RepoFoundry/docs/business-case.md

Business Case

Metadata

Key	Value
ID	BC-001
CrossReference	SA-001

Version History

Date	Status	Author	Reviewer	Change	Commit
2026-10-05	Proposed	Jens Tirsvad Nielsen	S02	Initial version	9ae0cba

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Executive Summary

Starting a new project at TirSystem currently means several manual, error-prone steps across two git hosts: create a repository on GitHub, create a matching one on the self-hosted Gitea instance, wire a push mirror between them, then set up a local clone with the SQA-QC-Framework. RepoFoundry is a single Bash script (create-project.sh) that performs these steps from prompts and two small configuration files, handles credentials without ever exposing them, and reports exactly what succeeded when a step fails.

Methodological and Standards Foundation

The project follows the SQA and QC framework mounted at framework/ (plan-first gate, artifact catalog, QC checklists). Quality criteria are tagged with ISO/IEC 25010:2023 characteristics; security is the primary one (confidentiality of tokens), followed by reliability (partial-failure recovery) and maintainability. Code follows the framework's coding-conventions skill for Shell.

Problem Statement

• Repository setup is repeated by hand for every new project and is easy to get subtly wrong (wrong owner, mirror in the wrong direction, tokens left in remote URLs).
• A half-finished setup (one host created, the other not) leaves no record of what exists.
• The framework submodule, skills, hooks and templates are installed inconsistently between projects.

Business Opportunity

One repeatable, reviewed procedure gives every new project the same secure baseline: Gitea as the source of truth, GitHub as a mirror, and the SQA-QC-Framework in place from the first commit.

Objectives

1. Create an empty GitHub repository under a chosen user or organization.
2. Create a matching empty Gitea repository under a chosen user or organization.
3. Configure the Gitea repository as a push mirror to GitHub (direction Gitea to GitHub).
4. Create the local project directory with origin (Gitea) and github remotes that contain no credentials.
5. Add the SQA-QC-Framework as the framework submodule, install its skills and git hooks, and copy its templates, optionally enabling the plan gate.
6. Never print or persist a token, and never overwrite existing files or directories without consent.

Scope

In Scope

• create-project.sh, config.env.example, .env.example, .gitignore and README.md.
• Safe parsing and validation of config.env and .env (never sourced).
• Prompts for name, description, visibility and owner on both hosts.
• Checks for required tools (git, curl, optional jq) before any change.
• A check that the project name is not already taken on GitHub.
• Partial-failure reporting with a documented way to continue.
• Documentation of the SSH prerequisite for the submodule (Gitea SSH on port 10022).

Out of Scope

• Deleting or rolling back repositories (no destructive commands; cleanup is manual and documented).
• Managing repositories after creation (branch protection, webhooks, teams, CI).
• Hosts other than GitHub and the configured Gitea instance.
• Creating or rotating tokens and SSH keys.
• Making the first commit or opening a pull request.

Expected Benefits

Tangible Benefits

• Setup of a new project drops from several manual steps to one command.
• Every project starts with the same remotes, mirror direction and framework installation.

Intangible Benefits

• Lower risk of credential leaks.
• A documented, reviewable setup procedure that GitHub readers can reuse.

Strategic Alignment

Supports developing on self-hosted Gitea while publishing to GitHub, and adopting the SQA-QC-Framework as the standard process for new projects.

Success Criteria

#	Criterion	Target	Measure
1	Credential exposure	0 occurrences of a token in output, saved remote URLs, config files or leftover temp files	Test run with log review; git config --get-regexp remote inspected
2	Repository ownership	Both repositories are created under the owner chosen at the prompt, never silently under GITHUB_USER	Test run with a user owner and with an organization owner
3	Mirror direction	Gitea is the source, GitHub the target; a push to origin appears on GitHub	Push a test commit and compare
4	Partial failure	When one host fails, the output lists what was created and the command to continue	Forced failure test (invalid token for one host)
5	No overwrite	An existing directory or file is never replaced without a yes	Run twice in the same location
6	Lint	shellcheck reports no errors on create-project.sh	shellcheck create-project.sh

Risks

Risk	Impact	Mitigation
Gitea ignores sync_on_commit when a push mirror is created through the API (known upstream issue)	Mirror only syncs on its interval	Set an interval, trigger a first sync through the API and report the effective setting
GitHub PAT lacks permission to create repositories or to push	Creation or mirroring fails	Document the required scopes; check with a read-only API call first and stop with a clear message
Gitea stores the mirror credentials server-side	A Gitea admin could access the GitHub token	Document it; recommend a fine-grained PAT limited to the one repository where possible
SSH to Gitea port 10022 is not configured	Submodule add fails after repositories already exist	Check SSH reachability before creating anything; document the prerequisite
Framework hook installer changes core.hooksPath	An existing hook setup is silently replaced	Inspect the current value first and ask for consent
Repository name conflicts on a host	Creation fails midway	Check availability on both hosts before creating either

Assumptions

• The Gitea instance exposes the v1 REST API including push_mirrors (confirmed on version 1.27.3 at https://git.tirsystem.com).
• The user has working SSH access to git.tirsystem.com on port 10022.
• The GitHub PAT may be used both for API calls and as the push-mirror credential.

Constraints

• Bash only, with git and curl required and jq optional.
• config.env and .env are parsed, never sourced.
• No rm -rf, and no token in any URL, log or remote.
• The framework under framework/ is not edited from this project.

Cost–Benefit Assessment

Costs	Benefits
Three planned phases of maintainer time; ongoing maintenance when the GitHub or Gitea API changes	Repeatable secure setup for every future project; fewer setup mistakes; reusable by GitHub readers

Stakeholders

Stakeholder ID (SA)	Interest in this project
S01	Product Owner and maintainer; sets scope and accepts the result
S02	DevOps, cybersecurity and maintainer; reviews credential handling and git host integration
S03	Reads and may reuse the published project on GitHub

Recommendation

Proceed — the procedure is small, well bounded and removes a repeated, security-sensitive manual task.

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