<!-- PM-Skills | https://github.com/product-on-purpose/pm-skills | Apache 2.0 -->

PM Release Conductor (Dispatch Skill)

Cross-client dispatch wrapper for the pm-release-conductor sub-agent. Detects runtime; dispatches to the native sub-agent on Claude Code; reads subagents/pm-release-conductor.md and inlines chain composition on non-Claude clients via "reference + execute inline" pattern.

Status summary (v2.16.0): PRODUCTION on Claude Code (native sub-agent path). DRY-RUN VALIDATED on Codex CLI 2026-05-17 per gate-test-results_2026-05-17_codex.md; LIVE release on Codex CLI is NOT independently exercised, so use with caution and run --dry-run first as a rehearsal. EXPERIMENTAL on Cursor / Windsurf / Copilot CLI / Gemini CLI (UNTESTED at v2.16.0 ship).

See Sub-Agent Compatibility Matrix for the canonical safe-usage matrix + what-was-validated detail + v2.17 expansion plan. For live release on a non-Claude client, ideally re-run the harness at maintainer-gate-testing-codex.md on that specific client first.

When to Use

• You are running a pm-skills release on a non-Claude client (Codex CLI, Cursor, Windsurf, Copilot, Gemini CLI)
• You want the same 6-gate discipline that pm-release-conductor enforces on Claude Code, with auditor + curator behaviors inlined at the relevant gates
• You explicitly want skill-invocation semantics over sub-agent semantics on Claude Code (rare; the native sub-agent is preferred on Claude Code)

When NOT to Use

• You only need to review a PM artifact -> use utility-pm-critic
• You only need a governance audit (not a release) -> use utility-pm-skill-auditor
• You only need a CHANGELOG draft (not a release) -> use utility-pm-changelog-curator
• You want to perform release operations WITHOUT explicit gate confirmation -> the conductor refuses bypass; manual release outside the conductor is the right path

Instructions

Runtime detection step. Determine which AI client is invoking this skill.

If you are running in Claude Code with the pm-skills plugin installed

Invoke @agent-pm-release-conductor with the user's target version + optional flags from $ARGUMENTS. The native sub-agent walks the 6 gates and natively chains to pm-skill-auditor (G0, G2.5) and pm-changelog-curator (G2) via the Agent tool. Return the conductor's gate-by-gate output to the user.

If you are running in any other AI client

Codex CLI, Cursor, Windsurf, Copilot, Gemini CLI, or any other client without native pm-skills plugin sub-agent support:

1. Read the canonical sub-agent definition at subagents/pm-release-conductor.md
2. Read the canonical runbook at docs/contributing/release-runbook.md (the conductor's referential source for gate definitions)
3. Execute the system prompt body as your operating instructions
4. Walk the 6 gates inline. At gates that require chain composition:
   • G0 (Pre-tag readiness): instead of chaining to pm-skill-auditor, read subagents/pm-skill-auditor.md and execute the auditor's 4-step audit flow inline. Capture the layered output (full findings + Status Summary + Status YAML). Treat the Status YAML as your G0 sub-check 5 input.
   • G2 (Version bump + CHANGELOG prep): instead of chaining to pm-changelog-curator, read subagents/pm-changelog-curator.md and execute the curator's 8-step drafting flow inline. Capture the layered output. Treat the Status YAML as your G2 sub-check 3 input.
   • G2.5 (Re-verify): re-execute the inlined auditor at sub-check 5 against the new HEAD.
5. Pause at each gate boundary for explicit maintainer confirmation
6. Refuse bypass attempts; respect refusal protocols
7. Tag only the G2.5-captured SHA at G3 per D22
8. Return gate-by-gate output throughout the flow

The "reference + execute inline" pattern is what enables cross-client compatibility for chain composition. Phase 2 GATE C sub-spike validates that this pattern is reliable.

Critical Caveats for Non-Claude Inline Execution

Because non-Claude clients cannot natively chain, the auditor and curator behaviors run in the SAME context window as the conductor on non-Claude clients. This has implications:

1. Context budget. The combined token budget (conductor + inlined auditor + inlined curator + their child reads) may approach context limits on long releases. Plan accordingly.
2. Tool authorization. The conductor's tool list includes Bash, Read, Edit, Grep, Glob, Agent. The auditor needs Bash + Read + Grep + Glob. The curator needs Bash + Read + Grep. Inline execution on non-Claude clients should have access to ALL of these (i.e., not be running in a Read-only mode).
3. Refusal cascade. If the inlined auditor refuses (e.g., validators not invocable), the conductor's G0 sub-check 5 fails and the gate pauses. Same for the curator at G2.

Reference Files

• Canonical sub-agent definition: subagents/pm-release-conductor.md
• Canonical runbook: docs/contributing/release-runbook.md
• Behavioral spec: docs/internal/release-plans/v2.16.0/spec_pm-release-conductor.md
• Chain child (inlined at G0 + G2.5): subagents/pm-skill-auditor.md
• Chain child (inlined at G2): subagents/pm-changelog-curator.md
• Pre-tag validator bundle: scripts/pre-tag-validate.{sh,ps1}
• Runtime components catalog: docs/reference/runtime-components.md
• Output template: references/TEMPLATE.md
• Worked example: references/EXAMPLE.md