releasekit/docs/roadmap/implementation.md

# Implementation plan: neutral forge delivery boundary

Status: ready for implementation; all stages are pending.

## Purpose and execution

Implement the target in the [feature roadmap](forge-boundary.md). That document
owns scope and user choices; this plan owns concrete design and ordered work.
The baseline is `71746f4`: Gitea delivery works, token files and
`forbidden_files` are implemented, and the neutral destination is planned.

Execute Stage 1 through Stage 9 in order as one end-to-end sprint. Each stage
is a focused Luna implementation task. Intermediate stages may leave callers
or tests uncompilable while responsibilities move. Continue without an
intermediate release, pilot, external action, or human review. Run focused
checks when the affected packages compile; Stage 9 owns final assembled
verification. Record completion here and follow the
[agent policy](../policy/agents.md) for commits and validation reporting.

Read the [development guide](../development.md) and applicable policies. Use
the [architecture policy](../policy/architecture.md),
[testing policy](../policy/testing.md), and
[documentation policy](../policy/documentation.md) throughout. Existing GoDoc,
[configuration](../config.md), [CLI](../cli.md), and
[Gitea integration](../integrations/gitea.md) documents define current contracts.
Tests supply regression evidence; assess incidental implementation assertions
against those contracts before preserving them.

This sprint implements the Gitea backend behind a neutral boundary. Git source
publication, module/tag derivation, build targets, buildinfo, receipts, token
precedence, and optional candidate validators retain their responsibilities.
Additional backends, public backend registration, new transport retry policies,
and release publication are outside this sprint.

## Selected design

### Public API and configuration

Replace the root facade's `GiteaDestination` with these facade-owned declarations:

```go
type Forge string

const ForgeGitea Forge = "gitea"

type DeliveryDestination struct {
    Forge      Forge
    BaseURL    string
    Owner      string
    Repository string
    Token      string
}
```

`DeliveryRequest.Destination` becomes `DeliveryDestination`; its other fields,
the public result shape, state values, and asset categories remain as defined
today. Use explicit conversions into internal values. The facade owns backend
selection and construction through a private helper in `delivery.go`.

Add `delivery.forge` to the existing flat JSON delivery object. Its supported
value is `"gitea"`, corresponding to `ForgeGitea`. Omitted, empty, whitespace-only,
and unsupported selections are errors when delivery is requested. Selection is
explicit in both interfaces; neither URL inspection nor an omitted field selects
a backend. Keep `base_url`, `owner`, `repository`, `token_env`, and `token_file`
in their current locations. The owner/repository fields express the current
backend's addressing needs; future adapters can extend the neutral model when
needed without promising every forge the same address structure now.

Keep semantic delivery validation at the delivery entry points. Strict JSON
decoding still applies to all commands, but `check`, `publish`, and `build` do
not acquire a new requirement for a delivery object, valid forge selection, or
credentials. `ci-deliver` first prepares/verifies the tagged checkout and loads
its profile as today, then checks the forge before token loading and application
dependency preparation. Ordinary `deliver` checks it before loading receipts,
building, or making hosted requests. Library selection failure returns
`DeliveryNotAttempted` with the requested version and an error before invoking
the generic workflow. No new public error type is needed.

After explicit Gitea selection, retain `RELEASEKIT_GITEA_TOKEN` as the CLI's
existing default token environment name. Preserve configured names, environment
over file precedence, trimming and file path resolution, and status 2 for
configuration/credential errors. The library receives `Token` explicitly.
Gitea's remaining destination validation stays in the adapter. Consumer
migration replaces the public type, supplies `Forge: releasekit.ForgeGitea`,
and adds `"forge": "gitea"` to each delivery profile. Use a direct API cutover
without a legacy `GiteaDestination` alias or implicit-selection compatibility
path.

### Internal ownership and dependencies

| Owner | Responsibility after the sprint |
| --- | --- |
| Root facade | Public destination, explicit selection, concrete backend construction, request/result conversion. |
| `internal/forge` (new) | Backend interface, observed release/asset values, opaque handles, neutral failure classifications, and write evidence. |
| `internal/artifact` | Existing build identity helpers plus expected local assets, manifests, declaration validation, and local size/digest verification. |
| `internal/delivery` | Local source/build coordination, hosted tag comparison, page matching/creation recovery, remote content comparison, upload sequencing/recovery, observations, and final outcomes. |
| `internal/gitea` | Destination rules, HTTP operations, codecs, protocol acknowledgments, authentication and redirects, multipart streaming, and protocol-to-neutral failure conversion. |
| CLI | Profile adaptation, token loading, receipts, preparation, presentation, and exit statuses. |

Both delivery and Gitea depend on `internal/forge`; that contract imports neither
of them. Artifact mechanics stay independent of Gitea and delivery. The generic
workflow receives a configured backend rather than destination credentials.
The facade can import Gitea to assemble the operation. The runtime facade keeps
its existing small dependency graph.

Use one internal `Backend` interface with these logical operations. The names
below define the intended seam; small private naming adjustments are routine
implementation choices.

| Operation | Inputs and outputs |
| --- | --- |
| `TagCommit` | Context and full tag; returns observed commit or a classified error. |
| `FindRelease` | Context and full tag; returns logical release data or a classified not-found/error. |
| `CreateRelease` | Context and requested tag, commit, title, body, draft/prerelease values; returns observed release, write evidence, and error. |
| `ListAssets` | Context and opaque release handle; returns logical remote assets or error. |
| `OpenAsset` | Context and opaque asset handle; returns `io.ReadCloser` or error. |
| `UploadAsset` | Context, opaque release handle, filename, and `io.Reader`; returns write evidence and error. |

Logical release data contains the URL, full tag, title, body, draft/prerelease
flags, and an opaque handle. Remote asset data contains filename, reported size,
and an opaque handle. Use internal `any` handle fields with private concrete
Gitea handle values. Only the creating adapter interprets them. Keep numeric IDs
and download URLs in those private values; the shared workflow performs no
integer-ID checks or URL construction.

Write evidence carries an `Attempted` flag and a disposition: not attempted,
accepted, rejected, conflict, or uncertain. Accepted means the adapter received
and decoded the required protocol acknowledgment; shared release-content checks
still apply. A known rejection differs from an uncertain outcome. Carry this
evidence even with an error, so successful reconciliation can retain earlier
write history. Record an attempted write when it is handed to the transport,
consistent with the existing possibly-successful-request handling; this is not
a claim that the server received it.

Neutral failure kinds cover the existing invalid, not-found, unauthorized,
conflict, malformed, unverifiable, transport, rejected, and unknown distinctions.
Retain underlying causes through wrapping/`Unwrap` or `errors.Join`. Gitea HTTP
status and operation details belong to the adapter's diagnostic cause. Shared
recovery uses the neutral kind and write evidence, with no HTTP status branches
or Gitea error assertions. Credentials stay out of errors and results.

The shared caller closes streams returned by `OpenAsset`, including on read
failure. For uploads it opens/closes the local file or supplies an inline
manifest reader; the adapter borrows that reader for the call and finishes its
multipart writer/pipe work before returning. Retain cancellation propagation
and cleanup rather than introducing detached recovery contexts, timeouts, or
buffering of complete binaries.

## Stage 1: Establish the internal backend contract

Status: pending.

1. Add `internal/forge` with the interface and logical values specified above.
   Define neutral failure and write-evidence types with internal comments about
   not-found, accepted acknowledgments, uncertain writes, opaque handles, and
   stream ownership. Use ordinary Go values and error wrapping.
2. Keep this package concerned with the delivery seam; production backend
   selection belongs to the facade. Avoid a registry, capability negotiation,
   public interfaces, or additional forge implementations in this work.
3. Identify the existing Gitea policy types replaced by later stages:
   `Request`, `Result`, `ExpectedAsset`, `Inspection`, asset identities/states,
   upload results, and failure assertions in `internal/delivery`. Assign their
   replacement ownership as above rather than reproducing the whole Gitea
   model under new names.

Result: an internal contract implemented independently of the public facade and
delivery policy. Type-check the new package when available. Test nontrivial
error behavior where useful; recovery is tested through the shared workflow.

## Stage 2: Move local asset and manifest mechanics

Status: pending.

1. Move `ExpectedAsset` and the generic work in `BuildManifest`,
   `validateExpectedAssets`, and local verification from `internal/gitea` to
   `internal/artifact`. Keep the filename, SHA-256, size, path, and inline-content
   representation and existing accepted inputs.
2. Retain `artifact.ManifestFilename`, sorted complete manifest generation, its
   byte format, duplicate/name/digest validation, and the empty-set result that
   produces no manifest.
3. Adapt `internal/delivery/assets.go` and build validation to shared types.
   Keep target/name correspondence, captured module/tag/commit binding,
   `SourceVerified`, regular-file checks, and prebuilt output ownership. Keep
   build results and the private receipt format unchanged.
4. Move/consolidate manifest and local-content tests with these responsibilities.
   Preserve rejection of same-size local tampering.

Result: local assets are declared and verified independently of Gitea. Retain
one full local size/digest preflight before hosted requests and reuse it for
uploads; subsequent transport reads stream content without a second full
preflight. This preserves existing efficiency/integrity choices rather than
adding a guarantee against concurrent file replacement.

## Stage 3: Extract Gitea read operations

Status: pending.

1. Adapt the Gitea client into a backend configured with its private destination
   and optional HTTP client. Implement `TagCommit`, `FindRelease`, `ListAssets`,
   and `OpenAsset` using the existing HTTP helpers and routes.
2. Keep Gitea address/token rules, full-tag escaping, JSON handling, attachment
   metadata validation, and HTTP status interpretation here. Map a release
   lookup's 404 to neutral not-found; a missing hosted tag remains a failure to
   verify source. Preserve operation-specific checks rather than applying
   create-response requirements to every read.
3. Split `downloadHash` so the adapter opens the download stream and generic
   delivery hashes it. Keep service-origin token forwarding, cross-origin
   downloads without that token, redirect traversal, and response cleanup with
   Gitea. Preserve current listing behavior; extracting the boundary does not
   introduce pagination or a new response-completeness guarantee.
4. Retain local HTTP tests for routes, authentication, escaped tags, metadata
   decoding, malformed lists, redirects, and unreadable assets. Adapt tests to
   the read operations; shared comparison tests move in Stage 6.

Result: backend reads expose observations and streams. Content equality, tag
comparison, page acceptance, and delivery outcomes belong to shared policy.

## Stage 4: Extract Gitea write operations and evidence

Status: pending.

1. Implement `CreateRelease` from the current release POST and `UploadAsset`
   from multipart upload. Keep explicit target commit, stable flags, full note,
   query encoding, attachment field, and token header behavior. Protocol codecs
   and private IDs remain here.
2. Populate attempted-write evidence on each path. Translate the existing
   `shouldReconcileWrite` triggers into neutral dispositions: HTTP conflict is
   conflict; server errors, transport interruption, cancellation/deadline, and
   malformed acknowledgments are uncertain; definitive other rejections remain
   rejected. Preserve causes and HTTP details. Local failures before transport
   are not attempted. Shared policy decides how to recover.
3. Validate Gitea acknowledgments here, including positive IDs and the uploaded
   asset's selected filename. Leave requested release tag/title/body/stability
   comparison to Stage 5. A decoded acknowledgment that fails shared comparison
   can still require reconciliation.
4. Accept a borrowed content reader for upload. Move file/inline-reader selection
   to shared code and preserve multipart streaming, pipe closure, writer
   completion, response cleanup, and context cancellation without an extra
   content pass.
5. Keep HTTP tests for request bodies, uploads, malformed acknowledgments, known
   rejections, ambiguous writes, and cancellation at this boundary. Recovery
   orchestration tests move with policy in Stages 5 and 6.

Result: individual writes return evidence. Follow-up lookups, content comparison,
and continuation decisions belong to shared delivery. Remove the adapter's old
orchestration as its callers move rather than retaining a parallel policy path.

## Stage 5: Move hosted page policy and recovery

Status: pending.

1. Add shared page coordination in `internal/delivery` using `forge.Backend`.
   After existing local source/build preflight, obtain the hosted full tag's
   commit and compare it with the captured commit before page writes. Find the
   release, accepting the same full tag/body/stable non-draft content and
   retaining an existing title. Only a missing release triggers create.
2. Supply the full note and H1 title to `CreateRelease`. Apply shared comparison
   to a successful create response, including its requested title. Reconcile
   an inconsistent response as the existing client does.
3. Move create recovery out of `EnsureRelease`. Preserve the current single
   follow-up lookup for a conflict or uncertain create:

   | Follow-up observation | Result |
   | --- | --- |
   | Matching existing page | Accept; retain the earlier write attempt. |
   | Different page | Conflict. |
   | Missing after conflict | Conflict. |
   | Missing after uncertain write | Unknown. |
   | Result cannot be established | Unknown; retain write and inspection causes. |

4. Preserve known/read-only failures as distinct from unknown writes. Retain
   resolved source identity, confirmed URL, and write history. A later asset
   inspection failure after confirmed page-write progress reports partial
   progress. Page-only delivery succeeds without listing/uploading assets or
   creating a manifest.
5. Move page policy cases into shared tests using a small controlled backend:
   matching content, conflicts, missing/wrong tag, ambiguous create recovery,
   and recovered-create history. Keep wire assertions in adapter tests.

Result: page behavior runs through the seam. Current Gitea recovery remains
unchanged; this does not promise a fixed HTTP request count for future logical
backend methods.

## Stage 6: Move remote asset comparison and upload recovery

Status: pending.

1. Move inspections, asset states/identities, upload aggregation, ordering,
   and recovery into `internal/delivery`. Use `ListAssets` and `OpenAsset` for
   streamed SHA-256 comparison. Retain filename grouping, duplicate-name
   conflicts, digest comparison, unrelated asset preservation, and unverifiable
   content classification. Reported size alone remains insufficient for equality.
2. Retain complete-manifest comparison, acceptance of a matching manifest when
   binaries are missing, and rejection of a subset/different manifest. Add no
   independent remote-size acceptance rule.
3. Preflight declarations before uploads. Matching assets stay matching;
   conflicts stop with conflict; unverifiable reads stop with not-attempted
   asset work, upgraded to partial on confirmed page-write progress. Whole-list
   read failures retain existing uncertain asset observations without becoming
   unknown-write outcomes.
4. Upload only missing assets in filename order with `SHA256SUMS` last. Open
   content through the artifact representation and close it after the borrowed
   upload call. Reuse Stage 2 verification. Acknowledged uploads move from pending
   to uploaded.
5. On conflict or uncertain upload, perform the existing single list/content
   reconciliation for that asset. Matching bytes become matching; differing
   bytes become conflicting; missing after conflict remains conflict; missing
   after uncertain write or an unreadable result becomes unknown/uncertain.
   Stop on unresolved/conflicting outcomes and retain later known-missing assets
   as pending. Keep reconciliation free of repeated POSTs.
6. Preserve disjoint current observations, earlier successful assets, and public
   states. Definitive upload failure retains partial progress; early failures
   can leave declarations unreported. A new invocation re-inspects remote state
   and resumes only missing work.
7. Move comparison, manifest, partial retry, and category tests here. Use a small
   backend double for controlled failures, with representative assembled HTTP
   coverage instead of duplicating every policy case at both layers.

Result: shared code owns asset policy/recovery. Remove the former Gitea
`InspectAssets`, `UploadMissing`, and `UploadVerifiedMissing` entry points when
their callers/tests move; keep transport helpers needed by the backend. These
internal entry points have no public compatibility obligation.

## Stage 7: Connect the neutral facade and CLI

Status: pending.

1. Implement the public declarations/conversions in Selected design. Replace
   current `GiteaDestination` uses. The private facade factory switches on the
   explicit forge and constructs Gitea; invalid selection returns the described
   early result.
2. Change the internal delivery request to receive the backend. Replace Gitea
   asset/error references in request/result conversion and build validation.
   Pass delivery's single captured module/source identity through its existing
   workflow. Retain local source rechecks, temporary output cleanup, and
   prebuilt output ownership.
3. Add `Forge` to CLI delivery settings with JSON key `forge`. Validate selection
   during delivery adaptation before credentials or subsequent delivery work,
   returning status 2 for invalid selection. Map the facade's supported value;
   preserve strict decoding and non-delivery behavior.
4. Update `deliveryDestination`, `deliverWithDestination`, ordinary delivery,
   and CI delivery. Retain tagged profile loading, module/tag checks, dependency
   preparation, receipt binding, and output/exit classification. Keep token
   resolution in the CLI with current precedence and Gitea environment default.
5. Add `"forge": "gitea"` to ReleaseKit's profile, maintained delivery profiles,
   examples, and active test fixtures. Check/build-only profiles can keep
   omitting delivery. Keep token names, file paths, and Woodpecker secret mappings.

Result: both interfaces select Gitea explicitly through a neutral destination
and share generic orchestration. CI preparation retains its earlier position
because it establishes which tagged profile is authoritative.

## Stage 8: Complete regression coverage and dependency checks

Status: pending.

1. Finish adapting facade, CLI, HTTP fixture, and benchmark callers. Retain
   root/nested/major-module identities, page-only delivery, managed/prebuilt
   binaries, tagged retries, source checks, partial/conflict/unknown reporting,
   and cleanup coverage.
2. Add focused API/CLI selection cases: explicit Gitea succeeds; omitted, blank,
   and unsupported values fail; the URL does not infer a backend. For CLI errors,
   assert status/semantic diagnostics and that token access, dependency
   preparation, and hosted work were not reached. Reuse existing non-delivery
   tests to show those commands still need neither selection nor credentials.
3. Use controlled backend tests to demonstrate shared page/asset policy without
   Gitea imports. Consolidate obsolete client-policy tests rather than retaining
   wrappers. Keep representative real-Gitea HTTP assembly tests for page
   creation and binary delivery/retry, exercising conversions and opaque handles.
4. Extend `internal/apicheck` with a focused check that shared delivery, forge
   contracts, and artifact mechanics have no production dependency path to
   `internal/gitea`. Preserve export ownership/runtime checks, keeping new
   delivery-related packages out of the runtime dependency graph through the
   existing checking mechanism. Add a small violation fixture following current
   apicheck tests.
5. Review stream/error paths for cancellation identity, reader closure,
   multipart worker completion, and causes. Reuse cancellation tests; add a
   narrow regression for a gap introduced by moved ownership. Keep the default
   suite offline and credential-free.

Result: selected requirements have meaningful coverage and clear test owners.
Run relevant package tests once assembled; Stage 9 owns the final full checks.

## Stage 9: Document the cutover and verify the sprint

Status: pending.

1. Add the next sequential ADR (currently `0006`) using the documentation
   policy's lightweight Nygard format. Record the shared-policy/backend boundary,
   neutral facade-owned destination, explicit selection, alternatives, and
   consequences. Keep progress in these roadmaps.
2. Update GoDoc, `docs/config.md`, `docs/cli.md`, and
   `docs/consumers/delivery.md` for the neutral destination and selection.
   Update current README/runbook/example snippets where affected. Keep Gitea
   wire/authentication details in `docs/integrations/gitea.md`; describe shared
   coordination in internal documentation linked from `docs/internal/overview.md`.
   Align architecture policy wording with the implemented boundary while
   preserving its broader constraints.
3. Write `docs/releases/v0.6.0.md`, the next minor release note, explaining the
   features, compatibility impact, and public type/profile migration. Follow
   the [release policy](../policy/release.md) and
   [runbook](../release.md) for note/footer requirements. Explain the unchanged
   Gitea token default and profile updates before tagging: CI reads the tagged profile.
   Preserve historical notes. Prepare documentation here; tagging, pushing,
   and publication remain separate release work.
4. Check maintained JSON/Go examples, profile-generating fixtures, and Woodpecker
   tests for explicit selection. Search active code/docs for obsolete public
   type uses and implicit-selection instructions, distinguishing history and
   migration examples. Verify documentation links, fragments, and whitespace.
5. Run `go test ./...` and `go run ./internal/apicheck` from the repository root
   with prepared local dependencies and offline module/toolchain access. These
   include representative CLI/consumer workflows. Reuse successful checks for
   unchanged content; fix failures and rerun affected checks. No live forge,
   real token, CI run, or consumer pilot is required for sprint completion.
6. Review the final diff and dependency flow against every feature target and
   stage. Verify generic policy has no Gitea dependency; only the adapter
   interprets its handles/statuses; the assembled workflow retains recovery
   outcomes; current delivery profiles explicitly select Gitea; migration
   instructions match the API/configuration; local preflight is reused; and
   content comparison and transport remain streamed.
7. Mark stages complete as verified. Commit completed work under the agent
   policy, report validation and the final commit, and leave a clean workspace.
   Retain accurate completed plans for later release-preparation cleanup.

Result: the initial refactor, migration guidance, and offline verification are
complete. All stages proceed to this end state within the sprint.