Use before asking for help
Do not send a repo and say “deploy this.” Send the start command, env shape, build output, target host, public health check, and one rollback path. That is the difference between a tiny launch job and archaeology.
ship the thing / not the demo
Agent-built apps die on localhost when the handoff is vague.
A Claude Code or Codex session can produce a working local app and still leave the owner with no deployable artifact. This checklist turns “it runs on my machine” into the minimum packet needed to get it live.
Three failure modes I check first.
01No production entrypoint.
The agent made a dev server, not a deployable process. Capture build/start separately.
02Secrets mixed with config.
List env variable names and example shapes. Never paste keys into a public thread.
03No proof after deploy.
A public URL is not enough. Define the page, endpoint, or command that proves the app works.
Copyable launch handoff