The repo is public and files are fetched by raw URL, so a reader who lands on one runbook never sees the README -- the repo's context does not travel with the file. Each .md now carries two lines under the title, each .ps1 the equivalent at the end of its .NOTES block. Deliberately two lines, not a paragraph. These files are read through `| more` on a client console mid-incident, and the top of the file is where the procedure-specific warnings live -- never a live chart, stop the service before copying, confirm authorization before acting. A legal preamble above those competes with them and trains people to skip past. Wording aims at a stranger who found the repo, not at the quality of the procedure: these double as documented-procedure evidence for E&O, and language implying the content is unreliable works against that. MIT rather than no license: the warranty and liability disclaimer is the part that does the work, and leaving it unlicensed makes reuse ambiguous rather than disclaimed. Also fixes 5 stale ops/rb URLs in scripts/*.ps1 that the previous commit missed -- it only swept the .md files. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01HwcG1jLs1T425QRMxtjxP7
2.8 KiB
Contributing (note-to-self)
Solo-maintained. This file exists to keep future-me honest.
The rule
Procedures only. No particulars.
This repo is public-read. Anything that identifies a client or would let a reader act against a client environment goes to the private tier — no exceptions.
Never commit:
- Client / business names, site identifiers
- Hostnames, IPs, subnets, SSIDs, MAC addresses
- Usernames, account names, email addresses
- Passwords, keys, tokens, connection strings, license keys
- Screenshots, exports, logs, or config dumps containing any of the above
Instead use placeholders: <CLIENT>, <SERVER>, <SHARE>, <SHARE_USER>,
<USER>, <PASSWORD>. Filled-in versions live in the private tier
(private repo or Bitwarden secure note).
Where things go
| Content | Home |
|---|---|
| Generic procedure with placeholders | This repo |
| Anything needing a credential | Private tier |
| Client-specific config / values | Private tier |
| Any identifying detail | Private tier |
If a step can't be written without a real particular, it doesn't belong here — split the particular out to the private tier and reference it as a placeholder.
Before every commit
- Re-read the diff. Would a stranger learn who the client is, or how to reach their systems? If yes, stop.
- No real hostnames/IPs/users/passwords — placeholders only.
- No screenshots or pasted output with real data.
- Scripts prompt for client-specifics at run time; they don't hard-code them.
Scripts
Scripts live under scripts/. Follow scripts/_template.ps1:
- Prompt for placeholders with
Read-Host— no editing before running, noparam()(can't pass args throughirm | iex). - Safe to run via
irm <url> | iexfrom our own server. - Confirm before anything destructive or that reboots.
- Check for admin explicitly (
#Requiresis not enforced underiex).
The as-is notice
Every runbook and script carries a short as-is notice — two lines under the #
title in a .md, or at the end of the .NOTES block in a .ps1. Copy it when
you add a file.
It is per-file rather than README-only for one reason: these are fetched by raw URL, so a reader who lands on a single runbook never sees the README or the LICENSE. The repo's context does not travel with the file.
Keep it to those two lines. It sits above genuinely important, procedure-specific warnings — never a live chart, stop the service before copying, confirm authorization before acting — and a longer legal preamble would train people to skip the top of the file, which is exactly where those warnings live.
Aim it at a stranger who found the repo, not at the quality of the procedure. These runbooks double as documented-procedure evidence; wording that implies the content is unreliable works against that.