# Developing ReleaseKit

ReleaseKit currently contains adopted policies and design documents. See the
[README](../README.md) for orientation and the [product roadmap](roadmap/releasekit.md)
for proposed capabilities and implementation sequencing.

Read the [agent policy](policy/agents.md) and inspect the worktree before editing.
Preserve unrelated changes and follow explicit instructions about commits.
The [architecture policy](policy/architecture.md) governs development boundaries;
[ADR 0001](adr/0001-public-facade.md) records the facade decision. The
[documentation policy](policy/documentation.md#canonical-ownership) owns the
documentation topic map.

## Policy Reading Guide

| Policy | Read before… |
| --- | --- |
| [Policy set provenance](policy/meta.md) | Adopting policies, checking upstream revisions, or updating the adopted policy set. |
| [Agents](policy/agents.md) | Recommending, planning, or implementing repository changes. |
| [Architecture](policy/architecture.md) | Planning or changing library or executable code or its structure. |
| [Testing](policy/testing.md) | Selecting validation for code changes, or adding, changing, removing, or evaluating tests. |
| [Documentation](policy/documentation.md) | Writing, revising, or reorganizing documentation. |
| [OSS](policy/oss.md) | Adding or updating dependencies or incorporated third-party material, or changing licensing or attribution. |
| [Release](policy/release.md) | Preparing or publishing a release, changing release procedures, or making versioning and compatibility decisions. |

- Read applicable policies before making decisions they govern; multiple policies
  may apply.
- Select policies using the task triggers above. Follow cross-references to
  relevant sections when needed to resolve a concrete question.
- Reuse policies already available in context; reread when changed or no longer
  available.
- Expand reading when the task's scope expands.
- When revising a policy itself, read that policy and any provisions elsewhere
  affected by the revision.

## Validation

For prose changes, review the diff and check local links, fragment destinations,
provenance, template residue, and consistency with current repository contents.
Check prose whitespace with:

```sh
git diff --check -- '*.md' COPYRIGHT
git diff --cached --check -- '*.md' COPYRIGHT
```

Verbatim license texts retain their supplied formatting. When changing those
texts, compare their bytes with the selected upstream source.

There is no `go.mod`, default test suite, or publication command yet. Add working
development commands here as implementation lands. Add `docs/release.md` with
the first working publication command; the [policy adoption roadmap](roadmap/policy.md#4-define-releasekits-own-release-path)
records the remaining bootstrap work.