prompts/prompts/REPO_POLICIES.md

title	last_modified
Repository Policies	2026-02-22

This document covers repository structure, tooling, and workflow standards. Code style conventions are in separate documents:

• Code Styleguide (general, bash, Docker)
• Go
• JavaScript
• Python
• Go HTTP Server Conventions

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• Cross-project documentation (such as this file) must include last_modified: YYYY-MM-DD in the YAML front matter so it can be kept in sync with the authoritative source as policies evolve.

• ALL external references must be pinned by cryptographic hash. This includes Docker base images, Go modules, npm packages, GitHub Actions, and anything else fetched from a remote source. Version tags (@v4, @latest, :3.21, etc.) are server-mutable and therefore remote code execution vulnerabilities. The ONLY acceptable way to reference an external dependency is by its content hash (Docker @sha256:..., Go module hash in go.sum, npm integrity hash in lockfile, GitHub Actions @<commit-sha>). No exceptions. This also means never curl | bash to install tools like pyenv, nvm, rustup, etc. Instead, download a specific release archive from GitHub, verify its hash (hardcoded in the Dockerfile or script), and only then install. Unverified install scripts are arbitrary remote code execution. This is the single most important rule in this document. Double-check every external reference in every file before committing. There are zero exceptions to this rule.

• Every repo with software must have a root Makefile with these targets: make test, make lint, make fmt (writes), make fmt-check (read-only), make check (prereqs: test, lint, fmt-check), make docker, and make hooks (installs pre-commit hook). A model Makefile is at https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/prompts/raw/branch/main/Makefile.

• Always use Makefile targets (make fmt, make test, make lint, etc.) instead of invoking the underlying tools directly. The Makefile is the single source of truth for how these operations are run.

• Every repo should have a Dockerfile. All Dockerfiles must run make check as a build step so the build fails if the branch is not green. For non-server repos, the Dockerfile should bring up a development environment and run make check. For server repos, make check should run as an early build stage before the final image is assembled.

• Every repo should have a Gitea Actions workflow (.gitea/workflows/) that runs docker build . on push. Since the Dockerfile already runs make check, a successful build implies all checks pass.

• Use platform-standard formatters: black for Python, prettier for JS/CSS/Markdown/HTML, go fmt for Go. Always use default configuration with two exceptions: four-space indents (except Go), and proseWrap: always for Markdown (hard-wrap at 80 columns). Documentation and writing repos (Markdown, HTML, CSS) should also have .prettierrc and .prettierignore.

• Pre-commit hook: make check if local testing is possible, otherwise make lint && make fmt-check. The Makefile should provide a make hooks target to install the pre-commit hook.

• All repos with software must have tests that run via the platform-standard test framework (go test, pytest, jest/vitest, etc.). If no meaningful tests exist yet, add the most minimal test possible — e.g. importing the module under test to verify it compiles/parses. There is no excuse for make test to be a no-op.

• make test must complete in under 20 seconds. Add a 30-second timeout in the Makefile.

• Docker builds must complete in under 5 minutes.

• make check must not modify any files in the repo. Tests may use temporary directories.

• main must always pass make check, no exceptions.

• Never commit secrets. .env files, credentials, API keys, and private keys must be in .gitignore. No exceptions.

• .gitignore should be comprehensive from the start: OS files (.DS_Store), editor files (.swp, *~), language build artifacts, and node_modules/. Fetch the standard .gitignore from https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/prompts/raw/branch/main/.gitignore when setting up a new repo.

• Never use git add -A or git add .. Always stage files explicitly by name.

• Never force-push to main.

• Make all changes on a feature branch. You can do whatever you want on a feature branch.

• .golangci.yml is standardized and must NEVER be modified by an agent, only manually by the user. Fetch from https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/prompts/raw/branch/main/.golangci.yml.

• When pinning images or packages by hash, add a comment above the reference with the version and date (YYYY-MM-DD).

• Use yarn, not npm.

• Write all dates as YYYY-MM-DD (ISO 8601).

• Simple projects should be configured with environment variables.

• Dockerized web services listen on port 8080 by default, overridable with PORT.

• README.md is the primary documentation. Required sections:

  • Description: First line must include the project name, purpose, category (web server, SPA, CLI tool, etc.), license, and author. Example: "µPaaS is an MIT-licensed Go web application by @sneak that receives git-frontend webhooks and deploys applications via Docker in realtime."
  • Getting Started: Copy-pasteable install/usage code block.
  • Rationale: Why does this exist?
  • Design: How is the program structured?
  • TODO: Update meticulously, even between commits. When planning, put the todo list in the README so a new agent can pick up where the last one left off.
  • License: MIT, GPL, or WTFPL. Ask the user for new projects. Include a LICENSE file in the repo root and a License section in the README.
  • Author: @sneak.

• First commit of a new repo should contain only README.md.

• Go module root: sneak.berlin/go/<name>. Always run go mod tidy before committing.

• Use SemVer.

• Database migrations live in internal/db/migrations/ and must be embedded in the binary. Pre-1.0.0: modify existing migrations (no installed base assumed). Post-1.0.0: add new migration files.

• All repos should have an .editorconfig enforcing the project's indentation settings.

• Avoid putting files in the repo root unless necessary. Root should contain only project-level config files (README.md, Makefile, Dockerfile, LICENSE, .gitignore, .editorconfig, REPO_POLICIES.md, and language-specific config). Everything else goes in a subdirectory. Canonical subdirectory names:

  • bin/ — executable scripts and tools
  • cmd/ — Go command entrypoints
  • configs/ — configuration templates and examples
  • deploy/ — deployment manifests (k8s, compose, terraform)
  • docs/ — documentation and markdown (README.md stays in root)
  • internal/ — Go internal packages
  • internal/db/migrations/ — database migrations
  • pkg/ — Go library packages
  • share/ — systemd units, data files
  • static/ — static assets (images, fonts, etc.)
  • web/ — web frontend source

• When setting up a new repo, files from the prompts repo may be used as templates. Fetch them from https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/prompts/raw/branch/main/<path>.

• New repos must contain at minimum:

  • README.md, .git, .gitignore, .editorconfig
  • LICENSE, REPO_POLICIES.md (copy from the prompts repo)
  • Makefile
  • Dockerfile, .dockerignore
  • .gitea/workflows/check.yml
  • Go: go.mod, go.sum, .golangci.yml
  • JS: package.json, yarn.lock, .prettierrc, .prettierignore
  • Python: pyproject.toml