Open-Source Release Readiness

Open-Sourcing a Repository

Prepare a repository for public release so that an outsider with no prior context can build, use, and contribute to it — and so that nothing sensitive ships with it. Work through the steps in order; the secrets audit comes first because its outcome (keeping vs. recreating the repository) affects everything after it.

When to Use

• Making a private repository public
• Auditing an existing public repository for release quality ("make it official")
• Choosing a license for a project
• Setting up packaging, versioning, or release automation ahead of a public launch

When NOT to Use

• Routine development on an already-released project (no release event)
• Auditing third-party code for vulnerabilities (use a security-review skill)
• Publishing a package from a repository that will stay private — only the release-management steps apply; skip the rest

Workflow

Step 1: Detect the organization profile

bash {baseDir}/scripts/detect_org.sh

The script inspects git remotes and recent committer emails, and prints a profile name. If it prints trailofbits, read references/trailofbits.md now and apply its license policy, publishing accounts, and process notes throughout the remaining steps. If it prints generic, proceed with the generic guidance alone. If the user says the detection is wrong, trust the user.

Step 2: Audit for secrets — before anything else

A repository that has ever contained secrets (API keys, credentials, client data) should not be flipped public. History rewriting is error-prone and does not reach forks, caches, or CI artifacts. The reliable fix is a fresh repository: copy the current tree over, commit, and archive the old repository privately.

1. Ask whether the project ever handled secrets or client-confidential material. For a security consultancy's tooling, also ask whether test fixtures or example data came from client engagements.
2. Scan the full history with a dedicated tool if available — gitleaks git . or trufflehog git file://. — rather than eyeballing.
3. Check beyond the git tree: GitHub Actions logs and artifacts, old releases, issue and PR history, and the repository wiki all become public with the repository.
4. After going public, enable GitHub secret scanning and push protection in the repository settings.

Reject these rationalizations — this is the one step that cannot be fixed after publication:

• "The key was revoked, so the history is fine." Revoked credentials still leak infrastructure names, internal URLs, and patterns attackers use for targeting.
• "We'll rewrite history with git-filter-repo." Rewrites miss forks, clones, caches, and CI artifacts; the fresh-repository approach does not.
• "It's only test data." Fixtures derived from client engagements or production systems are confidential regardless of how they are labeled.

Step 3: Run the readiness check

bash {baseDir}/scripts/check_readiness.sh

The script prints a checklist of presence indicators (README, LICENSE, CONTRIBUTING, SECURITY.md, CI, tests, semver tags, ...) and warns about tracked files that commonly contain secrets. Treat unchecked items as discussion prompts, not hard failures — a research prototype does not need everything a flagship library needs. Walk through the gaps with the user and fix the ones that matter for this project.

Step 4: Documentation

The README is the project's front door. Confirm it explains:

• What the project is and what problem it solves (first paragraph)
• How to install it — package manager, container image, or build from source; a fresh-clone build must work using only what is in the repository
• How to use it — at least one concrete, copy-pasteable example
• How to contribute — inline or via CONTRIBUTING.md
• The license — a short section naming it

Also add:

• SECURITY.md with vulnerability-reporting instructions (a contact address or GitHub private vulnerability reporting). For security tooling this is table stakes.
• API documentation, built and hosted (GitHub Pages via CI is the usual route), linked from the README and the repository website field. See the language references below for per-ecosystem doc tooling.
• A code of conduct if the project expects outside contributors.

Step 5: Licensing

No license means not open source, regardless of visibility. Read references/licensing.md for selection criteria and mechanics. The short version:

1. Apply the organization's policy if one was detected in Step 1.
2. Otherwise: Apache 2.0 as the permissive default, AGPLv3 when private modification by competitors is a real concern, Creative Commons for non-code artifacts.
3. Add the LICENSE file, set SPDX identifiers in package metadata, state the license in the README, and verify all three agree.