/hotfix

Quick patch workflow for production issues with minimal risk.

Usage

/hotfix <issue> [--from <branch>] [--cherry-pick <commit>]

Arguments

• issue: Issue number, description, or "rollback"
• --from <branch>: Base branch (default: production/main)
• --cherry-pick <commit>: Apply specific commit as hotfix

Instructions

When this skill is invoked:

Agent Behavior

Autonomy:

• Move quickly but safely
• Minimize changes to only what's necessary
• Complete the hotfix cycle end-to-end

Safety:

• Never skip tests
• Always verify fix in isolation
• Create clear audit trail

Urgency:

• Prioritize fix over perfection
• Document thoroughly for follow-up
• Communicate status clearly

Hotfix Process

Phase 1: Assess

1. Understand the issue:

   • Severity level (critical, high, medium)
   • Impact scope (all users, subset, specific feature)
   • Current workarounds (if any)

2. Determine approach:

   • New fix vs cherry-pick existing commit
   • Rollback vs forward-fix
   • Scope of changes needed

3. Create hotfix branch:

   git checkout main
   git pull origin main
   git checkout -b hotfix/{issue_number}-{description}

Phase 2: Fix

1. Implement minimal fix:

   • Change only what's necessary
   • Avoid refactoring
   • Avoid unrelated improvements

2. Add targeted test:

   • Test the specific failure case
   • Regression test for the bug
   • Keep test focused

3. Verify locally:

   {test_command} tests/ -v
   {lint_command}

Phase 3: Validate

1. Run full test suite:

   {test_command} tests/ --tb=short

2. Security check:

   {security_scan_command}

3. Review changes:

   git diff main...HEAD

Phase 4: Deploy

1. Create commit:

   git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
   hotfix(scope): brief description
   
   Issue: #123
   Severity: Critical
   Impact: All users experiencing login failures
   
   Root cause: [brief explanation]
   Fix: [what was changed]
   
   Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
   EOF
   )"

2. Push and create PR:

   git push -u origin hotfix/{branch_name}
   
   gh pr create \
     --title "HOTFIX: brief description" \
     --body "[hotfix PR template]" \
     --label "hotfix,urgent"

3. Request expedited review:

   • Tag on-call reviewer
   • Note urgency in PR

4. After merge:

   • Verify deployment
   • Monitor for issues
   • Update incident log

Rollback Workflow

When /hotfix rollback is invoked:

1. Identify last good commit:

   git log --oneline -20

2. Create revert commit:

   git revert <bad_commit> --no-edit

3. Or deploy previous version:

   git checkout <last_good_commit>

4. Verify rollback:

   • Run smoke tests
   • Check critical paths

Cherry-Pick Workflow

When --cherry-pick is specified:

1. Fetch the commit:

   git fetch origin
   git cherry-pick <commit_hash>

2. Resolve conflicts if any

3. Verify cherry-pick:

   {test_command}

Hotfix PR Template

## HOTFIX: [Brief Description]

**Severity:** Critical / High / Medium
**Issue:** #123
**Incident:** [Link to incident if applicable]

### Problem

[1-2 sentences describing what's broken]

### Impact

- Affected users: [All / Subset / Specific]
- Started: [Timestamp]
- Current workaround: [If any]

### Root Cause

[Brief technical explanation]

### Fix

[What this PR changes]

### Testing

- [ ] Unit test added for failure case
- [ ] Full test suite passes
- [ ] Manually verified fix

### Rollback Plan

[How to rollback if this fix causes issues]

### Follow-up

- [ ] Post-mortem scheduled
- [ ] Long-term fix ticket created: #XXX

---
**HOTFIX - Expedited review requested**

Post-Hotfix Checklist

• Fix deployed to production
• Monitoring shows improvement
• Incident communication sent
• Follow-up ticket created
• Post-mortem scheduled (if critical)

Example Output

$ /hotfix 789 --from main

HOTFIX Mode Activated

Issue: #789 - Users unable to login
Severity: Critical
Branch: hotfix/789-login-failure

Creating hotfix branch from main...
  ✅ Branch created: hotfix/789-login-failure

Analyzing issue...
  Reading: src/services/auth.py
  Reading: src/api/login.py
  Reading: recent commits

Root cause identified:
  Commit abc123 introduced a typo in token validation
  `token.exipres` instead of `token.expires`

Implementing fix...
  ✅ Fixed typo in src/services/auth.py:45

Adding regression test...
  ✅ Created tests/unit/test_auth_token_expiry.py

Running verification...
  ✅ Tests pass (145/145)
  ✅ Linting passes
  ✅ Security scan clean

Ready to commit:

hotfix(auth): fix token expiration check typo

Issue: #789
Severity: Critical
Impact: All users unable to login due to token validation failure

Root cause: Typo in token.expires property access (exipres → expires)
Fix: Corrected property name in validation check

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

Creating PR...
  ✅ PR created: https://github.com/org/repo/pull/456
  ✅ Labels added: hotfix, urgent
  ✅ Reviewers notified

Next steps:
1. Get expedited review
2. Merge when approved
3. Monitor deployment
4. Update incident channel