/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:

   bash

   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:

   bash

   {test_command} tests/ -v
   {lint_command}
   

Phase 3: Validate

1. •

   Run full test suite:

   bash

   {test_command} tests/ --tb=short
   

2. •

   Security check:

   bash

   {security_scan_command}
   

3. •

   Review changes:

   bash

   git diff main...HEAD
   

Phase 4: Deploy

1. •

   Create commit:

   bash

   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:

   bash

   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:

   bash

   git log --oneline -20
   

2. •

   Create revert commit:

   bash

   git revert <bad_commit> --no-edit
   

3. •

   Or deploy previous version:

   bash

   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:

   bash

   git fetch origin
   git cherry-pick <commit_hash>
   

2. •

   Resolve conflicts if any

3. •

   Verify cherry-pick:

   bash

   {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