repo-standardizer

GitHub Repo Standardizer

Detect a repository's current state, then polish its surface: issue forms,

PR template, label taxonomy, CI, CODEOWNERS, rulesets, docs. Works on

repo metadata and config files only — code logic is never touched.

Idempotent — safe to re-run; fills gaps and reconciles drift without

duplicating or clobbering.

When to use

• User says "standardize / tidy up / professionalize this repo"
• A new repo was just created and needs templates, labels, CI, and rules from day one
• A repo looks bare: no templates, no labels, no CI, no branch protection

Preflight (mandatory, in order)

> Requires: gh CLI (authenticated), git, jq, python3 — verify

> they exist before starting (which gh git jq python3).

1. Authenticate — check gh login first

gh auth status 2>/dev/null || echo "NOT_LOGGED_IN"

• Logged in → continue; print gh api user -q .login so the user knows which account will act.
• Not logged in → STOP. Tell the user (do not guess):

1. Run gh auth login (web/device flow), or
2. Export a token: export GH_TOKEN=ghp_xxx — needs repo, workflow (for CI files) and, for org repos, admin:org (or admin:repo_hook / org membership admin) scopes.

• Never paste tokens into chat, logs, or files. If the user pastes a token in chat, advise them to revoke it and re-issue.
• If gh auth login is impossible in this environment (headless), suggest gh auth login --with-token reading from a file the user created.

Verify the acting account can write to the target:

# user repos: no extra check needed beyond token scopes
# org repos: must be a member/admin of the org
gh api "orgs/ORG/memberships/$(gh api user -q .login)" -q .role 2>/dev/null || echo "NO_ORG_ACCESS"

• admin/member → OK. 404 → stop and ask the user to add the account to the org first.

2. Detect repository type

gh repo view OWNER/REPO --json name,owner,visibility,defaultBranchRef,isArchived,isFork \
  -q '{name:.name, ownerType:.owner.type, visibility:.visibility, defaultBranch:.defaultBranchRef.name, archived:.isArchived, fork:.isFork}'

| Field | Meaning | Consequence |

|---|---|---|

| ownerType | User = personal, Organization = org | Org repos can also use org-level rulesets; both support repo-level rulesets |

| visibility | PUBLIC / PRIVATE / INTERNAL | Private: skip public-facing docs pressure, keep CI secrets minimal; public: README badges + CONTRIBUTING/SECURITY matter |

| archived / fork | Read-only / fork | Skip write modules; report why |

If the repo was not explicitly named by the user, confirm before touching an

org or private repository.

3. Audit current state

gh label list --repo OWNER/REPO --limit 200
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/contents/.github -q '.[].path' 2>/dev/null || echo "no .github dir"
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/contents/.github/workflows -q '.[].name' 2>/dev/null || echo "no workflows"
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/rulesets -q '.[] | {name:.name, enforcement:.enforcement}' 2>/dev/null || echo "no rulesets"
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/branches -q '.[].name' 2>/dev/null
for f in README.md CONTRIBUTING.md SECURITY.md LICENSE .gitignore; do
  gh api "repos/OWNER/REPO/contents/$f" -q .name 2>/dev/null || echo "missing: $f"
done

4. Detect test framework (for CI module)

Check for these signals (first match wins):

gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/contents/package.json -q .name 2>/dev/null   # node → templates/ci-node.yml
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/contents/pyproject.toml -q .name 2>/dev/null # python → templates/ci-python.yml
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/contents/go.mod -q .name 2>/dev/null         # go → templates/ci-go.yml
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/contents/Cargo.toml -q .name 2>/dev/null     # rust → templates/ci-rust.yml

No signal → propose the generic CI (or ask the user whether CI is wanted at all).

5. Ask about language (before planning)

• Ask the user which language CONTRIBUTING.md and the PR template should be

written in (default: English, or the project's primary language for local

projects). Translate the templates accordingly when generating — never

assume a language.

• (README languages are asked separately in Module F.)

6. Ask about automation (decides the Governance labels)

Ask the user whether the repo has any automation bots or AI writers

running on it — e.g. dependabot, a Stale bot, ClawSweeper, or an AI coding

agent that auto-files PRs / auto-fixes issues.

• Why ask: r: / clawsweeper: / triage: / close: labels are

signal labels, not categories — a bot reads them and acts (auto-close,

auto-lock, auto-fix, auto-merge). Without running automation those labels

are dead weight, so the answer decides whether the Governance dimension is

added at all (Module A, Step 2).

• Yes → plan the Governance / auto-close rules dimension (add only the

r:* rules matching the project's real reject criteria).

• No → skip that dimension entirely — never add r:* / bot labels to a

repo with no automation.

Workflow

1. Preflight (above). If auth or access fails, stop with a clear message.
2. Dry-run plan — show the user a concise table of what will be created/updated/skipped. Get confirmation for: rulesets, branch deletion/protection changes, org-level changes, and anything destructive.
3. Apply modules (each idempotent; run in this order).
4. Verify — re-query and print an applied / skipped / failed checklist.

Module A — Labels (design first, then idempotent upsert)

Step 1 — Profile the project (adjust the taxonomy, never copy blindly):

• Rating labels → design a themed tier system for THIS project

(never copy an existing repo's set verbatim):

• Reference example — OpenClaw's official repo uses themed tiers with

emoji icons and a low→high color gradient (EXAMPLE ONLY, do not copy):

rating: 🧂 unranked krab → rating: 🦪 silver shellfish →

rating: 🦐 gold shrimp → rating: 🦀 challenger crab →

rating: 🐚 platinum hermit → rating: 🦞 diamond lobster

• International project → universal grades also work

(grade: S/A/B/C/D or ★–★★★★★)

• Always redesign: pick a theme that fits the project (animals, gems,

ranks, stars…) and the audience's language. Do not reuse any existing

repo's rating labels as-is.

• Teams: if the repo has an explicit division of labor

(CODEOWNERS, CONTRIBUTING, a team list in docs) → add one team: * label

per group (e.g. team: frontend, team: algorithm). No team list → skip.

• Project type (library / app / coursework / org-infra) → decide which

dimensions below are needed (dependencies, security, docs, …).

• Language: write every label name and description in the language chosen

in Preflight step 5 (default English; local project → its primary language).

Never assume — translate every label name and description into the chosen

language (emoji glyphs stay as-is).

• Exception — bot labels: r: / clawsweeper: / triage:* /

close:* names are matched literally by automation code (almost always

English). Keep those names in the bot's language — a translated name

breaks the bot. Only their description may use the user's language.

Step 2 — Compose categories. Baseline lives in templates/labels.json

(plain names, no emoji); extend or trim per the profile in Step 1.

Emoji policy — rating tiers are the ONLY mandatory-emoji labels. Every

rating: / issue-rating: tier MUST carry an emoji with a clear low→high

gradient (e.g. rating: 🦞 diamond lobster). All other labels: emoji is the

agent's call — add icons where they aid scanning, omit them where they

clutter. **Consistency rule: within one dimension, either ALL labels carry

an emoji or NONE do** — never a mixed half-emoji dimension (e.g. don't ship

🐛 bug next to a plain enhancement).

Every dimension is opt-in except Type. Add a dimension only if the repo

actually needs it; skip it otherwise. The menu below mirrors OpenClaw's

official label taxonomy (the richest open reference) — cover every dimension

that applies, but never force one the repo doesn't use.

Priority uses P0–P3 (OpenClaw's convention — P0 = emergency).

Examples in the tables below show the optional emoji style — apply them

all or none per dimension (baseline ships plain P0–P3):

| Label | Meaning | Color |

|---|---|---|

| 🔴 P0 | Emergency: data loss, security bypass, crash loop, unusable core | b60205 |

| 🟠 P1 | High: blocks planned work, needs attention soon | d93f0b |

| 🟡 P2 | Medium: normal priority | fbca04 |

| 🟢 P3 | Low: nice to have | 1a7f37 |

Dimension menu (write each label in the user's chosen language):

| Dimension | Labels (examples) | Add when |

|---|---|---|

| Type (always) | 🐛 bug ✨ enhancement 📚 documentation ❓ question 🙋 help wanted 🌱 good first issue | always |

| Priority | 🔴 P0 🟠 P1 🟡 P2 🟢 P3 | recommended |

| Status | 🚧 in progress 🧱 blocked ✅ ready to merge 🎉 merged 🚫 wontfix | recommended |

| Impact | impact: security impact: data-loss impact: availability … | recommended; required for security-sensitive repos |

| Rating (PR quality) | rating: 🦞 diamond lobster … themed tiers | PR-quality gate exists |

| Issue rating | issue-rating: 🦞 diamond lobster … | issue-quality gate exists (may fold into Rating) |

| Merge risk | merge-risk: 🚨 security-boundary merge-risk: 🚨 availability … | maintainer review process exists |

| Size | size: XS size: S size: M size: L size: XL | large repo / team estimation |

| Area / module | area: core area: api area: cli … | multi-module project |

| Bug detail | bug: behavior bug: crash | crash-prone / many bug reports |

| Governance / auto-close rules | r: spam r: support r: no-ci-pr … clawsweeper: triage: | automation bot enforces close/lock/review rules |

| Close reason | close: duplicate close: superseded close: invalid … | close-automation bot exists |

| Triage | triage: bug triage: blocked triage: needs-review … | triage workflow exists |

| Proof | proof: 🎥 video proof: 📸 screenshot | reproduction evidence required |

| Dependencies | 📦 dependencies | dependabot / dependency PRs |

| Security | 🔒 security | security-sensitive repo |

| Regression | ↩️ regression | stable project (was-working-now-fails) |

| Stale | 🕰️ stale 🚫 no-stale | stale automation exists |

| Team | team: <group> | explicit division of labor |

| Duplicate / invalid | 👯 duplicate 🚫 invalid | active public repo with many issues |

| Channel | channel: discord channel: telegram … | multi-channel product (OpenClaw-style) |

| App / platform | app: ios app: android app: web-ui … | multi-platform app |

| Extensions / plugins | extensions: <name> plugin: <name> | plugin/extension ecosystem |

Governance rules (r: / bot labels) — gated by Preflight step 6. Only

consider this dimension if the user answered "yes" to automation bots / AI

writers; skip it entirely otherwise. Auto-close and bot-state labels are

signal labels, not categories — a bot (or Actions workflow) reads them and

acts (auto-close, auto-lock, auto-fix, auto-merge). They are useless without

the matching automation, so skip them unless a governance bot actually runs

on the repo. If one does, add only the r:* rules matching the project's real

off-topic / reject criteria (e.g. r: spam, r: support, r: no-ci-pr) plus

the bot's own state labels (clawsweeper:, triage:, close:*). Never copy

OpenClaw's set verbatim — its rules encode OpenClaw's specific product

boundaries.

Impact dimension — the security "blast radius" judgement (generalized

from OpenClaw; trim to the repo's actual failure modes):

| Label | Meaning |

|---|---|

| impact: security | security boundary, credentials, authz, sandbox, sensitive data |

| impact: data-loss | loses/corrupts/drops user, session, or config data |

| impact: availability | crash, hang, restart loop, or process outage |

| impact: auth-provider | auth / routing / model choice / secret resolution breaks |

| impact: session-state | session / memory / state drifts or corrupts (stateful systems) |

| impact: message-loss | messages/events lost, duplicated, or misrouted (messaging systems) |

| impact: ux-blocker | user blocked with no terminal/logs/support (GUI products) |

| impact: ux-friction | confusing flow / support burden (GUI products) |

| impact: other | meaningful impact outside the owned taxonomy |

Step 3 — Color rules (mandatory):

• Diverse palette: colors must be rich and varied — the whole label set

should look like a palette, not a monochrome block. Even within one

category, spread the hues (e.g. priority labels: red / orange / yellow /

green, or four clearly different hues).

• Semantic hints (not hard mappings): ready to merge / merged / done

→ greens (never gray or red); wontfix → gray; in progress → blue.

Everything else: pick colors that look good together and match the label's

meaning loosely — but prefer variety over strict one-meaning-one-color.

• Emoji policy: rating tiers are emoji-mandatory — every

rating: / issue-rating: label needs a clear low→high emoji gradient

(e.g. rating: 🦞 diamond lobster). Everywhere else, emoji is the agent's

call: use icons where they aid scanning, omit them where they clutter.

**Consistency: within one dimension, all labels carry an emoji or none

do** — never a mixed half-emoji dimension. If used, the emoji must match

the label's meaning, never decorative-only.

• Rating labels need docs: when rating labels are added, also add

LABELS.md (Step 4) describing each label's meaning and the explicit

low→high order, so the ranking is unambiguous.

• Neighboring labels must be distinguishable. Forbidden: all-one-color,

adjacent duplicates, or colors that contradict the label content.

Step 4 — Rating-label docs (only if rating labels exist). Generate

LABELS.md from templates/LABELS.md (or extend an existing docs file):

list every rating label with its meaning and the explicit low→high order,

plus the rest of the taxonomy. Commit and push it together with the labels.

Step 5 — Idempotent upsert. GitHub has no PUT /labels/{name}

endpoint. Upsert = check existence (GET /labels/{name}), then

POST /labels (create) or PATCH /labels/{name} (update). Works for both

map-form and array-form labels.json:

R="repos/OWNER/REPO"
jq -c 'if type == "array" then .[] else to_entries[] | {name: .key} + .value end' templates/labels.json | while read -r l; do
  name=$(echo "$l" | jq -r .name); color=$(echo "$l" | jq -r .color); desc=$(echo "$l" | jq -r .description)
  enc=$(python3 -c "import urllib.parse,sys;print(urllib.parse.quote(sys.argv[1]))" "$name")
  if gh api "$R/labels/$enc" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    gh api -X PATCH "$R/labels/$enc" -f name="$name" -f color="$color" -f description="$desc" --silent && echo "label updated: $name"
  else
    gh api -X POST "$R/labels" -f name="$name" -f color="$color" -f description="$desc" --silent && echo "label created: $name"
  fi
done

• URL-encode label names (spaces, slashes).
• To reconcile drift (deleted manual labels), show the diff and ask before removing labels that are already in use.

Module B — Issue forms + config

Create .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ with config.yml plus one YAML form per

template (bug / feature / question). Push via a commit:

• Replace placeholders in config.yml (OWNER/REPO in the

Discussions / Security contact URLs) — see Template placeholders.

• Write the forms in the user-chosen language (Preflight step 5): translate

form names, labels, descriptions, and placeholder text; title: prefix

and labels: values stay as-is (they must match the label taxonomy).

mkdir -p .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE
cp templates/issue-form-*.yml templates/config.yml .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/
git add .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE && git commit -m "chore: add issue forms" && git push

• If templates already exist, diff them; only overwrite identical or clearly

stale files (ask first if the user may have customized them).

• If there is no git clone, clone first (gh repo clone OWNER/REPO), edit, push.

Module C — PR template

mkdir -p .github
cp templates/PR_TEMPLATE.md .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
git add .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md && git commit -m "chore: add PR template" && git push

• Write the template in the user-chosen language (Preflight step 5).

The PR template has no placeholders to replace.

Module D — CI workflow

Pick the workflow from the framework detection (templates/ci-*.yml —

they trigger on $default-branch, so they work for any default branch

name). Write to .github/workflows/ci.yml, commit, push. Keep existing

workflows; only add ci.yml if none exists.

• Node projects: ci-node.yml installs dependencies lockfile-aware

(npm ci / pnpm install --frozen-lockfile / `yarn install

--frozen-lockfile, with plain npm install` as fallback) — no manual

adjustment needed for pnpm / yarn repos.

• Note: pushing workflow files requires a token with the workflow scope; if

the push is rejected with 403, tell the user their token lacks workflow.

Module E — Branch rules

Prefer rulesets (modern) over legacy branch protection:

# list existing
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/rulesets -q '.[].name'
# create (example: protect default branch)
gh api -X POST repos/OWNER/REPO/rulesets --input - <<'EOF'
{
  "name": "protect-default-branch",
  "target": "branch",
  "enforcement": "active",
  "conditions": {
    "ref_name": {"include": ["refs/heads/DEFAULT_BRANCH"], "exclude": []}
  },
  "rules": [
    {"type": "pull_request", "parameters": {"required_approving_review_count": 1, "dismiss_stale_reviews_on_push": true, "require_code_owner_review": false, "require_last_push_approval": true, "required_review_thread_resolution": true}},
    {"type": "required_linear_history"},
    {"type": "deletion"},
    {"type": "non_fast_forward"},
    {"type": "required_signatures"}
  ]
}
EOF

• Idempotency: if a ruleset with the same name exists, update it with

PUT repos/OWNER/REPO/rulesets/{id} — full replace, include the complete

body (name, enforcement, conditions, rules, bypass_actors). There is no PATCH

for rulesets (PATCH returns 404).

• Optional admin bypass: add `"bypass_actors": [{"actor_id": 5,

"actor_type": "RepositoryRole", "bypass_mode": "always"}]` (id 5 = admin)

so maintainers can push directly to the protected branch; non-admins still

go through pull requests.

• pull_request parameters are all required in current API versions:

required_approving_review_count, dismiss_stale_reviews_on_push,

require_code_owner_review, require_last_push_approval,

required_review_thread_resolution. Omitting any → HTTP 422.

• target: "branch" + ref_name.include: refs/heads/<default>; also offer

"tag" rules if tags matter.

• Org repos: optionally offer org-level rulesets (/orgs/{org}/rulesets).

Module F — Docs

README (ask about languages FIRST):

• Ask the user: which languages should the README support? (suggest the

project's primary language + English for international projects)

• If a README already exists, ask whether to adapt it into more languages —

never add languages without asking.

• Language switcher convention (pattern from programmingHLS/ccmm):
• Default file stays README.md (usually English).
• Extra languages: README.<lang>.md (e.g. README.zh.md, README.ja.md).
• Top of every file, a switcher line — current language as plain text,

others as relative links:

• README.md: < English | 简体中文 > (简体中文 links to README.zh.md)
• README.zh.md: < English | 简体中文 > (English links to README.md)
• Keep structure, badges, and anchors parallel across language files.
• README.md: if missing or bare, generate one from templates/README.md

(badges, install, usage, modules table). Keep the user's existing content if

it is already substantive — only append a badges block. **Replace

placeholders** (badge URLs, clone URL, owner credit) per Template

placeholders.

• CONTRIBUTING.md, SECURITY.md, CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md: copy from

templates if missing (write CONTRIBUTING.md in the user-chosen language

from Preflight step 5; replace OWNER/REPO in SECURITY.md's

advisory link per Template placeholders).

• VISION.md: optional direction doc (modeled on OpenClaw's VISION.md) —

generate a short vision from templates/VISION.md (origin, guiding

principles, current state, direction, contribution rules) if the user

wants one (replace PROJECT_NAME per Template placeholders).

• THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md: add when the project adapts third-party content

(licenses, fonts, code of conduct) — list each source and its license.

• docs/ARCHITECTURE.md: for non-trivial projects, generate a short

architecture doc (structure, flow, constraints) from the audit.

• LICENSE: ask the user which license (default MIT) before creating.
• CHANGELOG.md: create from templates/CHANGELOG.md (Keep a Changelog

format) if missing; log notable changes per release (**replace

YYYY-MM-DD** in the placeholder date line per Template placeholders).

Module G — AI assistant guides (CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md)

• Add a CLAUDE.md (guidance for Claude Code) and an AGENTS.md (guidance

for any AI coding agent) when missing — see templates/CLAUDE.md and

templates/AGENTS.md (replace OWNER/REPO and the i18n placeholder

per Template placeholders).

• If they already exist, diff and fill gaps rather than overwrite.
• Typical content, derived from the repo audit (Modules A–F):
• Project: one-paragraph summary, status, stack.
• Commands: build / test / lint / run (from CI detection + package scripts).
• Conventions: commit style (see CONTRIBUTING), label taxonomy, i18n

requirements, secrets policy (never hardcode keys), file map.

• Caveats: known risks, areas to be careful with.
• CLAUDE.md vs AGENTS.md: CLAUDE.md is Claude-specific; AGENTS.md is

agent-agnostic (works for Cursor/Copilot/OpenClaw too). Keep AGENTS.md free

of Claude-only references.

Verification

gh label list --repo OWNER/REPO --limit 200 | wc -l
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/contents/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE -q '.[].name' 2>/dev/null
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/contents/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md -q .name 2>/dev/null
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/contents/.github/workflows/ci.yml -q .name 2>/dev/null
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/rulesets -q '.[] | {name:.name, enforcement:.enforcement}'

Report a final table: module | status (applied/skipped/failed) | note.

Template placeholders (replace on copy)

Templates stay generic — OWNER/REPO, OWNER_USERNAME, PROJECT_NAME,

YYYY-MM-DD are placeholders the agent fills in when copying a template

into the target repo. Unreplaced placeholders ship broken links (badges,

clone URL, discussions, security advisory, CODEOWNERS handle) into the

user's repo.

| Placeholder | Replace with |

|---|---|

| OWNER | target repo owner login (user or org) |

| REPO | target repo name |

| OWNER_USERNAME | owner's default reviewer / team handle |

| PROJECT_NAME | project display name |

| YYYY-MM-DD | current date |

Resolve the values once up front, then substitute in every copied file

(config.yml, README*.md, SECURITY.md, CODEOWNERS, AGENTS.md /

CLAUDE.md, VISION.md, …):

O=OWNER R=REPO N=PROJECT_NAME D=$(date +%F)
sed -i "s|OWNER_USERNAME|$O|g; s|OWNER/REPO|$O/$R|g; s|PROJECT_NAME|$N|g; s|YYYY-MM-DD|$D|g" \
  .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/config.yml README.md SECURITY.md .github/CODEOWNERS AGENTS.md

• Replace OWNER_USERNAME before OWNER/REPO — the former contains the

OWNER prefix, so order matters with naive sed.

• Only config.yml, README*.md, SECURITY.md, CODEOWNERS, AGENTS.md /

CLAUDE.md, VISION.md, CHANGELOG.md carry placeholders; the issue

forms, PR template, CI workflows, and CoC are placeholder-free.

• CI templates need no substitution, but translate their human-facing

text if the user chose a non-English language.

Rules of thumb

• Idempotent: every module can run twice with the same result.
• Never clobber user content: diff first, ask before overwriting customized files.
• Auth first: no token, no action — tell the user how to log in, never guess.
• Dry-run before destructive ops: rulesets, branch rules, label deletion, visibility changes.
• Confirm scope: org/private repos and anything the user didn't explicitly name.

Templates

All templates live in templates/:

labels.json, LABELS.md, config.yml, issue-form-bug.yml,

issue-form-feature.yml, issue-form-question.yml, PR_TEMPLATE.md,

ci-node.yml, ci-python.yml, ci-go.yml, ci-rust.yml, CODEOWNERS,

CONTRIBUTING.md, SECURITY.md, CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, CLAUDE.md,

AGENTS.md, VISION.md, CHANGELOG.md, templates/README.md,

templates/README.zh.md.