KeyanVakil/ship-checklist

Catch the stuff that kills demos and embarrasses you in front of judges.

Steps

Run through each category and report pass/fail with specifics:

Secrets & Config

• No hardcoded API keys, passwords, or tokens in source files
• All required env vars are documented (in .env.example or README)
• .env is in .gitignore

Broken Basics

• App builds without errors (npm run build or equivalent)
• Main user flow works end-to-end (sign up → core feature → result)
• No routes return 404 or 500 on the happy path
• No console.error output on normal usage

Demo Killers

• App has seed/mock data so it doesn't look empty
• Loading states exist (no infinite spinners or blank screens)
• Mobile layout doesn't look completely broken (if it's a web app)
• No "TODO" or "FIXME" visible in the UI
• External API calls have fallbacks or error messages (don't crash if the API is slow)

Submission Readiness

• README explains what the project does in the first paragraph
• README has setup instructions that actually work
• Demo URL is live and accessible (not just localhost)
• Repo is public (if required by the hackathon)

Output format

READY TO SHIP: Yes / No / Almost

PASSED: X/Y checks

BLOCKERS (fix before shipping):
- ...

NICE TO FIX (if you have time):
- ...