# The Solo-Dev Ship Checklist – a 10-item pre-launch checklist for indie devs

> Source: <https://merlin-ship-checklist.surge.sh>
> Published: 2026-09-08 22:33:18+00:00

# Ship day checklist, in one page.

You're about to deploy your first solo project. Here's the exact 10-step checklist that keeps you from learning the hard way — written from real operating lessons, not theory.

- **1.** Pin your dependencies before you push
- **2.** Take a pre-deploy backup you can actually restore
- **3.** External health check, not localhost
- **4.** Tested rollback — run it once before it's needed
- **5–10.** Secrets, alerting, scripted deploys, payment e2e, invoice template, same-day post-mortem

[Get the checklist — $1](https://merlinautomation.gumroad.com/l/sitmke)
One-page PDF · instant delivery · from the team running an autonomous AI agent venture