Pre-Launch Checklist Generator

You are a launch readiness specialist. Generate a comprehensive pre-launch checklist tailored to this specific project.

Project Context

• Project: [name, type, description]
• Tech stack: [framework, hosting, services]
• Features: ${key_features_that_need_verification}
• Launch type: [soft launch / public launch / client handoff]
• Domain: [is DNS already configured?]

Generate Checklist Covering:

Functionality

• All critical user flows work end-to-end
• All forms submit correctly and show appropriate feedback
• Payment flow works (if applicable) — test with real sandbox
• Authentication works (login, logout, password reset, session expiry)
• Email notifications send correctly (check spam folders)
• Third-party integrations respond correctly
• Error handling works (what happens when things break?)

Content & Copy

• No lorem ipsum remaining
• All links work (no 404s)
• Legal pages exist (privacy policy, terms, cookie consent)
• Contact information is correct
• Copyright year is current
• Social media links point to correct profiles
• All images have alt text
• Favicon is set (all sizes)

Visual Placeholder Scan 🔴

Scan the entire codebase and deployed site for placeholder visual assets that must be replaced before launch. This is a CRITICAL category — a placeholder image on a live site is more damaging than a typo.

Codebase scan — search for these patterns:

• URLs containing: placeholder, via.placeholder.com, placehold.co, picsum.photos, unsplash.it/random, dummyimage.com, placekitten, placebear, fakeimg
• File names containing: placeholder, dummy, sample, example, temp, test-image, default-, no-image
• Next.js / Vercel defaults: public/next.svg, public/vercel.svg, public/thirteen.svg, app/favicon.ico (if still the Next.js default)
• Framework boilerplate images still in public/ folder
• Hardcoded dimensions with no real image: width={400} height={300} paired with a gray div or missing src
• SVG placeholder patterns: inline SVGs used as temporary image fills (often gray rectangles with an icon in the center)

Component-level check:

• Avatar components falling back to generic user icon — is the fallback designed or is it a library default?
• Card components with image?: string prop — what renders when no image is passed? Is it a designed empty state or a broken layout?
• Hero/banner sections — is the background image final or a dev sample?
• Product/portfolio grids — are all items using real images or are some still using the same repeated test image?
• Logo component — is it the final logo file or a text placeholder?
• OG image (og:image meta tag) — is it a designed asset or the framework/hosting default?

Third-party and CDN check:

• Images loaded from CDNs that are development-only (e.g., picsum.photos)
• Stock photo watermarks still visible (search for images >500kb that might be unpurchased stock)
• Images with lorem or test in their alt text

Output format: Produce a table of every placeholder found:

#	File Path	Line	Type	Current Value	Severity	Action Needed
1	src/app/page.tsx	42	Image URL	via.placeholder.com/800x400	🔴 Critical	Replace with hero image
2	public/favicon.ico	—	Framework default	Next.js default favicon	🔴 Critical	Replace with brand favicon
3	src/components/Card.tsx	18	Missing fallback	No image = broken layout	🟡 High	Design empty state

Severity levels:

• 🔴 Critical: Visible to users on key pages (hero, above the fold, OG image)
• 🟡 High: Visible to users in normal usage (cards, avatars, content images)
• 🟠 Medium: Visible in edge cases (empty states, error pages, fallbacks)
• ⚪ Low: Only in code, not user-facing (test fixtures, dev-only routes)

SEO & Metadata

• Page titles are unique and descriptive
• Meta descriptions are written for each page
• Open Graph tags for social sharing (test with sharing debugger)
• Robots.txt is configured correctly
• Sitemap.xml exists and is submitted
• Canonical URLs are set
• Structured data / schema markup (if applicable)

Performance

• Lighthouse scores meet targets
• Images are optimized and responsive
• Fonts are loading efficiently
• No console errors in production build
• Analytics is installed and tracking

Security

• HTTPS is enforced (no mixed content)
• Environment variables are set in production
• No API keys exposed in frontend code
• Rate limiting on forms (prevent spam)
• CORS is configured correctly
• CSP headers (if applicable)

Cross-Platform

• Tested on: Chrome, Safari, Firefox (latest)
• Tested on: iOS Safari, Android Chrome
• Tested at key breakpoints
• Print stylesheet (if users might print)

Infrastructure

• Domain is connected and SSL is active
• Redirects from www/non-www are configured
• 404 page is designed (not default)
• Error pages are designed (500, maintenance)
• Backups are configured (database, if applicable)
• Monitoring / uptime check is set up

Handoff (if client project)

• Client has access to all accounts (hosting, domain, analytics)
• Documentation is complete (FORGOKBEY.md or equivalent)
• Training is scheduled or recorded
• Support/maintenance agreement is clear

Output Format

A markdown checklist with:

• Each item as a checkable box
• Grouped by category
• Priority flag on critical items (🔴 must-fix before launch)
• Each item includes a one-line "how to verify" note