rtnetmon/REPO_POLICIES.md

---
title: Repository Policies
last_modified: 2026-09-08
---

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

- [Code Styleguide](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/prompts/raw/branch/main/prompts/CODE_STYLEGUIDE.md)
  (general, bash, Docker)
- [Go](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/prompts/raw/branch/main/prompts/CODE_STYLEGUIDE_GO.md)
- [JavaScript](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/prompts/raw/branch/main/prompts/CODE_STYLEGUIDE_JS.md)
- [Python](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/prompts/raw/branch/main/prompts/CODE_STYLEGUIDE_PYTHON.md)
- [Go HTTP Server Conventions](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/prompts/raw/branch/main/prompts/GO_HTTP_SERVER_CONVENTIONS.md)

---

- 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 bootstrap`, `make setup`, `make test`, `make lint`, `make fmt` (writes),
  `make fmt-check` (read-only), `make check` (runs `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`.

- Repos follow the
  [Scripts to Rule Them All](https://github.com/github/scripts-to-rule-them-all)
  pattern: the implementation of each Makefile target lives in an executable
  script in `script/` (`script/bootstrap`, `script/setup`, `script/test`,
  `script/lint`, `script/fmt`, `script/fmt-check`, `script/check`,
  `script/docker`), and the Makefile targets are thin shims that call them. The
  scripts must be POSIX sh (`#!/bin/sh`, `set -eu`, no bashisms) so they run in
  minimal containers (e.g. alpine images have no bash); locate the repo root
  with `$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd -P)` and `cd` there before acting. From
  the standard's canonical set we use `bootstrap`, `setup` (make the repo ready
  for development after a fresh clone: runs `bootstrap`, then
  `install-precommit`, plus any repo-specific initialization), `test`, and
  `cibuild`. `script/bootstrap` installs all dependencies idempotently and
  assumes nothing is present: base tools come from nix, apt, brew, or apk
  (detected in that order; apt runs noninteractive). For node it uses the
  installed node if present; otherwise it installs a PINNED node version via
  nvm, first installing nvm itself if missing — from a hash-verified GitHub
  release archive (never `curl | sh`), with bash installed as an explicit
  prerequisite since nvm requires bash. yarn is then pinned via
  `corepack prepare yarn@<version> --activate`. Never install "latest" or "lts";
  always exact versions. `script/cibuild` runs the CI build: it changes to the
  repo root, runs `script/bootstrap`, runs `script/check`, and builds the image
  with the version; the Gitea workflow calls it. **`script/cibuild` runs
  `script/bootstrap` first**, because the workflow checks out the repo and runs
  nothing else, while `script/fmt-check` runs the formatter on the host: on a
  pristine checkout with nothing installed the run dies there, after the
  containerised gates have passed. **The bootstrap alone is not enough**:
  `script/bootstrap` installs node and yarn under nvm and leaves neither on the
  `PATH` of the shell that called it, so a bare `yarn` still exits 127. The host
  entrypoints that need yarn — `script/fmt` and `script/fmt-check` — therefore
  source nvm for the pinned node version before invoking it, exactly as
  `script/bootstrap`'s own install step does. A runner carrying nothing but
  docker and git then gets through `script/check`. Four further scripts are our
  own extensions to the standard: `script/check` runs `script/test`,
  `script/lint` and `script/fmt-check`; `script/precommit` is what the git
  pre-commit hook runs, and it calls `script/check`; `script/install-precommit`
  installs the git pre-commit hook (the `make hooks` target shims to it); and
  `script/projectname` (literally that filename) simply outputs the project's
  name. Scripts that need the name call `script/projectname` — e.g.
  `script/docker` assembles its image tag from it — so those scripts stay
  byte-identical across all repos. Repo-type-specific pre-commit extras (e.g.
  `go mod tidy` verification in Go repos) belong in `script/precommit`, not in
  the hook itself. Model scripts are at
  `https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/prompts/raw/branch/main/script/<name>`. The README
  must document the provided scripts in an **Entrypoints** section (see the
  README requirements below).

- 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.

- The Makefile is authoritative documentation for how the repo is used. Beyond
  the required targets above, it should have targets for every common operation:
  running a local development server (`make run`, `make dev`), re-initializing
  or migrating the database (`make db-reset`, `make migrate`), building
  artifacts (`make build`), generating code, seeding data, or anything else a
  developer would do regularly. If someone checks out the repo and types
  `make<tab>`, they should see every meaningful operation available. A new
  contributor should be able to understand the entire development workflow by
  reading the Makefile.

- Every repo should have a `Dockerfile`, and it carries the repo's gates: a
  `lint` phase and a `test` phase, with the final stage depending on both so the
  image cannot be built unless they pass. For non-server repos the final stage
  brings up a development environment; for server repos it is the runtime image.
  Dockerfiles install development prerequisites by running `script/bootstrap`
  rather than duplicating installs inline; COPY `script/` and the dependency
  manifests (`package.json` + `yarn.lock`, `go.mod` + `go.sum`, etc.) before
  running it.

- **Linting and testing run in Docker, as phases of the `Dockerfile`.** There is
  no separate lint file. `script/lint` and `script/test` each build one phase
  and nothing else:

    ```sh
    docker build --no-cache --target lint -t "$(script/projectname)-lint" .
    docker build --no-cache --target test -t "$(script/projectname)-test" .
    ```

    **A stage that is not the last one in the file is built only when the final
    stage's chain depends on it, or when `--target` names it.** That is why the
    two gates are always invoked by name here, and why the final stage carries a
    `COPY --from=` of a harmless file from each of them: without that edge a
    plain `docker build .` builds the last stage alone and exits 0 having linted
    and tested nothing.

    **Every `docker build` in `script/` is tagged**, here and in
    `script/cibuild` and `script/docker`. An untagged build leaves a dangling
    image behind on every invocation, on every developer host and every CI
    runner; a tagged one replaces the previous image.

    Inside a phase the tool is invoked directly — `golangci-lint`, `go test`,
    `eslint`, `prettier` — never through `make lint` or `script/test`, which are
    themselves a `docker build` and would recurse into a daemon that does not
    exist in a build step. Formatting is the exception and stays on the host:
    `script/fmt` writes the working tree, and `script/fmt-check` is its
    read-only twin.

    **No lint verdict may come from a host invocation of the linter.** On a
    shared host golangci-lint reads a result cache keyed on file content rather
    than location, so a second checkout of the same content is served the first
    one's findings, and a host-global lock in `$TMPDIR` makes concurrent runs
    exit non-zero with `parallel golangci-lint is running` — a status a caller
    cannot tell from real findings. Both have produced wrong verdicts in this
    org, in both directions. A container has its own cache, its own `TMPDIR` and
    a digest-pinned binary, so neither is reachable.

- **Any build that runs checks is built with `--no-cache`.** Docker invalidates
  a `COPY` layer only when the copied content changes, so on an unchanged tree
  the check `RUN` is served from cache, nothing executes, and the build still
  exits 0. Every `docker build` in `script/` therefore passes `--no-cache`:
  `script/lint`, `script/test`, `script/cibuild` and `script/docker` are the
  four, and there is no fifth — `script/check` runs the two gate phases and
  `script/fmt-check`, and builds no image of its own. A bare `docker build .` is
  not evidence that anything ran: a sub-second build reporting success is a
  cache hit, not a result. Never invalidate by pruning — `docker builder prune`
  and friends destroy a build cache shared with every other build on the host.

- **The gate phases are separate stages, and the build stage depends on both.**
  The lint phase is based on the `golangci/golangci-lint` image (pinned by
  hash), so lint failures surface in seconds rather than after a full compile,
  and the test phase is based on the Go image. The canonical Go repo
  `Dockerfile`:

    ```dockerfile
    # Lint phase
    # golangci/golangci-lint:v2.x.x, YYYY-MM-DD
    FROM golangci/golangci-lint@sha256:... AS lint
    WORKDIR /src
    COPY go.mod go.sum ./
    RUN go mod download
    COPY . .
    RUN golangci-lint run --config .golangci.yml ./...

    # Test phase
    # golang:1.x-alpine, YYYY-MM-DD
    FROM golang@sha256:... AS test
    WORKDIR /src
    COPY go.mod go.sum ./
    RUN go mod download
    COPY . .
    RUN go test -timeout 90s -race -cover ./... || \
        { echo "--- Rerunning with -v for details ---"; \
          go test -timeout 90s -race -v ./...; exit 1; }

    # Build stage. Nothing is wanted from either phase above; the copies
    # are what make BuildKit build them first, so this stage cannot run
    # unless lint and test passed.
    # golang:1.x-alpine, YYYY-MM-DD
    FROM golang@sha256:... AS builder
    COPY --from=lint /src/go.sum /dev/null
    COPY --from=test /src/go.sum /dev/null
    WORKDIR /src
    COPY go.mod go.sum ./
    RUN go mod download
    COPY . .

    ARG VERSION=dev
    RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -trimpath \
        -ldflags="-s -w -X main.Version=${VERSION}" \
        -o /app ./cmd/app/

    # Runtime stage, and the last one
    FROM alpine@sha256:...
    COPY --from=builder /app /usr/local/bin/app
    ENTRYPOINT ["app"]
    ```

    Key points:
    - The lint phase uses the `golangci/golangci-lint` image directly (it has
      both Go and the linter), so nothing needs installing.
    - `COPY --from=<phase> /src/go.sum /dev/null` is a no-op copy whose only
      purpose is the ordering edge. BuildKit runs stages in parallel by default,
      and a stage nothing depends on is not built at all, so without these two
      lines a red gate would not fail the build.
    - Keep the runtime stage last, and if you add a stage after it, give it the
      same two copies. A plain `docker build .` builds the last stage's chain
      and nothing else.
    - If the project uses `//go:embed` directives that reference build artifacts
      (e.g. a web frontend compiled in a separate stage), the lint phase must
      create placeholder files so the embed directives resolve. Example:
      `RUN mkdir -p web/dist && touch web/dist/index.html web/dist/style.css`.
    - If the project requires CGO or system libraries for linting (e.g.
      `vips-dev`), install them in the lint phase with `apk add`.
    - `ARG VERSION=dev` is declared in the stage that compiles and supplied by
      `script/docker` and `script/cibuild`; no stage may call `git describe`.

- Every repo should have a Gitea Actions workflow (`.gitea/workflows/`) that
  runs `script/cibuild` on push, and checks out the repo as its only other step.
  That script bootstraps, runs the gate phases, and then builds the image, so a
  successful run means every check passed; a bare `docker build .` does not
  carry the same guarantee, because its gate phases may come from the cache. The
  image build is uncached and so runs the gate phases a second time. That is the
  price of the rule above, and it is worth paying: the image that ships is built
  from a run of its own gates rather than from a cache entry.

- 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: runs `script/precommit`, which calls `script/check`. If local
  testing is not possible in the repo, `script/precommit` may skip `script/test`
  and run only `script/lint` and `script/fmt-check`. The hook is installed by
  `script/install-precommit`; the Makefile must provide a `make hooks` target
  that shims to it.

- 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 60 seconds. That is the hard cap, and a
  suite that exceeds it fails. Under 20 seconds is the target. A suite between
  20 and 60 seconds is still green, but the overage must be filed as an
  improvement bug against that repo. Add a 90-second timeout to the test
  invocation (`go test -timeout 90s`). The backstop deliberately sits above the
  hard cap so that it catches a genuinely hung test rather than a merely slow
  one.

- **The test command should use the conditional verbose rerun pattern.** Run
  tests without `-v` (verbose) first. If tests fail, automatically rerun with
  `-v` to show full output. This keeps CI logs and `docker build` output clean
  on success (just package/suite summaries) while providing full diagnostic
  detail on failure (every test case, every assertion). The command lives in the
  `test` phase of the `Dockerfile`, since `script/test` builds that phase; the
  Makefile form below is the same pattern for any repo-local invocation:

    ```makefile
    test:
    	@<test-command> || \
    		{ echo "--- Rerunning with -v for details ---"; \
    		  <test-command-with-v>; exit 1; }
    ```

    Go example:

    ```makefile
    test:
    	@go test -count=1 -timeout 90s -race -cover ./... || \
    		{ echo "--- Rerunning with -v for details ---"; \
    		  go test -count=1 -timeout 90s -race -v ./...; exit 1; }
    ```

    `-count=1` is required on both invocations: it defeats Go's test _result_
    cache, so the target cannot report a pass it did not earn, and the rerun
    reproduces a failure instead of replaying it. It leaves the build cache
    alone, so it costs the runtime of the suite and no recompilation.

    Note that this is a second, independent cache, stacked below the Docker
    layer cache that [issue #26](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/prompts/issues/26)
    addresses. `CHECK_EPOCH` guarantees the `RUN make test` _step_ re-executes;
    it does not guarantee `go test` inside that step does any work, because the
    `GOCACHE` baked into earlier image layers survives into the re-executed
    step. They are two separate defects requiring two separate fixes, and a fix
    for one must not be recorded as covering the other.

    Python example:

    ```makefile
    test:
    	@python -m pytest || \
    		{ echo "--- Rerunning with -v for details ---"; \
    		  python -m pytest -v; exit 1; }
    ```

    The `exit 1` ensures the target always fails after a rerun — the first run
    already proved the tests are broken, so the build must not pass even if a
    flaky test happens to succeed on the second attempt. The rerun exists solely
    for diagnostic output.

- 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`, `*~`), in-repo agent scratch directories (`.claude/`),
  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. These patterns are written to `.gitignore`'s own
  semantics, in which an unanchored pattern already matches at every depth; they
  are not a `.dockerignore` and must not be transplanted into one unmodified.

- **`.dockerignore` does not use `.gitignore` semantics, and copying patterns
  across unmodified leaves secrets in the build context.** Docker matches with
  `moby/patternmatcher`: `filepath.Match` semantics plus a `**` extension, so
  `*` does not cross `/` and a pattern without a leading `**/` is anchored at
  the build-context root. A `.dockerignore` listing `.env`, `*.pem` and `*.key`
  therefore excludes only the copies at the repository root, while `config/.env`
  and `certs/server.key` still reach the context and can land in an image layer
  — which is more dangerous than a short file with no secret patterns at all,
  because it reads as solved and stops anyone looking. Give every
  depth-independent pattern the `**/` prefix and leave only genuinely
  root-anchored entries unprefixed: `.git`, and the repo's own host-built
  binary, written `/myapp` and never `**/myapp`, which would also match
  `cmd/myapp/` and delete the package directory from the context. Matching is
  case-sensitive, and an ALL-CAPS twin per pattern still misses `Server.Key`, so
  secret names use character ranges — `**/*.[kK][eE][yY]`, `**/*.[pP][eE][mM]`,
  and likewise for `.envrc` and the extensionless SSH keys. Where such a pattern
  also catches something the build needs, re-include it with a negation
  (`!docs/example.env`); deleting the pattern reopens the exposure for every
  other file it covers. Fetch the standard `.dockerignore` from
  `https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/prompts/raw/branch/main/.dockerignore` and extend
  it with the repo's own artifacts.

- **In-repo agent scratch belongs in both files, written to each file's own
  semantics.** `.claude/` holds one worktree per in-flight agent — an entire
  additional checkout of the repo — so under `COPY . .` the build context
  inflates by a multiple of the repo and another session's unreviewed work can
  be copied into an image layer. In `.gitignore` the entry is `.claude/`,
  unanchored. In `.dockerignore` it is `.claude`, anchored and with **no** `**/`
  prefix, because the prefixed form would also delete any nested directory of
  that name from the build. Anchoring carries a known gap that the canonical
  `.dockerignore` states in its own comment, since consuming repos receive the
  file and not the tracker: the directory is created in the agent's working
  directory, so a repo running agents in subdirectories still ships
  `services/api/.claude/` and must add its own anchored entry there.

- **Excluding `.git` means `git describe` cannot run inside any build stage, and
  it fails quietly there.** In a build stage there is no repository, so
  `git describe` writes nothing to stdout, `-X main.Version=` comes out empty,
  the binary reports no version at all, and the build still exits 0. Compute the
  version on the host and thread it in as a build arg. `script/docker` and
  `script/cibuild` do this, byte-identically across repos:

    ```sh
    # Own line: a failing command substitution inside an argument does not
    # trip `set -e`, so the inline form degrades to an empty constant.
    version="$(git describe --tags --always --dirty 2>/dev/null || true)"
    [ -n "$version" ] || version="unknown"
    docker build --no-cache \
        --build-arg VERSION="$version" \
        -t "$(script/projectname)" .
    ```

    `--always` makes an untagged repo yield an abbreviated commit hash rather
    than failing, and the `[ -n "$version" ]` line is the single place the
    fallback is applied — a live check that fires on a build from an export with
    no `.git` and on a repository with no commits yet. Do not fold it into the
    substitution as `|| echo unknown`, which makes the guard unreachable. The
    Dockerfile's side is `ARG VERSION=dev` in the stage that compiles, declared
    there because `ARG` is stage-scoped; passing `VERSION` to a repo whose
    Dockerfile declares no such `ARG` is ignored and costs nothing, which is why
    the scripts stay byte-identical. One consequence for CI: the standard
    checkout action clones shallow and fetches no tags, so a repo that embeds a
    tag-derived version must set `fetch-depth: 0` on its checkout step.

- **Verify `.dockerignore` by enumerating the image, not by reading the
  patterns.** Plant files at the root _and_ at least two directories deep, build
  a probe image that does `COPY . .`, and list what actually landed
  (`docker run --rm --entrypoint find IMAGE /app`). The `transferring context`
  size is not a substitute: a nested secret is a few bytes, and BuildKit
  transfers only the delta from the previous build.

- **No build artifacts in version control.** Code-derived data (compiled
  bundles, minified output, generated assets) must never be committed to the
  repository if it can be avoided. The build process (e.g. Dockerfile, Makefile)
  should generate these at build time. Notable exception: Go protobuf generated
  files (`.pb.go`) ARE committed because repos need to work with `go get`, which
  downloads code but does not execute code generation.

- 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. The vendored copy in a consuming repo must
  _NEVER_ be modified by an agent: fetch it from
  `https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/prompts/raw/branch/main/.golangci.yml` and keep it
  byte-identical, so that no repo can quietly loosen its own linting. Linter
  configuration changes are made to the canonical copy in the `prompts` repo and
  reach consuming repos by re-vendoring; an agent may open a PR against
  canonical, which only the user merges. One list is exempt from byte-identity,
  because it cannot be written once for every repo: the `deny` list of the
  `test-support` depguard rule, where a repo names its own test-support packages
  by full import path. A repo adds entries there and changes nothing else, and a
  re-vendor carries its entries forward. The canonical golangci-lint version is
  v2.12.2 (released 2026-05-06), pinned as the digest of the lint phase's base
  image
  (`golangci/golangci-lint@sha256:5cceeef04e53efe1470638d4b4b4f5ceefd574955ab3941b2d9a68a8c9ad5240`,
  which reports `2.12.2 built with go1.26.2 from c0d3ddc9`). That digest is the
  only pin, since no repo installs golangci-lint on the host: bumping the
  version means changing it and nothing else.

- **`script/bootstrap` installs a pinned tool by comparing versions, never by
  testing presence.** An `if ! command -v <tool>; then install; fi` guard tests
  `PATH` only, so on an already-provisioned machine the pin is inert and a
  version bump is a silent no-op — while the Dockerfile, installing into a clean
  image, gets the pinned version, so a local `make check` and `make docker` can
  disagree about what the tool even is. The canonical form:
    - compares the installed version against the pin over the **whole** version
      token; a parser that stops at the first `-` reports `2.12.2` for a host
      running `2.12.2-rc1` and skips the install;
    - treats absent, non-zero, empty or unrecognised `--version` output as a
      mismatch, so the failure direction is a redundant install and never a
      skipped one;
    - after installing, re-resolves the binary the way callers do — `hash -r`,
      then through `PATH`, not through the directory the installer wrote to —
      and fails naming the resolved path, since an install that a shadowing
      binary hides succeeds while changing nothing any caller sees;
    - is actually called, and prints the version on both success paths: a
      function defined and never invoked has the same exit status and the same
      empty output as one that worked.

    Keep it POSIX sh: no arrays, no `[[`, no `grep -P`.

- 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`.

- **HTTP/web services must be hardened for production internet exposure before
  tagging 1.0.** This means full compliance with security best practices
  including, without limitation, all of the following:
    - **Security headers** on every response:
        - `Strict-Transport-Security` (HSTS) with `max-age` of at least one year
          and `includeSubDomains`.
        - `Content-Security-Policy` (CSP) with a restrictive default policy
          (`default-src 'self'` as a baseline, tightened per-resource as
          needed). Never use `unsafe-inline` or `unsafe-eval` unless
          unavoidable, and document the reason.
        - `X-Frame-Options: DENY` (or `SAMEORIGIN` if framing is required).
          Prefer the `frame-ancestors` CSP directive as the primary control.
        - `X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff`.
        - `Referrer-Policy: strict-origin-when-cross-origin` (or stricter).
        - `Permissions-Policy` restricting access to browser features the
          application does not use (camera, microphone, geolocation, etc.).
    - **Request and response limits:**
        - Maximum request body size enforced on all endpoints (e.g. Go
          `http.MaxBytesReader`). Choose a sane default per-route; never accept
          unbounded input.
        - Maximum response body size where applicable (e.g. paginated APIs).
        - `ReadTimeout` and `ReadHeaderTimeout` on the `http.Server` to defend
          against slowloris attacks.
        - `WriteTimeout` on the `http.Server`.
        - `IdleTimeout` on the `http.Server`.
        - Per-handler execution time limits via `context.WithTimeout` or
          chi/stdlib `middleware.Timeout`.
    - **Authentication and session security:**
        - Rate limiting on password-based authentication endpoints. API keys are
          high-entropy and not susceptible to brute force, so they are exempt.
        - CSRF tokens on all state-mutating HTML forms. API endpoints
          authenticated via `Authorization` header (Bearer token, API key) are
          exempt because the browser does not attach these automatically.
        - Passwords stored using bcrypt, scrypt, or argon2 — never plain-text,
          MD5, or SHA.
        - Session cookies set with `HttpOnly`, `Secure`, and `SameSite=Lax` (or
          `Strict`) attributes.
    - **Reverse proxy awareness:**
        - True client IP detection when behind a reverse proxy
          (`X-Forwarded-For`, `X-Real-IP`). The application must accept
          forwarded headers only from a configured set of trusted proxy
          addresses — never trust `X-Forwarded-For` unconditionally.
    - **CORS:**
        - Authenticated endpoints must restrict `Access-Control-Allow-Origin` to
          an explicit allowlist of known origins. Wildcard (`*`) is acceptable
          only for public, unauthenticated read-only APIs.
    - **Error handling:**
        - Internal errors must never leak stack traces, SQL queries, file paths,
          or other implementation details to the client. Return generic error
          messages in production; detailed errors only when `DEBUG` is enabled.
    - **TLS:**
        - Services never terminate TLS directly. They are always deployed behind
          a TLS-terminating reverse proxy. The service itself listens on plain
          HTTP. However, HSTS headers and `Secure` cookie flags must still be
          set by the application so that the browser enforces HTTPS end-to-end.

    This list is non-exhaustive. Apply defense-in-depth: if a standard security
    hardening measure exists for HTTP services and is not listed here, it is
    still expected. When in doubt, harden.

- `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.
    - **Entrypoints**: Opens by stating that the repo adheres to the
      [Scripts to Rule Them All](https://github.com/github/scripts-to-rule-them-all)
      standard (with that link), then documents each provided `script/`
      entrypoint and its purpose.
    - **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](https://sneak.berlin).

- 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.
    - `000_migration.sql` — contains ONLY the creation of the migrations
      tracking table itself. Nothing else.
    - `001_schema.sql` — the full application schema.
    - **Pre-1.0.0:** never add additional migration files (002, 003, etc.).
      There is no installed base to migrate. Edit `001_schema.sql` directly.
    - **Post-1.0.0:** add new numbered migration files for each schema change.
      Never edit existing migrations after release.

- 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; thin only: one `main.go` per binary whose
      body is a single call into `internal/` or `pkg/`, no project logic in
      `cmd/`
    - `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`
    - `script/` entrypoints (`bootstrap`, `setup`, `projectname`, `test`,
      `lint`, `fmt`, `fmt-check`, `check`, `docker`, `cibuild`, `precommit`,
      `install-precommit`)
    - `Dockerfile`, `.dockerignore`
    - `.gitea/workflows/check.yml`
    - Go: `go.mod`, `go.sum`, `.golangci.yml`
    - JS: `package.json`, `yarn.lock`, `.prettierrc`, `.prettierignore`
    - Python: `pyproject.toml`