed as APPROVE
• Human confirmation received
• Artifact inventory complete with no unexpected gaps
• reports/reproducibility_report.md written with all sections
• release/ folder created and populated
• Reproducibility report checklist fully checked
• Release summary printed with file count and verified claims

Post-Release

The release package is complete. Remaining researcher responsibilities (outside harness scope):

• Submit the package to a data repository (e.g., Harvard Dataverse, ICPSR, OSF)
• Add a README to the repository explaining how to obtain restricted data (if applicable)
• Archive the release/ folder alongside the paper submission