ai-delivery

ai-delivery handles GitHub issues, pull requests, independent reviews, guarded merges and the merge queue through a CLI, stdio MCP server and Codex/Claude Code plugin. GitHub owns relationships, Project tracking, checks and review eligibility. Hosts prepare worktrees, run checks, commit, push and clean up.

Explicit --repo owner/name or MCP repo: "owner/name" works outside Git. Without it, the checkout's origin selects the repository. Only github.com is supported. The runtime reads operator-owned JSON; it never executes a consuming repository's policy or checks.

Installation and runtime

Use Node 24.21.0 and npm 11.19.0 for CLI/MCP and contributor checks; public library consumers also support Node 26.2.0. Install a qualified published version or reviewed archive. The complete plugin is the canonical native installation; CLI/SDK/MCP entrypoints remain available.

npm install --global @aviaratech/ai-delivery@<qualified-version>
ai-delivery plugin install --host codex --scope user --version <qualified-version> --json
ai-delivery plugin doctor --host codex --scope user --json
ai-delivery --repo example/widget info --issue 17
ai-delivery mcp:serve

Use --host claude-code for Claude Code, which supports user, project and local scopes; Codex supports user. Select a project with --repo-root. Preserve managed state on recovery errors; never substitute another version silently.

Related MCP server: MCP GitHub Issue Priority Server

User configuration

Use ~/.config/aviaratech-ai/ai-delivery.json, or an absolute AI_DELIVERY_CONFIG path. A consuming repository needs no ai-delivery files. Illustrative settings:

{
  "schemaVersion": "ai-delivery.user@1",
  "roles": {
    "author": {
      "identity": "host-author",
      "authSource": "personal",
      "credentialEnv": { "token": "GH_TOKEN" }
    },
    "reviewer": {
      "identity": "delivery-reviewer",
      "authSource": "app",
      "appId": 12345,
      "installationId": 67890,
      "actorLogin": "your-reviewer-app[bot]",
      "provider": "openai"
    }
  },
  "project": 7,
  "checkoutRoots": ["/absolute/path/to/clones"]
}

Keep credentials outside source control. An absent conventional GH_TOKEN selects the existing active gh personal session; an empty/invalid value fails without switching accounts. Custom token references require their exact value. The reviewer uses its distinct configured App, with no personal fallback. Read credentials and readiness, including GUI environment limits, legacy App references and selected key sources.

The illustrated reviewer profile reads unencrypted RSA PEM from GH_PRIVATE_KEY_DELIVERY_REVIEWER when credentialSource is omitted. Supply it through your existing secret mechanism. Optional env/file/command sources follow the configuration schema; a failed source never selects another.

Five-minute reviewer setup

Configure a distinct installed App with contents:read and pull_requests:write, its actual identity/provider, and one supported credential source. Authentication does not prove counted approval. Follow the independent reviewer command and review schemas. Strict review submit requires requested/effective model metadata and provider compatibility; never fabricate unexposed metadata. Established integrations retain the pr:review --artifact route.

GitHub-gated lifecycle

Create/update a typed issue with problem, outcome, acceptance/proof, non-goals, native Issue Type and Points. Preserve history when rewriting. Ready, open, unblocked issues can start; readiness alone does not activate work.

ai-delivery --repo example/widget ready:check --issue 17
ai-delivery --repo example/widget start --issue 17
# Host: prepare worktree, implement, check, commit and push.
ai-delivery --repo example/widget pr:create --issue 17 --body-file pr-body.md
# Independent reviewer submits its own exact-head verdict/artifact.
ai-delivery --repo example/widget pr:create --issue 17 --ready
ai-delivery --repo example/widget pr:checks --pr 23
ai-delivery --repo example/widget finish --issue 17 --pr 23 --reviewed-head <sha>

GitHub's current required checks, counted reviews, blockers and merge eligibility govern the exact head/current base. The builder never approves its own work. Read back uncertain writes before retrying; a dry run grants no authority. Respect explicit provider/read-only requests and actual host refusals.

For partial delivery, --non-closing requires a canonical References owner/repo#number body and complete native evidence; a new linked-branch draft requires a separately authorized exact reference action. finish refuses nonclosing delivery. A complete executable child can close normally while its parent stays open.

Command and tool map

These are all executable routes; groups/help flags are omitted. A dash means no matching surface. Compatibility/setup routes remain shipped; this documentation change removes no functionality. Use each route's --help and the published MCP schema for inputs.

The contract is ai-delivery.mcp@2; tool schemas and CLI --help supply complete inputs. Results retain warnings, history and recovery fields; MCP verbose: true or CLI --json --verbose requests full payloads. Journal status is prose, separate from Project Status.

The host-local queue needs required CI on its predicted queue SHAs; no hosted queue-SHA qualification is bundled. Standing queue approval never supplies App review or bypasses GitHub protection.

Upgrade a host

Choose an explicitly qualified version; the historical 0.3.35 example was checked on 2026-10-22, not a promise of today's latest. Preserving updates qualify Claude Code 2.1.296 and Codex CLI 0.162.1 only. Claude downgrades remain unqualified; Codex rollback selects its recorded previous version.

Installed metadata, separate doctor startup and the active conversation's loaded MCP version are distinct. Record unexposed loaded versions as unverified. Follow the host's activation guidance and preserve active jobs before an operator-approved restart. Windows command credential sources and protected-file permission equivalence remain unqualified.

Plugin installation and explicit runtime setup

Legacy standalone MCP support lasts at least two subsequent stable releases and 90 days after a qualified migration first ships; that anchor remains unknown. Preview/doctor do not qualify migration or start that clock. Migration apply, registration retirement and settings rollback remain unavailable; see #116. Public npm/local-catalog distribution does not establish plugin-directory admission.

Explicit controller staging/admission retain exact archive/source/routing and prior-byte checks; installation does not admit a controller or adopt custody. Default sampled limits are 1 GiB RSS, 512 MiB output, 256 MiB free disk; retained logs default to 1 MiB, maximum 8 MiB. These are sampled stop thresholds, not OS ceilings. Unsupported historical policy bindings refuse transitions; use the original controller.

Contributor checks and release

CONTRIBUTING.md owns pinned tooling, focused local checks, full GitHub checks and release procedures. Ordinary PR checks exclude release installations/archive cases; fast/focused success never qualifies a package. Supply the actual Node26 consumer executable through AI_DELIVERY_NODE26_EXECUTABLE where required.

Release still requires the exact mandatory archive inventory, complete release/consumer/cleanup proof, confidentiality review and TruffleHog scanning. A dry inventory, historical archive skip, fixture install, inert repack or wrapper is not current archive/native-adoption proof. Publication consumes the independently accepted source/version/digest and original successful artifact; verify actual registry bytes, integrity, cryptographic provenance and latest afterward. Never replace missing proof with a later rerun.

Release is manual, main-only and uses npm trusted publishing. A packaged README edit changes the release candidate: retain accepted archives and independently qualify the new exact source/archive before dispatching.

Source version 0.3.36 and green PR checks do not establish its qualification; see #199. Wrappers and workflow definitions do not prove #200's under-60-second regular checks / under-five-minute qualification targets. Functional removals and remaining documentation obligations stay with #201.