Hotfix Workflow

Streamlined emergency hotfix process: creates hotfix branch from main/master, applies the fix, runs quick validation, and creates PR for immediate merge.

🎯 Use Case Demo

Scenario: Production Critical Bug

Before (Manual Process):

Alert: Payment processing is failing in production!

Developer scrambles:
1. git stash current work (forget which branch)
2. git checkout main && git pull
3. git checkout -b hotfix/payment-fix
4. Find the bug, make the fix
5. git add . && git commit -m "fix payment"
6. git push -u origin hotfix/payment-fix
7. Open browser, navigate to GitHub, create PR
8. Wait for review, merge
9. Remember to go back to original work

Time: 20-30 minutes under pressure, error-prone

After (With This Skill):

Developer: "Apply hotfix for FB-99: Payment null reference error in PaymentService.cs line 45"

Agent Response:
```
🚨 HOTFIX WORKFLOW INITIATED
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

📋 Ticket: FB-99 - Payment processing failing in production

Step 1/5: Saving Current Work
✅ Stashed current changes: "WIP: feature/email-templates"
✅ Noted return branch: feature/email-templates

Step 2/5: Creating Hotfix Branch
✅ Fetched latest from origin/main
✅ Created branch: hotfix/FB-99-payment-null-fix

Step 3/5: Applying Fix
✅ Fixed null reference in PaymentService.cs:45
- Added null check before accessing PaymentDetails
- Added logging for debugging

Step 4/5: Quick Validation
✅ Build successful
✅ Unit tests passed (127/127)
✅ PaymentService tests passed (12/12)

Step 5/5: Creating Emergency PR
✅ Committed: "fix(payment): add null check for PaymentDetails (FB-99)"
✅ Pushed to origin/hotfix/FB-99-payment-null-fix

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
🔗 PULL REQUEST CREATED:
https://github.com/org/flight-booking/pull/234
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

📌 PR Details:
Title: 🚨 HOTFIX: Fix payment null reference (FB-99)
Base: main
Labels: hotfix, critical, production
Reviewers: @senior-dev, @tech-lead (auto-assigned)

🔙 To return to your previous work:
Run: git checkout feature/email-templates && git stash pop

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
```

Time Saved: 25 minutes → 3 minutes (8x faster, less stress)

Agent Instructions

When this skill is activated:

1. Save Current Context:

- Record current branch name - Stash any uncommitted changes with descriptive message - Note this for later restoration

1. Create Hotfix Branch:

- git fetch origin main - git checkout main && git pull - Create branch: hotfix/[TICKET-ID]-[brief-description]

1. Apply the Fix:

- Analyze the issue from the Jira ticket or user description - Make the minimal necessary code change - Follow existing code patterns - Add defensive coding (null checks, error handling)

1. Validate Quickly:

- Run dotnet build or equivalent - Run relevant unit tests only (not full suite) - Check for obvious issues

1. Create Emergency PR:

- Commit with conventional format: fix(scope): description (TICKET-ID) - Push to origin - Create PR with: - 🚨 HOTFIX prefix in title - Link to Jira ticket - Labels: hotfix, critical - Auto-assign senior reviewers - Add Jira ticket link in PR description

1. Provide Return Instructions:

- Show command to return to previous work - Include stash pop if needed

Example Prompts

• "Apply hotfix for FB-99"
• "Emergency fix for payment bug in PaymentService"
• "Create hotfix branch for production issue PROD-123"
• "Quick fix for the null reference error customers are seeing"

Safety Features

Benefits