Remove TODO.md; track open work in the issues (closes #76)
check / check (push) Successful in 1m43s

TODO.md is deleted and the README TODO section now only points to the
issue tracker, which is where open work and open design questions live
from now on. The section heading stays because the shared repo policy
requires it. AGENTS.md points at the tracker too.

Every open item in both lists was checked against the code and the
tracker: each was either already done or already owned by an issue,
apart from one, now filed as
#121. The 14 design questions are
all on #81,
#82,
#83 and
#79.

Model: opus-5-5
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2026-10-03 23:46:30 +00:00
parent c31796998f
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@@ -246,207 +246,10 @@ regardless of filesystem format.
Please email [`sneak@sneak.berlin`](mailto:sneak@sneak.berlin) with your desired
username for an account on this Gitea instance.
# TODO: Remaining Work for 1.0
# TODO
## Design Questions (Owner Decision Required)
These require @sneak's input before implementation. Answers should be added
inline below each question.
### Format Design
**1. Should `MFFileChecksum` be simplified?** Currently it's a separate message
wrapping a single `bytes multiHash` field. Since multihash already
self-describes the algorithm, `repeated bytes hashes` directly on `MFFilePath`
would be simpler and reduce per-file protobuf overhead. Is the extra message
layer intentional (e.g. planning to add per-hash metadata like `verified_at`)?
> _answer:_
**2. Should file permissions/mode be stored?** The format stores mtime/ctime but
not Unix file permissions. For archival use this may not matter, but for
software distribution or filesystem restoration it's a gap. Should we reserve a
field now (e.g. `optional uint32 mode = 305`) even if we don't populate it yet?
> _answer:_
**3. Should `atime` be removed from the schema?** Access time is volatile,
non-deterministic, and often disabled (`noatime`). Including it means two
manifests of the same directory at different times will differ, which conflicts
with the determinism goal. Remove it, or document it as "never set by default"?
> _answer:_
**4. What are the path normalization rules?** The proto has `string path` with
no specification about: always forward-slash? Must be relative? No `..`
components allowed? UTF-8 NFC vs NFD normalization (macOS vs Linux)? Max path
length? This is a security issue (path traversal) and a cross-platform
compatibility issue. What rules should the spec mandate?
> _answer:_
**5. Should we add a version byte after the magic?** Currently `ZNAVSRFG` is
followed immediately by protobuf. Adding a version byte (`ZNAVSRFG\x01`) would
allow future framing changes without requiring protobuf parsing to detect the
version. `MFFileOuter.Version` serves this purpose but requires successful
deserialization to read. Worth the extra byte?
> _answer:_
**6. Should we add a length-prefix after the magic?** Protobuf is not
self-delimiting. If we ever want to concatenate manifests or append data after
the protobuf, the current framing is insufficient. Add a varint or fixed-width
length-prefix?
> _answer:_
### Signature Design
**7. What does the outer SHA-256 hash cover — compressed or uncompressed data?**
The code currently hashes compressed data (good for verifying before
decompression), but this should be explicitly documented. Which is the intended
behavior?
> _answer:_
**8. Should `signatureString()` sign raw bytes instead of a hex-encoded
string?** Currently the canonical string is `MAGIC-UUID-MULTIHASH` with hex
encoding, which adds a transformation layer. Signing the raw `sha256` bytes (or
compressed `innerMessage` directly) would be simpler. Keep the string format or
switch to raw bytes?
> _answer:_
**9. Should we support detached signature files (`.mf.sig`)?** Embedded
signatures are better for single-file distribution. Detached `.mf.sig` files
follow the familiar `SHASUMS`/`SHASUMS.asc` pattern and are simpler for HTTP
serving. Support both modes?
> _answer:_
**10. GPG vs pure-Go crypto for signatures?** Shelling out to `gpg` is fragile
(may not be installed, version-dependent output).
`github.com/ProtonMail/go-crypto` provides pure-Go OpenPGP, or we could use
Ed25519/signify (simpler, no key management). Which direction?
> _answer:_
### Implementation Design
**11. Should manifests be deterministic by default?** This means: sort file
entries by path, omit `createdAt` timestamp (or make it opt-in), no `atime`.
Should determinism be the default, with a `--include-timestamps` flag to opt in?
> _answer:_
**12. Should we consolidate or keep both scanner/checker implementations?**
There are two parallel implementations: `mfer/scanner.go` + `mfer/checker.go`
(typed with `FileSize`, `RelFilePath`) and `internal/scanner/` +
`internal/checker/` (raw `int64`, `string`). The `mfer/` versions are superior.
Delete the `internal/` versions?
> _answer:_
**13. Should the `manifest` type be exported?** Currently unexported with
exported constructors (`NewManifestFromReader`, `NewManifestFromFile`).
Consumers can't declare `var m *mfer.manifest`. Export the type, or define an
interface?
> _answer:_
**14. What should the Go module path be for 1.0?** Currently
`sneak.berlin/go/mfer` in `go.mod` but `git.eeqj.de/sneak/mfer/mfer` in the
proto `go_package` option. Which is canonical?
> _answer:_
## Implementation Tasks
### Repo Infrastructure
- [ ] Add `.golangci.yml` (fetch from
`https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/prompts/raw/branch/main/.golangci.yml`)
- [ ] Add `.editorconfig`
- [ ] Add `.gitea/workflows/check.yml` that runs `docker build .`
### Format & Correctness
- [ ] Resolve proto `go_package` path inconsistency
(`git.eeqj.de/sneak/mfer/mfer` vs `sneak.berlin/go/mfer`)
- [ ] Specify path invariants — add proto comments requiring UTF-8,
forward-slash, relative paths, no `..`, no leading `/`; validate in
`Builder.AddFile` and `Builder.AddFileWithHash` (pending design question
answer)
- [ ] Remove or deprecate `atime` from proto (pending design question answer)
- [ ] Reserve `optional uint32 mode = 305` in `MFFilePath` for future file
permissions (pending design question answer)
- [ ] Add version byte after magic — `ZNAVSRFG\x01` for format version 1
(pending design question answer)
- [ ] Write format specification document — separate from README: magic, outer
structure, compression, inner structure, path invariants, signature
scheme, canonical serialization
### Library
- [ ] Delete `internal/scanner/` and `internal/checker/` — consolidate on
`mfer/` package versions; update CLI code (pending design question answer)
- [ ] Add deterministic file ordering — sort entries by path (lexicographic,
byte-order) in `Builder.Build()`; add test asserting byte-identical output
from two runs
- [ ] Add decompression size limit — `io.LimitReader` in `deserializeInner()`
with `m.pbOuter.Size` as bound
- [ ] Fix `errors.Is` dead code in checker — replace with `os.IsNotExist(err)`
or `errors.Is(err, fs.ErrNotExist)`
- [ ] Fix `AddFile` to verify size — check `totalRead == size` after reading,
return error on mismatch
- [ ] Export the `manifest` type or define a public interface (pending design
question answer) — currently consumers cannot hold a reference to a loaded
manifest in their own type declarations
- [ ] Replace GPG subprocess calls with pure-Go crypto (pending design question
answer) — current implementation shells out to `gpg` which may not be
installed
- [ ] Add timeout to any remaining subprocess calls
### CLI
- [ ] Fix flag naming — all CLI flags should use kebab-case as primary
(`--include-dotfiles`, `--follow-symlinks`)
- [ ] Fix URL construction in fetch — use `BaseURL.JoinPath()` or
`url.JoinPath()` instead of string concatenation
- [ ] Add progress rate-limiting to Checker — throttle to once per second,
matching Scanner
- [ ] Add `--deterministic` flag or make it default — omit `createdAt`, sort
files (pending design question answer)
- [ ] Wire `--version` flag properly (currently only a `version` subcommand
exists; top-level `--version` shows urfave/cli generic output)
- [ ] Add retry logic to `fetch` — currently no retries on transient HTTP
errors; needs exponential backoff
- [ ] `fetch` command uses bare `http.Get` with no timeout — needs `http.Client`
with configurable timeout
### Testing & Robustness
- [ ] Add fuzzing tests for `NewManifestFromReader` — protobuf deserialization
of untrusted input needs fuzz coverage
- [ ] Add integration test for `freshen` CLI command — current tests only verify
setup, not the actual freshen operation end-to-end
- [ ] Add test for `fetch` CLI command end-to-end (currently only `downloadFile`
is tested)
### Documentation
- [ ] Promote `FORMAT.md` as primary spec reference; README should link to it
more prominently
- [ ] Audit and update all error messages for consistency and helpfulness
- [ ] Document the signature scheme more thoroughly (canonical string format,
verification steps)
### Release
- [ ] Finalize Go module path
- [ ] Update version constant in `mfer/constants.go`
- [ ] Add `--version` output matching SemVer
- [ ] Tag `v1.0.0`
Open work, open design questions included, is tracked in this repo's issues:
[https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/mfer/issues](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/mfer/issues).
# See Also