Delivery Loop
The delivery loop takes one change from a task to a shipped release. Every step shows in iKanban: on the board, in the sprint, in the release, in iKAgent → Pipelines and in iKAgent → Roadmap.
The agent does the steps. You decide when to merge and when to ship.
task (key) ─► sprint ─► release ─► branch + PR "KEY: …" ─► pipeline stages ─► merge ─► ship release
└──────────────── Roadmap follows the plan file (multi-step work) ────────────────┘
The ikanban-delivery-loop skill in your repository's .iKanban/ folder tells the agent how. Agent setup writes it for you, with .iKanban/runbooks/delivery-loop.md: the same loop for you, with what you do and what you see at each step.
The steps
| Step | What the agent does | MCP tool |
|---|---|---|
| Where the work goes | Finds your team, the active sprint, the open release and the feature. | get_me, list_sprints, list_releases, list_features |
| Task | Uses the key you name, or creates one task for the change. | get_issue_by_key or create_task |
| Sprint | Puts the task in the active sprint. | assign_task_to_sprint |
| Release | Files the task under the open release. | assign_tasks_to_release |
| Branch and pull request | Names the branch abc-123-short-name and the pull request ABC-123: what changed. The key links the pull request to the task. | update_task (status in-progress, then in-review) |
| Pipeline stages | Your CI reports each stage with the task key. The agent reads the lane. | get_pipeline |
| Merge | Merges after the checks pass and you say so. | update_task (status done) |
| Ship | Checks that every task is done, cancelled or moved, then ships the release when you say so. | get_release, update_release (status shipped) |
| Roadmap | For multi-step work, publishes the plan file before the work starts and syncs it after each change. | sync_roadmap_plan |
A step your CI does not run, for example a manual deploy, gets one event: npx -y ikanban pipeline event --task ABC-123@pr-45 --stage release --status passed --detail "v1.4 on prod". Set up CI reports with the ikanban-pipelines skill. See Pipelines and Roadmap.
The agent asks first
The agent asks you before it:
- merges a pull request,
- ships a release,
- creates a sprint or a release.
Where the MCP tools come from
| Where the agent runs | iKanban MCP server |
|---|---|
| Laptop runner session (the desktop app runs the agent) | The runner gives it, from desktop 0.1.12. |
| Claude Code, Copilot CLI or Gemini CLI on its own | Register <api_url>/sse once, transport http, header Authorization: Bearer <key>. See Claude Code. |
| CI (GitHub Actions, GitLab, any) | None. CI only reports stages, with npx -y ikanban pipeline event. |
With no iKanban tools in the session, the agent says so and stops. Update the desktop app, or register the server.
Gates
| Gate | Value | What you see | Change it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pipelines | Pro and Pro+ | On Starter, Pipelines answer 402. The agent skips the pipeline step and says "Pipelines need Pro". It never fails the build for this. | Upgrade the plan |
| Tasks per team | Starter 2,000 · Pro 5,000 · Pro+ 10,000 | create_task answers 402 | Upgrade the plan |
| Pipeline history | Starter 3 months · Pro 6 · Pro+ 12 | Older runs are gone | Agent settings → Pipelines |
| Wait for checks | 10 minutes, in the foreground | The report shows the checks as pending | Send a follow-up: "Read the checks and the pipeline lane, then give the report table." |
| Sprints, releases, Roadmap | Every plan | — | — |
When it does not work
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No iKanban tools in the session | Desktop app older than 0.1.12, or no MCP server registered | Update the app, or register the server |
| The pull request is not on the task | No key in the branch or the title | Rename the pull request to ABC-123: … |
| No lane in Pipelines | CI does not report, or the plan is Starter | Use the ikanban-pipelines skill; Starter has no Pipelines |
create_task answers 400 | Missing feature_id, priority, estimate or task_type | Find the feature with list_features, then add the four fields |
create_task answers 402 | The team reached its plan's task limit | Upgrade, or ask the owner |