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Investigate: Make dev-template work without a git repo

IMPLEMENTATION RULES: Before implementing this plan, read and follow:

Status: Done​

Goal: Determine how to make dev-template work on a fresh machine without requiring a git repo or login.

Last Updated: 2026-02-19

GitHub Issue: #63 (follow-up — the zip download fix was merged but git repo is still required)

Questions to Answer​

  1. Where is git repo / GitHub info actually needed?
  2. Can we remove git entirely?
  3. How do {{GITHUB_USERNAME}} and {{REPO_NAME}} placeholders get filled in?

Findings​

1. Where GitHub info is used in dev-template​

detect_github_info() sets GITHUB_USERNAME and REPO_NAME by reading the git remote URL. These are only used in replace_placeholders() which does sed replacement on manifest and workflow YAML files.

Everything else — download, scan, menu, select, copy, merge .gitignore — does not need GitHub info.

2. Where placeholders appear in templates​

Searched all 7 templates. {{GITHUB_USERNAME}} and {{REPO_NAME}} appear in:

  • manifests/deployment.yaml — deployment name, image reference, owner label
  • manifests/ingress.yaml — hostname, annotations
  • manifests/kustomization.yaml — image references
  • .github/workflows/urbalurba-build-and-push.yaml — some references

Not all templates need these — some templates may not have Kubernetes manifests at all.

3. Who should replace the placeholders?​

Option A: dev-template replaces them (current approach)

  • Requires git repo detection or user prompts
  • Adds complexity to a tool that should be simple
  • Fails on fresh machines

Option B: GitHub Actions replaces them on first push (recommended)

  • Each template includes an init-placeholders.yml workflow
  • On first push, the workflow checks for {{GITHUB_USERNAME}}/{{REPO_NAME}}
  • If found, replaces with ${{ github.repository_owner }}/${{ github.event.repository.name }} and commits
  • After first run, placeholders are gone — the step becomes a no-op
  • Zero effort for the user
  • dev-template stays ultra simple

4. Simplified dev-template flow​

Current:                          Proposed:
detect_github_info  ← REMOVE      download_templates
download_templates                 scan_templates
scan_templates                     select_template
select_template                    verify_template
verify_template                    copy_template_files
copy_template_files                setup_github_workflows
setup_github_workflows             merge_gitignore
merge_gitignore                    cleanup_and_complete
process_essential_files ← REMOVE
cleanup_and_complete

Recommendation​

  1. Remove all git code from dev-template — delete detect_github_info(), replace_placeholders(), and process_essential_files(). The script becomes: download → browse → select → copy.

  2. Add placeholder replacement to the templates repo — each template gets an init-placeholders.yml GitHub Actions workflow that auto-replaces {{GITHUB_USERNAME}}/{{REPO_NAME}} on first push. (Originally tracked in ISSUE-urbalurba-dev-templates-cicd.md, removed 2026-04-07 — TMP built their own CI pipeline instead.)

Next Steps​

  • Create PLAN-dev-template-no-git-required.md
  • Update ISSUE-urbalurba-dev-templates-cicd.md with placeholder replacement workflow