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name: skill-lifecycle description: The authoritative skill lifecycle state model including container states, version states, review workflow states, visibility overlay, and governance actions. Ensures agents don't introduce invalid states or transitions. license: Apache-2.0

Skill Lifecycle Skill

Trigger

Use this skill when:

• Modifying skill publish, review, or unpublish flows
• Adding or changing skill/version status fields
• Working on search, detail pages, or listing pages that show skill state
• Implementing governance actions (hide, yank, archive)
• Adding new state transitions or permission checks

State Model

Skill Container States

Enum SkillStatus (domain/skill/SkillStatus.java):

Value	Meaning
ACTIVE	Skill is operational and can have versions published
HIDDEN	Skill hidden by platform governance (design doc says prefer boolean hidden flag instead)
ARCHIVED	Skill archived by owner/namespace admin, cannot publish new versions

Design-vs-code note: docs/14-skill-lifecycle.md specifies hidden should be a governance overlay (boolean flag) rather than a lifecycle enum state. The current code still defines SkillStatus.HIDDEN. New code should use the skill.hidden boolean field, not the enum value.

SkillVersion States

Enum SkillVersionStatus (domain/skill/SkillVersionStatus.java):

Value	Meaning
DRAFT	Non-public draft, can resubmit or delete
SCANNING	Undergoing security scan
SCAN_FAILED	Security scan failed
UPLOADED	Uploaded but not yet submitted for review (or withdrawn from review)
PENDING_REVIEW	Frozen pending reviewer action
PUBLISHED	Currently distributable
REJECTED	Review denied, retained
YANKED	Was published, withdrawn from distribution

ReviewTask States

Enum ReviewTaskStatus (domain/review/ReviewTaskStatus.java):

Value	Meaning
PENDING	Awaiting reviewer
APPROVED	Reviewer approved
REJECTED	Reviewer rejected

Visibility Model

Enum SkillVisibility (used in SkillPublishService):

Value	Publish Path
PUBLIC	Creates PENDING_REVIEW version, review task, security scan
NAMESPACE_ONLY	Same as PUBLIC but limited visibility scope
PRIVATE	Goes directly to UPLOADED status, no review task

SUPER_ADMIN role bypasses review — versions go directly to PUBLISHED.

Latest Version Pointer

Skill.latestVersionId is only the latest published pointer:

• Can only point to a PUBLISHED version
• May be null if no published version exists
• latest tag auto-follows this pointer (read-only)
• When yanking: recalculates to newest remaining PUBLISHED version, or null

Key Transitions

Action	From	To	Notes	Source
First upload (PUBLIC/NAMESPACE_ONLY)	—	PENDING_REVIEW	Review task created	SkillPublishService
First upload (SUPER_ADMIN)	—	PUBLISHED	Direct publish, SkillPublishedEvent emitted	SkillPublishService
First upload (PRIVATE)	—	UPLOADED	No review task, latestVersionId updated	SkillPublishService
Review approve	PENDING_REVIEW	PUBLISHED	Updates latestVersionId	Review workflow
Review reject	PENDING_REVIEW	REJECTED	Version retained	Review workflow
Withdraw review	PENDING_REVIEW	UPLOADED	Deletes pending ReviewTask	SkillGovernanceService.withdrawPendingVersion
Yank	PUBLISHED	YANKED	Recalculates latestVersionId	SkillGovernanceService.yankVersion
Hide	—	hidden=true	Independent overlay	SkillGovernanceService.hideSkill
Restore	—	hidden=false	Independent overlay	SkillGovernanceService.unhideSkill
Archive	ACTIVE	ARCHIVED	SkillStatusChangedEvent emitted	SkillGovernanceService.archiveSkill
Unarchive	ARCHIVED	ACTIVE	SkillStatusChangedEvent emitted	SkillGovernanceService.unarchiveSkill
New publish (existing pending)	PENDING_REVIEW	UPLOADED	Auto-withdraw + delete review task	SkillPublishService
Delete version	DRAFT/REJECTED/SCAN_FAILED/UPLOADED	—	Last version protected	SkillGovernanceService.deleteVersion

Yank Pointer Recalculation

When yanking the current latestVersionId (SkillGovernanceService):

1. Query all remaining PUBLISHED versions for the skill
2. Sort by publishedAt DESC, then createdAt DESC, then id DESC
3. Point latestVersionId to the top result, or null if none remain

Lifecycle Projection

Read models (detail, my-skills, favorites, search) use *QueryRepository patterns:

• headlineVersion — Main display version for the page
• publishedVersion — Latest published version
• ownerPreviewVersion — Pending review version (visible to owner/namespace admin)
• resolutionMode — PUBLISHED, OWNER_PREVIEW, or NONE

Public browsing, install, download, search only use publishedVersion.

Permission Boundaries

Action	Who
Withdraw review	Submitter only
Delete version	Owner or namespace admin, only DRAFT/REJECTED/SCAN_FAILED/UPLOADED
Archive/unarchive	Owner or namespace admin (ADMIN or OWNER role)
Hide/restore	Platform governance (no permission check in code)
Yank	Platform governance (no permission check in code)
Publish PUBLIC skill	Namespace member (or SUPER_ADMIN)
Publish PRIVATE skill	Namespace member (or SUPER_ADMIN)

Delete Version Constraints

SkillGovernanceService.deleteVersion enforces:

• Only DRAFT, REJECTED, SCAN_FAILED, or UPLOADED versions can be deleted
• Cannot delete the last remaining version of a skill
• Deletes associated storage keys (individual files + bundle.zip)
• Deletes associated security scan records
• Updates latestVersionId if the deleted version was the pointer
• Storage deletion happens after transaction commit with compensation recording

Domain Events

Event	When Emitted
SkillStatusChangedEvent	Archive or unarchive
SkillPublishedEvent	SUPER_ADMIN direct publish
SkillVersionYankedEvent	Yank action
ReviewSubmittedEvent	Create review task for PUBLIC/NAMESPACE_ONLY

Common Pitfalls

• Setting SkillStatus.HIDDEN directly — use skill.setHidden(true) via SkillGovernanceService instead
• Forgetting to recalculate latestVersionId after yank or version deletion
• Not auto-withdrawing pending versions when publishing a new version
• Missing the confirmWarnings two-step publish flow (warnings require explicit confirmation)
• Assuming all publish flows create review tasks — PRIVATE visibility skips review