Release Stage

A consumer passes through two release stages.

Intent#

A consumer passes through two release stages. Before the first deployment holds customer data, several provisions assume a service that does not exist yet. This extension declares the stage, bounds what the early stage defers, and records the promotion that ends it.

Activation#

Activation scope: project.

Applicable specification kinds: None.

The consumer selects stage before its first deployment holds customer data, or to record a promotion it already passed.

Baseline relationship#

None. A pre-production consumer defers provisions through this extension; the compat extension still governs versioning once selected.

None. The promotion Decision is a core record every project requires.

Standards#

Declare the release stage#

rulecheckable

Requirement A consumer MUST declare pre-production or production as its release stage in litespec.project.json.

Rationale A life stage is not a departure from a standard. The stage selection in selectedExtensions holds releaseStage with one of the two values above, along with the deferrals that stage allows.

Example A consumer with no customer data in any deployment declares the early stage.

JSON

{"id": "stage", "criterion": "no deployment holds customer data", "reviewBy": "2026-12-01", "releaseStage": "pre-production"}

litespec/ext/stage#declare-the-release-stage

Defer named provisions until promotion#

rulecheckable

Requirement A pre-production consumer MUST name each deferred provision with its end date in the stage extension selection, with a production consumer carrying no deferred provisions.

Rationale A deferral ends at promotion instead of drifting. Each entry names the provision and the date its deferral ends. The promotion Decision names the same provisions.

Example The stage selection carries each deferral with its end.

JSON

{"id": "stage", "criterion": "no deployment holds customer data", "reviewBy": "2026-12-01", "releaseStage": "pre-production", "deferredProvisions": [{"provision": "litespec/ext/compat#classify-breaking-contract-changes", "until": "2026-12-01"}]}

litespec/ext/stage#defer-named-provisions-until-promotion

Promote through a recorded decision#

ruleguidance

Requirement A consumer MUST approve its promotion to production as a Decision before its first deployment holds customer data, ending every deferred provision.

Rationale Without a recorded moment, the relaxed rules last until somebody notices they never ended. The Decision carries its owner, status, decider, and decide-by date like any Decision.

litespec/ext/stage#promote-through-a-recorded-decision

Conventions#

None.

Dependencies#

This extension adds no required package.

Verification#

ID	Mark	Evidence
litespec/ext/stage#declare-the-release-stage	checkable	`litespec consumer` refuses a `stage` selection with a missing or unknown `releaseStage`.
litespec/ext/stage#defer-named-provisions-until-promotion	checkable	`litespec consumer` refuses a deferral naming an unknown provision or past its `until` date, and any deferral in `production`.
litespec/ext/stage#promote-through-a-recorded-decision	guidance	Does an approved promotion Decision predate the first deployment holding customer data?