ci: enforce canonical issue metadata policy

2026-07-18 02:03:22 +00:00
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+# ADR 0005: Keep tracker metadata on issues
+
+- **Status:** Accepted
+- **Date:** 2026-07-18
+- **Deciders:** didericis
+
+## Context
+
+Gitea exposes labels on both issues and pull requests. Applying the same labels
+to both copies planning metadata, creates a synchronization obligation, and
+makes disagreements between the two records possible. At the same time,
+unlabelled objects look accidental unless the repository states which object
+owns the metadata.
+
+The repository already uses issues as work items and PRs as implementations of
+those work items. At this decision's cutoff, all open PRs reference issues, but
+121 of 219 historically merged PRs do not. Manufacturing retrospective issues
+for that history would create records that never participated in planning and
+would make the issue history less truthful.
+
+## Decision
+
+Issues are the canonical tracker records and own labels. Every issue has at
+least one label. An issue opened or left without labels receives
+`Status/Needs Triage` automatically until it is classified.
+
+Pull requests carry no labels. Every new PR deliberately references at least
+one existing issue in its title or description with one of these forms:
+
+- `Closes #123`, `Fixes #123`, or `Resolves #123` when merging completes it.
+- `Part of #123`, `Related to #123`, `Refs #123`, or `References #123` when it
+  contributes without completing it.
+
+Gitea Actions enforces both PR rules as a status check and repairs the empty
+issue-label state. Branch protection makes the PR policy check required.
+
+The policy applies from 2026-07-18 onward. Existing issues may be labelled as
+they are encountered, but closed PRs are grandfathered: no retrospective
+issues or PR labels are created solely to make history conform.
+
+## Consequences
+
+- Classification, priority, and workflow metadata have one source of truth.
+- A PR's issue link is the navigation path to its planning metadata.
+- Multi-PR issues do not require copied or synchronized labels.
+- `Status/Needs Triage` is an intentional fallback, not a final
+  classification.
+- Direct issue creation remains convenient; automation repairs a missing label
+  immediately after creation because Gitea has no native required-label rule.
+- The required check must be configured in branch protection after this
+  workflow lands.
+
+## Links
+
+- Issue #405.
+- `.gitea/workflows/tracker-policy.yml`.
+- `scripts/tracker_policy.py`.