# What is a release gate?

A release gate is the pass or fail boundary between a candidate agent run and an approved baseline. AgentClash evaluates both on the same pack and fails CI when correctness, cost, or evidence quality regresses.

Source: https://www.agentclash.dev/glossary/release-gate
Markdown export: https://www.agentclash.dev/md/glossary/release-gate

## What gates enforce

Scorecard thresholds, validator failures, and baseline comparisons that stop a model or harness change from reaching users.

- OpenTelemetry-compatible trace import
- Pinned datasets and golden test cases
- Baseline versus candidate regression checks
- Replay trails for tool calls, outputs, and artifacts
- Scorecards for correctness, cost, latency, and evidence
- CI gates for prompt, model, RAG, and tool changes

## Gate workflow

### 1. Import the evidence

Start from OpenTelemetry traces, curated datasets, support transcripts, or a real failure your team already saw.

### 2. Pin the baseline

Record the current accepted behavior so every prompt, model, RAG, or tool change has a fair comparison point.

### 3. Replay the evidence

Inspect tool calls, outputs, artifacts, latency, cost, and judge evidence when a candidate gets worse.

### 4. Gate the release

Compare candidate and baseline runs, then fail CI before a regression reaches users.

## Wire gates in CI

Use the CI/CD agent gates guide to connect manifests, baselines, and pull request checks.

- [Agent evals](https://www.agentclash.dev/agent-evals): Real-task agent evals with replay evidence and CI gates.
- [LLM agent evaluation](https://www.agentclash.dev/llm-agent-evaluation): Evaluate LLM agents on full trajectories, not one-shot answers.
- [Compare tools](https://www.agentclash.dev/compare): See how AgentClash differs from prompt-eval platforms.
- [CI/CD agent evaluation](https://www.agentclash.dev/ci-cd-agent-evaluation): Landing page for eval in CI.
- [Eval workflows and gates](https://www.agentclash.dev/docs/challenge-packs/eval-workflows-and-gates): Docs on baselines and manifests.
- [Enterprise pilot](https://www.agentclash.dev/enterprise): Stand up governed gates with platform support.
- [CI/CD agent gates](https://www.agentclash.dev/docs/guides/ci-cd-agent-gates): Block pull requests when agent behavior gets worse.

## Release gate FAQ

### What is a baseline in a release gate?

A baseline is the approved run you compare against, usually pinned by run ID in a CI manifest after a green eval on main.

### Can gates run outside CI?

Yes. Teams also gate manually before production promotion, using the same scorecard and replay evidence produced in CI.

### How is this different from a linter?

Linters check static code. Release gates execute the agent on real tasks and score the full trajectory with replay attached.